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On the Issues

Economic Development and Job Creation: Encourage Economic Development by making Great Barrington a better place to do business. Provide support to small businesses and the innovation economy. Work with Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to implement BRPC economic development proposals. Favor development projects which create more jobs.

Affordable Housing: The Selectmen should support projects which will create more affordable housing in Great Barrington. Additionally, tax incentives for year-round occupancy will increase the supply of affordable housing.

Sale of Town-Owned Buildings: Buildings should be sold to buyers who will do the most to improve Great Barrington's quality of life. See 1. and 2. above.

Property Taxes: Selling the excess real estate the Town owns will allow us to bring in tax revenue from the new owners instead of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to heat and insure unused buildings, which will reduce the tax burden on Great Barrington residents. We should consider all spending carefully to ensure it really is advantageous to the town. Additional ideas to explore include local option taxes on hotels and restaurant meals, and higher property tax rates on second homes.

Infrastructure: Improve broadband access. Greater access to broadband has been shown to make workers and businesses more productive, and to provide a better educational environment for children.

Education & Workforce Development: Bringing in businesses that want to hire is not enough. We need to make sure workers have the skills they need. Encourage Berkshire Community College and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District to establish programs which will train students for the jobs of the future.

Public Safety:  Implement the recommendations of the Buracker report. Remove the next Police Chief from the civil service system to ensure greater accountability. Civil service was designed to protect rank and file officers from the political process, not to make the Chief unaccountable to Great Barrington's elected leaders.

Energy and Environment: Where feasible, install energy-saving light bulbs and other energy-saving equipment on Town property to save the Town's money and the environment. Favor development projects which are environmentally-friendly, and promote renewable energy through tax credits.

Lake Mansfield Road: Leave the road open to traffic going in both directions. Requiring drivers to take a longer route would increase traffic in the rest of town and add to air pollution. There are legitimate safety concerns about Lake Mansfield Road in its current state. Those are best addressed through use of traffic calming devices, lowering the speed limit, and better enforcement of existing laws against speeding.

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