PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In the 1960s and 1970s, the city had close to 60,000 residents. It's now closer to 40,000.
That's led Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell to toss out the idea of shrinking the size of the City Council. Connell filed a petition asking to start a process to reduce two of the four at-large seats on the council. He says that could save the city some $50,000 and still provide adequate representation.
"We would still have a ward council representing each area of the city and two backup councilors at large," Connell said.
The council would be composed of the seven ward seats and two at-large councilors. Between the stipends of about $8,000 each for councilors plus the benefits offered, that could cut costs on the council by $50,000. He said all departments are looking at shrinking and the council should do the same.
Former City Councilor Barry Clairmont spoke during the open microphone period of Tuesday's meeting to suggest even greater savings could be had by opting out of giving councilors health insurance. He estimates some $200,000 could be saved that way.
"If the reason is cost savings, I would suggest there is a bigger savings to be had and it wouldn't need to go to a vote would be if the City Council cut its health insurance," Clairmont said.
Clairmont said the city should wait 5 1/2 years for the entire charter to be reviewed instead of trying to change the representation right now. The charter has to be reviewed after 10 years, which will begin again in 2023.
City Solicitor Richard Dohoney, however, put a halt to both lines of thought. By state law, the City Council can't make such a change. He said the only way to reduce the composition of the council would be for a citizen to file a petition calling for an "elected charter review commission." There would have to be an election of those members, and then those members would need to bring a new charter to a citywide vote.
"It has to come from an elected charter commission, that is not what you had a few years ago," Dohoney said of the city's recent appointed commission that recrafted the entire charter.
Connell ultimately filed his petition.
In other business, Greylock Federal Credit Union donated $5,000 toward the city's contract with ShotSpotter. The company will install gunshot detection systems in a portion of the city to alert police immediately when weapons are discharged. Berkshire Health Systems is funding half of the contract to the tune of $300,000 and Lee Bank donated $5,000.
"We still have a ways to go. This will bring us to $310,000 altogether," Mayor Linda Tyer said, adding that state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier is seeking another $100,000 in state funds to help fund it.
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State Fire Marshal: New Tracking Tool Identifies 50 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires
STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' new tool for tracking lithium-ion battery fires has helped to identify 50 such incidents in the past six months, more than double the annual average detected by a national fire data reporting system, said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine.
The Department of Fire Services launched its Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Investigative Checklist on Oct. 13, 2023. It immediately went into use by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and local fire departments were urged to adopt it as well.
Developed by the DFS Fire Safety Division, the checklist can be used by fire investigators to gather basic information about fires in which lithium-ion batteries played a part. That information is then entered into a database to identify patterns and trends.
"We knew anecdotally that lithium-ion batteries were involved in more fires than the existing data suggested," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "In just the past six months, investigators using this simple checklist have revealed many more incidents than we've seen in prior years."
Prior to the checklist, the state's fire service relied on battery fire data reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS), a state-level tool that mirrors and feeds into the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). NFIRS tracks battery fires but does not specifically gather data on the types of batteries involved. Some fields do not require the detailed information that Massachusetts officials were seeking, and some fires may be coded according to the type of device involved rather than the type of battery. Moreover, MFIRS reports sometimes take weeks or months to be completed and uploaded.
"Investigators using the Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Checklist are getting us better data faster," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "The tool is helpful, but the people using it are the key to its success."
From 2019 to 2023, an average of 19.4 lithium-ion battery fires per year were reported to MFIRS – less than half the number identified by investigators using the checklist over the past six months. The increase since last fall could be due to the growing number of consumer devices powered by these batteries, increased attention by local fire investigators, or other factors, State Fire Marshal Davine said. For example, fires that started with another item but impinged upon a battery-powered device, causing it to go into thermal runaway, might not be categorized as a battery fire in MFIRS or NFIRS.
Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.
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Between disagreements about site design and a formal funding process not yet established, more time is needed before a decision can be made.
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The Ordinances and Rules subcommittee on Monday unanimously supported a pay raise for election workers, free downtown parking for veterans, and safeguards to better protect wetlands.
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A parking study of North Street will be presented at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The design maintains parallel parking while expanding pedestrian zones and adding protected bike lanes. click for more