Clarksburg Puts Assessors Property Cards Online

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town has made easier to learn about local properties with a new online listing of property cards from the Board of Assessors.

The Web page for the assessors also provides information on tax rates, office hours, contact information, assessing FAQs and real estate lot maps. The latest version of Adobe is required to view the maps and cards; real estate maps worked fine in Internet Explorer and Chrome but did not load in Firefox.

"This site will allow people to pull up property cards and see the number of rooms, lot size, assessed value and the value that was added," said Town Administrator Thomas Webb. "The people that use them predominately are real estate appraisers, assessors and banks."

The site was launched about two weeks ago and the Berkshire County Board of Realtors was notified of the online access. The field cards contain public information used for property valuation.

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.