Pittsfield Launches a New Municipal Website

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City of Pittsfield has partnered with CivicPlus, a provider of integrated technology solutions exclusively for local governments, to launch a new, mobile- responsive, user-friendly municipal website.
 
Beginning on Monday, July 7, the new city website, www.pittsfieldma.gov will be live and available for use. Visitors to the old website will be redirected to the new website to view the most up to date content and resources. The city encourages the public to update their saved bookmarks to the new web address.
 
Looking forward, Mayor Marchetti says that its new CivicPlus website will be a tool that will continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of the community.
 
"This new website will allow Pittsfield to increase in resident engagement by offering fresh content with a layout that is easier to navigate," said Mayor Peter Marchetti.
 
"Working with CivicPlus, we were able to create a more accessible and mobile-friendly user experience that should make it easier for visitors to find relevant information quickly," said Kevin Zawistowski, chief information officer. "The dot gov (.gov) address change helps the city build trust and legitimacy in a time where it is very easy to imitate or spoof public government websites
and email."
 
Residents can sign up to receive press releases, agendas, page updates, alerts and more by using the Notify Me function on the new website. To sign up, click Stay Connected on the homepage and follow the steps on the Notify Me page.
 
In addition to the launch of a new municipal website, all email addresses for city employees will also have a new domain starting later this month. More information will be shared once this process is finalized.

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Dalton Starts Talks on STRs

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Short-term rentals have sparked extensive debate across Berkshire County, and now Dalton is joining the conversation.
 
During the Planning Board meeting on Wednesday, the topic of short-term rentals was briefly raised and will be discussed in more depth at its July meeting.
 
The state Department of Revenue flags short-term rentals as owner-occupied or occupied for 14 days or less. By law all units must register, but units occupied by guests for fewer than 15 days a year do not need to collect tax.
 
Some towns, like Williamstown, have defined a rental of a whole or a portion of a dwelling unit, in exchange for payment, as residential accommodations for not more than 30 consecutive days. 
 
Dalton does not have a bylaw for short-term rentals. Definitions on similar rentals within the bylaws are: 
 
Motel, which is defined as a hotel primarily for transients traveling by automobile, with a parking space on the lot for each lodging unit with access to each such unit directly from the outside
 
Lodging, bed-and-breakfast, boarding, or tourist house, which are defined as a residence with rooms rented or used by paying guests, transiently or permanently, where not more than six bedrooms are used for shelter and sleeping accommodations for guests, and guest meals may be provided.
 
Although Building Inspector Brian Duval has not received any complaints, the town's lack of a short-term rental bylaw needs to be addressed to prevent "major problems" other towns are experiencing, including Lanesborough and Lenox. 
 
If Duval receives a complaint, he is required to immediately send a cease and desist, shutting them down, Vice Chair Robert Collins said. 
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