Overshadowed by the numerous races for mayor, city council and school committee in Tuesday’s election in Northampton is a question asking voters whether they support further study of a municipal light plant.

Such a “plant” is not a physical structure, as the name implies, but rather a city-owned company that provides electricity, gas or telecommunications systems such as internet service to its citizens. MLPs are overseen by a local board, commission or mayor. For some time now, Northampton has been studying the idea of creating an MLP as a way to offer high-speed internet to businesses and households.

Voter approval of Question 1 on Tuesday would ratify two prior City Council votes in favor of the idea and give the city authority to establish an MLP. A “Yes” vote does not require that the MLP be formed. That decision would be made after further study about the feasibility and a cost analysis. A “No” vote would prohibit the city from forming a municipal light plant.

We encourage you to vote “Yes.” Here are some reasons why:

■A municipal light plant for telecommunications services — currently in place in nearby Leverett, Plainfield, Westfield, South Hadley and Holyoke (for businesses only), and in process in Easthampton, West Springfield and Agawam — will likely lead to more reliable, faster and cheaper high-speed internet in Northampton than is currently available.

How much cheaper? Research by the advocacy group Northampton Community Network has shown that it’s realistic to expect to save a third or more with a community network. This is good for residents and businesses alike, and is a key component to attracting new businesses. Right now, this service comes from one company, Comcast/Xfinity.

■The community wants municipal broadband, at least based on the results of a survey completed by 25% of residents. Of those respondents, 95% are in favor of the idea. A study to estimate the costs to construct, maintain and finance a municipal network is the next step in the process.

■Telecom connectivity in Northampton is not good, ranking 321st out of 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, according to research provided by BroadbandNow, and included in a report to the city by Design Nine, a broadband planning company that conducted the broadband market study for the city.

Easthampton and Hadley have better broadband coverage in Hampshire County than does Northampton, and only Franklin County has a broadband coverage rate lower than Hampshire County.

There’s the potential for a faster network, which advocates say could involve “fiber-to-the-home” infrastructure that would dramatically reduce downloading and uploading times compared to current services. These networks are also more reliable as they are not subject to electromagnetic interference.

If broadband has become essential community infrastructure, as most people believe it has, then the city has an obligation to study and, if possible, provide a better alternative.

Question 1 is a big step in that direction.