Berkshire Benchmarks Releases State of the County Update

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Benchmarks data team recently released a State of the County Update for 2023. 
 
This brief report builds on the Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County Report published in May 2022 and highlights notable changes in regional indicators over the past year. The berkshirebenchmarks.org website has also been updated to reflect the most current available data. 
 
The purpose of the Benchmarks initiative and report is to highlight the region's successes and challenges.
 
The 2022 Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County report provided a comprehensive overview of our region's performance across eight sectors: Economy, Education, Environment, Government, Health, Housing, Social Environment, and Transportation.  
 
In the future, the Berkshire Benchmarks team will continue to monitor these and other indicators to aid with the regional understanding of changes in these sectors and whether the work happening throughout the region is having the intended impact. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks is a collaborative initiative managed through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Our sources are publicly available data, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey, various Massachusetts data sets, and periodic surveys of Berkshire County residents. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks aims to work with the community to understand priorities and help inform the region on how we are doing and if we are improving. Berkshire Benchmarks enhances the region's access to quality data and analysis. 

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Dalton Special Town Meeting Rejects Land Buy for Police Station

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Voters hold up cards to be counted on a vote to cast secret ballots on purchase of land question. Voters rejected the land purchase but authorized buying electronic devices for future voting.  
DALTON, Mass. — A special town meeting on Monday night authorized 11 of 12 warrant articles, only nixing a contentious proposal to buy land for a police station.
 
After nearly an hour of discussion, 113 voters rejected by secret ballot the purchase of land on West Housatonic Street for $69,700.
 
Article 2 needed two-thirds to pass, and failed 65-48, about 10 votes short. 
 
A motion was made by Robert Collins for the article to be voted on by secret ballot to ensure ballot privacy, which was approved by 72-19. 
 
Town officials have been debating options for a new police station for more than year, focusing on several parcels that could host a new building and, more recently, the possibility of a combined fire and police station. These included the West Housatonic site, another on Main street and the vacant Dalton High lot next to the Senior Center. 
 
Resident Adelard Nadeau Jr., who previously served on the Fire District's Prudential Committee, argued that the town is spending money that it does not have. 
 
He advocated for the lot by the Senior Center which he believed to be cheaper and shovel ready. 
 
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