Town Council Appoints Four to Sustainability Group for Regional Schools

Steep Rises Coming for Water and Sewer Rates

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, June 2, 2025, Part 2

This was a hybrid meeting held in person in the Town Room of Town Hall and over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Andy Steinberg, Mandi Jo Hanneke, Ellisha Walker (at large), Cathy Schoen and Freke Ette (District 1), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), George Ryan and Hala Lord (District 3), Jennifer Taub and Pam Rooney (District 4), Bob Hegner (District 5). Absent: and Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5).

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Council Clerk).

Four Councilors Selected for Four-Town Fiscal Sustainability Group for Regional Schools
At the last Regional School Committee meeting, School Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman proposed a group of representatives from all four towns in the regional school system to increase the understanding of budgetary challenges faced by both the schools and the towns and to recommend a path forward for future years. Council President Lynn Griesemer, Vice President George Ryan, Finance Committee Chair Cathy Schoen, and at-large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke were chosen by the Town Council to represent Amherst, along with Town Manager Paul Bockelman. The first meeting of the group is tentatively scheduled for June 18, depending on the availability of a facilitator from the Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools (MARS).

Omitted from the group was Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier who advocated for greater funding for the schools this year  and who led the effort that resulted in the town appropriating a 4.81% increase for the regional schools and 5% for the elementary schools, instead of the 4% across the board recommended by the Town Manager and initially accepted by the Finance Committee. Devlin Gauthier also worked with school committee members to suggest a fiscal sustainability committee. Griesemer and Schoen had a similar proposal for a committee. 

Councilor Pam Rooney suggested that Devlin Gauthier be appointed to the superintendent’s group in place of Ryan. Ellisha Walker supported the suggestion pointing to Devlin Gauthier’s work with school committee representatives and the fact that she was a student in the Amherst regional schools. However, Pat DeAngelis stated,”I have incredible respect for Councilor Devlin Gauthier. However, I cannot support her in this position. I’ve seen a general bias towards the schools that has impacted roads and sidewalk budgets. I would like to have someone who has the ability to look clearly at the issue and not already have decisions made.” 

Schoen pointed out that Devlin Gauthier did not attend the two-hour Finance Committee meeting when the school budget was analyzed. At that meeting, Finance Committee members presented school representatives with an eight-page document of questions to be answered, largely written by Hanneke. School Committee member Jennifer Shiao repeatedly pointed out that many of the questions raised were outside of the purview of the Finance Committee, which was to determine the financial needs of the school, not to dictate how the schools should operate. The Finance Committee formulated a memo that stated that budget increases of over 3.5% for the regional schools were not sustainable in an environment of increasing costs and stable staffing despite decreasing enrollment.

Devlin Gauthier was absent from the meeting so could not say whether she was interested in participating in the group. The vote was 4-7-1 to substitute her for Ryan (Rooney, Walker, Jennifer Taub, and Hala Lord voted yes and Freke Ette abstained).

The collaborative group will have five representatives from each town and members of the regional school committee and school administration. Councilor Andy Steinberg was concerned about the balance in membership, because Amherst contributes more money and students to the region than the other towns combined, yet each town has equal representation. Griesemer explained that the group’s purpose is to gather information from each town and reach an understanding of the circumstances in order to plan for the future. Any changes in the regional agreement or budgeting procedures would need to be approved by the governing bodies of each town.

Double Digit Increases for Water and Sewer Rates in FY26
The Town Manager and Department of Public Works recommend that water rates rise from $5.25 to $6.45 per 100 cubic feet and sewer rates from $5.85 to $6.95 per 100 cubic feet. These represent raises of 22% for water and 18% for the sewer. The average Amherst homeowner water bill is projected to increase from $495 to $605, an average increase of $110.00/year ($9.17 per month). 

The average Amherst homeowner sewer bill is projected to increase from $538 to $639, an average increase of $101/year ($8.44 per month). These increases keep Amherst’s rates in line with other towns in the region and still below the state median, according to Bockelman. In the past, the town’s water and sewer rates have been lower than neighboring towns. Hadley homeowners pay an average of $497 for water and $706 for sewer; Northampton $560 and $763 (FY25); and Belchertown $796 and $839 (FY25). 

Bockelman said the increases are due to increasing costs for staff and for maintaining the aging infrastructure, especially in regard to the sewer system. Superintendent of Public Works Guilford Mooring said the town has had a lot of problems with grease clogging the sewer. There are plans to replace the siphon from the downtown to Seelye Street and to South Amherst with a gravity drainage system. Also, the town has recently been “slip lining” sewer pipes, placing a liner in the pipe without having to replace the whole pipe, which saves time and money. The opening of a sinkhole at Greenleaves Drive in May and another last year on Snell Street necessitated reordering planned sewer upgrades to deal with the emergency situations.

The rate increases were unanimously recommended by the Finance Committee. The full council will vote at the June 16 meeting. 

Councilor Liaisons Named to Town Committees
Town councilors were chosen according to their preference to serve as liaisons for town committees. The Town Charter section 2.9d states that “the function of a liaison is to serve as a link between the Council and the multiple-member body to which they are assigned. They are there to observe, share information, answer questions to the degree that they can, and make sure that the Council is kept apprised of the work of the body to which they are a liaison. They are not there to advocate or promote a particular policy or course of action.” Liaisons are not voting members of the body.

The liaisons are:

Commission for Persons with Disabilities: Pat DeAngelis

Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust: George Ryan

Board of Health: DeAngelis

Community Safety and Social Justice Committee: Hala Lord

Council on Aging: Jennifer Taub

Energy and Climate Action Committee: Freke Ette

Human Rights Commission: Lynn Griesemer

No one volunteered to be the liaison for the Community Preservation Act Committee. The council decided that no liaison was needed for the Transportation Advisory Committee or the Recreation Committee.

Planning Board Interviews to be Held June 12
The Community Resources Committee (CRC) of the council will hold Interviews for the three open positions on the Planning Board at 3 p.m. on June 12 over Zoom. Statements of Interest of the candidates are posted in the CRC packet for the meeting. The terms of Bruce Coldham and Karin Winter are expiring, but both are eligible for reappointment. There is also a vacant position created by the resignation of Lawrence Kluttz. 

The candidates are Bruce Coldham, Steven KaCey, Angus McLeod, Jerah Smith, and Karin Winter.

CRC Chair Pam Rooney said that there is not yet a sufficient pool of candidates for the open positions on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Despite Scheduled Ground Breaking on June 18, No Meeting of the Library Building Committee Scheduled
The town has announced a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Jones Library expansion for June 18. However, despite the project moving along, the Jones Library Building Committee (JLBC) has no meeting scheduled. Rooney, the council representative on the committee, asked that the committee meet regularly and be apprised of what money has been spent and any change orders that have been submitted and any bids for aspects of the project that are still not finalized, such as the slate roof and contract with the owner’s project manager. Schoen, who is chair of the Elementary School Building Committee noted that that committee is given detailed information on bills paid and how the money spent conforms to the overall budget for the project.