North Adams Council to Vote Tax Classification on Tuesday

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The administration is proposing to raise the property tax rate about 2 percent for fiscal 2017.

Mayor Richard Alcombright is recommending the City Council continue the commercial shift at 1.71, which pushes more of the tax burden onto commercial, industrial and personal property taxes.

That would mean an increase of 31 cents per $1,000 valuation, or a rate of $17.70 for residential, and 61 cents more for the commercial rate, or $38.54.

The average single-family home valued at $136,900, would see a property tax bill of $2,423.13, up about $83 because last year's home value was more than $1,300 less.

If the council were to prefer a single rate at next Tuesday's tax classification hearing, the tax rate for all properties would be $22.54 per $1,000.

The tax levy for fiscal 2017 is $16,139,266, up 2.58 percent, about $400,000, over last year. Residential provides 60 percent of the levy and commercial about 27 percent.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.