Pittsfield Man Charged in Murder

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police have arrested a suspect in the murder of a Pittsfield man on Friday evening. 
 
Desmond Phillip, 42, is facing charges in the murder of 43-year-old Teddy Cepeda.
 
Police responded to a Goodrich Street address at approximately 6:30 p.m. Friday after receiving a 911 call and found Cepeda with a gunshot wound. Paramedics transported Cepeda to Berkshire Medical Center, where he died.
 
The Pittsfield Police and the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office established probable cause to arrest Phillip for the shooting. 
 
The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing. Anyone with information should contact Pittsfield Police Detective Ignacio  Matos at 413-448-9700, Ext. 576.
 
Phillip is expected to be arraigned on Monday.

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Pittsfield FY27 Budget Up Only 2.9%

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— On Tuesday, the City Council will refer the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget of $232,782,090. 

It is about 2.9 percent, or a $6.5 million increase from the previous year. The budget public hearing will be held on May 19.

The FY26 spending plan, which was described as "best that they could," was a nearly 4.8 percent increase from the previous year. 

Budget line items were separated by personnel and non-personnel costs to show the impact of salaries on the operating budget.  For example, $1,335,684 of the finance and administration budget goes to personnel, $207,500 to non-personnel, and $14,565,313 of the police budget is for salaries, $1,874,108 for non-personnel costs. 

The DPU water treatment enterprise has been budgeted $6,738,952, $1,255,584 for the sewer enterprise, and $11,796,683 for the DPU wastewater enterprise. 

Also on the agenda for Tuesday is a request to use $2,000,000 to reduce the Fiscal Year 2027 tax rate, and a 5-year Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Years 2027-2031. 

The School Committee has approved an $87,200,061 school budget for FY27 that includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding, $18 million from the city, and $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues.  It is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million. 

Pittsfield's proposed 5-year improvement plan invests more than $455 million in important capital projects with a focus on roadway quality, parks and recreational opportunities, facility improvements, safe and functional vehicles and equipment for staff, and modern information technology.

"The proposed General Fund (GF) Capital Investment Strategy recommends a commitment of 6.5% of GF revenues for capital projects," the document reads. 

"The plan also includes funds for all water and wastewater capital projects from enterprise fund revenues (i.e. water/sewer rates and retained earnings) and reflects the City's substantial efforts to seek State grant funds and other funding sources for capital projects." 

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