AMHERST — Moving to ranked-choice voting for local elections, imposing a real estate transfer fee on some property transactions, and allowing permanent legal residents to vote in town elections are measures Amherst officials are continuing to support.

The Town Council this week reaffirmed its advocacy for three measures that will again require special legislation to be filed by Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst. In previous years, the legislators have filed these bills on behalf of the town, but each time they have been referred for study and not been acted on.

Ranked-choice voting, or instant runoff voting, was embedded in the town charter adopted by voters in 2018, but has not yet been approved for Amherst, even though it is used in local elections in other cities, including Easthampton and Cambridge.

Instead, elections in 2019, 2021 and 2023 were conducted with the top vote-getters winning positions. The Town Council has been encouraged by some advocates to implement ranked-choice voting through a town bylaw, rather than the legislative process.

The real estate transfer fee being sought by the council would allow the town to impose a 2% fee on select properties in town. The proposal exempts all owner-occupied homes and those that sell for under 200% of the median assessed value in town.

District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier, who brought forward the idea with At Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke, said the transfer fee is similar to what was contained in Gov. Maura Healey’s Affordable Homes Act, but that was stripped out of the final version of the bill. Amherst’s home rule petition could have brought in $1.4 million in 2023, used to support affordable housing developments in town, as well as town operations and the capital stabilization fund, Devlin Gauthier said.

The town would like to see all non-owner-occupied homes and those owned by limited liability corporations to be subject to the transfer fee, as well as expensive homes.

Town-backed special legislation extending voting rights for lawful legal residents has been filed numerous times over the years. The concept was supported by Town Meeting since the late Vladimir Morales first brought the issue forward in 1996, when the measure passed 96-41. It later passed by wider margins at Town Meeting in 2009 and 2013.

District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis said a family from Romania, who pay taxes and is affected by decisions, can’t vote or have a voice, because they are not yet citizens.

“If this were to pass, they would be able to participate in our democracy, in municipal elections,” DeAngelis said.

A memo from Council President Lynn Griesemer states that home rule petitions are not subject to the Legislature’s Jan. 17 bill filing deadline, but should be filed soon so bills will have timely hearings.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.