Dear Friends,

Serving our city as Mayor has been an incredible honor and I am extremely grateful for the support you have given me. I’ve especially enjoyed the opportunity to work with people from all over the community and have been inspired by both their encouragement and ideas.

As you may have read in recent days and weeks, Northampton is facing another challenging budget process for the upcoming fiscal year that begins on July 1. To provide city residents with the facts about our difficult fiscal situation and a forum for discussing the options we’re considering to address it, I am convening the following Town Hall Budget Meetings across our community:

FY2014 Town Hall Budget Meetings

Tuesday, March 12, 11:30 a.m.
Northampton Senior Center
67 Conz St., Northampton

Wednesday, March 13, 7:00 p.m.
Leeds School Cafeteria
20 Florence St., Leeds

Monday, March 18, 7:00 p.m.
Bridge Street School Library
2 Parsons St., Northampton

Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.
Northampton High School Little Theater
380 Elm St., Northampton

In addition, we will schedule meetings at Ryan Road School and the Florence Civic Center in April.

Over the next several weeks I will need to make some extremely difficult decisions in order to balance our budget and I need your help. Please attend one of these meetings and give me your feedback, questions, and ideas. I would also appreciate your sharing this meeting info with friends and neighbors and encouraging them to attend.

The fiscal situation facing Northampton this year is daunting, but together we can meet this challenge and keep our great city moving forward. Thank you for your ongoing help and support!

Best wishes,