Williston Can Afford It

Easthampton homeowners just took on an average of $1,200 more in property taxes. Williston, with $130 million in assets, pays $0 on its tax-exempt properties.Do you think they should pay their fair share?

Williston's Fair Share

If they weren't tax-exempt, Williston's 32 parcels would provide Easthampton with $867,728 in property taxes.

Williston Can Afford It is a group of Easthampton residents asking Williston Northampton School to make a regular payment to the city through a PILOT agreement.A PILOT, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes, is a voluntary payment a tax-exempt institution makes to its host community. Nonprofits don't pay property tax, but they rely on the same roads, fire trucks, ambulances, police, and schools that every taxpayer funds.If Williston's 32 exempt parcels were taxed like every other property in town, they'd owe $867,728 a year. Williston pays nothing. We're asking Williston to show it's invested in the town it calls home.We're asking Williston to:1. Make a meaningful annual payment to Easthampton that reflects the city services it relies on.
2. Put it in a written, multi-year agreement, so the city can count on it at budget time.
3. Make the agreement public.

Easthampton Services Used by Williston

Williston relies on Easthampton every dayStatistics between January 2025 through April 2026:

AmountService
282Total city emergency responses, Jan 2025 – Apr 2026
144Fire and EMS responses, including 11 hospital transports
138Police responses across 23 campus addresses
1Active structure fire: Reed Campus Center, May 16, 2025
$260,000 / yearCost to Easthampton Public Schools of educating faculty children, in and out of district

That’s an average of four emergency calls a week, plus $1,444 every school day to educate faculty children. All of it is paid for by Easthampton taxpayers.

Williston's Wealth

Williston reports its finances to the IRS every year on Form 990, which is public. Here's what it shows.

AmountDetails
$130mTotal assets
$60mEstimated value of exempt property
$44.5mAnnual revenue
$6.2mDonor contributions in one year
$82,700Tuition per high school boarding student

Williston has the resources to be a full partner in the community it calls home.

Williston's Wealth

Williston reports its finances to the IRS every year on Form 990, which is public. Here's what it shows.

AmountDetails
$130mTotal assets
$60mEstimated value of exempt property
$44.5mAnnual revenue
$6.2mDonor contributions in one year
$82,700Tuition per high school boarding student

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a PILOT?

A Payment in Lieu of Taxes. It's a voluntary payment a tax-exempt institution makes to the community it's part of. Many Massachusetts colleges, hospitals, and private schools make them.

Does Williston pay property taxes?

Not on its 32 tax-exempt parcels. Taxed at the FY2025 rate like every other property in town, those parcels would owe $867,728 a year.

Can Williston afford to pay something?

Yes. In fiscal year 2025 (July 2024 – June 2025), Williston reported:

  • $130 million in total assets
  • $44.3 million in revenue
  • $6.2 million in donor contributions

For scale, the full $867,728 is about 2% of one year's revenue, or roughly one week of it. It's about 14% of one year's donations.

How much does Williston rely on city services?

From January 2025 through April 2026, Easthampton fire, EMS, and police responded to campus 282 times. That's about four calls a week on average, including 11 ambulance transports to the hospital and an active structure fire at the Reed Campus Center.

Easthampton Public Schools also spends $260,000 a year educating faculty children, about $1,444 every school day.

How does that compare to what residents pay?

In June 2026, Easthampton voters approved a $6.9 million override, raising taxes about $1,200 a year on the median home.

The $260,000 school cost alone equals that increase on about 217 homes. The $867,728 Williston would owe equals it on about 723 homes, or about one-eighth of the entire override.

How much should Williston pay?

That's for Williston and the city to work out. We're asking for a meaningful annual payment that reflects the services Williston relies on, in a written, public, multi-year agreement.

Williston is a nonprofit. Why should it pay anything?

The law exempts nonprofits from property tax, and we're not challenging that. A PILOT is voluntary. It recognizes that the school uses the same city services every taxpayer funds.

Can the city make Williston pay?

No. In Massachusetts, PILOTs are voluntary. That's why public support matters: Williston will act if its neighbors make clear they expect it to.

Doesn't Williston already give back to Easthampton?

Williston contributes to community life in real ways, and we value that. But programs and goodwill don't pay for firefighters, ambulances, or teachers. A PILOT does.

Are you against Williston?

No. We're Williston's neighbors. We want Williston and Easthampton to thrive together.

Who's behind this campaign?

Easthampton residents volunteering their time. We're not funded by any organization.

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