1Berkshire Selected Inaugural Economic Recovery Corps Fellowship Sites

11:10AM / Wednesday, February 07, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 1Berkshire, in partnership with the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), announced its selection as 1 of 65 inaugural host locations across the country for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)'s Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) Fellowship program.

This program, supported by the United States Economic Development Administration, assigns and funds fellows to host organizations for 2.5 years of intensive, project-focused work with the goal of making aneconomic impact on the service area. 1Berkshire was selected from over 500 organizations and communities that applied to be a host for this inaugural ERC class, and is 1 of only 4 hosts selected in all of New England.

1Berkshire and the BIC have focused the work of their fellow around several of the goals outlined in their work with the Berkshire Tech Impact Collaborative, a joint endeavor of 1Berkshire, the BIC, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College (OLLI). Since 2020, this trio of organizations has been focusing attention and efforts on better understanding, growing, and supporting the tech and digitally-enabled economy of the region, bolstered with additional support from the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI).

The 1Berkshire fellow, selected from an applicant pool from across the country, is already a familiar face in Berkshire County. Cody Chamberlain of North Adams was selected by the IEDC and matched with 1Berkshire over a five-month application process. He is a member of the North Adams Public Schools Committee.

With a dynamic background in tech and innovation startups in Boston, youth engagement, customer service, and program design, Cody brings not only skilled capacity, but additional thought leadership to the work of 1Berkshire and the Berkshire Innovation Center.

Cody will be working specifically around a set of functional areas that helps more inclusively grow the creative technology sector of the region by: supporting existing businesses, providing recruitment, technical assistance, and navigation for emergent startups, building partner and resource networks and referral systems, and engaging youth in startup development to foster workforce growth and entrepreneurial skill building for the next generation. Cumulatively this project's work, branded the "Berkshire Next Generation Entrepreneurial Bridge Initiative," will engage a breadth of regional and state partners, creating a powerful and sustained coalition.

"It is incredibly exciting to have been selected as part of this highly-selective program, and it just goes to show that the potential and aspirations we hold here in the Berkshires are second to none," said Ben Lamb, 1Berkshire vice president of Economic Development. "With Cody on board, we now have the deepened capacity to launch these focused initiatives and efforts forward, and make even more effective and inclusive impacts on the region's innovation economy."

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Pittsfield Begins Review of $226M Budget for Fiscal 2026

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
05:12AM / Tuesday, May 27, 2025

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On the second night of fiscal year 2026 budget hearings, the City Council preliminarily approved 11 departmental budgets in 40 minutes.

Conversation on Thursday began with a discussion about employee raises. Mayor Peter Marchetti explained that everyone's raises are different, but his, based on the consumer price index, is a 3.1 percent hike from $119,313 to $125,279.

The budget was presented on Wednesday, May 21.

"For department heads and some middle managers, they're also with the same CPI index of 3.1 percent. According to the code, the mayor is entitled to give them a merit-based raise if he or she chooses to. I did for all the department heads retroactively, and it was just recently that I had done that," he explained.

"And the logic behind it is, if you pick up a union contract, and I'm just generically speaking, if a union contract says their (Cost of living adjustment) is 3 percent they're also entitled to a step increase, which is about 3 percent and so staff is getting a pay raise of 6 percent while the administrative team is only getting a raise of 3.1 percent and in some cases, very quickly, the second in command could be making more than the department based on contract."

When an employee meets all of their requirements and goals, they are entitled to a two percent merit raise. There are merit raises budgeted for FY26 so far.

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant was absent, and there were no speakers during public comment.

Mayor

The $275,723 mayor's office budget was preliminarily approved with little discussion. It is a $13,907, or 5.31 percent, increase from the previous year.

Account Name	2022 Approval	2023 Approval	2024 Approval	2025 Approval	2026 Approval
Mayor	$102,428	$110,000	$115,725	$119,313	$125,279
Director of Admin Services	$62,889	$67,605	$70,000	$72,170	$75,779
Executive Assistant	$46,516	$50,004	$53,872	$54,133	$56,840
Markets and Advertising	$125	$125	$200	$200	$200
Supplies	$2,575	$2,450	$2,500	$2,500	$3,500
Travel	$0	0	$1,000	$1,000	$1,500
MA Municipal Association	$11,500	$11,500	$12,500	$12,500	$12,625
Total	$225,908	$242,784	$255,797	$261,816	$275,723

RSVP

The $132,021 Retired Senior Volunteer Program Budget was preliminarily approved with some discussion. It is a $7,943, or 6.40 percent, raise from the previous year.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa inquired about $35,000 and $36,000 salary lines in the department, as they are "extremely low." Director Lisa Torrey explained that those positions get about a $10,000 pay bump through a grant.

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