AMHERST — For the second year in a row, Town Meeting added money to the community services budget, this time with the aim of helping local children.
By a 108-24 vote at the second session of annual Town Meeting Wednesday, members increased the budget by $60,000, from $1.75 million to $1.81 million.
The proposal came from Jennifer McKenna of Precinct 8, who said the extra money should go toward youth programming, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County and the Amherst Boys and Girls Club, which didn’t get Community Development Block Grant funding this year.
“It feels crucial to me that the budget reflects the community values,” McKenna said.
The $60,000 added to the current year’s budget is paying for outreach to the Latino community by the Amherst Survival Center.
Jim Oldham of Precinct 5 said he supported the extra money because Town Meeting has a long history of promoting social services through the town budget.
Carol Gray of Precinct 7 said the money is more vital in a time when social service programs are being cut and President Donald Trump is attacking immigrant communities.
“Why do we choose to cut the programs that help the neediest in our community?” Gray said.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said he will have to seek a request for proposals for using the extra money, noting it would be illegal to simply give that money to any specific agency.
Though Town Meeting approved a $10.45 million budget for pubic safety, Patricia Church of Precinct 5 said she worries that the town’s EMS service is not being funded adequately.
Jacqueline Maidana of Precinct 5 said she didn’t understand why more firefighter/paramedics weren’t added to the proposal.
“Why isn’t it in this budget?” Maidana said.
Bockelman said additional staffing is needed, but a plan has to be in place to implement it, and there is money available to add positions.
He noted that with Hadley moving to a private ambulance service, Amherst’s medical calls will be reduced by close to 20 percent, or 1,000 calls. That should relieve some of the pressure previously identified in a study of the fire department, though growth in call volume has been centered in Amherst.
By majority vote, Town Meeting approved $2.36 million for the Department of Public Works, though Vincent O’Connor of Precinct 1 tried to refer the article to the Select Board and Finance Committee for more study because it doesn’t move forward in addressing the condition of roads and sidewalks in Amherst.
“My concern is this budget simply doesn’t represent an adequate amount of money to makes roads safe and usable, and our sidewalks safe and usable,” O’Connor said.
But Moderator Jim Pistrang would not accept O’Connor’s motion. “I feel it is in violation of our charge and transition rules,” Pistrang said.
With little discussion, Town Meeting approved a $7.86 million general government budget and $1.44 million for the conservation and development departments.
Budgets for the elementary and regional schools and the Jones Library system will be up for votes next week.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.cim
