Accountability Posts

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Individual posts for different angles. Pick the one that fits your audience.

Chronic road underfunding and board's own role in perpetuating it

Amherst DPW says it needs $2.45M just to stop roads from getting worse. The FY27 ask is $1.7M — $750K short. A selectman warned the board historically pressures departments to cut further. 9/8/25 meeting.

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Potential large bond commitment that taxpayers should be tracking

Amherst's Conservation Commission is proposing a $5–10 million warrant article for land acquisition over 5 years. No vote yet, but the board forwarded it to Ways & Means without dissent. 9/8/25 Board of Selectmen meeting.

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Residents being locked into a multi-year electricity contract without adequate prior notice

Amherst's community power program launches next month — locking residents into a new 36-month electricity contract. The board itself acknowledged a public hearing still needs to happen. If you're enrolled, pay attention. 9/8/25 BOS meeting.

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Ongoing public safety leadership gap in fire and rescue

Amherst still has no permanent fire chief. Appointment pushed again — presentation now Sept 22, start date mid-October. The town has been operating without permanent fire/rescue leadership for an extended period. 9/8/25 BOS meeting.

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Post these in sequence for maximum impact.

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🧵 Amherst Board of Selectmen met 9/8/25 for a full round of department strategic plan presentations. Several issues residents should be watching closely — especially heading into FY27 budget season. Thread:

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🛣️ Roads: DPW Director Eric Slozik said it takes $2.45M/year just to prevent the road network from getting worse. The FY27 budget request is $1.7M — a $750K gap. Selectman D'Angelo warned: the board historically tells departments to cut, not increase. That habit has a cost.

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🌳 Conservation Commission wants to expand protected land from 13% to 15% of town acreage. That could mean a $5–10M warrant article for land acquisition over 5 years, plus raising the annual budget from $14K to $25,650. No vote yet — it's headed to Ways & Means.

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⚡ Community power program launches next month. That's a new 36-month electricity supply contract for enrolled Amherst residents. The board acknowledged another public hearing is needed. If you haven't heard much about this yet, that's the problem.

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🚒 Still no permanent fire chief. The appointment was delayed again — background checks and medical requirements cited. New presentation date: Sept 22. Anticipated start: mid-October. The deputy health inspector appointment was partly a stopgap during this gap in leadership.

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📊 Multiple departments requested significant budget increases in the same meeting: Conservation, DPW roads ($1.7M), a new $100K/year facilities capital reserve fund, and a new transfer station position. The board received all of it without discussing cumulative tax impact.

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📋 Bottom line: FY27 budget season is underway and the numbers are stacking up. Ways & Means will review all of these plans. If you care about your tax bill — or your roads — now is the time to pay attention and show up.

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Longer-form draft.

Here's what happened at the Amherst Board of Selectmen meeting on September 8, 2025 — and why it matters for your tax bill and your roads.

The biggest concrete concern is road maintenance. DPW Director Eric Slozik presented data showing it costs $2.45 million per year just to keep Amherst's road network from deteriorating further — not to improve it, just to hold the line. The FY27 budget request is $1.7 million, leaving a $750,000 gap. Selectman John D'Angelo said out loud what many residents may have suspected: the board has a history of pressuring departments to cut their numbers, not raise them. That pattern, if it continues, means roads will keep declining while the town kicks the cost down the road.

Also heading to Ways and Means for budget consideration: a Conservation Commission proposal for a $5–10 million warrant article for land acquisition over five years; a new $100,000 annual Capital Reserve Fund for DPW facilities; a new transfer station position; and a Conservation budget increase from $14,000 to $25,650. These requests arrived in the same meeting with no discussion of their combined impact on the tax rate. Residents should be asking Ways and Means and the board what the cumulative effect looks like.

Two other items deserve attention. The community power program — a new 36-month electricity supply contract affecting enrolled Amherst residents — is launching next month, yet the board itself acknowledged that another public hearing still needs to be scheduled. If you're enrolled and haven't received clear information about the new contract terms and your opt-out options, that's a gap that needs to be filled before the program goes live. And Amherst still does not have a permanent fire chief. The appointment has been delayed again, with a new presentation date of September 22 and an anticipated start date in mid-October. The town has been without permanent fire and rescue leadership for an extended period, and residents deserve a clear timeline for resolution.

The next Board of Selectmen meeting is September 22. That's when the fire chief appointment is expected, and when the utility assessment contract renewal will be discussed. Budget season is underway — Ways and Means meetings are the place to weigh in on these spending decisions before they reach Town Meeting.