In late November, the council punted on the tax rate vote over concerns about steep hikes. The average homeowner will see a roughly $400 increase in property taxes as Pittsfield works to fund a $205 million budget for fiscal year 2024. Per outgoing Mayor Linda Tyer’s proposal, property taxes will fund over $109 million of that spending plan.
During the open mic portion of Tuesday’s meeting, Pittsfielder Ann Carey expressed concerns about the new rates.
“I'm cringing about the threat of increased taxes," she told the council. "My taxes went up substantially last year, and it was painful. I'm retired and on the classic fixed income and then I got a notice that the electrics going up. And it scares me. I don't know how much I'm going to be able to sustain. So, I hope you're as conservative as possible on the taxes in the city budget. Thank you."
Ward 1 city councilor Kenny Warren spoke out against Tyer’s plan.
“If we pass this tax rate today, we will be the highest commercial rate in the state," he said. "Of the 275 that have certified their tax rate as of today, we are going to be the top. And we are $3 more than the second highest, which is North Adams, and we are $4 more than the third highest, which is Springfield. We are also in the top 10 for residential.”
For the future, Warren proposed a residential exemption for Pittsfield to more equitably distribute the tax burden on property owners.
“You're shifting the rates from the lower valuations on to the higher valuations," he explained. "So, those people who have very expensive houses who are probably, have the money to pay for those because they're currently earning, usually, they can pay the higher taxes for the people like we heard, the woman who came before us who's retired, she's a retired nurse.”
Pittsfield’s properties assessment went up by 7.5% this year, contributing to the tax increase. The new tax rates will see residential property taxed at $18.45 per $1,000 of assessed value, an increase of 13 cents over fiscal year 2023. Commercial, industrial, and personal properties are also up, rising 40 cents to $39.61 per $1,000 of assessed value.
At-large city councilor Karen Kalinowsky will not return next year after a failed bid for mayor in this year’s election.
“I did not vote for the budget," she said. "There was cuts we could have made. We didn't make them. I did not vote. The people that did vote for it- Well, I didn't know at the time, and shame on me, was, we should have been given a number to what the tax rate would have gone up prior to the council voting on that budget. Because that's what this is. So, for everybody that voted yes for the budget, shame on you, because it wasn't the full council.”
Outgoing Ward 3 city councilor Kevin Sherman responded.
“I don't put shame on myself for supporting a budget that I supported, because I believe that we have services that we need to provide," he said. "I think the frustration that I have and my constituents have is that we have outlaid a lot of money, and we're still waiting to see things to come to fruition. Some of it's not our fault, some it's not our departments’ faults. We did outlay a lot of money for roads, and we had contractual delays, and those have been kicked down, the can’s been kicked down the road, and that's a frustration. We're still running- We have utility companies working every day on roads, not fixing them correctly, that we're redoing.”
Sherman said despite hating the tax rate, he would support it and defended his decision.
“If we want to see real cuts to his budget, we're talking about real cuts," he said. "We're talking about human resources being cut in our departments that mean a lot like the police department, the fire department, the school department, those are the largest parts. I'm not willing to sacrifice those areas.”
While some councilors sought to use free cash reserves to lower the tax rate, the city said they could not as the funds had not yet been certified by the state. Finance Director Matt Kerwood noted that Pittsfield had already put free cash toward lowering taxes into its budget.
“We came forward with a million in this particular budget," he said. "Our policy has been no more than $750,000, but in practice, it has always been more. With the exception of one year, it's been more than $750,000.”
The city council ultimately passed the fiscal year 2024 Pittsfield tax rates in a six to four vote, with Warren, Kalinowsky, Ward 2’s Charles Kronick, and Ward 7’s Anthony Maffuccio in opposition. At-large city councilor Earl Persip was absent. Like Kalinowsky, Kronick and Maffuccio are not returning for the 2024-2025 council term. Kronick did not seek a second term, and Maffuccio was defeated in November by Rhonda Serre. It was also the final meeting for Ward 3’s Sherman after the representative chose to not seek re-election.
