Pittsfield Shows Higher Chapter 70 Funding, Rebounding Local Receipts

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's budget season kicked off on Monday with a review of Pittsfield's financial condition to the City Council and School Committee.

The city's projected revenue for the fiscal 2023 is about $183.6 million. This is about $8 million more than this year's projected revenue of about $175.5 million and is primarily driven by a $4 million to $5 million increase in Chapter 70 funding for schools.

Finance Director Matthew Kerwood said tax collections from FY22 are "on target."

About $94.7 million is committed to being collected during the fiscal year and 74 percent of real estate and personal property taxes have been received by the close of the third-quarter ending in March.

About $12.9 million of that number is expected for local receipts, which struggled alongside the hospitality industry during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic and have since been rebounding.

Some 73 percent of expected hotel/motel receipts have been collected and 61 percent of meals tax has been raised. In the third quarter of FY21, only about 56 percent of hotel/motel receipts and about 65 percent for meals had been received.

Though the receipts have increased, Kerwood noted that he keeps the estimates conservative.

"I am conservative in the local receipts estimates and have always been that way, and quite frankly COVID has made me more conservative relative to it," he explained.

"Especially as it relates to those that are economy driven, hotel/motel, meals, motor vehicle excise, so you're going to see in FY23, and we'll talk about that in a minute, not a lot of growth in the estimated receipts."

Championing all of the local receipts is the marijuana income which is at 85 percent.

The city is not doing as well in investment income, which is at 7 percent, and parking ticket receipts at 25 percent.

Kerwood related the low parking ticket revenue to the pandemic causing some of the office buildings in downtown to remain vacant. He said it is starting to tick back up but is not at pre-COVID levels.

"There's this mix of positive and negative but looking at it in the total picture, again, I continue to be conservative in that view of local receipts," he said.

Pittsfield ZBA Member Recognized for 40 Years of Service

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:23PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Albert Ingegni III tells the council about how his father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo who died at age 94 in 2020, enjoyed his many years serving the city and told Ingegni to do the same. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's not every day that a citizen is recognized for decades of service to a local board — except for Tuesday.

Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.

"It's not every day that you get to stand before the City Council in honor of a Pittsfield citizen who has dedicated 40 years of his life serving on a board or commission," he said.

"As we say that, I know that there are many people that want to serve on boards and commissions and this office will take any resume that there is and evaluate each person but tonight, we're here to honor Albert Ingegni."

The honoree is currently chair of the ZBA, which handles applicants who are appealing a decision or asking for a variance.

Ingegni said he was thinking on the ride over about his late father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo, who told him to "enjoy every moment of it because it goes really quickly."

"He was right," he said. "Thank you all."

The council accepted $18,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and a  $310,060 from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program.