Tyer Proposes $189M Pittsfield Budget, Up $10M

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The mayor is proposing a nearly $189 million budget for fiscal 2023 that is about $10 million higher than the this year's $179 million budget.

Mayor Linda Tyer's request to raise and appropriate $188,589,144 for the FY23 operating budget was referred to the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday.

Departmental deliberations will begin next week on Tuesday, May 17, with a public hearing on the budget and five-year Capital Improvement Plan, which was made available to the public on Tuesday.

The budget proposal includes $242,784 for the mayor's office, $109,262 for the City Council, $9,138,800 for the Fire Department, $11,927,437 for the Police Department, and $56,686,954 for unclassified spending.

The proposed school department budget is $72,398,262, which is a 7.56 percent, or $5,086,562, increase from this year. Most of the increase is in contractual obligations, which increased by about $4.7 million.


Within the school budget is $1,895,347 for administration, $55,822,847 for instructional, $4,526,341 for other school services, $6,372,746 for operations and maintenance, $472,358 for fixed costs, $68,074 for adult learning, $234,047 for acquisition of fixed assets, and $3,626,502 for tuition payments.

With $570,000 in school choice revenues and $50,000 in Richmond tuition revenues, the total budget amounts to $73,018,262.

Three orders related to the Community Preservation Fund were also referred to the Committee of the Whole: to Amend Order 45 of the 2021 Series, appropriating $974,480.93 for the FY22 Community Preservation Fund budget; to appropriate $670,317.00 from the FY22 Community Preservation Fund budget; and to appropriate $818,435.44 for the FY23 Community Preservation Fund budget.

Last summer, the council adopted an overall budget of $743,451.75 for the fiscal 2022 administration of the CPA. Eleven of the 13 applications received were deemed eligible and funded for a total request of $716,782, with a further reduction after two projects were further refined the costs of their projects.


Tags: fiscal 2023,   pittsfield_budget,   

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Berkshire DA Creates Gun Task Force After Pittsfield Shootings

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —  After a series of gun violence incidents, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue has created a task force to focus on the issue. 

On Sunday evening, three people were taken to the hospital after a shooting near the intersection of Linden Street and Francis Avenue. This is the third gun violence incident in Pittsfield since mid-June. 

The investigation into all three incidents is still active, and police are confident that they are targeted acts of violence. 

"Right now, our community is rightfully extremely concerned and troubled," Shugrue said in a statement released on Monday.  

"There are many unanswered questions surrounding these incidents of violence. There is an understandable feeling of frustration and fear that no one has been arrested and limited questions have been answered." 

The task force will be led by First Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey, who formerly served at the U.S. Department of Justice's Violent Crimes and Racketeering Section. It will support the Pittsfield Police Department's work and provide additional resources, including additional personnel and overtime funding through grants awarded to the Berkshire DA to support the investigation.

Members of the Pittsfield Police, the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit assigned to the District Attorney's Office, and the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force will be present. 

On June 18, a person died after being shot in the area of Tyler Street and Pleasure Avenue, and another person was injured. Following an extensive investigation, PPD applied for and was granted an arrest warrant for Terry Martizna, wanted for murder. 

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