Public Records

The Town of Amherst has designated Town Clerk Susan Audette as the Records Access Officer (RAO) for Town Government requests, as designated by the Updated Public Records Law, implemented on January 1st, 2017.

The RAO has a duty to:

  • Coordinate the Town's response to requests for access to public records;
  • Assist individuals seeking public records in identifying the records requested;
  • Assist the custodian of records in preserving public records; and
  • Prepare guidelines that enable requestors to make informed requests.
For records that are not already available on amherstma.gov, public records requests can be submitted to the RAO via email or in writing.

The Town of Amherst strives to provide the highest possible level of transparency by providing public records online, allowing a vast amount of information to be acquired without the need for a public records request. Public records are available throughout amherstma.gov, with many popular record sets available via the OpenGov to the Max information portal.


Please see below for RAO's in other Town Departments.

Police Department:

Joy Jolie
111 Main Street
Amherst, MA  01002
Email:  joliej@amherstma.gov
Ph:  413-259-3016
Fx:  413-259-2408


Fire Department:

W. Tim Nelson, Fire Chief
Central Fire Station
68 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA  01002
Email:  nelsonw@amherstma.gov
Ph:  413-259-3082
Fx:  413-256-4087


School Department:

Debbie Westmoreland, Assistant to the Superintendent
170 Chestnut Street
Amherst, MA  01002
Email:  westmorelandd@arps.org
Ph:  413-362-1823