Pittsfield Sees Similar Water/Sewer Rate Hike in FY27

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:57PM / Tuesday, May 26, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The mayor's office has proposed a 7 percent water rate increase and a 6.40 percent sewer rate increase for fiscal year 2027.

Budget season has begun, and on Tuesday, the City Council will see proposed water and sewer rates. This would increase scheduled accounts by about $6.50 per month, and metered accounts would rise by about $4.30 per month.

They are based on a 5.10 percent Consumer Price Index Factor.

"The rate changes proposed support the budget for the Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds and fund increases in salaries and expenses for Utilities system operations, debt service for capital projects, and the build-up of Retained Earnings," Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities wrote in a communication.

Under these rates, the average household would pay about $370 per year for one toilet and about $461 for its sewer, totaling around $831. Additional toilets would cost about $416 per year, and metered water would be $2.67 per 100 cubic feet for water and $5.48 per 100 cubic feet for sewer, totaling $8.15 per 100 cubic feet.

Swimming pool charges would increase from $100 annually to $120.

The FY26 increases were almost the same: a 7 percent water rate increase and a 6 percent sewer rate increase.

A couple of years ago, Mayor Peter Marchetti proposed a formula-based approach for water/sewer rates that aims to fairly adjust rates yearly using the Consumer Price Index Factor (CPIF) and the Operational Stability Factor (OSF).

The CPIF is a way to adjust for inflation or deflation and is calculated by comparing the year-over-year change in February of the CPI index for water and sewer. Prior to this, sewer and water charges were established from time to time by the commissioner of public services and utilities and adopted by the City Council.

Also on Tuesday, a public hearing will be held at Morningside Community School for the new school attendance zones after the school is retired in the fall. It will be held at the Burbank Street school at 5 p.m.

A transition plan is underway for Morningside students who will be reassigned to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams elementary schools. Three forums were held this week for the redistricting.

Tags: sewer rates,

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Pittsfield Schools See Better Building Utilization, Continued Choice Outs

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
01:24PM / Wednesday, August 19, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Students return to school in two weeks; Pittsfield will have one less elementary school and around 100 fewer students.

The School Committee was updated on enrollment for the 2026-2027 academic year during last week's regular meeting.

At this time, the Pittsfield Public Schools had 4,586 students, compared to 4,682 at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Superintendent Latifah Phillips said this has been the district's trend for years and is not surprising.

"Across all of these grade levels, we have a decrease. I believe of about 80-90 students. I think it's at eighth grade that we're going to look into and make sure that our data is accurate," she said to the School Committee last week.

"But otherwise, the enrollment is following the trends that we have expected in probably the last decade."

With this school year comes the closure of Morningside Community School and the middle school restructuring that sends Grades 5-6 to Herberg Middle School and Grades 7-8 to Reid Middle School.

Fifth grade enrollment was subtracted from last year's elementary enrollment, and these reflect the reassignment of Morningside students to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams.

Phillips pointed out that this process has increased the use of school buildings, as underutilized buildings were one of the concerns that led to institutional changes.

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