BCG FY09+ Budget Forum on Monday February 11th starting at 7 pm in the Middle School Auditorium

[copy of email sent to 433 Amherst community members]

OK, folks, attached.pdf hot of the press from the schools (coming home in backpacks on Thursday, I think).

You can also provide a link to the Town website front page, middle:
http://www.amherstma.gov/

Get it out there, please. We need lots of people *throughout Amherst* to understand what's going on if we're going to do anything other than rearrange deck chairs while we decimate the elementary schools in FY09, and we need a *plan* that gets us on track to survive (and thrive!) without some magical infusion of funds from the state and federal governments, because they are *not* coming to save us, no matter how hard we lobby them! (although yes, you still have to do the lobbying:-)

Talk to a BCG member if you have any questions; this is their show:
http://www.amherstma.gov/departments/Budget_Coordinating_Group/default.asp?id=77&mypage=77&myName=Budget+Coordinating+Group

Thanks so much for helping make our community what we all want it to be!

Take care,
Alisa

Community Preservation Act: Amherst's 1.5% surcharge

Thanks to Clare B. and Gavin A. for bringing this info about the Community Preservation Act across the Commonwealth to my attention.

Sunday Republican article, Sunday September 2, 2007

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, July 2007: The Massachusetts Community Preservation Act: Who Benefits, Who Pays?

See the Town website for information on Amherst's adoption of the Community Preservation Act; we were one of the first communities to do it.

Massachusetts Community Property Taxes 2000-2007

Thanks to Jim C. for bringing this great interactive map on MA property taxes to my attention.