PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The administration has presented a split rate that would increase the average single-family home's annual bill by about $220. 

On the agenda for Thursday's City Council meeting is a hearing for the fiscal 2026 tax rate: $17.50 per $1,000 of valuation for residential property and $36.90 for commercial, industrial, and personal property.  This rate uses a residential factor of 0.8299 at a shift of 1.75. 

While the rate is 44 cents cheaper than the year before for residential properties and more than a dollar cheaper for commercial properties, bills will rise. 

The FY26 levy limit of $119.5 million includes more than $2 million in new growth, and there is about $389,000 in excess level capacity. Pittsfield's real and personal property valuation is $5,650,879,534, more than $380 million higher than the previous year. 

The average single-family home has increased by more than $20,000 from $295,291 last fiscal year to $315,335 in FY26, and with the proposed tax rate, would pay $5,518.36 in taxes per year. This represents a $220.84 increase. 

The median home price increased at a similar rate, from $256,500 in FY25 to $275,150 in FY26.  Commercial property increased by more than $15,000, the median property valued at $224,250 in FY25 and $239,500 in FY26. The median commercial property would see a $327.42 annual increase in its tax bill. 

According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, there are 11,330 single-family homes in Pittsfield this fiscal year, four new parcels added from the previous year, and the assessed value of this property type rose by $226,274,900, totaling $3,572,750,000. There are 1,733 two-family homes, four fewer than the previous fiscal year, and that property type is assessed at $387,638,100. 

There are 712 commercial properties with a total value of $428,856,000, 242 industrial properties with a total value of $139,218,000, and 15 industrial power plants.