During a recent Northampton City Council discussion regarding the Academy of Music crisis few queries were posed by Councilors to Mayor Higgins, the only Academy Trustee among them. I find this lack of discourse disappointing when considering the acute media coverage, letters to the editor, guest editorials, and barrage of online communications put forth by ordinary citizens. Several elected officials were content to revise this outpouring as false hysteria created by the media and I respectfully disagree. During their meeting docile Councilors bobbled their heads in cadence with Mayor Higgins’ declamation to look forward as she implored them to glance briefly in their rearview mirrors while reasoning there will be many bites at the apple regarding her Academy pension plan. Thus a public policy debacle was reduced to facile and inappropriate imagery, that we’re driving a car, eating fruit, and should stay focused on what lies ahead. Mayor Higgins would rather we not examine the origins of the Academy’s problems too extensively.
Then the Council approved $50 thousand in spending for the Academy’s heating bill, so we are in essence paying first and can ask questions later in what likely will be a choreographed meeting absent television cameras. As a veteran of city petition initiatives and working group processes, from Hospital Hill to Smith College expansion to the Sustainability Plan, I offer these insights as to what might be in store for February 17: Criticisms will be marginalized as being uncivil and backward thinking. Incomplete explanations and past ill-advised decisions will be minimized. Those running the meeting and in authority will remain immune from accountability. As time runs out hands may still be extended upward representing comments that will not be heard. Finally, depending upon the meeting’s tone, it is doubtful there will be plans announced for future forums.
Having attended the Silver Chord Bowl Sunday at John M. Greene Hall, it was clear the Academy is on everyone’s mind, so much so that one of the Masters of Ceremony mistakenly welcomed us all to the Academy of Music! The election season kicked-off early as well with six local politicians running ads in the Four Sundays in February arts program, whose other sponsors read like a Who’s Who of Higgins and Smith College administration supporters.
Residents failing to recognize these policy orchestrations for what they are however, permit these municipal charades to continue ad nauseam. The following represents a sampling of issues raised by the public prior to the Council meeting that provide ample fodder for discussion but were ignored:
With 48 hours notice twelve employees were fired without severance packages, with limited health insurance provisions, no pension benefits, and the loss of accrued vacation time. How is this not a calamity?
Trustees intend to utilize per diem staff for the few remaining events scheduled at the Academy, after they fired the unionized staff. How might organized labor respond to this?
When I petitioned the Mayor’s office for the Academy’s tax-exempt application on behalf of the Paradise City Forum, she referred me to the Board of Trustees President. In her role as my elected representative on that same board I didn’t expect her to shirk the request, I expected her to access these public documents and share them with the community. How is this not the Mayor’s responsibility?
How has the Academy’s deed and Nonprofit Board’s bylaws been reconciled? Who decides which document takes precedence and when?
The Nonprofit Board’s bylaws require the formation of a 25-member Advisory Board. Why has this board lapsed?
A Trustee was granted the Academy’s insurance contract in 2004, which would not be allowed with other municipal entities due to conflict of interest laws. Why did this happen?
Do Trustees benefit from personal tax deductions due to the tracking of their volunteer hours on Academy tax returns?
There has not been public disclosure regarding how a $2 million grant received in 2000 has been allocated for Academy capital improvements. Who received the contracts and what processes were utilized in dispensing this public money? Combine this with the $50 thousand for heating expenses and how is this not taxation without representation since the Academy is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees that has never held a public meeting?
Mayor Higgins, in your six-year tenure on the Board were there no problems that deserved public attention until recently?
The Academy Board of Trustees and PBS television affiliate WGBY Channel 57 in Springfield recently brokered a deal in private promising to assist the Academy in strengthening its fundraising and programming. Why wasn’t the public informed that negotiations were taking place?
In my view a public apology is in order from the Board of Trustees. When public governance fails it is imperative that officials set aside denials and acknowledge such shortcomings in order to restore public confidence that officials attempt to manifest policies through clear vision, not simplistic metaphors. While looking forward constitutes an appropriate measure it is my hope that Northampton residents are paying close attention to the details of the events that have led to the Academy of Music’s demise. If the Council is not going to ask difficult questions of the current administration then it is up to the voters to express themselves at the ballot box this fall.
