Voters lined up outside of City Hall and the polls at Easthampton High School to express support both ways for the city’s Special Election override vote, which ended up passing by a 3312-3073 vote.
Reminder Publishing photos by Trent Levakis
EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton voters have approved the $6.9 million tax override during the Special City Election on June 9, securing the bulk of school and city services that would have been drastically cut if the vote had failed.
Residents approved the override through a 3312-3073 vote, and according to unofficial results, 47.5% of Easthampton voters came out to the polls.
Notably, if the override had failed, the city would have been looking at the loss of at least 35 positions across the school district, at least 5 positions between the Fire and Police departments, two public works positions, and cuts across the board for other municipal departments.
The $6.9 million increase to property tax revenue will result in an estimated annual increase of about $1,200 to the average Easthampton home, which is valued at $418,000.
Following the election results, Mayor Salem Derby told Reminder Publishing that he is relieved that the community stepped up during this unfortunate situation.
Voters lined up outside of City Hall and the polls at Easthampton High School to express support both ways for the city’s Special Election override vote, which ended up passing by a 3312-3073 vote. Reminder Publishing photos by Trent Levakis 
Voters lined up outside of City Hall and the polls at Easthampton High School to express support both ways for the city’s Special Election override vote, which ended up passing by a 3312-3073 vote. Reminder Publishing photos by Trent Levakis 
Voters lined up outside of City Hall and the polls at Easthampton High School to express support both ways for the city’s Special Election override vote, which ended up passing by a 3312-3073 vote. Reminder Publishing photos by Trent Levakis
“I’m relieved that we don’t have to make catastrophic cuts. To the schools, it would have been so devastating. We would have lost students, students that come here from out of district would have left. Having no art, music, P.E., sports; it’s such a dismal life being a student [without these extracurriculars]. So, for me, that really is one of the most important parts of this, being able to keep the services that are so critical. Between Police and Fire, keeping our response times are so important,” said Derby.
The passing of the override still means that there will be some cuts made around municipal departments so that the city can reorganize its financial foundation for the future. Derby, however, said these will be minor in comparison to the drastic cuts that would have occurred with a failed override.
For example, with the override now passed, the school district will have to cut about six total positions.
The $6.9 million ask for taxpayers has been coined a “shared sacrifice” by Derby during the process, as the city will be adding $1.5 million from stabilization funds to help meet the budget deficit in full. He added that while the results show this was a divisive ask for the community, he hopes moving forward with the approved override that he and other city officials can show this was a meaningful investment for the community.
“I think on the other side of that, understanding that this is not a mandate, and almost half the community that voted did not support this, so we really need to be mindful of that and be respectful of that. Understanding that we have to be as fiscally responsible and transparent as we move forward, so people start to regain some of that trust that maybe they didn’t have over the last few years, and show them that this administration is ready to tighten our belts and to do the real work to make government run more efficiently,” Derby said.
He added, “One of the things that I tried to use as a message, because I think it’s really true, is the idea of preventative maintenance. You invest a little bit to prevent catastrophic breakdowns. That’s why you do preventative maintenance on your car, and on your house, and the city’s the same. If you don’t invest in it, if you don’t do preventative maintenance, then you’re going to have catastrophic failure, and so the override is investment in the city’s financial future. Really, it will help us protect [ourselves] from catastrophic failure, because if the school fell apart, people’s property values would go down. If we don’t have a properly staffed Police and Fire, then response times go down, and critical incidents are not going to be addressed in the way they should be. I’m hoping people can see this as a worthwhile investment for the community.”
Reminder Publishing reached out to the local “Vote No” campaign against the override, but did not receive a response by publishing time.
Residents against the override vote had been vocal in saying it would leave some of the community’s most vulnerable populations compromised. They argued that seniors and those with disabilities living on fixed incomes may not be able to afford the increase in property taxes. Derby said those concerns are valid and the city will work to find assistance for those in need.
For example, Derby said that he has been working on a two-tier plan titled Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Part of this effort, according to Derby, would be to adopt Chapter 60, Section 3D, which would allow for taxpayers to donate money through their tax bill toward a city property tax fund. Once this fund meets a specific threshold, elderly and disabled homeowners would be able to apply for this money to get assistance, thus offsetting the cost of the override toward their tax bills.
Derby said he and the City Council are also focused on creating other avenues for people experiencing financial hardships, and he said that he understands the burden some face.
The city will also focus on finding new businesses and opportunities for revenue, and Derby said he and department heads will be “working hard, and we’re going to put our best foot forward every single day,” to avoid being in this position again in the future.
In an effort to add more transparency around the budget process moving forward, Derby said the city is utilizing grant funding for budget-building software, called ClearGov, which is designed to help local governments have an automated process that provides more detail and transparency for the public on the budget cycle process. This will be accessible on the city’s website and will help bring more transparency to financial operations and the budgeting process each year.
The City Council is expected to vote and approve a final budget for the city at its upcoming June 17 meeting.
Derby said he is thankful for this experience and for having come out on the other side on a better financial path forward for the community.
“It was a good turnout, and I think that shows that people are engaged. People care about this community, and I think that really just highlights again that Easthampton is a special place. Not only is it a beautiful place that has experienced so much growth in the last 20 years, but it’s a place where people come together when things get tough,” said Derby. “I know that the people that voted yes are going to be out there trying to help the people struggling. I really have high confidence that we’re going to be able to earn the people who voted no’s trust back, and we’re going to show them that we can do this in a way that’s respectful, and were going to try and minimize the impact as much as we can, but I think it’s just another reason why Easthampton is a special place.”
