Holyoke is continuing its upward curve into a transformed and healthy city in the management of its money, the education of its youth, better housing for people of different incomes and creating public safety so that all can thrive.

“Across every important metric, Holyoke is solidly and decisively moving in the right direction. Our local economy keeps getting stronger. Our schools are on their way back into local hands. Our budget is in surplus for a third straight year, and we didn’t need to use any reserves, free cash, or ARPA revenue replacement. By the fall of 2025, our kids will enjoy a new middle school, and, in the coming years, thanks to tens-of-millions of dollars of private investment, the city will welcome a brand new state-of-the-art sports complex, poised to do wonders for the local economy. This is a record we should all be proud of. I’m grateful to everybody in this room who helped make it happen. – Mayor Joshua García

The mayor presented his proposed budget, which will be debated by the City Council at its next meetings on May 16, May 28, May 29 and June 11. All meetings are open to the public and will begin at 6 pm. As is customary, the meetings will be broadcast live on Chanel 15 and through Boxcast.TV.

Two new positions are in his proposal. One, that of city Treasurer, he advocates be an appointed position by the City Council instead of an elected office. García is also requesting a new position, accountant, for the Police Department. The Police Department recently was granted by the City Council the budget for a crime analyst.

The mayor has expressed in the past and again last night, that he is keenly aware of the fundamental importance of public safety for the city to thrive.

Even as we acknowledge and celebrate our progress as a city, we can’t allow ourselves to look away from our people’s struggles. We can’t use favorable statistics to pat ourselves on the back.

Narratives of progress and decline can only tell us so much. We have to remember the people’s particular lives – and what they can teach us about what we owe each other, as fellow members of one community.

We can’t talk about our visionary founders without talking about the Irish, French Canadian, and Polish laborers who toiled to make their vision real. We can’t talk about an improving school system without talking about how hundreds of our students experience homelessness each year. We can’t talk about a declining crime rate without acknowledging that we have parents who are afraid to send their kids outside to play.

His final words:

 “The story of Holyoke will be bright and full of promise.  Because we’ll be writing it ourselves.”

Also this week:

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

After two hours, plus many more this year every time the issue of the Community Preservation Act came up in committees or full City Council, a decision was finally voted on to put on the ballot the continuation of the CPA funds, although the tax will be lower be lowered from 1.5 percent to 1 percent (after the first $100,000 of a property tax) 

Here is direct language from the CPA-Holyoke website:

Example: the average home in Holyoke is assessed at $1 79,340 and the homeowner would pay an additional $23 per year for the proposed 1.5% CPA surcharge which is assessed only on the portion of the property tax bill after the first $100,000 is exempted.

Low income families and seniors who are low to moderate income would be fully exempt from the CPA surcharge. To find our if you may be exempt, contact the Assessor’s Office at City Hall at 322-5550.

“I know it fees like Groundhog Day, ” said City Councilor Meg McGrath-Smith, who also chairs the CPA, in reference to the many times the issue of the CPA on the ballot, the fee change and/or both. The councilor has been an advocate of leaving the surcharge at 1.5 percent.

Dozens of residents signed a petition that was presented to the council urging members to not lower the 1.5 percent surcharge, given that, contrary to what councilors who were in favor of lowering the surcharge,  is not a tax burden.

Helene Florio, president of the Holyoke Taxpayers Association

Helene Florio, present of the Holyoke Taxpayers Association, said that unlike residents, no matter how low their income, businesses do not receive any adjustments based on the business’s income.

She gave as an example, Bresnahan Insurance, that pays about $200 a year in CPA surcharge, in addition to the $18,000 it pays the city in taxes.

Gary Rome’s Auto paid $2,300 in CPA taxes, she said; the Delaney House, $16,000.

“We’re not talking chump change,” she said.

City Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos said that as a lifelong city resident, he sees how CPA funds have improved the city.

“The difference is I see to the city is night and day,” he said.

City Councilor Kevin Jourdain said said that, in the end, everyone is right, no one is wrong on this issue because the surcharge affects some people negatively and other are not affected by it but there are great projects funded by the CPA.