Four Members Elected to BCC Board of Trustees

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Four new members have been elected to the Berkshire Community College (BCC) Board of Trustees. 
 
The board is composed of area residents appointed by the governor of Massachusetts.  
 
Suzanne Bateman, student trustee, is a non-traditional student at BCC, a mother of four and a grandmother of nine. Since 2015, she has owned and operated Autumn's Bistro, a restaurant and special events operator. Previously, she owned and operated Pepe's Kitchen and was a transportation coordinator for Ace Cab Company. A graduate of August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colorado, she is now a business administration student at BCC, where she is active in the Student Government Association. 
 
Jason Cuyler?is Executive Director of Second Street Second Chances, a nonprofit under the direction of the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office that connects formerly incarcerated people of Berkshire County with the tools, programs and support they need for reentry into their community. He is licensed social worker who has been a case management coordinator for the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office for 20 years, where he also serves as the office's certified High School Equivalency Test (HiSET)?proctor and lead certified application counselor. Cuyler is a board member of Hillcrest Educational Centers, Berkshire United Way and The Christian Center, as well as a member of the Berkshire County District Attorney's Domestic Violence High Risk Team. He holds a criminal justice certificate and bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 
 
Harry “Chip” Moore III is Executive Vice President at Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, where he was previously Vice President/Controller. A native of Washington, Massachusetts, he began his financial career in the Berkshires in 1990 as a tax consultant for H&R Block in Pittsfield. He then joined Adams Cooperative Bank, where he remained for 17 years, rising to the position of Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer. Moore also served as Vice President/Controller at Greylock Federal Credit Union before joining the Pittsfield Coop. He holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Westfield State College, a master's degree in executive bank management from Babson College, a diploma from the National School of Banking, and a master's in business administration from the University of Maryland (Adelphi). Moore is a past board member of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, past treasurer of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, past treasurer of the American Red Cross (Berkshire County Chapter) and past board member of the Visiting Nurses Association of Northern Berkshires and North Adams Regional Hospital. 
 
Jennifer Vrabel is Executive Director of Communications, Planning, and Development at Berkshire Health Systems. Previously, she was Director of Development at Berkshire Medical Center, Executive Director of the Literacy Network of South Berkshire and Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Williams College. She is a board member of Downtown, Inc. and is active with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pittsfield. Vrabel earned a bachelor of arts degree in art history from Williams College. She was an honoree of BCC's 40 Under Forty awards in 2022 and was also named to Berkshire Magazine's Berkshire Top 25 list in 2018. 

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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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