AMHERST — A Fire Department staffing study that is not yet complete raised concerns from Town Meeting members about whether medical and fire calls can be adequately handled.

David Clooney, a firefighter who represents Precinct 3, told the first session of annual Town Meeting Wednesday that the town may need to act before the study is done because the department can be caught shorthanded when three ambulances are out.

“I don’t think we can afford to wait a lot longer to have that complete before we start addressing the problem,” Clooney said,

Though Town Meeting approved $10.36 million for public safety, part of Town Manager Paul Bockelman’s $22.97 million town budget proposal, Marla Jamate of Precinct 7 said the body should consider adding funds to the public safety budget to provide a temporary increase in staffing until the analysis is complete.

Bockelman said data-driven analysis needs to be finished first. “I understand the frustration everyone is feeling,” he said, adding that firefighters are tired of waiting for a plan.

Fire Chief Walter “Tim” Nelson said the demand on his department’s services remains high, even when the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College and Hampshire College are not in session.

“You cannot blame those three schools for all the world’s ills; you can’t blame them for the call volume,” he said.

Nelson said it wasn’t the appropriate time to add funding for new staff.

In addition to public safety spending, Town Meeting approved $7.07 million for general government, which includes Town Hall operations, $2.33 million for the Department of Public Works and $1.42 million for the conservation and development departments.

Bockelman said his budget proposal continues a tradition of “pragmatic, progressive financial management” by previous town managers that invests in employees, maintains high-quality services and promotes fiscal and environmental sustainability, noting that the only new employee will be a procurement officer shared by the town and schools.

Mary Wentworth of Precinct 5 said Amherst officials need to work with the colleges and UMass to get more payments in lieu of taxes and other financial contributions.

“We are always in discussions,” Bockelman said, noting that the town gets a $120,000 gift from Amherst College each year “which is small, in my opinion.”

UMass provides $48,000 that allows for increasing firefighter staffing and $420,000 to the ambulance service, while Hampshire College provides no donation.

“It’s not enough, I agree with you, and we’re always working to get more,” Bockelman said.

Town Meeting unanimously approved a modified assessment formula for the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District that is based 10 percent on wealth, calculated based on taxable property values and income, and 90 percent on a five-year rolling average of enrollment. Before the budget for the regional schools can be approved, each of the four towns, including Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett, must also approve this new method.

Several articles, and sections of articles, were moved to specific dates for consideration by Town Meeting. These include taking up a new local historic district for the neighborhoods around Lincoln and Sunset avenues at 7:05 p.m. Monday, the Jones Library services budget at 7:10 p.m. Monday, the regional and elementary budgets at 7:05 p.m. on May 3 and authorization to move forward with the project to expand and renovate the Jones Library at 7:05 p.m. May 10.

Town Meeting resumes at 7 p.m. Thursday at the middle school auditorium.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

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