These are clearly not placid days in Northampton, which is riven by decisions about spending. The vibe today reminds me of when we were in the midst of the battle to expand the landfill.

There was barely disguised contempt some in leadership had then for the people who dared to challenge City Hall to defeat the ill-conceived plan. Today’s contentiousness is being exacerbated by the mayor, who doesn’t seem especially moved to improve conditions in the schools. Instead, she is revealing a much different vision for the city and how to spend taxpayers’ money.

It’s obvious that Northampton may evolve into a city for mostly $900,000 condo dwellers. And how convenient that would be for those who run the city. We wouldn’t need quality public schools because the new residents would either be wealthy retirees or could afford private schools.

There would also be no pressure on Smith College to end the gross unfairness of their tax treatment. There would be no need for affordable housing except a few rental “workforce housing” units for those serving the gentrifiers. And the city would certainly never face pushback from those who can easily afford property tax overrides.

This isn’t the vision of a fair, decent, and affordable Northampton so many of us want. It’s time for the mayor and City Council to take sides with the majority by making funding our schools, emergency services, and other essentials we depend on our chief priority, now and in the future.

John Ciavarella

Florence