Election 2009: Malumphy Passing Out Baseball IOUs

01:32PM / Monday, September 14, 2009Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As reported in a front-page story* in The Berkshire Eagle on Saturday, Sept. 12, the owners of the American Defenders baseball team still owe all fees and payments for the use of Wahconah Park estimated to be $35,000.

Mayor Ruberto's response: he is confident that the monies will be received and that the ebb and flow of business can sometimes challenge cash flow.

Malumphy's team released the following response: "We as taxpayers often have cash-flow issues, but do we stop paying our water bill, do we stop paying our property taxes? One would think if the owners of the Defenders can pay at their leisure, why can't every taxpayer in Pittsfield?"

Therefore, Malumphy will be at the steps of Pittsfield City Hall on Monday, Sept. 14, at 8:30 a.m. with a basket of baseballs. Any participant can write "IOU" [fill in the amount of your property tax bill] and then return the ball so it can be delivered to the mayor's office later in the morning.

Candidate Malumphy also added, "There have been so many flagrant misuses of public monies used on a park which rests in a flood plain and yet none of those monies, which were designated to mitigate drainage issues, were used for that purpose. In the end, over three-quarters of a million dollars of taxpayer money was used to significantly upgrade a most-beloved park, but a park that was under water all summer and will only continue to be flooded in the years to come."

Submitted by the Campaign to Elect Pam Malumphy

*This link is only available for 10 to 14 days.

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Dalton Officials Talk Meters Amidst Rate Increases

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:44AM / Tuesday, February 03, 2026

DALTON, Mass. — The anticipated rise in the water and sewer rates has sparked discussion on whether implementing meters could help mitigate the costs for residents

The single-family water rate has been $160 since 2011, however, because of the need to improve the town's water main infrastructure, prices are anticipated to increase.

"The infrastructure in town is aged … we have a bunch of old mains in town that need to be changed out," said Water Superintendent Robert Benlien during a joint meeting with the Select Board.

The district had contracted Tighe and Bond to conduct an asset management study in 2022, where it was recommended that the district increase its water rates by 5 percent a year over five years, he said.

This should raise enough funds to take on the needed infrastructure projects, Benlien said, cautioning that the projections are a few years old so the cost estimates have increased since then.

"The AC mains, which were put in the '60s and '70s, have just about reached the end of their life expectancy. We've had a lot of problems down in Greenridge Park," which had an anticipated $4 million price tag, he said.

The main on Main Street, that goes from the Pittsfield/town line to North Street, and up through woods to the tank, was priced at $7.6 million in 2022, he said.

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