FY26 Budget Adopted with Objections to Loss of CRESS Positions and Extra Money for the Elementary Schools

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, June 16, 2025, Part 1

This was a hybrid meeting held in Town Hall and over Zoom 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 and Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5).

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of Councl)

The FY26 budget proposed by Town Manager Paul Bockelman and endorsed by the Finance Committee was approved by the Town Council by a 10-3 vote but not without objections from councilors and the public. The most vociferous objections were regarding the freezing of three positions out of 10 for CRESS (Community Responders for Equity, Safety, and Service), the unarmed community responder program created in 2021. The budget freezes two of the three currently vacant responder positions (out of eight total) and eliminates the implementation director position that was previously funded by a grant that has expired. Other arguments were made for and against the $270,000 that has been allocated from free cash for the elementary school budget.

The three councilors who voted against accepting the budget, Pat DeAngelis, Hala Lord, and Ellisha Walker did so because of the cuts to CRESS. According to the town charter, the council cannot raise the allocation for any item, only decrease it, except in the case of education.

Finance Committee Budget Report Cites Expenses Outpacing Revenue Growth
In summarizing the Finance Committee’s 24-page report on the FY26 budget, committee chair Cathy Schoen noted that the budget prepared by the Town Manager and his staff is a balanced budget that adheres to the council’s guidance for increased amounts to the regional and elementary schools over the 4% increase given to other departments.  However, the report notes that expenses are rising faster than revenue, and it will be difficult to maintain the 4% budget increase in the future.

“Expect FY27 to be worse,” she said, “The potential loss of federal funds has the state worried and that should have all municipal governments worried. We cannot have expenses going up faster than our revenues. That is not sustainable.” She added that the reduction in the municipal budget with the loss of 6.4 positions had nothing to do with the extra money for the schools. That money came from cash reserves and a reduction in capital funding.

Councilors Decry Cuts to CRESS
Council President Lynn Griesemer noted that State Senator Jo Comerford has added funds for the unarmed responder programs in Amherst and Northampton in next year’s state budget proposed by the senate. However, that money needs to be approved by the State House of Representatives and signed by the Governor by the end of June, so it is uncertain whether that additional money will be available. Because of uncertainties in the federal budget, she warned that there may be midyear rescissions in state funding that will affect municipal budgets.

DeAngelis was critical of the proposed town operating budget giving additional money to the elementary schools while reducing the CRESS budget. She stated, “I am having difficulty with the $269,704 being taken from free cash to fund the elementary schools. I have concerns on several levels. The first is the lack of collaborative governing between the Town Council and the School Committee. This money could be used elsewhere. It could be used to help CRESS.” She then told of an incident at the Amherst Survival Center where a police officer came to the center to record a minor accident in the parking lot and caused near panic among the patrons of the center because of the recent ICE raids. “That is why CRESS is incredibly important,” she concluded.

Lord noted that CRESS served 1,806 Amherst residents in the last three months, despite only working 24% of the week. She opposed freezing the responder positions and said, “I really believe we need to increase the CRESS presence. Our neighbors, residents, constituents, all of us need more support, love, and guidance. CRESS also works with the Amherst Police Department and Amherst Fire Department, so it’s not an anti-police thing. It’s another way to support our community.”

Walker also strongly disagreed with the plan to freeze the CRESS positions. She stated, “Freezing the positions is not simply a budgetary decision. It’s a direct blow to the safety and well-being of people in our community who have been historically underserved. We are in the midst of a national crisis. People are afraid to go to work, to school, to the grocery store. There is no concrete plan to restore these positions. We’re talking about freezing these positions indefinitely. Many of us campaigned saying we supported CRESS. We might need to do a little bit of self-reflection in terms of what support actually means.”

Councilor Andy Steinberg worried that cutting police or fire positions to maintain CRESS responders might result in understaffing that would hurt recruitment. He said he wanted a close evaluation of CRESS, and for the town to carefully consider the competing demands of other municipal departments.

Public Comment Strongly in Favor of Restoring CRESS Positions
Several residents spoke passionately of the value of CRESS to many community members, especially with the threats to the immigrant community from federal agents. Martha Hanner and Pat Ononabaku said that many in the immigrant community do not trust the police.

Ash Hartwell, Erica Piedade, and Debora Ferreira noted that CRESS was never adequately funded and despite years of trying, has not been receiving calls from dispatch. Protocols were submitted to the APD for review, but were never forwarded to the town’s legal team and never went into effect. Ferreira stated that the APD was having one position out of 45 frozen, while CRESS was losing two of eight positions. She said she has been asking for months for CRESS to be on the council’s agenda, but it has yet to happen. Piedade observed that alternative responder programs have been effective in other towns for over 10 years, and that the guidelines for CRESS in the 2021 Community Safety Working Group report (see here, here and here) were informed by the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), a nonprofit comprised of law enforcement officials advocating for criminal justice and drug policy reforms. Vince O’Connor asserted that from reading the weekly police activity logs in the  Amherst Bulletin, he believed that nearly half of the police responses could be handled by CRESS, and that CRESS is severely underutilized.

Allegra Clark read from the December 2020 “Resolution Affirming the Town of Amherst’s Commitment to End Structural Racism and Achieve Racial Equity for Black Residents,” which includes the statement: “The Amherst Town Council hereby affirms its commitment to eradicating the effects of systemically racist practices of Town government and Town-affiliated organizations, and will review and revise its policies, procedures, bylaws, values, goals, and missions through an anti-racism lens to foster an unbiased and inclusive environment that is free of discrimination, harassment, and negative stereotyping toward any person or group.” She asked the councilors to reflect on how the cuts to CRESS stack up to the resolution.

Arguments For and Against Using Free Cash for the Elementary Schools
As she had asserted during the Finance Committee meetings, Mandi Jo Hanneke made a motion to remove the $270,000 from free cash that was put in the elementary school budget, which was still short of the amount requested by the School Committee and still resulted in the loss of 8.11 FTE positions. She stated that using free cash for ongoing expenses violated the town’s financial policy, and she was not assured that this would be a one-time allocation to be used as bridge money until the new elementary school opens in September 2026 and the elementary schools are reduced from three buildings to two. She stated that the need for a sixth-grade academy at the middle school might mean even greater cost for the town, and that she has seen no clear plans from the school administration.

Her position received little support from the other councilors. Ana Devlin Gauthier said that free cash is often used for recurring expenses, such as paving of roads. “We cannot punish the children of our schools for the lack of communication from adults,” she said. “I’m a bit astounded at the turn this conversation has taken.” Schoen agreed, saying, “I don’t think certain policies are inviolate. When we need to do something, we do it.” She noted that the School Finance Director will have to start from scratch with a totally new budget for FY27 with two schools rather than three, and there will be a better idea of the staff needed. Griesemer pointed out that the council directed the Town Manager to raise the elementary school budget to 5% for FY26, and he found the money to do so in free cash.

Hanneke was the only councilor who voted for her amendment, which lost 1-12.

Public Comments Take Issue with Finance Committee Report and Letter to School Committee
In addition to its full report, the Finance Committee sent a letter to the School Committee emphasizing that the $270,000 added to the FY26 budget was a one time addition that would not be added to the base for the FY27 budget and that “We hope to work with you as you focus on consolidation and develop a strategic plan for the sixth grade move to the middle school. We hope that such a plan will strive to ensures that our 6th grade students have access to the school’s curriculum without incurring unnecessary administrative costs.”

Amherst School Committee Chair, Jennifer Shiao, speaking as an individual and not speaking for the committee, said, “You want the School Committee to fall in line and not ask for more than the Town Council wants to give. That is not something we can acknowledge or agree to. When FY27 planning comes around, if the school district needs say $30 million in order to provide a basic education to our students, we’re going to ask for $30 million. So, I don’t think this memo is going to accomplish what you want. You can’t memo yourself out of being in a situation next year where you may have to make a difficult decision.” She added, “Working with the School Committee on consolidation and the sixth-grade move to the middle school is not relevant to the memo and is outside of the Town Council’s jurisdiction.”

Simitar sentiments were voiced by Deb Leonard and Maria Kopicki. Leonard objected to the Finance Committee report referring to the School Superintendent as “unforthcoming” regarding future school budgets, when the situation she faces with the change in the elementary school configuration is so complex. Kopicki stated, “It’s pretty rich that you guys are sending another nastygram to the School Committee to tell them how they should conduct their business. There’s a lot of stuff in that letter that is very much not in your land. But, from a purely financial point of view, this is the Town Council that failed miserably to do due diligence and determine whether we have the money for this library project. You let a $50 million project go forward, but you’re going to tell the School Committee how to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars, and you’re not going to fully fund CRESS. Focus on the big picture and the big money.”

Water and Sewer Rates to Rise in July
The council voted unanimously to raise water rates 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’s annual 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).

Councilor Pam Rooney asked if heavy users like businesses and the University and colleges should pay more for water and sewer. Superintendent of Public Works said that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection prefers a tiered system, so the town is embarking on a study in July to make sure that the differential rates are fair. He said that Amherst had a three-tiered system until 2002, but then Town Manager Larry Schaffer eliminated it at the request of UMass.  Amherst farmers currently pay a lower rate.,

Other Budget Measures Pass Easily
The FY26 Capital Improvement budget passed unanimously. The council also unanimously agreed to create a revolving fund for aquatic programs. Aquatics programs are part of the Recreation Department budget, but are self-supporting. The current director wants to expand the offerings, and having a revolving fund would allow the program to apply for grants.

Also approved was the bond appropriation for the year, including  $2.7 million in a one-year bond for the renovation and expansion of the Jones Library. That debt will be paid back this coming year, but the majority of the money for the project will be borrowed in future years.

Schoen Declares She Is Not Running Again for Council
Cathy Schoen announced that she is not planning to run for another term on the Town Council. She has served as a representative from District 1 since the council’s formation in 2018, and has been on the Finance Committee all that time. She has also served as chair of the Joint Capital Planning Committee and the Elementary School Building Committee. She hopes to continue her service to the town as a resident member of the Finance Committee.

She urged residents of District 1 to consider running for the council in November. Nomination papers can be obtained from the Town Clerk beginning July 1.