Category Archives: Town Meeting
Join Town Meeting!
Support our schools by joining Town Meeting! Join in with a great group of neighbors and help make our town better. All 240 Town Meeting seats are up for election this year (due to redistricting). This is the time for … Continue reading
Filed under Town Meeting
Village Center Rezoning
This week Town Meeting will be discussion and hopefully passing Article 17 – Village Center rezoning. Here are our views on this important legislation. The problem is sprawl: unplanned, uncontrolled development that spreads out into areas outside of town and … Continue reading
Filed under Economic Development, Town Meeting
We’re All NIMBYs
The “solar farm” proposed for the old landfill next to Amherst Woods is generating fierce opposition from some neighbors. And discussion about developing a “Gateway” corridor — a residential-retail project — connecting UMass and downtown has faced vocal objections from … Continue reading
Filed under Economic Development, Town Meeting
Congratulations!
Congrats to all our neighbors who ran for Town Meeting and other offices! You can find the preliminary results here. The slate of candidates that Sustainable Amherst endorsed did exceedingly well. Town Meeting starts on May 2nd and we’ll be … Continue reading
Filed under Elections, Town Meeting
Energy, Passion, Commitment
Brian Morton’s 13 years of service on the Finance Committee were celebrated at a reception at Town Hall last week. His is a compelling story of volunteer service to the town, both on its own and as it represents the … Continue reading
Filed under Finances, Quality of Life, Town Administration, Town Meeting
Back to the Future
If you have had a teenager or been one at any time since 1985, you probably know the movie, “Back to the Future,” in which a young Michael J. Fox travels back in time in a souped-up DeLorean sports car. … Continue reading
Filed under Economic Development, Master Plan, Town Meeting
Fiscally Sustainable Leadership
On March 31st, we will head down to the local precinct and toss a ballot in the box for our local leadership. If you’re like us, you’ve been talking with your friends and neighbors about the various candidates. But you … Continue reading
Filed under Elections, Town Meeting
Budget Techniques
Last week the town manager released his FY2010 budget for municipal services. But when he reviewed it with the Select Board (his boss), members raised some good questions. The questions weren’t just about the cuts he made but about the … Continue reading
Filed under Finances, Town Administration, Town Meeting
Cognitive Dissonance
It’s that time of year again. Time for Town Meeting, which means time for approving our town budget, which means time for hand-wringing. This year’s installment of our budgetary passion play has time-honored plotlines as well as some new ones … Continue reading
Filed under Economic Development, Town Meeting
Choices for Fiscal Sustainability
Our town election is on April Fools Day this year. Will the joke be on us? Seriously, this feels like a tipping point for our town. For too long, the Select Board has been divided, distracted and ineffective as the … Continue reading
Filed under Elections, Town Meeting
