On The Issues | Budget and Taxes

Budgeting our Dollars Wisely
As a City Councilor and two-term member of the Finance Committee, I've worked closely with our city's skilled professional finance team and department heads. As Mayor, I will develop balanced city budgets that provide critical funding for police, fire, public works, education and the other services citizens depend on every day. I'll also make prudent investments in our critical infrastructure like our roads, sidewalks, and city buildings.

As Mayor, I will include public participation in the budget process before my city budgets are developed. I will incorporate neighborhood forums into my formal budget-making process so that citizens can help me create a budget that reflects the diverse needs and values of our community.

In addition to expanding our overall tax base through economic development, I will seek out new and creative sources of revenue that will allow us to provide the city services we need without increasing the burden on Northampton taxpayers.

Northampton residents have made tough sacrifices to stave off severe budget cuts in recent years, voting to raise their own property taxes and supporting increases in local meals and hotel taxes. Our state leaders must now do their part to help cities and towns get the revenues they need to provide quality city services and education and ease the burden on property owners, particularly those with low and fixed incomes.

Earlier this year, I helped bring forward a joint resolution of the City Council and School Committee in support of "An Act to Invest in Our Communities", tax reform legislation that would increase state revenue and protect our services by increasing taxes on wealthy individuals. This resolution, together with a well-attended public forum organized with our local legislators, helped mobilize concerned residents for a major lobbying trip to the State House in support of these much-needed state tax reforms. 

As Mayor, I will continue to be a strong statewide advocate for more state revenue sharing with cities and towns and a more equitable and progressive income tax system.

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