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Proposed Pittsfield Tax Rate Would Hike Bills 8.75%

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The administration is proposing a split tax rate that will increase the average homeowner's bill by 8.75 percent.

City Council will hold a tax classification hearing on Tuesday for the fiscal 2024 tax rate; the meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Mayor Linda Tyer and the Board of Assessors have put forward a residential rate of $18.45 per $1,000 of valuation and a commercial, industrial, and personal property rate of $39.61.

This is based on a residential factor of 0.8151 and a commercial shift of 1.75. The city will utilize a levy of about $109.1 million.

The residential rate for FY23 was $18.32 per $1,000 of valuation and the commercial, industrial, and personal property rate was $39.21. If the council adopts the proposed rates, there would be a 13 cent, or 0.7 percent, increase for residential and a 40 cent, or one percent, increase for commercial, industrial, and personal property.

An average home valued at nearly $267,914 will pay an estimated $4,943 in property taxes, representing a $397.82 increase from the previous year when the average home value was $248,100.  This would amount to about $33 additional dollars a month.



Commercial properties would see a less dramatic increase of about $145 yearly, as the assessed median value has only increased by $1,550 from FY23.

The assessed residential value for FY24 is $3,868,977,337, an 8 percent increase from the previous year, and the city's total taxable value is $4,822,885,672, a 7.5 percent increase from the previous year.  
The FY24 tax levy of $109,166,941 is a 7.93 percent and more than $8 million increase from FY23.

Between receipts and real and personal property taxes, the city expects to raise almost $230 million in FY24.
 


Tags: fiscal 2024,   tax classification,   

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Beverly Gans Marks 60 Years & Counting in the Pittsfield Schools

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools recognized Beverly Gans for her 60 years of service with the district with a lunch and crystal plaque on Friday. Gans will mark 40 years as secretary to principal at Taconic High School in June.
 
"It's been a wonderful experience, and I wouldn't trade it … I've seen generations go through,"  she said. "I've seen kids go through, I've seen their kids go through, I've seen their grandkids go through … it's just been a wonderful life for me to have this,"
 
Her former students will come back to the school surprised to see the secretary they connected with years prior. 
 
The students, staff, and administration are what make this school great, she said. 
 
"I bleed green and gold," Grans said. Last year on her 77th birthday, the faculty bought her green and gold Nike sneakers that she wears every Friday. 
 
She has become a pillar of the district over the last six decades, so much so that even district leaders look up to her. 
 
"Most people come to me for anything and everything, even in the district. I mean, there's so many new people. I mean, most of the secretaries today, I don't even know them," Gans said. 
 
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