Berkshire Benchmarks Releases State of the County Update

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Benchmarks data team recently released a State of the County Update for 2023. 
 
This brief report builds on the Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County Report published in May 2022 and highlights notable changes in regional indicators over the past year. The berkshirebenchmarks.org website has also been updated to reflect the most current available data. 
 
The purpose of the Benchmarks initiative and report is to highlight the region's successes and challenges.
 
The 2022 Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County report provided a comprehensive overview of our region's performance across eight sectors: Economy, Education, Environment, Government, Health, Housing, Social Environment, and Transportation.  
 
In the future, the Berkshire Benchmarks team will continue to monitor these and other indicators to aid with the regional understanding of changes in these sectors and whether the work happening throughout the region is having the intended impact. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks is a collaborative initiative managed through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Our sources are publicly available data, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey, various Massachusetts data sets, and periodic surveys of Berkshire County residents. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks aims to work with the community to understand priorities and help inform the region on how we are doing and if we are improving. Berkshire Benchmarks enhances the region's access to quality data and analysis. 

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Dalton Select Board Reorganizes

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board voted Robert Bishop as chair and Dan Esko as vice chair during its meeting last week. 
 
The motion was made by Marc Strout and seconded by Bishop to nominate Esko as vice chair. 
 
Esko has been on the board for four years and has served as vice chair for one year thus far. 
 
He said later that he is feeling very positive about the future and is happy to continue serving as vice chair.
 
"Having served as chair of the Planning Board for several years previously, I am comfortable in a board leadership role and can run meetings competently and efficiently in the absence of the chair," he said in a follow-up.
 
"I am looking forward to continuing my work on the Select Board with my colleagues to address the town’s current and future needs in collaboration with the Town Manager, department heads, and other boards and committees." 
 
The motion was made by Strout and seconded by Joesph Diver to nominate Bishop for chair. The decision passed unanimously. 
 
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