Your basic point is good, cbrown. There are more creative solutions to the town's budget problem than an override and Amherst has not done enough to pursue new sources of income.

However, your comparisons to the other college towns listed aren't really valid. Almost all are larger than Amherst; some are major cities. The few that are as small as Amherst (Wellesley and Princeton) benefit from being part of large metropolitan areas (Boston and Philadelphia, respectively) where they can draw on the resources and population necessary for successful start-up companies.

You also miss the point when you imply that the hiking trails and bird-watching woods are prohibiting the location of tax-generating business. They're not. And it is precisely these trails and woods that contribute to the quality of life people value. We're not short on land and we can have our hiking trails and encourage smart business development.

The ultimate problem is a town government that is completely devoid of creative thinking, unwilling to think of new solutions, and a town manager with the IQ of a paper clip. Until this changes, my vote is NO on the override.

Despite repeated pleas, the town continues to think SMALL when it comes to business outside tax-exempt education: Minimum wage retailers, auto repair shops, pizza restaurants, student apartments, etc., despite an industry dedicated to knowledge-economy education. There remains NO commitment in Amherst to the graduates of the five colleges. The schools and colleges themselves are stagnant employers and their attitude toward students is: "Let them leave after senior year. We don't need them (or their creativity and tax support)." This assuming students even graduate, given the alarming dropout rate at UMass, decade after decade.

Contrast this with vibrant college towns that attract tax-paying Fortune 100 companies to their doorstep to employ their graduates. There are no overrides in Wellesley, Boston, Palo Alto and Princeton; Charlottesville, Chapel Hill and Austin. In Ann Arbor, UMichigan bought a shuttered Pfizer research facility in 2008 and today has moved in hundreds of research enterprises and outside startup incubator companies. HUNDREDS! Some of these startups may become the next Intel or HP, and they all pay taxes. For what it's worth, with more businesses come better funded schools, since that seems to be Amherst's fixation.

Sadly, your schools are destined to struggle. Name one tax-paying worldclass company or even startup in Amherst or its environs. By contrast, every town above mentioned has dozens. The town also missed the Internet startup revolution, the green/alt energy revolution, and seemingly the industrial revolution. Economically Amherst remains a taxable-business backwater, and the isolation of an undiverse workforce hurts the educational experience of both students and faculty.

Amherst seems unserious about diversifing its economy despite available intellectual capital, lots of land (tied up by colleges in hiking trails and bird-watching woods), and a central NE location with lower cost housing than nearby urban areas. This is a recipe for growing property tax burdens, fiscal unsustainability, and ultimately, a less competitive and less desirable place to live and work. No wonder Amtrack is moving to NoHo.

Contemplating cutting funding for the little Jones Library, or maybe raising fees again for sports teams and art club? Shame on you Amherst. Is this really the best, economically, you can do? Or is competing for tax-paying knowledge economy businesses in America out of your enormous comfort zone?

Override is another word for economic and budgeting failure. Face it. You need to think outside the override box and start attracting more tax revenues. Even Hadley has malls ... .

Just because a developer files a subdivision plan does not mean anything will be built.
It is away around the proposed law. The economy over the next few years probably means slow if any growth.
Though I hope the developers in Easthampton step up to help the area overcome the lack of retail opportunities in the region :) You can hardly shop for anyhting around here

...but I did campaign and vote for last year's override in Northampton. I couldn't let this very relevant question about New Hampshire go unanswered. To answer your question, the way New Hampshire pays for just about everything is through relatively high property taxes. According to this NY Times table from 2007, Massachusetts' average tax rate is 1.07, compared to New Hampshire's 2.21. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/11leonhardt-avgproptaxrates.h...

So there's your answer. There are no free rides, and we as citizens must take responsibility for our communities' children's education and our cities' and towns' safety and services. I'm proud of Northampton for the choice we made last year.

Enough is enough. Amherst needs to learn how to live within its budget. You need to end the excessive benefits town employees get. There are no private sector employees who get defined benefit pensions anymore. Those went away 10 years ago. That benefit for the town employees is what is killing the tax payer in Amherst. Outsource as much of the towns work to lower cost countries like India and the Phillipines. That would save a huge amount for the taxpayer. Learn from private companies how to run a rational organization. Government always does things the least efficient way because they know they can increase taxes for ever and ever. Its time the eggheads who control Amherst wake up and start doing things the right way. Become more business friendly like Hadley is. Outsource and regionalize to cut expenses. Reduce excessive municipal employee benefits like defined benefit pensions and retiree healthcare. Start there and you could actually lower the taxes for the average person in Amherst. Also - lets not forget that high property taxes makes Amherst unaffordable. Unaffordable for people of limited means like many people of color and working clases. But then again - maybe thats what the override is all about. Keeping Amherst white and middle class.

What kind of a idiotic position is this? Madison Avenue doesn't generate my desire for a flat screen TV! I generate that. How delusional can some people be. I am not a sheep being told what to do. Maybe you are. I already pay about $125 a week to the town of Amherst. Thats more than what I spend on food, clothing and utilities. When will the demand for more of my money from over benefitted municipal workers stop??? No Override. Keep Amherst affordable for all types of people and classes and races please. Lets not forget - Modern redlining is done through high property taxes.

One more thing - go to New Hampshire where they have not sales tax or income tax. I don't see any potholes in the roads. How do they manage?

Other departments have taken 0% for cost of living. It seems teachers are always the last to hold out (ie: Sunderland), then they bring the children into it. The only reason teachers mention the children is to pull at the heart strings of the community when it comes to getting their $$$. The Town has a certain amount of money, make due, or come up with your own solution. If the teachers want to save their own, then take smaller raises and keep more teachers, if not I you can thank your co-workers when you loose your job.