By Shalini Bahl

As a former town councilor, I am honored to serve on the Resident Oversight Board (ROB) Advisory Committee and committed to ensuring that the hard work of the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG), Town Council, and town staff with respect to the creation of a ROB reaches successful fruition. Our committee’s goal is to help create a ROB that is aligned with the Town of Amherst’s commitment to eradicating the effects of systemically racist practices in Town government and Town-affiliated organizations.

A recent Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) meeting (Feb 12, 2025) has raised many questions and concerns about our work.

I am writing this response as an individual with experience as a former town councilor and do not represent the full ROB Advisory Committee. The committee will provide a more comprehensive explanation of our work and suggested bylaws when we have made further progress on drafting.

Meanwhile, here are some clarifications that I hope will prevent further speculations and misinterpretation of the work we are all doing with earnestness to support the resolution passed by the Town Council to be an anti-racist town.

Foundational Context

The Town Council voted to authorize the Town Manager to create a Resident Oversight Board based on recommendations made by the Community Safety Working Group in 2021. To implement this directive, the Town Manager hired two consultants (Brian Corr and Rabbi Debra Kolodny) and formed our current committee, which includes diverse stakeholder perspectives and experiences, to draft bylaws for Council consideration.

The committee’s role is to develop effective bylaws through a collaborative stakeholder process that considers the CSWG recommendations alongside practical implementation concerns, legal requirements, and diverse community perspectives. The Town Manager formed this committee with representation from various stakeholders specifically to work through complex questions of structure, authority, and process to create a sustainable oversight mechanism that will serve Amherst well.

The committee  acknowledges the statement from a former CSWG member at the meeting that “The ROB is not anti-police. It really is about building relationships between the police and the community.” I agree with this sentiment. There are specific expectations that the CSWG envisioned for the ROB, including the authority to hear and investigate complaints, make recommendations regarding discipline and training, and a process for resolving disagreements between the ROB and the Police Chief. These elements are being considered in the committee’s drafting process.

The advisory process is designed to bring stakeholders together to find solutions that meet the interests of our community while respecting the original intent of the recommended initiatives.

Process and Progress

The committee was tasked with drafting proposed bylaws for Town Council consideration. We have made meaningful progress, reaching agreement on significant portions of the ROB’s general purpose and reporting structure. While we are still working through some important components where consensus has not yet been reached, productive discussions continue.

The bylaws currently under discussion are draft documents designed as starting points for deliberation, not finalized proposals. The committee’s work is guided by key interests that have been identified through prior meetings, including:

• People feel and are safer
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion are front and center
• The ROB has appropriate authority
• The ROB is independent of the police
• The ROB is legitimate and credible to the community
• The ROB has police buy-in
• The ROB is perceived as and is just
• The ROB builds trust amongst all parties
• The ROB is legally sound
• Transparency in processes and outcomes
• Accountability for all parties
• Supporting full cooperation of all parties
• Creating positive impact in the community
• Treating police as equal with other municipal employees

Public Input

Though the working group does not hold public sessions, this follows a standard model used frequently in Amherst for developing proposals. In addition to police feedback in the stakeholder group, community perspectives have been incorporated through:

• The Community Safety Working Group report, which included data collected from 41 residents
• A second data collection project that including another 72 testimonies about police interactions
• Direct participation of four community representatives on the committee
• Representation from the CRESS Director and Assistant Director of the DEI department

The committee includes diverse perspectives from Amherst residents. The community representatives and two non-police Town Staff are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). In addition, the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) and Human Rights Commission (HRC) each have a representative on our committee who report to their respective bodies.

Each of the 113 residents who courageously shared their experiences has provided invaluable insights that help guide our understanding of community needs. Their stories matter deeply and have been instrumental in bringing the town to this point of creating a Resident Oversight Board.

While these voices are powerful and meaningful, our community of approximately 40,000 people contains many more that we haven’t yet heard. This is precisely why the committee was formed with diverse representation and why we’ve engaged expert consultants with experience working across many different communities. Together, the committee is working to ensure the ROB will effectively address our specific community’s needs while drawing on best practices from other successful oversight models.

Police Perspectives

Some people have suggested, based on the discussion at the CSSJC meeting, that the Amherst police is objecting to the creation of Resident Oversight Board. This is misleading. The letter referenced in the meeting came from lawyers representing the Amherst police unions, not the Amherst Police Department itself. This is an important distinction. Chief Ting has consistently expressed support for establishing an ROB, even while acknowledging concerns about its specific structure and implementation.

Next Steps

The community will have opportunities to provide input when the proposal is reviewed by the Town Council.

If the committee reaches consensus, a single proposal will go to the Council. If we cannot reach full consensus, the committee will submit a document with all agreed-upon language along with options for sections where agreement wasn’t possible.

The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) and Human Rights Commission (HRC) each have a representative on the committee who report to their respective bodies.

Balancing Original Recommendations with Implementation

The committee recognizes the importance of honoring the CSWG’s recommendations while developing practical bylaws that can be effectively implemented to protect and promote the identified interests. The core functions identified by the CSWG—including the authority to hear complaints, investigate complaints, recommend appropriate responses, and maintain transparency when disagreements arise between the ROB and Police Chief—remain central considerations in our work.

At the same time, the committee must ensure the resulting bylaws create a structure that is legally sound, operationally effective, and sustainable over time. Finding this balance requires careful deliberation and, at times, adaptation of original concepts to address practical realities.

I believe a thoughtful, deliberative process that respects both the spirit of the original recommendations and the complexities of implementation will result in the strongest possible oversight mechanism for Amherst.

The committee remains committed to developing an ROB that addresses the needs of Amherst residents while supporting effective policing. We believe that a well-designed oversight mechanism, created with input from both the community and law enforcement, will strengthen trust and accountability in our town.

While I cannot speak on behalf of the committee, I know that we appreciate the community’s interest in this important work and are dedicated to creating a fair and effective oversight structure that serves all Amherst residents.

Once we’ve made more progress, the committee will provide a more comprehensive explanation of our work and suggested bylaws, along with the reasoning for the choices made.

Shalini Bahl, PhD, is a Former Town Councilor, Mindfulness Teacher, and Member of the Residents’ Oversight Board Advisory Committee.