Video: City Council Meeting of 8/20/09; Local Option Meals and Hotel Taxes

Here is a complete blip.tv video of the 8/20/09 Northampton City Council meeting. This video is 1 hour 37 minutes long and was recorded by Benjamin Spencer.



Here is the official agenda of the meeting:







Pertaining to the “Heavy Public Use” ordinance cited above, here is the draft of the ordinance that was circulated with the agenda:






See also:

Springfield Republican: “Northampton approves local options meals tax” (8/20/09)
The City Council approved the local option meals tax Thursday, putting Northampton among a growing number of communities that are taking advantage of the new revenue source.

The .75 percent tax will go into effect on Oct. 1, adding an estimated $460,517 to the city coffers by June 30, 2010, the end of the current fiscal year. Amherst and Springfield have already passed the local option tax….

Following the meals tax vote, the council approved a 2 percent hike in the local hotel rooms tax with considerably less discussion.

Videos: Planning Board Meeting of 8/13/09; Special Permits for Heavy Public Uses
0:29:40… Kenneth Jodrie: “I just feel very strongly that this is a decision that has to do with the economics of how the city is run…in fact we say to lots of applicants, ‘Don’t tell us about the economics of it because we don’t deal with that. That’s not our thing.’ That is a big part of the decision on that landfill–the money. And that’s a city councilor decision. That’s all about the finances of the city… If you close that landfill, there’s a huge impact on the city’s budget. It’s a political decision. That’s not a site plan approval issue, and I don’t think it’s…a special permit, at least in the way that we typically deal with special permits.”

0:30:36… Stephen Gilson: “The ramifications…of the landfill are far beyond what we are typically involved in… I think there’s so many issues that are outside what our general background and our decision-making typically covers that I still think it’s a political issue.”

Video: Committee on Economic Development, Housing and Land Use, 8/10/09 Meeting

Solid Waste Alternatives Study: Information Sessions on August 17, September 14