Opinion: Questions to Ask Candidates for Amherst Town Council
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There are several pressing issues facing Amherst, and if you are a concerned resident but not following local matters as much as you might, here are some questions that I think will clarify where each candidate stands on some of the biggest decision points we are facing. Feel free to ask these at candidate’s forums, house parties, and around town.
1. Amherst’s 40,000 population only includes 13,000 year-round residents, and our public schools are down by half. Do you see this as a problem?
2. Amherst’s taxes are 14th highest in Mass, twice as high as towns with 13,000 year-round residents. Meanwhile, the Town Council is discussing decreasing services. What would you change?
3. How (and how much) should Amherst’s leaders seek more public input?
4. What limits make sense to you, regarding building height, densification, more dorms on campus, student neighborhoods, etc.?
5. Is it good or bad that there’s so much non-local, corporate investment in student housing?
6. One-third of our roads are rated very poor (29%) or poor (4%), and cost $1 million per mile to repair — what is your plan to fix this?
7. It looks like rent control /stabilization might be on the ballot next year. Do you think that would help our affordability challenges?
8. Would you support a pause on building permits until we have responsible zoning?
9. Do you support a “residential exemption” that shifts more of the property tax burden to non-owner-occupied properties, owned by private landlords (as in Somerville, Cambridge, Boston, Brookline, Chelsea, Marlboro, Nantucket, Somerset, Tisbury, Waltham, Watertown, and resort communities)?
10. How should we manage town/gown conflicts of interest (i.e. members on town boards that work for UMass in administration/planning and make town decisions that affect UMass)?
Ira Bryck has lived in Amherst since 1993, ran the Family Business Center for 25 years, hosted the “Western Mass. Business Show” on WHMP for seven years, now coaches business leaders, and is a big fan of Amherst’s downtown.