By Alex Cox  ||  coxalexj@gmail.com

A combined report on the Regular Meetings of the Amherst Town Council on Monday, June 30 and Monday, July 21.

Amherst Black Reparations Committee Charge

The Town Council voted to approve the formation of the Amherst Black Reparations Committee (ABRC) at its June 30 meeting. The 10-0 vote (3 councilors were absent) is the next step of a years-long process to end structural racism and white supremacy in Amherst. This process officially began in December of 2020 and led to the creation of the African Heritage Reparations Assembly (AHRA), which was formed in June of 2021 “to study and develop reparation proposals for People of African Heritage in Amherst.” 

Upon its dissolution in 2023, AHRA submitted a final report which recommended the creation of a permanent Committee responsible for “oversee[ing] the Town’s reparations fund” and guiding reparative justice projects. Town Council considered a charge for such a committee twice in October of 2024 and again on April 30 of this year; each time, councilors expressed concerns over the structure of the committee and asked for revisions. 

The ABRC charge as adopted creates a body of 7 voting members, appointed by the Town Manager for three year terms, “to make recommendations to the Town Council on the priority areas for and expenditure of the Reparations Stabilization Fund for reparations of harms caused by support of slavery and post-reconstruction discrimination by the Town, residents, businesses, and other Amherst-associated entities.” 

ABRC’s charge is modeled upon the AHRA recommendation and was modified by the Governance, Organization, and Legislation (GOL) Committee to ensure that it is “clear, consistent, and actionable” with input from former AHRA members Michele Miller and Dr. Amilcar Shabazz. Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5, GOL Chair) spoke on behalf of GOL in recommending the charge, highlighting that “they [ABRC] are beginning by continuing the work of AHRA”. 

Under the charge, ABRC will be responsible for developing priority areas for projects, connecting the reparative projects to harm done by white supremacy, and determining funding guidelines for making expenditure recommendations from the Reparations Stabilization Fund. The structure of the committee is meant to roughly mirror the Community Preservation Act (CPA) Committee in term length and budget cycle. As with CPA, Town Council will ultimately be responsible for approving any fund expenditures by ABRC. 

School Funding Actions

Also at its June 30 meeting, Town Council authorized sending a letter to the School Committee seeking acknowledgement of the one-time “gift” funding that the Council authorized in the FY2026 budget. The letter states that “the 1% additional funding from Free Cash for the Elementary School budget is one-time funding and the base for the Elementary School for FY27 is $28,049,236”.

Further, the Council continued to discuss plans for a meeting to address growing budgetary conflicts in school budgets. The proposed Four Town Fiscal Sustainability Process was tentatively scheduled for August 11. However, Council President Lynn Griesemer (District 2) informed the council at the July 21 meeting that the Superintendent is unable to accommodate the proposed date. At the time of publication, the Superintendent has not publicly proposed an alternate date. 

Over the two meetings, the Town Council has also appointed new members to the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Recreation Commission, Public Art Commission, Energy and Climate Action Commission, and Finance Committee. Even after these appointments, many town boards and committees have vacancies. If you are interested in serving on a board, consider submitting a Community Activity Form!

The next Town Council meeting will be on August 18 in Town Hall at 6:30 pm. Town Council meetings are also accessible via Zoom, livestream, and Amherst Media broadcast. Meeting details, agendas, and access are posted on the Town Council webpage. If you’re interested in knowing more about upcoming Council meetings, you can subscribe to text and email updates from the Town. If you want the Current’s coverage of the next Town Council meeting delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe using the field below. 

Town elections are coming in November. See who’s running for Town Council and other elected positions on our 2025 Election Central.

Alex Cox (he/him) is a current graduate student at UMass-Amherst studying Regional Planning (MRP) and Public Policy and Administration (MPPA). He currently serves on the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust Fund and as the Graduate Director of the Student Union Art Gallery. He has been a member of the Amherst Current editorial board since 2024.