The City Council voted unanimously on Aug. 5 to remove a $3 million Proposition 2 1/2 general budget override from the Nov. 5 presidential election ballot, postponing it to an unspecified date.
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra recommended the postponement after she learned in late July that the city’s revenue was stronger than expected in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year that ended June 30. Revenue exceeded projections particularly from motor vehicle excise taxes, as well as local taxes on hotel and motel stays and cannabis sales.
The city also took advantage of a 23-year high in interest rates to accrue about $2 million in interest on its cash balances.
According to the mayor, “The unexpected gains provide support to the Fiscal Stability Stabilization fund, prompting me to recommend that we postpone the override. An override will still be necessary eventually. But, these additional funds will allow me and our experienced finance team to monitor the economic trends for the next few months, including what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates, and to navigate past the presidential election and its associated uncertainties before deciding when the next override referendum
should be placed on the ballot.”
In remarks supporting the delay, I said it will give city officials time to analyze whether the stronger revenue continues during the first half of the current fiscal year to help determine when the next override should be scheduled and the amount needed to sustain municipal operating budgets in the future.
The City Council had voted June 20 to place the $3 million general override on the Nov. 5 ballot in part to replenish the $3.18 million taken from the stabilization fund to help close budget gaps for the Northampton Public Schools during the current and just ended fiscal years.
More money for schools
The City Council voted unanimously on July 31 to use $192,400 in additional state aid for the Northampton Public Schools and $8,806 for Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School.
The supplemental appropriation results from a boost to the state’s per-pupil payment under Chapter 70 from $30 to $104 in the final budget approved by Gov. Maura Healey on July 29.
The added money brings the total Northampton Public Schools budget to $40,970,985 and the Smith School budget to $11,315,623 for the fiscal year that began July 1.
ValleyBike Share
The ValleyBike Share program, which provides short-term rentals of electric-assist bicycles to residents and commuters in nine area communities, will resume Monday, Aug. 12, with a launch celebration at noon in Pulaski Park in downtown Northampton.
ValleyBike Share will operate with 300 existing bicycles and 50 provided by the new vendor, Drop Mobility, based in Toronto.
The bicycles were not available last year after the previous vendor, Bewegen, also based in Canada, initiated bankruptcy proceedings.
The electric-assist bicycles will be available at 79 charging stations in Northampton, Amherst (including the University of Massachusetts campus), Easthampton, Hadley, South Hadley, Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield, and West Springfield. The bicycles are intended for recreational use or short commutes. Monthly and annual memberships are sold.
Northampton is the lead agency for ValleyBike Share, which began in 2018, and each of the participating communities contributes to its cost.
ValleyBike will give away free helmets to the first 15 people who arrive at the launch event Aug. 12. Helmets also will be available to borrow for people who want to test-ride the bicycles.
Details about pricing and equity memberships are available here: https://valleybike.org
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