Caccamo, 35, was first elected to represent Ward 3 on the 11-member body in 2013. A fastidious legislator, he regularly displayed a keen interest in zoning and infrastructure in council chambers over the years he served Pittsfield.
“The biggest changes- One that I personally sort of observed and that's because I'm an avid cyclist and an avid pedestrian, is the city took some really large steps to become more pedestrian friendly, to mitigate the impacts of automobile culture," Caccamo told WAMC. "And that came through a couple of different ways. Some early planning process around the Complete Streets program, which is a state program that offers grant funding to communities who design and construct pedestrian-focused infrastructure, as well as the most recent bike facility master plan project. It's things like that, that sort of lay the groundwork for long term thinking of how people get around and what it means to think about transportation planning for a city of our size.”
WAMC first reported in February that Caccamo wouldn’t stand for a fifth two-year term in November. In May, he accepted the position of town administrator for Williamsburg – a Hampshire County municipality about 35 miles east of Pittsfield.
“Williamsburg, it's a small community, just about 2,500 people," said Caccamo. "And something that was so integral to Pittsfield is planning efforts, from both a community development aspect or city planning. That's sort of a deficiency in Williamsburg because we don't have the staff, we don't have a director of community development, we don't have a city planner. So we have to rely on external resources. And typically, that comes through grant funding for planning documents and exercises.”
Caccamo says the next city council – to be sworn in on January 3rd – will have to continue discussion about how to use the city’s stabilization funds to address rising taxes. He has confidence in the financial policies of Mayor Linda Tyer and her administration.
“They've really improved the fiscal outlook for the city over time, and to have additional levy capacity and what that means for potentially funding new opportunities and in charging that forward," said Caccamo. "So, I'll be interested to see what direction the council goes with. As the financial health of the city improves, that could mean changes to operating. Or it may move to a conversation where we should continue to look for ways to consolidate, sort of cut back. And ultimately, I think the goal of potentially keeping the tax rate in check or lowering that for residents will always be an important issue for city councilors. And the way that the tax rate conversation unfolded, I think that potentially it will carry over come June of ‘22.”
As he concludes nearly a decade representing the Pittsfielders of Ward 3, Caccamo says he has nothing but gratitude.
“This experience has been both highly informative and transformative," said Caccamo. "It was what helped me make a career change and be a nontraditional graduate student and pursue advanced degrees in public policy and regional planning. And it ultimately ended up as a town administrator of Williamsburg, which continues to unfold in a really positive direction and the work is super interesting, and it's allowing me to utilize the classes I took and continue work in the municipal sector.”
