Sherman: 'My Passion Turned to Anger'

A few of Amherst's department heads are taking issue with accusations made by selectman candidate Charlie Sherman that they are not “tightening their belts.”

Sherman Friday after losing his temper at a candidate's forum hosted by the Amherst Citizen's Association on Feb. 29, angrily accusing Town Clerk Nancy Demers and other town employees of doing a poor job.

In a telephone interview with Amherst Patch on Monday, Sherman said his “passion turned to anger” when he was at the forum. “Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, you say things you don’t necessarily mean to say,” he said.

He said town employees are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, especially the town clerk, and he did not mean to direct his anger toward them. He said he has since called Nancy Demers to apologize.

However, he insists that the department heads are not making enough cuts and are spending too much money.

“I will continue to disagree with the people who manage the departments because I look at my tax bill, as do many others in town,” Sherman said. He added that the current selectmen are not doing enough to "hold the line" on spending.

Still, he regrets his actions last week and the fact that he lost his cool.

“It is not the first time I’ve done it, but hopefully it will be the last,” Sherman said.

But Amherst Police Chief Peter Lyon, for one, takes issue with Sherman's assertion that town department heads aren't doing enough to limit spending.

“The group of people I am working with here in the town of Amherst are very hard working people and I’ve always found they are working for the good of the taxpayers in town,” said Lyon in response to Sherman’s accusations.

He added that Amherst has some of the lowest spending per capita compared to other towns in New Hampshire that are similar in size.

“It is always unfortunate when somebody makes public statements without having all of the information.”

Amherst Fire Chief Mark Boynton said that his department cuts as much as it can to keep costs low for the town.

“I can say in my short time here the Fire Department has tightened our belt, but there is only so much you can cut from a primarily volunteer department,” said Boynton. “The least we can do for our firefighters is provide adequate equipment to do the job.”

He said his department has cut more than $12,000 in the proposed budget to adjust for uncontrollable cost increases such as fuel, gasoline, propane and social security. They have cut money for tools, equipment, fire education, repair and training.

Also, Boynton said that the majority of his equipment over the past 8 to 10 years was purchased at little to no cost to the taxpayers with grant funds or donations.

“Our belt is as tight as it goes, and we are proud of the fact that Amherst Fire Department is one of three remaining fire departments in the state serving a community over 10,000 in population that is a primarily volunteer department,” said Boynton.

(The Feb. 29 forum can be seen on Comcast Channel 20. Check here for the replay schedule.)