Inside the town offices’ gymnasium, voters in the affluent Southern Berkshire community of around 2,000 approved an $13.4 million general operating budget — 9% higher than the current year — for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1st. Residents also signed off on updates to the town's accessory dwelling unit bylaws to conform with new state standards as well as a $4 million share of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District budget. Stockbridge boasts a median income of over $130,000 a year, far above the national average of around $81,000.
Over the course of the three-hour meeting, the most hotly debated question concerned a citizens petition calling on Stockbridge to invest $600,000 in acquiring a parcel of land at 0 Interlaken Cross Road with the intent of applying a conservation restriction on much of the property before selling the remainder for development.
“This property is governed by Chapter 61 which gives, of course, the town the right of first refusal. That does not mean that we're getting into the real estate business. If we can immediately sell two lots, get most of our money back, and that leads to a very happy situation in which we have some growth," said resident Peter Ackley, who told attendees Stockbridge faces a development crisis. “We do not want to be no growth. That, obviously, would be a mistake, but it gives us some growth, and gives the town the possibility to, in fact, the likelihood of controlling the growth, which is something that we need to pay very close attention to. Because of the economics, the developers are licking- they see Stockbridge as red meat, and if we don't control it, we're going to become Great Barrington.”
Others agreed.
“We, the people, should control the growth of Stockbridge. Let us control our destiny to define our town's growth instead of allowing developers to have to work for their own enrichment," said resident Amy Pollack. “By adopting this plan, we will have a strategy, a blueprint that puts us in control as each new block of land hits the market. There are over 50 of these blocks that will be coming on the market soon. Please, to all of you and the selectmen- Please protect our unique small-town way of life that has served Stockbridge so well. Please protect it for all the future generations.”
The town’s land trust explained why it chose to stay out of the fray around the parcel.
“This property was brought to the land trust's attention by Berkshire Natural Resources Council. They had indicated that they were asked to participate in the acquisition of the property as well as to conserve it, and they indicated that they declined that offer because it didn't meet their portfolio profile. The same or similar opinion was brought to us by Laurel Hill [Association]," said President Rich Bradway, who is also an alternate member of the town’s finance committee. “In terms of the land trust, there were a number of people who wrote letters asking us to help with paying for this purchase. The purchase price is $600,000, the assessed value is $150,000. If you try to figure out what the fair market value is of that property, $600,000 is still considerably higher than what the fair market value would be of that property- And as a nonprofit, we're not permitted to purchase something well above- Like typically, we can maybe stretch it and go 10% above fair market value.”
That committee explained it had voted unanimously against the proposal for two reasons.
“We were concerned about our reserve position, having recently established a policy which the select board also established of maintaining a reserve policy of essentially 15% reserves. Now, this particular proposal would result in a reduction of our free cash position down to $70,000, far below the 5% target that we adopted- We, that is, again, the finance committee and the select board. At a time like this, when revenues from outside the area, whether it's state reimbursements, coming from federal funds are being reduced, we have to be very, very careful about maintaining our reserve position," said member Steve Shatz. “The second one was that we believe strongly that every time a parcel of land is removed from the tax rolls, we are shifting the tax burden to every person sitting in this room who pays taxes. Now, with over 50 properties currently in Chapter 61, as every one of those properties comes out of 61 and if a town were to establish a project for the purchase of these properties, somehow or other, the lost tax revenue has to be made up. That puts a further burden on people in this town.”
Voters overwhelmingly rejected the petition with 135 “no” votes to 65 in favor.
Other items Stockbridge residents approved included the purchase of an almost $300,000 new ambulance, tax exemptions for veterans, and $200,000 for repair work for the cupola of the Stockbridge Chime Tower.
