Greeney and Rhodes for the board

BY STANLEY F. GAWLE, AMHERST TAXPAYERS FOR RESPONSIBLE CHANGE

Published on March 28, 2008

Before last year's $2.5 million override vote was held, dire predictions were made about the pain and service cuts that would occur if the override didn't pass. The schools convinced many parents that there would be further teacher lay-offs, increases in class sizes and mandatory study halls. Town officials added that five firefighters and two police officers would be laid off.

When the $2.5 million override was defeated, there wasn't a single further lay-off after the new fiscal year began on July 1, 2007. The schools received an additional $238,760 from Town Meeting and reported a million dollar surplus in September.

Last fall a $1.9 million budget gap was projected for the fiscal year which begins on July 1, 2008. Thanks to the residents who attended the "budget choices meeting," and said no to another override, the town and schools have currently reduced that amount to $650,000. Plans are now being developed to fill this gap with different pots of money that the town already has available rather than request an override.

The structural deficit that the town faces is directly related to employee raises and health insurance increases. Town employees to date have not been willing to reduce their raises. I estimate that Amherst employees will again receive at or near a 5 percent salary increase next year. On the other hand, Social Security retirees are receiving a 2.3 percent increase and state retirees receive only $360 per year.

Given the importance of reducing the rate of spending in our budget, the Amherst Taxpayers For Responsible Change recently sent out a questionnaire to all five Select Board candidates. The completed questionnaires are available online at http://people.umass.edu/chumbley.

Some of the questions and answers are as follows:

Given our structural deficit, are you in favor of the town exploring privatizing of some additional town functions? Greeney, Rhodes, Keenan and O'Keeffe responded "yes." Stein responded "no."

Do you favor reducing future employee compensation rates of growth? Keenan, Rhodes and Greeney responded "yes." Stein and O'Keeffe responded "no."

Do you believe that Amherst taxpayers should subsidize ambulance services to other towns and institutions? Greeney, Rhodes and Keenan responded "no." Stein said, "This is too complex an issue to answer yes or no" and O'Keeffe said, "I don't consider this to be a yes or no question."

Fiscal times have changed for the worse in Amherst. Town reserves have been reduced over the past eight years because the town has been unable to set funding priorities. Year after year, Amherst faces $1 million dollar-plus deficits with no end in sight.

What type of candidate do I believe would best deal with this fiscal crisis?

One that will work to end ambulance subsidies that have cost Amherst taxpayers $2.7 million over the past four years.

One that will provide funding for only essential services such as police and fire, education, highways and libraries with the available tax money.

One that asks town employees to limit raises before asking the taxpayers to pay more.

One that is not intimidated by those whose answer to the fiscal crisis is to spend more tax money.

One that has a core belief that the town, like a family, has to live within its budget.

We are fortunate to have two candidates that will move Amherst toward fiscal recovery.

Hwei-Ling Greeney has worked tirelessly to keep Amherst affordable for all families. She has provided leadership in the areas of improving town efficiency and our environment. She asks the hard questions and follows through. She has earned another term.

Irv Rhodes is a Town Meeting member and has served on the Finance Committee. He has substantial executive experience in the private sector. He supports more economic development to broaden the tax base to keep Amherst affordable. He will make a difference.

They need your votes on April 1.