EASTHAMPTON — Mayor Salem Derby is proposing to create two separate funds that would allow residents to donate money to others in need, in the midst of a looming Proposition 2½ override vote on June 9.
The proposal would establish two donation-based funds: one for elderly and disabled homeowners and the other called the “Neighbor in Need Fund,” for homeowners experiencing “extraordinary economic hardship.”
They would both be funded by residents who choose to increase their taxes by a certain percentage to donate to each fund.
“This is not a solution to the problem that we’re in right now but it’s another set of tools that we can use to help people who might be on that edge” of financial hardship, Derby said.
If accepted by the City Council, Derby said the proposal would establish a “Tax Aid Committee” including the city treasurer, the chair of the Board of Assessors and three mayoral appointees, to review applications submitted. The proposal is currently being reviewed by the council’s Finance Committee.
He said the committee would determine the award amounts that would likely range between $300 to $1,500, depending on the applicant’s circumstances.
“That could potentially offset the cost of any override for families that are really in dire need,” Derby said. “These are tough economic times.”
To qualify for the Neighbor in Need Fund, applicants would need to be city residents that own and occupy a property as a primary residence, with documentation of a qualifying, “crisis” event in the past two years — involuntary job loss or reduction in hours, catastrophic medical or mental health expense, death of a primary earner, domestic violence displacement, natural disaster or a similar crisis that impacts housing stability.
Additionally, the applicant must have a household income at or below 80% of the Amherst and Northampton Hampshire County area median income — currently approximately $119,000 — and the committee must find that the applicant faces a material risk of tax delinquency, lien or loss of their home.
Both the elderly and disabled people and Neighbor in Need funds would be filled entirely by voluntary contributions without impacts on the tax rate or levy limit and are possible through different sections of Massachusetts General Law.
“There are people out there that want to help other people and I think that’s a great message,” Derby said.
On top of the two funds, Derby’s proposal would also allow businesses to contribute to each fund by creating the “Easthampton Community Partner Program.” Businesses could contribute at one of four levels: Neighbor, $100 to $499; Friend, $500 to $999; Champion, $1,000 to $2,499; and Cornerstone, $2,500 or more.
Derby said there would be no monetary relief for businesses, rather they would be recognized on the city’s website and the mayor’s yearly report listing, be given certificates of appreciation, invitations to an annual recognition event, and, for multiyear Cornerstone partners, a permanent donor wall at City Hall.
In years where there are more applicants than available funds, Derby said the committee would conduct a weighted lottery system. Applicants would be grouped into tiers based on severity of hardship, with higher-priority tiers having a greater selection probability.
“This preserves fairness while ensuring that residents in acute crisis are not displaced by those facing moderate hardship,” Derby’s proposal states.
