Public Requests Shift In Funding From Police To Community Response Program

Report on the Public Hearing on the FY22 budget held via Zoom on Monday, May 17. A recording can be viewed here.

Present
Councilors: Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Alisa Brewer, Mandi Jo Hanneke, and Andy Steinberg (At large), Cathy Schoen and Sarah Swartz (District 1), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), George Ryan and Dorothy Pam (District 3), Evan Ross and Steve Schreiber (District 4), Shalini Bahl-Milne (District 5)
Absent: Darcy DuMont (District 5)
Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager), Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of the Council), Sean Mangano (Finance Director), Sonia Aldrich (Comptroller)
Non-voting members of the Finance Committee: Bernie Kubiak, Bob Hegner, Jane Sheffler

The Public Hearing began with a presentation by Finance Committee Chair Andy Steinberg, Town Manager Paul Bockelman, and Finance Director Sean Mangano on the FY 22 budget ,which includes a 2.1 percent increase in funding across the board. There is an increase in the capital fund from five percent to 8.5 percent over the past year. The budget is labeled “ Year of Recovery” because it has restored many of the cuts instituted last year and predicts an increase in much of the revenue from businesses and enterprise funds. More state and federal aid is also anticipated. The public is invited to get more information, ask questions, and give feedback at the Engage Amherst website.

The Regional School budget was adopted at the May 3 meeting of the Council.  It needs to be approved by the other three towns in the regional school district. It is not included in this budget.

Public Hearing

Of the 103 members of the public attending the Zoom meeting, 44 spoke. All advocated for a 45 percent reduction in the Amherst Police Department (APD) budget and/or allocating $2.4 million for the programs recommended by the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG), and/or restoration of $365,000 in proposed cuts for arts and ELL (English Language Learning) programs at the elementary schools. 

The CSWG will present the results of their research and recommendations to the Council on May 24 and to the Finance Committee on May 27.

Below are excerpts from the public comments. These are presented roughly in the order they were given except for the comments from four secondary school students, which are presented at the end. Because the public hearing lasted over two hours, instead of the 30 minutes scheduled, many agenda items for the subsequent Town Council meeting (link forthcoming)  were moved to the May 24 meeting.

Timmy Sullivan (District 2) asked why police salaries in Amherst are more than 80 percent higher than the state average. He noted that when he lived in North Amherst, he rarely saw police cars, but now he lives at Colonial Village and cannot go for a walk without seeing several.

Pat Rector (District 4) described the amount of money devoted to human services as “paltry” compared to what is spent on police. She felt we should invest in social services now to avoid increased spending later. 

Hasini Jayawardena echoed previous sentiments on fully funding the Community Responder for Equity, Safety, and Service (CRESS) program recommended by the CSWG. She, too,  saw an increase in policing when she moved to Colonial Village from elsewhere in town. Her partner is a man of color who has been “fully policed all his life” and has had guns pulled on him.The worldwide movement to change policing also applies to Amherst, she said.

Mattea Kramer (District 1) said she has been involved in researching the Black community in town from slavery to the present. It is no accident that Amherst is a “community of white power,” she said. She called attention to the Town Council Resolution to end Structural Racism of Dec 7,2020 and asked the Council to act on it.

James Cordero (District 2) also supported fully funding the CSWG requests and restoring funding to school. He said that when we spend on the disadvantaged, it benefits everyone.

Zoe Crabtree (District 5) took issue with the Council’s reasons for not taking action earlier — that this is a national issue, not a local one, that there were no local data, and no alternatives to policing. She said the CSWG has worked hard to counteract these points. She noted that although the Town Council is not allowed to add money to the budget, it can fund a one-month budget to give the Town Manager time to look into the findings of the CSWG and fund their requests. Ensuring the public safety of all Amherst residents should be of high importance, she said.

Lev Ben Ezra (Director of the Amherst Survival Center, who lives in Greenfield) spoke forcefully in favor of fully funding the CRESS program. She said the Survival Center serves many from the BIPOC community, including those with mental health issues, the homeless, and those with undocumented status. She has longed for someone to call when backup has been needed at the Center. Even when the police respond with professionalism, they can be intimidating to clients, she said. 

Isabella Hann (District 2) said funding the police does not keep the community safe. The police keep part of the community safe, but Town Council must represent everyone in town.

Lynnette Arnold (District 4) echoed the above sentiments. She also said that, as a parent, she was stunned by the difference between teacher salaries and police salaries.

Barkha Bhandari(District 2) stated she does not believe the police keep her or the community safe. She said the discomfort they have brought to her and her family cannot justify the amount of budget spent on policing. Plus, she alleged that the police spend a lot each day on gas for the police cars, which does not align with climate justice goals of the Town. She said we need a society where everyone can flourish.

Robin Siddell (of Sunderland who moved from District 4 in December) cited her experience with the police growing up in West Philadelphia. She said we need more mental health experts and should not leave things up to armed police. She also asked for a fully-funded CRESS program.

Katie Koerten, who has been an educator in Amherst for 10 years and sends her child to school in Amherst, but lives in Belchertown, said that this year’s budget is labeled a “ Year of Recovery,” and asked, “What better way of recovering, than by fully funding this CSWG program?”

Curry Kautz (District 2) said the police budget should be cut by 45 percent. They were disgusted by the small funding given to the CRESS program. They know how much effort went into CSWG recommendations, but they will not succeed with six percent funding. The Town is setting up the program to fail.

Adam Gibbs (District 4, Amherst College student) agreed with previous speakers. He said many Amherst Police Department duties could be performed by non-police. As a person who grew up in a low-income household, he said, he knows how police actions, such as giving someone a  for a blown tail light, can harm a household budget for weeks. Social programs will do more for the community than the police ever will, he said.

Ryan Karb offered a personal story on how traumatizing interacting with the police can be. Eleven years ago, he said, a friend committed suicide in his house. He called the police and they came, but then they took him to the police station, telling him that they don’t recognize suicide, and so he was treated as a suspect. He said the police were doing their job, but that he was traumatized nonetheless.

Lydia Irons said that the Town Manager said that 9-1-1 calls have fallen off by half in the last year. The Defund 413 group was told last year that the Town didn’t want to defund the police without an alternative. Now we have an alternative, she said. Nevertheless, it is only funded at 6 percent. She said she has sat in on many of these meetings and felt ignored and disrespected. Over this past year, she said, only 8 percent of the calls to the Amherst Police Department could in any way be considered to have had the potential for violence, yet there is a $30,000 increase in the police budget for FY 22. 

Kathleen Traphagen said she is happy with the Town’s plans to commemorate Juneteenth, but the budget reveals how the Town feels about racial equity. Despite the extensive work of the CSWG and the 7 Generations Movement Collective, their recommendations are only funded at 6 percent. We are on the verge of ignoring people of color again, she said. If we believe stories told to the interviewers in the 7 Generations report, this is a chance to make a difference.

Allegra Clarke (District 2) agreed with the above sentiments, and pointed to the other programs recommended by the CSWG in addition to the CRESS program. The committee also advocated for a youth program, a BiPOC cultural center, and a Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Town government. These other programs should be built to deal with situations when there is not a crisis, she said.

Bailey Battie (District 4) said the $130,000 allocated to the CRESS program in the budget is insulting and indicative of the values of the Town. “We view ourselves as progressive, but do nothing about it,” she said. 

Margaret Sawyer (District 5) said she was happy that this almost-all-white council asked for CSWG, but is embarrassed at the low funding of their recommendations, with no plans for future development, with underfunding of the CRESS program and no creation of a youth, cultural, or BIPOC center. She cited BenEzra’s earlier comments about being worried that the police will escalate a situation. She said she almost never sees the police in her South Amherst neighborhood.

Maya Hossain (District 4) said she wanted to respond to the false idea that police violence doesn’t apply to Amherst. The CRESS program is an opportunity for change, she said. She claimed that Amherst has 18 times more police officers than mental health workers. The community has already started to present its own solution to differential policing, and the government should follow.

Katie Lazdowski (7 Gen consultant from District 2) said that recruitment of interviewees was a problem during the study because of their fear of police retaliation. Of the 50 people interviewed, all but a few said they would not call the police for a situation because of their fear of escalation. “We must move beyond the MLK breakfast, Race Amity Day, and Juneteenth, and make real change,” she said.

Irv Rhodes (District 5) said listening to the previous comments, he saw that there was a huge amount of sentiment against cutting the school budget that related back to the police department. He said that the Town needs to examine the $2.2 million request for the CRESS program, since the salaries seemed out of line to him. He said the Council needs to educate the public that the amount allocated in this budget is a startup for a program that everyone agrees needs to be done, but it cannot go forward with this amount.

Megan Lieff (District 1) also spoke for fully funding the recommended CSWG programs and the schools with a decrease in the Amherst Police Department funding. Police do not keep us safe, she said. She asserted that starting salaries for police are higher than for teachers and three times more than paraprofessionals. She asked, “Are police more important than teachers or paraprofessionals?” She said, “ Many paraprofessionals leave the district because they do not earn a living wage. The schools have their problems, but many teachers and other employees are working tirelessly for racial equity.”

Anisha Pai (District 4) works downtown. She said she would feel safer if she could call for more appropriate assistance than the police when there are problems in her building. She asked the government to listen to the CSWG. “It is insulting to have to plead to a White government [and] to ask for only a portion of what the BIPOC community deserves,” she said.

Lexi Monasson Olson said she was present at many Council meetings last year when the Town said it could not give the BIPOC community what they asked for because of the pressures of the budget process. Now a program has been outlined, and failing to implement it is shameful, she said. 

Ana Devlin-Gauthier (District 5) has delved into Mass General Law (MGL). She urged the Council to reject the current budget and ask the Town Manager to resubmit a new one. At very least, she said the Town should fund the CRESS program within three years and hire a full-time director for a new Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She said that, according to MGL, the Council cannot reallocate funds, but it can ask the manager to redo the budget.

Artie McCollum said that listening to the CSWG meetings was retraumatizing. “We got to hear from residents we don’t often listen to,” he said. 

Jennifer Page (District 5) said she agreed with the previous comments. She said that she has visited the Facebook pages of the Town Councilors and that some tout that they received  comments in favor of the library expansion, and that Councilor Evan Ross used this as a justification for going ahead with the library project. She said she hopes the Councilors will use the same criteria about comments when they vote on the budget. 

Mareatha Wallace said she is a lifelong Amherst resident with four children who went through the Amherst school system. She remembers when the police were not involved in so many situations and the schools were “the best, bar none.” She cited the importance of the arts program for her children. She said that these days members of her family are stopped by police for walking down the street. She echoed the need to defund the police. She said, “It is hard for people who look like me to speak to people who look like you, and speak their truth.”

Dee Shabazz (District 5) advised the Council to take heed. She said, “This is the future of Amherst. We are taxpayers and members of the community. Basically, the Town Manager has thrown us a bone.” Amherst needs the CRESS program, a BIPOC multicultural center, a Department of Diversity, Equity, and inclusion (not just an event coordinator). She stated that most police work is in marginalized communities, rolling around in their vehicles. “We need to redo and redirect the budget,” she said.

Lauren Mills said that communities of color are exhausted. They don’t want to be harmed or treated differently because of the color of their skin.

Toni Cunningham (District 1) agreed with previous comments regarding the cuts to the school budget. She said she feels that cuts to arts programs are short sighted. The schools anticipate receiving more federal funds this year, and knowing this, it is a mistake to cut these programs now.

Jonathan Sivel is a special education educator who now works at ARHS. In his previous work in out-of district settings he has sometimes had to use his skills at de-escalation, but never felt like he needed to call the police. He noted the “changing face of Amherst,” which doesn’t look like the group of people he sees on the Finance Committee and Town Council. . He said White people need to see that “they are not the center of the universe.”

Kevin Noonan (District 5 and Director of Craig’s Doors) said he sees remnants of racism in Amherst. The staff at Craig’s Doors sometimes need to call the police. They ask for the liaison team, who are specially-trained officers who are usually respectful to the clients. Nevertheless, he feels the Town needs a program like CRESS. He suggested that this doesn’t need to be a binary choice. The Town could take $1 million from the reserves to start this program. Noonan doesn’t care if the money comes from the police, but a dialog with the police could free up some money.

Kaylee Brow (District 2) said it is obvious that many constituents support creation of the CRESS program. The Town shouldn’t pat itself on the back for funding it at 6 percent. This is setting it up to fail, and since it will be the first such program in Massachusetts, its failure may adversely impact other towns who want to start similar programs

Kathleen Anderson (District 5) said she had experienced personal threats from the police. She said it is time to look out for the residents of the town, not the police of the town. She also emphasized the importance of art for many students in order to feel whole and encouraged the Town to support reparations for those residents of African heritage.

Students Speak Out
Amrita (a rising sophomore at ARHS from District 2) said she fell in love with theater. She said this last school year was “a disaster” for her because of the pandemic. She felt very isolated. But she was able to participate in two theater productions over the year. She said, “If not for art, I might not have come to school at all.” She knows the regional school budget was already approved, but hopes the elementary school budget can be protected.

See-Ho Lee (District 1), a senior at ARHS, noted that the regional school budget was approved on May 3 with very little discussion. The declining enrollment doesn’t account for all of the budget cuts. She urged the Council to take another look at how funds are being allocated in town. With the way the school budget cuts are going, she is afraid future students will not have the same opportunities as her class has had.

Birdy Newman appreciated the many speakers who expressed their vulnerability. She hoped the Town government will do better and respect the work of the group whose work it asked for.

Marisol Pierce Bonifaz (District 1, a student at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts, and a member of Defund the Police project of Amherst Sunrise) said Amherst schools had no elementary bilingual program until the last two years. She noted that her mother, a teacher, works twice as hard for less money than police officers.

Julian Hynes asserted that the Amherst Police Department has officers paid $173,000 per year when most teachers do not earn even half that. He sees the police as a threat to public safety, not a contributor.

The Public Hearing ended at 8:48 p.m.

The Community Safety Working group will present its recommendations to the Town Council on May 24 and to the Finance Committee at 5:30 p.m. on May 27.

The final  report can be read here.