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PCTV, iBerkshires Hosting Pittsfield Candidate Forums

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Television, in partnership with iBerkshires.com, will present live debates for all the contested races in the city of Pittsfield during the month of October. The debates will take place in the auditorium at the Berkshire Athenaeum.
 
The candidate forums will begin on Thursday, Oct. 14, with the ward council debates beginning at 6 p.m. 
  • Ward 1 debate begins at 6 p.m. with candidates Kenneth Warren and Andrea Wilson.  
  • Ward 2 debate begins at 6:30 p.m. with candidates Matthew Kudlate and Charles Kronick.  
  • Ward 4 debate begins at 7 p.m. with candidates James Conant and Andrew Wrinn. 
  • Ward 6 debate begins at 7:30 p.m. with candidates Dina Guiel Lampiasi and Edward Carmel.  
There are no races in Wards 3, 5 and 7. 
 
On Monday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m., the candidate forum for School Committee will take place. All candidates on the ballot received invitations to the debate, including incumbents William Cameron, Mark Brazeau, Nyanna Slaughter, Alison McGee, and Daniel Elias; and challengers Vicky Smith, Katie Lauzon, Sara Hathaway, Karen Reis Kaveney Murray, and Bill Tyer. Two of the candidates, Slaughter and Lauzon, have indicated they are no longer running for a seat on the six-member committee. 
 
On Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m., the six at-large City Council candidates will face off in a 90-minute debate for the four seats up for election. The candidates for the at-large race are incumbents Yuki Cohen, Pete White, Peter Marchetti, and Earl Persip III as well as challengers Craig Benoit and Karen Kalinowsky.
 
The series of debates are moderated by representatives of iBerkshires and Pittsfield Community Television. They are open to the public and will be broadcast live on PCTV CityLink Channel 1303 in Pittsfield, on the PCTV Select App available on Roku and Apple TV, and on the Pittsfield Community Television Facebook page.
 
PCTV and Berkshires are also soliciting questions from the public. You can submit your question for the candidates to election@pittsfieldtv.org and the moderators will work some of the questions into the debates. 
 
Pittsfield's municipal election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2.  Polls open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
 
Pittsfield Community Television is Pittsfield's Public, Education and Government Access Television Station. A 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, PCTV's mission over the past 35 years has been to provide access to the medium of television and related technologies and to provide the Pittsfield community with local television programming.  
 
iBerkshires.com is an independent, locally owned, online-only news publication that has been covering Pittsfield and the Northern Berkshires for more than 20 years. Its mission is to keep the community informed of local news and events.

Tags: debate,   election 2021,   municipal election,   


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Pittsfield Reviews Financial Condition Before FY27 Budget

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The average single-family home in Pittsfield has increased by more than 40 percent since 2022. 

This was reported during a joint meeting of the City Council and School Committee on March 19, when the city's financial condition was reviewed ahead of the fiscal year 2027 budget process.

Mayor Peter Marchetti said the administration is getting "granular" with line items to find cost savings in the budget.  At the time, they had spoken to a handful of departments, asking tough questions and identifying vacancies and retirements. 

Last fiscal year’s $226,246,942 spending plan was a nearly 4.8 percent increase from FY24. 

In the last five years, the average single-family home in Pittsfield has increased 42 percent, from $222,073 in 2022 to $315,335 in 2026. 

"Your tax bill is your property value times the tax rate," the mayor explained. 

"When the tax rate goes up, it's usually because property values have gone down. When the property values go up, the tax rate comes down." 

Tax bills have increased on average by $280 per year over the last five years; the average home costs $5,518 annually in 2026. In 2022, the residential tax rate was $18.56 per thousand dollars of valuation, and the tax rate is $17.50 in 2026. 

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