Inside Monument Mountain Regional High School, residents approved a fiscal year 2026 budget of around $16.7 million.
“We've done a really fantastic job keeping the increase really modest, only $313,000 over last year, and this in a climate of ever-increasing costs. Electricity, insurance, etc., are all going up, and yet, we're presenting to you a town budget that's under a 2% increase," said Director of Planning & Community Development Chris Rembold.
Rembold is serving as interim town manager as Great Barrington searches for a permanent replacement for Mark Pruhenski, who left in January after five years.
“I'll note that 40% of this budget is made up by three major lines- Debt, which is 21% of the budget, retirement is 8%, and insurance is 11% of the budget," he continued. "Those are really big lines, and we're really happy to report that we're controlling our spending, our debt service, and our insurance this year, despite the fact that we've seen increases in all of those lines.”
Voters also signed off on the town’s $22.2 million share of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District budget, up around 5.5% over the current fiscal year.
“We've made significant progress on our high school building project, and we'll be talking to you about that more during the summer and the fall. We've added an additional vocational program in electricity at the high school, and that will hopefully open with our new school, and we've shifted to having no phones bell to bell in our all our schools," siad Superintendent Peter Dillon. “In terms of challenges, this was a very tough year for us connected to the budget, and it had a significant impact. And there's real uncertainty at the federal level tied to both policy and funding, and we're working through that. In terms of our budget priorities, we're trying very hard to provide a high-quality education for all our students, to provide a range of social emotional supports, and to ensure equitable access for all students.”
Dillon said budget increases were driven largely by sectors including contractual obligations, health insurance, the cost of services and tuition for a handful of local students sent off site for their education, utilities, and transportation.
“When confronted with this, we worked really hard to make some reductions," said the superintendent. "We eliminated nine staff positions, and that's a big deal. Six of them are teacher lines, three of them are administrator lines. We reduced purchases, we reduced stipends, and we're able to reduce our investment in technology in part, like the town, we were very successful at writing and being awarded grants, so we're able to shift some cost to technology for grants.”
Two zoning initiatives from the town’s planning board were also approved by voters. One sets up a campus overlay district for the grounds of Bard College at Simon’s Rock as the school prepares to close at the end of the spring semester after more than 60 years. The second concerns Great Barrington’s ongoing response to a commonwealth-wide housing shortage that has hit the Berkshires particularly hard.
“This article was drafted by the planning board to replace the planned unit residential development, PURD, regulations of the zoning bylaw. It's in existing section 8.5. The board discussed the PURD regulations, including its failure to meet its stated purposes. The PURD is essentially unnecessarily complex, does not require compact residential development of smaller, less costly homes, and does not facilitate the construction of infrastructure in an efficient manner," said planning board member Jacqueline Kain. “Under this proposal, RCD projects of four or more dwelling units will be allowed by right if the units are modest in size, clustered together with clustered non-intrusive parking, if the infrastructure is developed efficiently, and if open space by clustering development is provided. But [by] clustering development and limiting homes to smaller sizes, the development can be built more efficiently and cost effectively.”
Voters also overwhelmingly backed a $3 million plan to install a temporary bridge on Brookside Road after the state closed the current structure last year. Resident and retired physician Jim Fagan said the town had to act quickly to ensure emergency services could continue to operate without interruption.
“It is absolutely critical that clinical assistance arrive very quickly," he said. "Any delay in initiating medical intervention can result in a terrible outcome. Knowing that emergency assistance will be able to arrive within minutes of a 911 call is critical to the wellbeing of our community.”
Meredith Smyth said her family has already experienced how the bridge closure impacted emergency services in Great Barrington.
“This January, my 14-month-old son had a seizure that impacted his breathing," she told town meeting. "We called 911, and in figuring out the fastest way to get help for my son, dispatch instructed me to run across the bridge carrying my baby in my arms to meet the ambulance. Timing was everything, and there was no other option.”
Massachusetts says it could take up to a decade for the commonwealth to replace the shuttered Brookside Road bridge.
Residents also signed off on property tax exemptions for those over 70 as well as surviving senior spouses and minor children.
