AMHERST — Town Council is confirming its support for a series of recommendations designed to enhance public safety for Amherst’s Black, Indigenous and people of color residents.

Just days after postponing action at its Nov. 3 meeting, councilors on Nov. 7 voted 10-0, with three members absent, to reiterate their endorsement of various proposals they first gave support to three years ago.

In addition, the vote set an end-of-year deadline for getting the dispatching department to direct some nonviolent emergency calls to the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service, the unarmed police alternative.

The quick vote took place after At Large Councilor Andy Steinberg, who made the motion to delay the decision from the Nov. 3 meeting, apologized to CSSJC members that they had to sit through a long meeting before getting an audience with the Town Council.

“The reason I made the request to postpone had mostly to do with my support for CRESS,” Steinberg said.

He explained that he has pushed for dispatch to direct calls to CRESS and had been concerned that, with the meeting approaching midnight, councilors couldn’t have thoughtful deliberations if they needed to determine how to cover any added costs.

The recommendations the Town Council is supporting include creating a Resident Oversight Board for police and CRESS and a Youth Empowerment Center. The Community Safety Working Group began making recommendations in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Determining that there would be no added cost, councilors moved to a vote with no discussion.

The vote came after members of the CSSJC made it clear that they wanted action taken on the night of the initial meeting, no matter how late it was. Co-Chairwoman Debora Ferreira said she was “deeply saddened, frustrated and angry” by the decision to put off the vote.

“It shows, without a doubt, that you don’t care about the people on the margin,” Ferreira said.

Committee member Lissette Paradis said the Nov. 3 joint meeting was the first time since joining the panel that she had been to an in-person session with the Town Council.

“I did not know what to expect, but I can confidently say that the turn of events was definitely below my expectations,” Paradis said, observing that some councilors were falling asleep or nodding off.

Paradis was also concerned that some officials are now looking to Northampton’s Division of Community Care as a model for how an alternative, unarmed responders should be done. She cautioned, though, that Amherst’s needs are different from those in Northampton, saying that “Amherst has to be Amherst.”

“Even though that may be a very good program and effective for Northampton, Northampton’s needs can’t be compared to Amherst,” Paradis said.

Ferreira said she intends to make sure the Town Council and town leaders follow through, adding that she wants CRESS to have extended hours, at least from 4 p.m. to midnight, and a Youth Empowerment Center to open by August 2026, where ongoing youth empowerment programming led by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department would be housed.

“We will hold you accountable for the promise you make,” Ferreira said.

Committee member Everald Henry said CRESS will improve law enforcement throughout town because police officers will be able to focus on crime and incidents that merit their attention.

Among the public who commented, Pat Ononibaku, the president of the Black Business Association of Amherst Area, said people are hurting and the town election results showed this. “The voters want injustices addressed,” Ononibaku said.

Rani Parker, who has chaired the Human Rights Commission, said a substantial part of Amherst’s population is in distress, while Rabbi Esther Azar, who ran for School Committee, said not taking the steps recommended by CSSJC would be be financially irresponsible and keep harms continuing.