To anyone who is planning to vote ‘no’ on the override on Easthampton’s June 9 ballot: From a place of sincerity and compassion, I understand why you would not want to, or simply cannot, willingly part with money that you don’t have. However, a ‘no’ vote will result in many of the most vulnerable taxpayers being forced to shoulder new expenses that were previously free or subsidized, and if the override fails to pass, it will still result in the city spending money on resources we no longer have. That will serve no one and harm everyone.
A ‘no’ vote puts over 40 teachers and paraprofessionals out of work. Forty livelihoods that feed into our local economy. And yet the city will still pay them — and everyone in every other department requiring layoffs — unemployment, as it should, so we will effectively be paying for a worse educational system than when we started, and will still be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to say goodbye to them.
Class sizes will increase, opportunities for kids will be lost. A worse school system will almost certainly lead to more families choosing to opt of our district, which will also result in costs to the city of up to $25,000 per student depending on the school they choice into. This is also of no benefit to our city, but a cost to us nonetheless. And while it stinks, it is the law. Low-cost preschool will no longer be offered at Mountain View — this option gives some parents an opportunity to work for a few hours during the day and is an incredible local resource, but families will either have to go without childcare (and therefore will not be able to work as frequently) or will have to find more expensive childcare. The economy is cyclical, so any money not earned by those families will not be spent back in the community.
A ‘no’ vote eliminates weekly free meals at the Easthampton Council on Aging, and transportation provided by the ECA will be drastically reduced, forcing our community’s elders who are reliant on that to find alternate transport to appointments, the grocery store and more. Free tax preparation will be reduced or eliminated. All of these resources effectively save many residents time and money, but will no longer exist and folks will surely pay out of pocket to offset some of these formerly free services.
This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the resources affected by a ‘no’ vote, just a small portion of what will greatly affect the most vulnerable people in the city.
You might not be able to bear the burden of the tax increase, but please know that by voting no, you are not saving yourself $100/month or whatever the calculator tells you the tax increase will be. You will be forced to find alternate means to services the city already provides, you will be forced to pay for certain resources out of pocket, and your taxes may not increase, but they will go toward paying off other burdens that do not benefit the majority of the city’s residents. While I don’t like paying more, I like it much more than paying a little less for a significantly reduced quality of life and community. And we’ll still be stuck with potholes, too.
Liz Kocan lives in Easthampton.