The 10% Solution

Representatives from Amherst, Pelham, Leverett & Shutesbury met today 

Officials from all four towns came together this afternoon at the Regional Middle School trying to work out some sort of compromise so all four towns could start building their budgets.

In order to dissuade Shutesbury from implementing the "The Nuclear Option", whereby their Town Meeting votes down the Regional Assessment Method from the current rolling five year average cost per pupil basis, which would then automatically reverts the Region to the "Statutory Method" based (somewhat) on ability to pay, Finance Director Sean Mangano hatched a compromise.

For this upcoming Fiscal Year stay with the current method for 90% of the budget and the other 10% use the state's Statutory Method but with open space & tax exempt properties removed from the formula.

 1st slide:  School administrators wanted everyone to play nice

Under this scheme Amherst would stay at around a 2.5% increase next year while both Leverett and Pelham would pay a little more in order for Shutesbury to pay a little less ($25,000).

Superintendent Maria Geryk told them, ""We will do our part in making cuts, adapting to a long term structural deficiency.  I'm just hoping we can stay connected and working together."

The meeting did get heated at times with one member pointing out, "There’s always another alternative formula where you will pay less.  One town will always be in that position."

At the Four Towns Meeting two weeks ago Shutesbury presented an alternative method that simply reverted back to the Statutory Method, but phased in over the next four years (25% per year).

And they strongly suggested their Town Meeting could vote down the current method if the plan was not adopted.  That was met with a storm of sharp criticism from the other towns.

The subject of expanding the Region from the current 7-12 all the way down to PreK through 6th grade did come up, as some members believe it will save money.  But if Shutesbury votes no to reopening the Regional Agreement, the process is dead.

One member suggested helping Shutesbury by tweaking the funding formula should be tied to their support for passing Regionalization, even if they as a town do not wish to join the expanded Region.

All four Town Meetings will vote on the expanded Region this spring, and it takes unanimous approval to pass.  Two questions will be presented:  Should the Regional Agreement be reopened/amended for the sake of Regionalization, and 2) do you wish to join the expanded Region?

It's only the first question that requires unanimous approval, the second question does not.

As long as Amherst, who is 78% of the Region, approves along with at least one other town, the expanded Region is formed.  The remaining towns will simply stay on as part of the 7-12 Region.

Complicated?  You bet.

The Power Of Persuasion

AFD Ambulance 1 enroute to Cooley Dickinson Hospital

The cancellation of SantaCon was instrumental in keeping the last weekend in a college town before the students head home, a quiet one.

UMass had the lowest number of ETOH drunk runs all semester although  "Crossett Christmas" runs at Amherst College were once again the highest of the semester.

   AFD SantaCon Weekend

A Change In Command

Peter Hechenbleikner at the 11/30 Select Board meeting

The Amherst Select Board just announced that Peter Hechenbleikner would be our Temporary Town Manager serving from February 1 through mid-summer.

Amherst Temp Town Mgr Chosen

Mark Rees, who garnered the unanimous approval of the Select Board after both were interviewed at a public meeting on November 30th, was hired away by Fairhaven as the their "Town administrator."

 Mark Rees aced his Amherst interview but took another job

Don't Feed The Bears

The bear brigade

Environmental, State, APD and of course our Animal Welfare Officer Carol Hepburn descended on Cherry Lane this morning for a 350+ pound black bear who had taken up residence under a back porch.

In addition to the comfortable crib the bear had made for himself Ms. Hepburn noted the large number of bird feeders still available in the neighborhood.  

Conditions were not good enough to safely use a tranquilizer dart so Yogi was simply chased off and is currently still at large. 

Click to enlarge/read

TV News advice

Status Quo Before The Storm

Alisa Brewer (left center) Jim Wald (right) at Monday Select Board meeting

With incumbents Alisa Brewer and Jim Wald running for reelection to the highest elected position the town has to offer, one-fifth of a mayor, the 5 member Select Board will maintain its steady if not staid course.

No small feat after the tragic sudden death of Town Manager John Musante.

Because there are two Select Board seats open that means voters get to vote for two candidates.  And since Mr. Wald and SB Chair Brewer have worked side-by-side together over the past six years it's a pretty safe bet who they will each tell their friends to support with that second vote.

If Alisa has 1,500 voters who go to the polls specifically to support her and Mr. Wald also has 1,500 to specifically support him but each supporter casts their second vote properly then both candidates end up with 3,000 votes.

Makes it kind of hard for an independent lone wolf candidate to rack up a victory, even when second place counts as winning.

In fact, as often is the case with Select Board recently, there may not even be a contest other than the two guaranteed winners.  And normally that would translate to an all too typical pathetic local voter turnout, which every now and then barely manages to break 10%.

But not this time -- not by a long shot.  With the Charter change question on the ballot -- bringing with it the glorious opportunity to terminate tedious Town Meeting -- the voter turnout will easily surpass 30%.

The 9 member Charter Commission should be able to produce a new and improved blueprint for better local government (Anything But Town Meeting)  in time for the 2017 election.

And in the meantime, Alisa Brewer and Jim Wald will do a fine job keeping those Select Board seats warm.

DUI Dishonor Roll

In Eastern Hampshire District Court Monday both college aged youth -- one arrested by APD and the other by UMPD -- had their cases continued until next month so they could hire their own private attorney.

 Jackson Schroeder, age 21, stands before Judge Patricia Poehler

Click to enlarge/read

Mr. Schroeder submitted to the Breathalyzer so he should probably save his money and take the standard state offer of a 24D disposition. 

Mr. Fidler probably has a better shot of beating the driving under the influence of drugs charge (but not all the others) simply because there are no standard Breathalyzer tests available for detecting drugs.

 Zachary Fidler, age 20, arraigned by Judge Patricia Pohler

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UMass: A Cable Scofflaw?

UMass is a city unto itself, but they still reside in Amherst

The Cable Advisory Committee voted unanimously on Monday to request Interim Town Manager Dave Ziomek issue UMass a public documents request to ascertain details of a cable contract with Charter Communications that could violate federal law because the Amherst Select Board, who has authority in these matters, never issued them a cable franchise.

   Request Cable Audit of Umass

The CAC is currently working diligently on the renewal of the current ten-year cable contract with Comcast which does require Select Board approval.  Currently Amherst has over 7,000 subscribers who contribute about $6 million total per year to Comcast.

As part of their franchise fee Comcast gives up 5% of their annual cable revenues to Amherst Media, around $300,000, as well as a once every ten year capital sum for new equipment, which amounted to $450,000 in the last contract. 

 Comcast quarterly income report

Since these contract matters are FCC related that kind of makes the Select Board agents of a federal authority. Thus the usual excuse UMass uses for ignoring town ordinances and/or bylaws may not hold up, since a federal entity trumps a state one.

UMass recently told the town to go fly a kite (or drone) regarding the 6% local hotel/motel tax applying to the Campus Center Hotel.

Currently they are holding $200,000 in escrow attempting to strong arm the town into signing a multi-year "Strategic Partnership" for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes to help fund all the services provided to on-campus students by Amherst Fire Department.