If Alice Carlozzi were Chair of the Select Board, my decision would be easy.
Ms. Carlozzi knows as much as anyone about Amherst’s financial situation, cares as much as anyone about the community, does her best to be fair, and has no political ax to grind. Fortunately for us, she is Chair of the Finance Committee. Unfortunately, she is not on the Select Board, the School Committee, or the Trustees of the Library, and many Town Meeting members seem suspicious of our Finance Committee. The Finance Committee months ago came up with a plan that includes a very large override this year, commitment to no more requests for overrides for three years ,and keeping budget increases to 3% next year and no more than 5.5% for the following three years. It also calls for a vigorous pursuit of other sources of revenue for Amherst, including payments from the various campuses for the services they use (and have taken for granted) and a serious effort for economic development.
I want to believe in this plan. Every fiber of my former-town-official body wants to keep as many of our services and employees as we possibly can. Since I don’t have any children, I’ve never benefited directly from the schools, but I know that the school system is why a lot of people live here. I have enjoyed Leisure Services courses and the pools, I garden in a garden plot and hike on trails managed by the Conservation Department, and count on such departments as Conservation and Planning to keep Amherst a great place to live. I enjoy the Jones Library, and serve on the committee that selects artists for its Burnett Gallery. I strongly support our Police and Fire Departments, on which I depend for my safety; in fact, I think those departments are the last places we should cut. Maybe some day I’ll have time to enjoy some of the services offered by our Senior Center (if I still live here).
And that’s the point, isn’t it. I have no doubt that there are people in town for whom a tax increase this year of about $555 ($150 allowed without an override, plus the $405 if the override passes) is too much; and will either force them or encourage them to sell and move somewhere else.
For me it’s not that dire – yet. As a condo owner, I’ve seen the value of my property increase at a ridiculous rate, but it’s still less than the median for a house. If the overrides passes, my share of increased taxes will total about $263. That’s still a lot for me. And given that I’m hoping to live for another 15 or 20 years, not an encouraging trend.
Especially since my condo fees inexorably rise as well. I’m on my condo board, which tends to make me more sympathetic to the town’s problems, because we regularly find we have to raise our fees to cover carpentry, painting, roofs, paving, removing dangerous large trees, mowing lawns, disposing of trash, recycling, plowing snow, and lighting our sidewalks and road, as well as managing all this.
Over the years my monthly condo fees and my real estate are about the same. In December, my condo fees were $169 per month, and my taxes were $168. My fees are now $177 and my taxes will be about $174 or $190. You could say the taxes are a bargain, compared to the fees. On the other hand, about 2/3 of my taxes go to services I don’t directly use.
So, is it worth it to me? Will the services I value be destroyed if the override doesn’t pass? Who has the better claim on my empathy: people who want (and benefit from) the services or people who don’t use most of them and can’t pay for them?
If we don’t pass an override this year, won’t we be back next year with the same-old, same-old – but without a plan? I know I’m against continuing to do things the way we have been, so I’m looking for leadership in a new direction. The Amherst plan offers that – if our “leaders” join up and Town Meeting can be persuaded to agree. If I truly believed the people governing the town were fully committed to the Amherst plan, I’d vote “yes.” As it is, I’m still undecided.