Public Comment: Council Lacks A Good Procedure For Assigning Priority To New Proposals

The following public comment was submitted in writing for the Town Council meeting of August 7, 2023.
The proposal for a new streelights policy came up on the agenda the same day as the trash hauler proposal. It has taken up a HUGE amount of airspace and staff and councilor time in the last year, considerably more than the hauler proposal got.

We don’t have a good procedure to decide what priority to give to new proposals – how much time to devote to them and where they belong on the priority list.

Does the proposal have a groundswell of support from the community?

Is there an urgent need to implement the proposal now?

Does the matter move a current goal or set of goals forward?

Is there an emergency?

I am frustrated that so little is discussed about climate action in comparison to these proposals that just happen to be put forward by empowered councilors.

I am also frustrated that the town devotes staff to analyzing some but not other proposals.

Darcy DuMont is a former Town Councilor and sponsor of the legislation creating the Amherst Energy and Climate Action Committee. She is a non-voting member of the Valley Green Energy Working Group, and a founding member of Local Energy Advocates of Western MA and of Zero Waste Amherst.