Gazette, Bulletin to host override forum
AMHERST - Voters here are on the cusp of deciding the fate of a $1.68 million override at the March 23 town elections.
Proponents say the override will preserve essential town, school and library operations; opponents believe that town government is already rife with waste, and that now is the time for belt tightening. The override would add about $264 to the annual tax bill for a resident who owns a $334,600 home.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Amherst Bulletin will help voters sort it all out, with an override forum slated for Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Town Room at Town Hall.
The forum is open to the public, and two panelists will field questions from the audience and from public at large via email and mail.
The panelists are Andy Churchill, override advocate and outgoing Amherst School Committee member, and Stan Gawle, override opponent and spokesman for Amherst Taxpayers for Responsible Change.
The event will be broadcast live on ACTV channel 17, and streamed live on actvamherst.com. A Webcast will be available on Wednesday at the ACTV Web site, and the event will be covered in the print edition of the Daily Hampshire Gazette and on GazetteNET.com.
The forum will be moderated by Gazette/Bulletin staff, and all questions from the public will be directed to the panelists by a moderator.
Questions for the panelists may be brought to the forum or emailed in advance. Send questions to noah@gazettenet.com, or call Bulletin editor Noah Hoffenberg at 585-5254 for more information.
Comments
Responsible Citizens for an Underride
We should be thanking them.
In 2007, Amherst voters defeated the proposed override, setting off $7 million in cuts to annual, recurring expenses and changing forever how Amherst gets its work done. We are the better for it and they should be proud for what they accomplished.
The town is in better fiscal shape than it has ever been. Everyone agrees on that.
Imagine where we would be now if we hadn't made the cuts when we did? They saved all of our asses at a time when no one wanted to face the truth. Kicking and screaming all the way. They were right.
Painful, yes, but necessary. And needed.
And just in time.
They did it.
Of course, no one is going to thank you for it, but...
Thank you.
Now what?
Only Town Meeting can pass an "underride". Next year, when the results start to show, you can propose an underride. No one will stop you.
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