Town Council Condemns Killing of Renee Good by ICE. Plans to Discuss Proposed Charter Revisions on February 9

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, January 12, 2026

This was a hybrid meeting held at Town Hall and was recorded.

Present
Mandi Jo Hanneke (President, at large), Jill Brevik and Cathy Schoen (District 1), Amber Cano- Martin and Lynn Griesemer (District 2), Hala Lord and George Ryan (District 3), Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub (District 4), Ana Devlin Gauthier and Sam MacLeod (District 5), and Andy Churchill and Ellisha Walker (at large)

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

Statement Condemning the Killing of Renee Good by ICE
The meeting opened with Walker reading a statement on behalf of the President and Vice President of the Council acknowledging the recent killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis during an encounter with federal immigration enforcement officers. The statement read:

The loss of life under any circumstance is deeply troubling, and our thoughts are with Ms. Good’s family, loved ones and community. 

As local elected officials, we believe strongly that every person deserves dignity, safety, and due process. Incidents that result in the loss of civilian life call for transparency, accountability, and a careful examination of how public authority is exercised. While this incident did not occur in Amherst, it resonates here. Amherst is home to immigrants, mixed-status families, students, workers, and neighbors from around the world.

Many members of our community are paying close attention to events like this, and some may be experiencing fear or uncertainty as a result. Our role as a town council is not to adjudicate federal policy, but to affirm the values that guide our local governance, care for one another, respect for human life, and a commitment to community safety rooted in trust. 

We want to be clear that Amherst remains committed to being a welcoming community. We encourage residents to support one another, to seek reliable information, and to engage in dialogue with empathy and respect. We will continue to work with town staff, community partners, and regional leaders to ensure that all residents feel safe in accessing town services and participating fully in civic life. This commitment is fundamental to who we are as a community.

Work Session to Discuss Recommendations of Charter Review Committee Scheduled for February 9
The Charter Review Committee completed 18 months of work and submitted its final report last week. The report contained 22 recommendations for revisions to the Town Charter, as well as a section entitled “Beyond the Charter”, which contains other issues for improving town government to be considered, but not within the scope of the committee’s charge. The council must vote on the 22 recommendations within 90 days. Therefore, Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke proposed a work session for February 9 to discuss the recommendations that her fellow councilors felt most needed more discussion. These were items 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 17, 18, 21, and 22. 

Ellisha Walker did not want to limit the work session to the 22 recommendations in the report, but rather suggested that the discussion be extended to the “Beyond the Charter” section, as well as the recommendations put forth by the League of Women Voters of Amherst in their 2024 review of the charter and other public input received by the Charter Review Committee. She felt that there might be other revisions to the charter that councilors may want to prioritize outside of the 22 in the final report. 

Although some councilors liked the idea of broadening the discussion so that items not contained in the report but still deemed worth considering by the council could be referred to committees or dealt with at a later time, Walker’s proposal was slammed by Ana Devlin Gauthier. She said, “I am concerned that we are attempting to reduce the work of a committee that worked for a year and a half on this, that we are redoing the work of that committee who followed a clear process, who spent a lot of time establishing that process to get community feedback, to read and seriously consider that League of Women Voters report. [Walker’s] motion tips the scales in favor of those who have the systemic knowledge of navigating local government systems so that they’re watching our meetings. They know how to give feedback on the Charter, and they’re able to give us that input to have their preferences weighted alongside the final report. I’m struggling to see why we don’t trust a committee that we approved to do this work.”  Lynn Griesemer agreed with Devlin Gauthier, and Hanneke noted that councilors could introduce suggestions for other charter changes at any time, but that there was a time limit to approving the 22 changes in the report.

A compromise was reached when Councilor Pam Rooney suggested that the items in “Beyond the Charter” only be discussed for future consideration or referral to committees. This change was supported by Griesemer and by Andy Churchill, who served on the Charter Review Committee. Churchill said, “This meeting will help us to address the various buckets, in particular the 22 recommendations and the Beyond the Charter and figure out how those are going to get divvied up down the road.” He also suggested asking the Collins Center, the organization that advised the Charter Review Committee, to attend the work session along with Town Counsel K-P Law, and thought they might not ask for further compensation beyond their original contract for that consultation. 

The amended motion passed unanimously, but George Ryan expressed misgivings. “I personally think that we’re biting off way more than we can chew, but I can live with this,” he said. 

The recommendations slated for priority consideration in the work session are:

4. Establish term limits for Council leadership: a maximum of four consecutive one-year terms for President and for Vice President. 

5. Allow non-management town staff to serve on the Town Council. 

6. Clarify the number of votes required to pass a measure.

8. In hybrid or remote meetings, announce the number of participants and ensure that public speakers can be visible. 

9. Allow resident representatives on all Council committees with a voice (no vote).

13. Require at least three Councilors to vote to postpone a Town Council vote.

17. Add an earlier public forum on the budget; move the second public forum on the budget to a slightly earlier date. 

18. Have School, Municipal, and Library draft budgets publicly available by April 1.

21. Add a “Public Dialogue” option for the Town Council, School Committee, and Library Trustees. 

22. Extend the voter veto (referendum) signature period from 14 to 21 days.

The Beyond the Charter section of the report included topics such as establishing a mayor/council form of government, returning to a representative Town Meeting, reducing the size of the council, staggering councilor terms, a review of town committees, electing rather than appointing Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals members, and moving town elections to the spring to allow for three-year terms. There were also several recommendations for improving public input.

Hanneke proposed that some of these items be referred to the Governance, Organization, and Legislation Committee, others to the Town Services and Outreach Committee, to the Finance Committee, and to the Town Manager. She will make a formal motion to that effect after the working session.

Council Committee Assignments for 2026
Hanneke announced the composition of the three council committees.

Community Resources Committee
Andy Churchill
Mandi Jo Hanneke
Pam Rooney
Jennifer Taub
Ellisha Walker

Finance Committee
Jill Brevik
Ana Devlin Gauthier
Lynn Griesemer
Sam MacLeod
Cathy Schoen

Governance, Organization, and Legislation Committee
Amber Cano-Martin
Ana Devlin Gauthier
Lynn Gresemer
Hala Lord
George Ryan

Town Services and Outreach Committee
Andy Churchill
Hala Lord
Pam Rooney
George Ryan
Jennifer Taub

The Council also authorized Hanneke and Cano-Martin to speak for the town at Four Towns meetings, when the regional school budget is discussed. Schoen was chosen to represent Amherst at the Regional Schools Fiscal Sustainability Subcommittee meetings, with Devlin Gauthier serving as an alternate. 

Cano-Martin and Hanneke will represent the council on the Budget Coordinating Group, and Schoen, Churchill, and Brevik will serve on the Joint Capital Planning Committee. MacLeod and Ryan were nominated to be the council representatives on the Transportation and Parking Commission. 

Proclamations for MLK Day and Black History Month
As part of the Consent Agenda, the Council unanimously proclaimed Monday, January 19 “to honor the life, legacy, and enduring vision of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and the ideas of justice, equity, and dignity for which he stood.” The proclamation concluded: “BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED, that the Town of Amherst reaffirms its commitment to advancing justice, equity, and service, and to continuing the work necessary so that all people may live into Dr. King’s vision of a Beloved Community.”

The month of February was proclaimed to be Black History Month. Residents are invited to a ceremony with the raising of the Black History Month flag on Monday, February 2 on the front steps of Town Hall prior to the regularly scheduled Town Council meeting “and to honor this observance through reflection, education, and community engagement.”

The meeting was adjourned at 9:42 p.m. The next Town Council meeting is scheduled for February 2.