CRESS funding a source of discontent at Amherst budget forum

Nov. 22, 2021 | Trent Levakis
tlevakis@thereminder.com

AMHERST – A special meeting of the Town Council and Finance Committee took place on Nov. 15 and served as a public forum on the current budget and future plans. While the whole town budget was discussed, public comment stressed to the council and Finance Committee to focus on prioritizing the funding of programs like Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service (CRESS) and a Resident Oversight Board (ROB).

After receiving a presentation on the budget status and future assessments from Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Finance Director Sean Mangano, there were plenty of public comments and concerns for the suggested action for the town’s finances.

The budget concerns on behalf of the town are focused on economic uncertainty, continued expansion of the tax base, and reducing the carbon footprint of the town, according to the presentation. Strategies through the budget will consist of continuing to manage resources frugally, additional funding from grants and nonprofits, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

With so many different projects and programs on the town’s horizon, the priority of the budget will reflect on what is achieved by the town and what is most important in the town’s eyes. Public comment reflected residents’ overwhelming desire for the town to prioritize the social justice initiatives brought to the Town Council from the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG) presentation last month.

Resident Ash Hartwell, a member of the League of Women Voters and the Racial Justice Committee, expressed the importance the town recognize the importance of addressing these issues of racial equity as essential.

The CSWG recommended the formation of the CRESS program to provide skilled, unarmed responders to calls for service that involve mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, trespass, wellness checks, youth, and/or the need for deescalation, and would reduce unwanted contact between the Amherst Police Department (APD) and the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community. This program has been approved and has been under development with the expectation that it will become operational in the spring of 2022.

According to the report from  Town Manager Paul Bockelman, Amherst was one of five communities in the state to be awarded a significant grant to develop equitable approaches to public safety.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Bureau of Community Health and Prevention announced that the town’s application for funding under the Equitable Approaches to Public Safety (EAPS) grant program had been approved and Amherst was selected to receive $449,949 in funding.

This funding will go to support the planning and implementation of the CRESS program with the goal being to provide support in implementing the CRESS program and to provide the related services that will be needed to support residents in recovery.

The town is also in the process of a reorganization plan to create the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), an office dedicated to providing resources to support the town manager in the development of the goals, strategies, and performance measures to meet the town’s work toward equity.

The DEI Office will develop, recommend, and implement a strategic plan that will advance a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture for the town and establish priorities that provide opportunities to build diversity and inclusive practices into the town’s operations. The town has shown they are committed to making efforts in making positive progress for the town, but the budget is an indicator of many of where the towns priorities are.

“You should listen to the recommendations from the CSWG that were brought forward to you and requested to you,” said Zoe Crabtree, an Amherst-Pelham Regional High School student. “It is your responsibility to carry into action. One thing that’s important to reiterate in all times discussing these recommendations is the implementation of them, is that they need to be led by BIPOC folks and the spirit of recommendations is not there if that is not true.”

Ellisha Walker, former CSWG co-chair, CRESS co-chair, and soon-to-be an at-large town councilor, was in virtual attendance of the meeting and expressed concerns that the council was already beginning to put the recommendations they were given in a less prioritized role.

“The charge specifically asked to look at alternative practices than APD, funding of a BIPOC cultural center, creation of a CRESS Department that would be non-police responses to police calls,” Walker said. “It is necessary to establish long term funding budgeting from directly through the town budget. This is a way the town can actively demonstrate their commitment to dismantling white supremacy.”

Walker also expressed her concerns in comparison to other municipal departments such as the Fire Department, who have asked for town funding and attention on staffing needs for multiple years as they currently face a dangerously low level.

“The problem is people like the Fire Department have been asking for funding for years and have gotten nothing. You can’t continue to do the same things and expect different results,” Walker said.

Brianna Owen, also a former co-chair of the CSWG, expressed that a raise in the Police Department budget was unnecessary and that the financials of these soon-to-be implemented programs needed to be handled before moving forward.

“Police reform can go forward without budget limitations. Stipends are critical for ROB and CSSJC (Community Safety and Social Justice Committee). Stipends can encourage community engagement,” Owen said.  

Most of the public commenting in the forum were focused on the implementation and focus from the town on these programs with some residents hoping these social justice causes are not left on the back burner.

Council member and Chair of the Finance Committee Andrew Steingberg did reiterate that the next step after the public forum is developing council guidelines and council studies of the budget leading to their presentation to the town manager in May 2022. This is just the beginning of the process for creating the budget for next fiscal year.

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