Westfield residents have the opportunity meet with Candidate Matt Emmershy at an up coming Meet and Greet, that he is hosting at Skyline Trading on Sept 11th from 6-9pm.
I hope that residents are able to come down, introduce themselves, and get to know me. I have been out on my bike every evening knocking on doors. I entered the race late, so it will take some time for me to make it to every neighborhood. This is no small task.
I decided to run for City Council At Large in July after the City Council narrowly passed the Mayor’s budget by 1 vote on June 22nd.
I attended the June 21st public participation budget meeting. The chamber and halls were filled with residents and small business owners, who almost unanimously stated “Enough is enough”, and that they could not afford higher taxes.
I was one of those concerned residents who had not planned to speak, but ended up doing so anyway. While many people are grateful for those councilors who are listening to the very real concerns of the residents, it’s clear that the majority of our councilors are not listening. Government needs to get back to basics. In Westfield, core services are being neglected and under funded, with priority being placed on budget busting niceties. All while our roads and bridges are falling apart.
In the mean time, we are literally taxing residents out of their homes. Many people cannot afford to retire in Westfield. Working families and seniors cannot afford to pay higher taxes, and they are postponing making necessary repairs on their homes.
I’ve heard from seniors in the most rural sections, to those living in Ridgecrest, who have owned their homes for years. This year we are facing a whopping 5.5% residential (6% commercial) tax increase unless the mayor chooses to utilize free cash and/or stabilization funds to reduce this increase.
I find this to be unacceptable, and this was the final straw in my decision to run. As a father and husband, I want what’s best for our city. We need a Council that will listen to the people, work together to get things done and make the hard decisions that are needed to keep us from hitting the prop 2-½-tax ceiling. We need new faces who will join with those on the Council that will listen to residents and bring new ideas to the table.
Head downtown on the 11th to Skyline located at 124 Elm St.
Matt Emmershy
Candidate, City Council At-Large
