Letter: Re-Elect Christine Hoyt in Adams

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To the Editor:

The financial health of the Town of Adams has improved greatly in the nine years since Christine Hoyt was elected to the Board of Selectmen, and I am voting for her re-election so that Adams will continue to benefit from her expertise.

Here are two examples of better financial management during Christine's tenure on the board.

Our Stabilization Fund has increased by 264 percent. The Stabilization Fund is the state's name for what is considered a savings account for rainy days. When Christine was first elected in 2017, the Stabilization Fund had only $331,968 in it. For the past nine years, Christine has supported fiscal policy that resulted in a Stabilization Fund certified in July 2024 at $1,207,110.


Our residential tax rate has decreased by 27 percent, from $21.37 when Christine was elected in 2017 to $15.63 in 2026. Adams' commercial, industrial, and personal property tax rate has gone down by 12 percent, from $24.55 to $21.51 over that period. Christine has contributed to the decrease in the rate by supporting level-service budgets and conservative budgeting. I know that increases in property values have meant increases in tax bills, but they would have been worse had the rates remained higher.

If she is re-elected, Christine supports a plan to further help the tax rate by addressing the inequity that causes some taxpayers who do not live within the Adams Fire District to pay taxes to support the wastewater treatment plant. Implementing a sewer-use fee means that those taxpayers will no longer pay for sewer services they can't use. And, the fee would allow the town to recoup costs for sewer use by nonprofit properties that don't pay for the sewer services they use because they don't pay property taxes.

Please join me in voting for Christine Hoyt on May 4 so that she can continue working on behalf of our town.

Dianne M Cutillo
Adams, Mass. 

 

 

 

 

 


Tags: election 2026,   town elections,   


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Adams Man Sentenced to State, Federal Prison for Child Rape

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An Adams man pleaded guilty on Friday in Berkshire Superior Court to multiple counts of aggravated rape of a child and aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. 
 
Brian Warner, 39, was sentenced by Judge Michael K. Callan to 25 to 28 years in state prison. 
 
The defendant pleaded guilty to the following:
  • Two counts of rape of a child with force
  • One count of aggravated rape of a child
  • Two counts of rape of a child, aggravated, five-year age difference
  • Four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14
  • Fourteen counts of aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under 14
  • Nine counts of posing a child in the nude
  • Two counts of possession of child sexual abuse material
Callan attributed the lengthy sentencing to the egregious nature of the defendant's crime. In his sentencing memo, the judge wrote, "In fashioning this sentence I have also considered the Sentencing Guidelines, which were established by a Sentencing Commission created by our Legislature and consisting of prosecutors, defense counsel, public safety and correctional officials, and victim-witness advocates. 
 
"While not mandatory, these guidelines were designed, among other goals, to promote consistency in the sentencing process in our judicial system. The guidelines utterly fail in some circumstances and this is one of them."
 
Warner produced child sexual abuse material, otherwise known as child pornography. In doing this, the defendant raped and assaulted a child over a period of two years. Law enforcement uncovered hundreds of images produced by Warner.
 
"Justice was served today, but Warner's crimes are deeply disturbing. When a child in our community is harmed, it naturally causes us to reflect on how we can do more to protect our children. To the survivor and their [singular] family, this outcome cannot undo the trauma you endured; however, I hope it offers some comfort in knowing that your abuser has been held accountable under the law," stated District Attorney Timothy Shugrue. 
 
Chief of the Child Abuse Unit Andrew Giarolo, an assistant district attorney, represented the commonwealth and Ian Benoit the victim witness advocate on behalf of the DA's Office. The Adams Police Department led the investigation with support from the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit's digital evidence lab.  
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