Pittsfield Accepting Applications for Senior Tax Work-Off Program

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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.

 

 

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Pittsfield ConCom OKs Stairs at Pontoosuc Lake

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Shoreline access stairs are coming to the south side of Pontoosuc Lake. 

Last week, the Conservation Commission approved an amendment to the Order of Conditions for work at Pontoosuc Lake Park.  There will be two stair sets on the south shoreline, and additional bank stabilization. 

In 2025, the park's south side saw new stairs from the parking lot, a boardwalk, and other improvements.  Later phases of the project will enhance the north side of the park for swimming, and remedy a concrete barrier wall that is partially underwater. 

"Generally, what we're looking to do at Pontoosuc Lake Park is install some stair sets in two locations to help folks access from up above the bank, over the bank, and into the water," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained during the July 23 meeting. 

"We're sensitive to some of the issues that are currently existing on the bank, and we're also sensitive to some of the needs for lake recreation out there."

Stairs for water access will be placed on the shoreline at the beginning of the boardwalk, where it is highly eroded, and the second staircase will be at the extreme western end of the project area, which has around 100 feet of highly eroded bank. 

Additional brush layering will also stabilize the bank. 

An area near the boat ramp where live stakes were vandalized will see them replanted after the ConCom found some of the bank erosion was worse than believed on a site visit last year. 

The city originally proposed not replanting the area where live stakes were removed. 

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