Marc's views on some local issues
Taxes and fees--The city must strive to use every dollar effectively and efficiently. The more we succeed at this, the more we can deliver for people and services that need it the most, while being fair and responsible to those who pay the taxes and fees. We should limit the growth of total city taxes and fees to the local government inflation index used by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and we should only consider a Proposition 2 1/2 override to support a clearly established capital need. Taxes should represent a fair and shared sacrifice. Northampton should never give tax breaks to developers or businesses.
Fees collected for water, sewer, and stormwater funds should only go for those specific services. We should seek a more easily administered and fairer process for assessing fees (including a possible exemption of stormwater fees for land outside the flood walls or in parts of the city not connected to city sewers).
Economic Development—Here are a few things that we should do to promote economic growth in Northampton: 1) ensure that the downtown is welcoming for shoppers and diners; 2) streamline the city permitting process for opening a business or renovating commercial space; 3) work with Smith Voc to develop programs that can support local employment growth; and 4) keep the commercial property tax rate at par with the residential rate (it is a higher rate, for example, in Holyoke).
Let me mention that I'm generally opposed to tax breaks for businesses as an incentive for them to move (or stay) in Northampton. I've read enough thoughtful reports by credible researchers and policy makers to conclude that this is a bad--and generally unnecessary--game for towns to play.
On the other hand, the city has to recognize when its taxes, fees, or policies are approaching a tipping point. Were our water fees, for example, a factor in Coca-Cola's recent decision to close its Northampton bottling plant? If so, then was there some small capital investment the city could have made to lower the cost of the enormous amount of water delivered to the Coke plant? Was there some volume discount that we could implement that we could also justify as fair to other rate payers? We should understand these costs and opportunities before some other businesses give up on Northampton.
Climate change—The city government will serve as a good example of an organization that seriously acts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, and to ensure that city infrastructure can handle the stress of climate change. The Northampton Climate Resiliaence & Regeneration Plan will be a guide for this, and the city will keep it up to date, and will hold department heads accountable for setting and meeting annual goals.
The greatest gains in the fight against climate change, however, will come not from the city government, but from actions of city residents and businesses. Here's where we should harness Northampton's progressive values and community spirit by encouraging and facilitiating the upgrading of home insulation, the shift to solar power or a heat pump, and the conversion to an electric vehicle by those who have the means to do so. Regularly measure our progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and post the results on a giant, visible sign painted on the side of a city builiding. Compare the progress by ward and get a challenge going with Amherst and other Pioneer Valley cities and towns. The mayor will be the biggest booster in this effort. Are we going to let Amherst get ahead of us in the race to net zero?! No way! Our success in cutting greenhouse gas emissions will become our source of greatest community pride.
Marijuana—The city has been too kind to marijuana businesses. Northampton had the first adult recreational pot shop in the eastern US, and was the first (and so far only) municipality in Massachusetts to forego the 3.5 percent community impact fee allowed by the legislature. We now have 29 host agreements with marijuana businesses. Are these really the best types of jobs our city can hope to get? My February 26, 2019 op-ed in the Daily Hampshire Gazette and extensive lobbying did result in a new ordinance requiring active odor abatement for any building used for marijuana cultivation or processing. I will continue the fight to ensure that Northampton does not allow outdoor marijuana cultivation.
Policing--Public safety is a basic city service, and Northampton should determine its policing needs based on standard metrics about emergency call response time, patrol officer productivity, and the distribution of emergency calls by type and time-of-day. Yielding to calls for police defunding--as Gina Louise Sciara and others on the Northampton City Council did last year--however, is dismissive of public safety and of data and reality. The result has been a police department at the breaking point and a counter-productive loss of newly trained officers.
A far more appropriate response to George Floyd’s murder and the broader Black Lives Matter movement is to review and update the guidelines for the use of potentially deadly force, for officer training, for the response to mental health and social service cases, for the tracking and disciplining of bad officers, and for any program that looks even remotely like routine harassment of people of color.
We should, in any case, examine the police department for possible savings. If the city is not getting fair value from police staffing levels, overtime allowances, or educational incentives, then we should use our management rights or collective bargaining to adjust them.
Community character and smart growth--We must maintain Northampton's sense of place--a creative community with a beautiful landscape, a vibrant downtown, and compact village centers. Yes, we should provide opportunities for business expansion and to build houses for families of all incomes, but this growth must fit with our long-term goals. The city should never yield the public interest to developer convenience or profits. We should promote re-use of old mill buildings where there is adequate off-street parking. In downtown, let's be confident that the criteria for the Picture Main Street initiatives include an honest and methodical evaluation of traffic flow in and around Main Street.
Community Preservation Act (CPA)--The city should look to ensure reimbursement if a private beneficiary of CPA funds does not live up to its promises.
Panhandling and "vibrant sidewalks"—The October 2019 report of the mayor’s working group on panhandling is honest about the adverse impact of panhandling on downtown Northampton (something missing from the City Council’s earlier "vibrant sidewalks" resolution), and outlines a range of reasonable, sensible, and non-punitive measures for improving the situation. The Northampton Recovery Center, Resiliency Hub, and added affordable housing are consistent with these measures, and we should continue to find the resources to implement them. Expand this list to include more accessible job training. We should also enforce existing ordinances against noise, aggressive panhandling, and disturbances.
Affordable housing--The city should avoid any development impact fees or exclusionary zoning that discourages private investments in affordable housing. The recent developments on Pleasant Street fill an important need in the city and meet planning and design standards. Moreover, by ensuring that Northampton exceeds the state requirement for affordable housing (Chapter 40B), the city has more leverage to make certain that other developments conform to city goals.
Open space, community gardens, dog parks and the city kennel—Public open space should be made more accessible, including with expanded trails and bike paths as proposed in the city’s Open Space, Recreation & Multi-Use Trail Plan (2018-2025). We should increase the number of community gardens. The city should create an off-leash dog park and enact reasonable dog regulations elsewhere. If a city kennel makes economic sense, let's build it by old exit 18 or on some other public land where it won’t bother the neighbors.
Education--We must do all we can to ensure a strong public education system, and we should be concerned at the high rate of teacher turnover . . . and the high number of Northampton families that have sought alternatives to our public schools. Our scaled MCAS scores are close to the statewide rates; we can do better—and we should measure beyond the MCAS goals. Yes, our middle schoolers should be able to read a short passage and identify the central theme, but shouldn't they also once in a while have to read a whole book?! Are we providing the promised teacher support and differentiation of instruction within the classroom to get the full benefits of the elementary and middle school inclusion model? If we can't afford this, are there other models we should consider? Let's also look for opportunities to introduce new programs and to expand Smith Voc enrollment. The new nursing program at Smith Voc is a wonderful new addition.
Transportation and parking--The biggest near-term issue is to make sure that the redesign of Main Street adds to the downtown's attractiveness as a place to shop, eat, and visit. There's a real risk that the various proposals could limit access to Main Street businesses while shifting traffic and congestion to surrounding streets. There are tools to forecast the impacts of the redesign options on travel demand and area traffic flow; I know this—I've been doing these studies as part of my professional work for the last 29 years. The city has to conduct this type of analysis before settling on a final plan.
We should maintain the war on potholes, but raise the priority for full overhauls where it is more cost-effective in the long term. Let's expand the traffic calming program on local roads characterized by relatively high speeds and traffic volumes and where there is neighborhood support. It is cheap and effective. We should work with Mass DOT to include a distinctive "Gateway to Northampton" art installation at the new roundabout by the Coolidge Bridge. The city should dedicate new parking revenue for parking facility improvements or for some services previously provided by the Downtown Northampton Association or the earlier Downtown Business Improvement District.
Fire / Rescue--Ambulance agreements with neighboring towns must be fair to Northampton taxpayers and not lead to a poor response time for city residents. The city should also confirm that the $435,000 budgeted for Fire Rescue department overtime represents the most cost-effective staffing plan.
Liquor licenses—The city has given away new liquor licenses essentially for free in recent years; this is unfair to existing license holders, some of whom paid up to $150,000 for theirs. A city auction of new licenses--with all proceeds distributed among existing and active licensees—would be a fairer approach for expanding liquor licenses.
