Resident warns Amherst against untested emergency hiring under HELPS program
During public expression, resident Jane Cox urged the board not to adopt the state's HELPS program without safeguards, arguing it could sidestep civil-service testing and enable favoritism; board members described county and state review steps and an 8‑week probation under HELPS.
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Jane Cox, a resident of Harlem Road, told the Amherst Town Board during public expression that the proposed HELPS (Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement) program risks weakening civil-service protections and could enable friends-and-family hiring if not tightly controlled. “The stinks of the friends and family program,” Cox said, arguing the town should not remove testing safeguards or residency requirements without clear qualification controls.
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