Pittsfield Accepting Applications for Senior Tax Work-Off Program

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The City of Pittsfield is now accepting applications for its Senior Tax Work-Off Program for Fiscal Year 2026.

To be eligible, applicants must be owners of residential property in Pittsfield and 60 years of age or older at the time of application.

Completed program applications must be postmarked or received by the Assessors' Office by May 30, 2025. Current municipal employees are not eligible to participate.

The program allows for a maximum of two participants per eligible property, with a total tax abatement limit of $2,000 per property. The tax work-off abatement, whether used alone or in combination with other exemptions, cannot exceed the annual taxes owed to the city. Income eligibility will be determined based on locally adopted guidelines derived from Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59, Section 5, clause 41D, with an additional $5,000 allowance. Participant selection will be based on financial need and will be valid for one year.

Qualified volunteers who are not initially selected for the program will be placed on a waiting list based on need, should other opportunities arise. The city is not obligated to offer an alternative position if a volunteer declines an assignment.

Income limits for the program are set at a maximum yearly income of $46,106 for married applicants and $38,798 for individual applicants. All volunteer work must be completed between June 1, 2025, and Nov. 30, 2025.

The program application is available on the city's website at http://cityofpittsfield.org/city_hall/board_of_assessors/index.php. Applications can also be obtained at the Assessors' Office, located in City Hall, Room 108, 70 Allen St.

For additional information, contact the Assessors' Office at (413) 395-0102.

Pittsfield Remembers Lives Lost to Overdose, Underscores Harm Reduction

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33AM / Tuesday, September 01, 2026

Mayor Peter Marchetti reads a proclamation at City Hall encouraging residents to raise awareness and lift each other up. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Dozens of people gathered downtown on Monday to remember those lost to overdose and work toward a future of zero deaths from substance use disorder. 

The Berkshire Overdose and Addiction Prevention Collaborative and its partners held a proclamation reading and flag-raising at City Hall, followed by a standout in Park Square with signs promoting the use of naloxone, harm reduction, and reducing associated stigma. 

There were 23 fatal overdoses in Berkshire County in 2025, 11 in Pittsfield. This is down 44 percent from the 41 countywide fatalities in 2024. 

While it is a significant decrease, advocates want to see that number at zero. 

"On the one hand, we're very pleased to see this significant of a decrease. This is actually the lowest number that we've had since [Department of Public Health] started collecting these numbers in 2013, but the goal is still zero," said Andy Ottoson, public health planner with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. 

August is International Overdose Awareness Month, the world's largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember those lost without stigma, and acknowledge the grief of families and friends left behind. September is National Recovery Month, a national observance to educate the public on the importance of substance use treatment and mental health services.

Samantha Kendall of Berkshire Harm Reduction explained that it is truly meeting people where they are, as they are, and when they are, "and I think we all do a really great job at that."

"We also want to remember that we're building a community for everybody, and systems and policies for everybody. That's really important in harm reduction work, so that's also the reason we're here today," she said.