Letter: Some Recommendations for Review of the CRESS Budget

The following letter was sent to the Amherst Finance Committee on April 15, 2026.

Town support for CRESS (Community Responders for Equity Safety and Service) has faltered since inception, even as CRESS’s role has expanded. CRESS has become a critical resource for residents who face challenges of insecurity,    disability, mental health, housing, poverty and resources.

It is critically important to understand the role of trained CRESS responders in de-escalation and the prevention of crisis, as an alternative to armed police officers.

To ensure the full effectiveness of CRESS as an independent town safety department, the Town Council needs to become better informed and more engaged in understanding and clarifying CRESS’s potential roles and the required support.

I strongly recommend that the council schedule a public, comprehensive review of the CRESS program as soon as possible, so that a clear picture of CRESS activities can be presented by the CRESS Director and council members can receive answers to their concerns. Ideally, this presentation should take place prior to the budget review.

Budget
For their safety department review, the Finance Committee needs to consider: Does CRESS have the resources to carry out its role?  Within the town’s budget constraints, are there some steps that can be taken to help support CRESS in the coming year? 

A few suggestions:

1. Can increased referral of calls to CRESS reduce APD overtime, thereby saving tax-payer dollars?
   
2. If the Senior Center or the Health Department requests CRESS Responder aid for certain tasks,  such as driving the Senior Center van or assisting with vaccine clinics, why not pay for those specific hours out of the Senior Center or Health Deptartment budgets? (see e.g. p. 34, League of Women Voters 10/24 Progress Report on CSWG Recommendations)
   
3. If the town requests CRESS assistance for a weekend event, or college student crowd control, shouldn’t the town pay the overtime cost for the responders?
   
4. Grants awarded to CRESS often do not release the funds until well into the FY, causing a delay in hiring someone to carry out the project.  Can the Finance Committee allocate specific funds from free cash to cover 3-4 months of salary in order to get the work underway?   Current example:  Dan Garcia, who has extensive, helpful experience, is funded by a grant that ends in June. He would be very valuable for program planning, data analysis, and publicity if he could be paid until new grant money arrives, rather than being laid off on June 30.
   
5. Overtime pay: While APD has a large overtime budget, CRESS has practically none. Can overtime be allocated to CRESS for the coming year to provide additional service time for the limited responder staff?
   
6. Can Town Council members provide aid in seeking grant sources?

 Data
Does the Finance Committee have the data on CRESS activities that they need to evaluate CRESS’s effectiveness?  Finance Committee members should review the CRESS monthly bulletins and specify exactly what data they would like to see. For example, the category of  “Transportation”  covers a broad range of activities.. Note the  “Call Corner” in the latest   monthly bulletin illustrates an important use of transportation relevant to policing assistance.

Dispatch Calls
Although agreement was finally reached to permit Dispatch to forward appropriate non-violent calls to CRESS, the number of forwarded calls so far is very small, scarcely half a dozen per month. The Town Manager’s monthly report to the Council should include the number of  Dispatch calls to CRESS, their nature, and their resolution. Town Council should play an    active role in encouraging the expansion of  Dispatch referrals.

Hours of Availability

  “You have to have your crisis between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m if you want (non-armed) help in Amherst”

Are Town Council members comfortable with that statement?  How does the Town Manager plan to address the fact that CRESS hours do not correspond to the hours of highest police activity? (Reference: Town Manager 2026 goals)  How can the hours be extended with only three pairs of responders?

Martha Hanner

Martha Hanner is a resident of Amherst