Committee on Community Resources Study February 2016 - Study of Issues Relative to Local Economy

On March 3rd, 2016, the City Council Committee on Community Resources received a Committee Study Request (CSR) from Council President Dwight and Council Vice-President O'Donnell to "study issues relative to the local economy, with a focus on businesses and workers in downtown Northampton and downtown Florence, for the purpose of identifying practical recommendations, if any, that the City Council could pursue to strengthen the local economy." View the request in its entirety (PDF).

To address this request, the Committee on Community Resources expects to compile current information from various sources within the city administration and elsewhere pertaining to the current conditions and trends. The committee also expects to hold public hearings to solicit testimony from citizens and stakeholders from all facets of Northampton's economy, including workers, business owners, property owners, and residents on the pressures they feel and the issues they experience. Following the data collection period, the committee will deliberate and decide if there are potential areas where the City Council could impact by legislation or other means to strengthen the local economy.

We encourage you to help shape the study by participating in a public hearing or submitting written testimony to the committee. The meeting dates and times for this committee are listed below. If you would like to provide testimony, but are unable to attend a committee meeting, please submit your information to the City Council Administrative Assistant, Pamela L. Powers, by email. You an also send information to: City Councilor Gina-Louise Sciarra, 210 Main Street, Room 16, Northampton MA 01060.

Meetings of this committee are recorded and available for viewing on YouTube. Links to meetings where this committee study request was discussed are provided below. Also below, you can find information and data that was presented to the committee for its consideration as part of this study. The information is categorized by the organization(s) who submitted the information, provided the data or suggested the resource.

Many thanks to the individuals, groups and organizations who have come to a meeting and provided information, testimony and pertinent resources to shape the study. What are your thoughts? We'd like to know.