image description — The Board of Selectmen are asking residents to help research the best operations for town departments.

Lanesborough Asks Residents To Dig Into Municipal Finance

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
05:37PM / Tuesday, April 10, 2012Print Story | Email Story

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Town officials are seeking volunteers to dig into municipal finances to help close what they see as a looming 10-year budget crisis.

The Board of Selectmen have organized a town services study committee to analyze how the departments operate and recommend changes to increase efficiency. More than a dozen residents have already signed up for individual departments that range from public safety to the sewer system to the library.

"The undercurrent here is the 10-year budget crisis we're going to be in if we don't start to squeeze things," Selectman Robert Barton said on Monday.

The town recently plotted out a 10-year spending forecast that showed deficits growing from $250,000 to more than $1.5 million. The Selectmen called on department heads to start reducing their expenditures and are now asking residents to do their part in looking at a more intensive study and long-term view.

"This is more of a longer-term look at the nuts and bolts of the town," interim Town Administrator Joseph Kellogg said.

Once formed, the individual subcommittees will work on their own and report to the overarching study committee. The subcommittees will set their own meeting times but will have to abide by open meeting laws. Additionally, Barton said he recruited some of the area's experts to work as advisers. Those experts include Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Nathaniel Karns, Berkshire Housing President Elton Ogden and 1Berkshire CEO Stuart Chase.

"We tried to recruit them and they all said they'd be willing to help but could not commit the time. These people might be able to help advise the groups," Barton said.

Barton said that while some of the groups could return with recommendations quickly, others could take years. Currently there are 11 areas of town operations eyed for committees but the Selectmen said they would like even more - such as a sports committee to look at fields and sports programs.

In other business, Kellogg said he will be "strongly recommending" a warrant article at town meeting that will allocate about $27,000 to install automatic defibrillators in all town buildings. About half of the police cruisers do not have automatic defibrillators and the school's unit is no longer usable.

The issue was brought to the forefront last week when Planning Board member Aimee Thayer had a heart attack during a special town meeting.

Tags: planning, town budget,

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Pittsfield Outreach Program Sees Manager

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:29AM / Monday, August 17, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Health Department's outreach program has a manager and is seeking two outreach workers.

Earlier this month, Director of Public Health Andy Cambi updated the Board of Health on the creation of a new initiative that connects individuals on the streets with needed services.

He reported that Community Health Worker Gabrielle DiMassimo was tapped as the Community Health Program Manager a couple of weeks prior after it was posted internally. DiMassimo has been reaching out to unhoused people in encampments with the Parks Department and co-responders, and other staff this summer.

"She's been with the department for a couple years, holds a bachelor's degree in public health, and has been doing a lot of this work," Cambi said.

"Even in her college years, she was doing encampments and outreach with Worcester Public Health Department, so she really fit the bill for this position."

The position oversees Pittsfield's peer outreach initiative while advancing the long-term vision for the health department to be a more proactive, community-centered public health agency, as well as the health department's evolving responsibility to address prevention, access to services, social determinants of health, and community well-being through coordinated outreach and engagement.

Last year's controversial camping ordinance was sent to the Board of Health, and they determined it is not the best approach for Pittsfield. It was officially scrapped by the City Council earlier this year and replaced with a peer outreach program that provides harm reduction support services, navigation, and relationship-building with vulnerable residents.

The program director and outreach worker positions were approved by the City Council earlier this season. The outreach worker positions were posted internally, received applicants, and will soon go external to expand the candidate pool.

Cambi reported that the encampment group has been conducting outreach with DiMassimo. Workers speak with people at the encampments, tag the equipment, give the people an opportunity to relocate, and connect them with available resources.

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