An upcoming tax override vote is dividing Easthampton and nearby towns.

On June 9, Easthampton will vote on a proposed 6.9-million-dollar tax override. The override was proposed by a Budget Task Force assembled by Mayor Salem Derby, who recently declared a financial crisis in Easthampton, emphasizing the City’s need to retain its essential programs in schools, public affairs, and veterans support. The override, which would allow the city to increase taxes, has the support of numerous community members, including students at Easthampton High who led a walkout on Tuesday May 19.

The override would prevent numerous layoffs within the public school system and support in school programs like the “We the People” debate team and the school’s sports teams. It would also fund other public programs like emergency response and veteran’s affairs. Similar financial crises are popping up around Massachusetts in Southampton, South Hadley, and Braintree among other cities and towns.

President of the Easthampton City Council, Koni Denham, told The Willistonian that if she could fix the problem on a large scale, she would start by changing the tax rates for the ultra-wealthy.

“If we want to look at ‘why are schools needing more funds? Why are states not able to give more funds?’ I think you have to look at the fact that more and more corporate greed, more and more wealth is being concentrated at the top,” she said. “That is removing the available funds in the system for the rest of us. So, if I could wave a wand, right, and I could have what I wanted, then I would want there to be, uh, a fair tax rate for everybody”

With the current situation, however, she believes the override to be the best option available.

“I believe it should be passed,” she said. “And city council is going to do what we can to try to make additional amendments to the budget, to bring that override number down.”

Kasey Corsello, a homeowner in Easthampton and one of the owners of the Corsello Butcheria which recently closed its shop in Easthampton, says that the vote is complicated for her and her family. She would like to support it, and has previously supported similar policy, but is unsure if she can afford the tax increase, which for her would amount to $175 per month.

“The system itself is broken,” she said. “I hate that these are my only two choices.”

She added that as a mother of two kids currently in the public system, she doesn’t want public programs to be cut.

“[The kids are] where money should be spent,” she said.

Jess Atkins-Barber, a sophomore at Easthampton High School, runs the “vote_yes_for_easthampton” account on Instagram and is member of the Yes for Easthampton Committee.

She values the override for its impact on all aspects of the Easthampton community.

“I personally think that the override is important, not just for schools, but also for the entire city,” she stated, adding that without it, years of work towards supporting public services will go down the drain. “We’ve really worked hard to get Easthampton to the point where it is at now. Our school system, and our public safety, and our Department of Public Works. We worked really hard over the past few years to get to a point that we like, and it’s over if it doesn’t pass, we’re gonna lose a lot of that work that we put in.”

Emphasizing the complexity of the issue, Corsello expressed empathy for both sides of the vote.

“It’s not wrong that people are trying to stay in their homes,” Corsello said. “It’s also not wrong for people to push for [the tax override].”