Frequently asked questions about the “Opt In”
April 17, 2025
SOS is asking the Northampton City Council to “opt in,” meaning to vote to accept into its charter a longstanding state law provision that allows the city council to increase the school budget beyond the amount provided by the mayor.
What do you mean when you say Northampton should vote to “opt in”?
When we say the city should opt in, we mean that the city council and mayor should agree to include in our city charter a decades-old provision of state law that would allow the city council to increase the city’s financial allocation to schools over the amount submitted by the mayor in the budget.
In 1987 the Massachusetts legislature established the procedure for municipalities to accept (“opt in”) the provision in their charter documents. “Submission of city budget to city council; procedure for approval, rejection or alteration.
Can’t the city council already vote to increase amounts in the mayor’s budget?
No. Currently, the city council has the power only to decrease budget items submitted by the mayor, but not to increase them. Opting in to adopt the new provision in the city charter would allow the city council to increase only the school budget—no other budget items.
To go into effect,“opting in” requires the approval of the mayor and a majority vote of the city council.
How would the city council exercise this new power?
If the city council were to determine that the mayor’s appropriation to Northampton Public Schools was inadequate, and it received a recommendation from the school committee to increase the budget appropriation, it could increase the school budget with a two-thirds majority vote. However, the proposed increase MUST NOT result in a budget that can’t be funded within the city’s Proposition 2½ levy limit. Also, the city council cannot increase the school’s budget appropriation beyond the amount recommended by the school committee.
When the city council increases the school budget, the mayor has the option to fund that increase with the city’s ample reserves, which keeps the other expenditures of the general budget intact. If the mayor refused to use reserves for the increase, then it would have to be funded from the other items in the general budget.
Won’t opt in weaken the mayor’s power?
In a city like Northampton, with the current “strong mayor” model of government, the mayor has almost sole power, which limits the ability of the city council to carry out its crucial“checks and balances” role.
Does the “opt in” provision ever expire?
No, but the city council can vote to “opt out” three years after opting in.
What other towns in Massachusetts have voted to opt in?
Adopting this provision is not uncommon in our state and has been done by many municipalities, including Greenfield, Amesbury, Easthampton, Waltham, Cambridge, Framingham, Salem, and Pittsfield.
Won’t opt in create more work for the city council?
The charter currently gives the city council the power to approve the mayor’s budget and to vote to decrease items in the budget with a two-thirds majority. We’re confident that the council’s current responsibility to approve the budget indicates that councilors are knowledgeable about the spending of various departments. If they weren’t knowledgeable, why would they be voting on the budget at all? There is no evidence from towns that have “opted in” that it increases the burden on councilors.
What does opting in mean specifically for our schools and community?
If the city council has a larger role to play in the funding of our public schools, then more attention will inevitably be given to—and more discussion will take place about—the needs and challenges across our schools. Opting in will require more collaboration between the school committee and the city council, which means that both bodies will widen their scope of understanding and enjoy greater partnership in serving the educational needs of the community. This increased focus stands to benefit all of our city’s students and can promote a healthy, and even thriving, community. It will expand the community’s understanding, knowledge, and oversight of our school district’s budget, which is the largest single item in the entire city budget. It will also bring greater fiscal transparency to the community—which is a very good thing, because we all deserve to know and be able to weigh in on how our tax dollars are being spent!
Links
Acts 1987 Chapters 329, 330
An act increasing local control over the school budget
From the Department of Legal Services at the Department of Revenue
City Budget Process Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
Financial Order 25.238 submitted to the Northampton City Council April 3, 2025
AN ORDER TO ACCEPT THE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 329 OF THE ACTS OF 1987