May 2011 Archives

Record low Town Meeting attendance in 2011

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The recently-concluded 2011 Annual Town Meeting in Amherst had the lowest overall attendance of any Spring Town Meeting in the last ten years (detailed attendance data is only available for years since 2002).  Attendance averaged 66.7% over the eight sessions of Town Meeting, beneath the previous low figure of 68.2% in 2002.

Attendance at individual sessions ranged from a high of 78.4% on May 16 (the night the solar project on the old landfill was considered) to a low of 54.8% on May 25 (the final night of Town Meeting, which dealt with several minor zoning articles, along with zoning to allow backyard chickens and rabbits in residential neighborhoods).


2011 Annual Town Meeting concludes

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Amherst's 2011 Annual Town Meeting concluded on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, on its eighth night.  The meeting produced three recorded tally votes, all three regarding the budget for Community Services.

The database at tallyvotes.org has been updated with the tally vote results, along with attendance records for all eight sessions of the Annual Town Meeting.  Click the links below to see the results from each of the tally votes, or use the "Go to the database" button at the top of the page to access the full database search screen.

5/2/11 - Amend Community Services budget to add $70K (Failed - 64 YES, 100 NO)

5/9/11 - Reconsider Community Services budget under Article 14 (Passed - 93 YES, 72 NO)

5/9/11 - Community Services budget - increase by $65K (Passed - 92 YES, 75 NO)

All Spring 2011 tally vote results

Tally votes on Community Services budget

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The third night of the 2011 Amherst Town Meeting saw two tally votes, both relating to the Community Services portion of the budget under Article 14.  This budget appropriation had been voted earlier, but Town Meeting member Julia Rueschmeyer moved to reconsider the appropriation in order to add additional money to fund the operation of War Memorial Pool.

The motion to reconsider went to a tally vote, and passed by a vote of 93 YES, 72 NO.  This reopened consideration of the Community Services budget appropriation, with another tally vote on Ms. Rueschmeyer's motion to increase the budget by around $65K.  This increase passed by a vote of 92 YES, 75 NO.

The database at tallyvotes.org has been updated with the results of these vote, along with attendance records from the first four sessions of the meeting.



2011 Annual Town Meeting underway

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Amherst's 2011 Annual Town Meeting began on Monday, May 2, 2011, with a single tally vote on the first night of the meeting.  In the first budget area under Article 14, Community Services, Town Meeting member Hwei-Ling Greeney moved to amend the budget by appropriating an additional $70,000 to fund local human service agencies.  This amendment failed by a vote of 64 YES, 100 NO.

The database at tallyvotes.org has been updated with the results of this vote, along with attendance records from the first two sessions of the meeting.

About This Site

This site contains a comprehensive database of each individual vote in Amherst's Town Meeting since 2002, along with full attendance information. To get started, click one of the predefined searches at right, or see the help section for full details on how to use the database.

Town Election History