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Pittsfield Municipal Election Preview

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Voters will elect a city clerk, six School Committee members, four at-large city councilors, and seven ward councilors on Tuesday.

Polls for the municipal election open at 8 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. 

After a tumultuous year in the schools, the School Committee will be largely brand-new come January. The only incumbent running is Daniel Elias, and the only other candidate with experience on the committee is Katherine Yon. Newcomers are Ciara Batory, Sarah Muil, Jacob Klein, Geoffrey Buerger, Heather McNiece, Vicky Smith, and Carolyn Barry.

On the City Council, at-large incumbents Kathleen Amuso, Earl Persip III, Peter White, Alisa Costa, are being challenged by Lawrence Klein, Karen Kalinowsky, Sara Hathaway. Klein is the father of 18-year-old Jacob Klein, who is running running for School Committee; Kalinowsky is a former councilor, and Hathaway, former mayor, currently serves on the School Committee. 

Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren, Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn and Ward 4 Councilor James Conant is running unopposed for re-election. 

Corey Walker and Cameron Cunningham are vying to represent Ward 2, and incumbent Patrick Kavey is being challenged by Michael Grady in Ward 5. 

Incumbent Dina Lampiasi is being challenged by Walter Powell in Ward 6, and former councilor Anthony Maffuccio and Katherine Nagy Moody are running to represent Ward 7. 

Candidates have participated in an iBerkshires questionnaire, debates hosted by iBerkshires and Pittsfield Community Television, as well as several other publications to give voters an idea of their priorities for Pittsfield. 

School Committee Q&As can be found here and City Council's here.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin is running for re-election unopposed. 

All positions have two-year term lengths. The last municipal election, which included the mayor's position, had a 31 percent turnout for registered voters. 

Pittsfield polling locations: 


* Ward 1, Precinct A: Reid Middle School, 950 North St.
* Ward 1, Precinct B: Reid Middle School, 950 North St.
* Ward 2, Precinct A: Morningside Community School, 100 Burbank St.
* Ward 2, Precinct B: Somerset Fire Station, Somerset Ave.
* Ward 3, Precinct A: Providence Court, 379 East St.
* Ward 3, Precinct B: Egremont Elementary School, 84 Egremont Ave.
* Ward 4, Precinct A: Herberg Middle School, 501 Pomeroy Ave.
* Ward 4, Precinct B: Williams School, 50 Bushey Road
* Ward 5, Precinct A: Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave.
* Ward 5, Precinct B: Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave.
* Ward 6, Precinct A: Columbia Arms Housing, 65 Columbus Ave.
* Ward 6, Precinct B: Conte Community School, 200 W. Union St.
* Ward 7, Precinct A: Fire Station, 54 Peck's Road
* Ward 7, Precinct B: Capeless Elementary School, 86 Brooks Ave.


 


Tags: election 2025,   municipal election,   


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Pittsfield Council Sets FY26 Tax Rate

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council has set the fiscal year 2026 tax rate: $17.50 per $1,000 of valuation for residential property and $36.90 for commercial, industrial, and personal property. 

While the rates are 54 cents and more than a dollar less, respectively, than fiscal year 2025, bills will rise with property values. 

The average single home, valued at about $315,000, will increase by $220 per year, and the average commercial property $325 annually. This rate uses a residential factor of 0.8299 at a shift of 1.75 toward the commercial/industrial side. 

"We are at the highest we can. We cannot give residents any bigger break than we've been able to because we're at the highest, 1.75. We started last year at 1.75 and this year, so the last two years, we're at the highest," Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren said. 

"There's nowhere to go. We can go down, but that would increase the tax bills for the residential." 

He said many focus on the tax rate, but they should really be looking at the city's levy and the valuation of their own home, explaining, "Even if the rate was cut in half, but your valuation went two times, we still have to raise the same amount of money." 

The FY26 levy limit of $119.5 million includes more than $2 million in tax revenue from 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 value of 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, will be assessed $5,518.36 in taxes per year. This represents a $220.84 increase.

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