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SteepleCats Play Final Two Home Games Of 2018 Season This Week

By John WoodNorth Adams SteepleCats
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass —With the NECBL regular season ending on August 1st, the 2018 SteepleCats will make their final appearances at Joe Wolfe Field this week with home games on Friday and Saturday.

Starting on Friday, the SteepleCats will take on the Danbury Westerners at 6:30. Their second matchup of the season, the SteepleCats look to even the season series as the Westerners pulled off a 9-3 victory over North Adams on the opening night of the season. Yet since then both of the teams have had their struggles throughout the season, coming into the game with similar records.

Then on Saturday, North Adams will host a rare doubleheader against their long-time rival in the Keene SwampBats. With their second meeting at Joe Wolfe Field being rained out twice, the teams will square off in two seven-inning games on Saturday with the first game starting at 3:30. With the playoffs out of reach, the SteepleCats will look to play spoilers as the SwampBats are of the three teams separated by half of a game fighting for the final two playoff spots.

Following Saturday’s game, the NECBL All-Star Game will take place at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke, MA on August 29th. First baseman Jackson Coutts and center fielder Jeffery Brown have been chosen to play on the Northern Division roster, as they both have been key contributors to the SteepleCats offense and defense all season long. However, the final Northern Division spot has been left to the fans to vote for. The SteepleCats are calling upon the fans to help vote infielder Joe Porricelli into the All-Star Game, as his bat and glove have been a major part in the North Adams lineup. Head to www.Vote18.NECBL.com to cast your vote.


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North Adams Council Votes $55M Budget

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The $55 million fiscal 2027 budget approved by the City Council on Tuesday had been cut by $298,000, as of Monday.
 
The proposed fiscal 2027 spending plan is $54,964,135.99, up 5 percent over this year. The Finance Committee gave a final recommendation of the draft on Monday.
 
Of the amount approved, nearly $24 million comes from state aid (minus $4.5 million in charges), $9.5 million from local receipts, and $25 million through taxation. 
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the Finance Committee, as it was giving its final look at the plan, that she'd made cuts on previously recommended budget lines. The budget has been under review for several weeks. 
 
"We were trending at $1.8 million that we were closing the gap on, and then it became evident that we couldn't push any more really on local receipts," she said. "The team really took a deep dive into what can we really survive without. ... I feel like we, as an administration, tightened up a lot, but we are trying to keep the budget in balance."
 
The reductions, use of $663,000 in reserves and accounts sitting outside the general fund, will be used to close the gap, along with an anticipated $1.1 million more in local receipts.
 
"We have the reserve, we should use it. It's hard to both on the city side and on the school side, you know, to say to a taxpayer, your taxes are going to go up, we have spread out this $2 million and we're sitting on a savings account for $2 million right?" the mayor said.
 
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