Pittsfield Preliminarily OKs $232.7M FY27 Budget
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council on Thursday preliminarily approved a $232.7 million budget for fiscal year 2027 with almost $6,000 in reductions made during departmental deliberations.
It is a 2.9 percent increase from the previous year's budget, and the tax rate is offset by $2 million in certified free cash.
The proposed budget, which will see a final vote on Tuesday, is $232,776,209, amended from the original $232,782,090 draft.
During the second night of FY27 budget hearings, around $5,800 was reduced from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This was through Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren's motions to cut $4,800 from the DEI ambassador line and $1,000 from travel and dues.
On Thursday, councilors preliminarily voted to appropriate $450,551.00 for parking-related expenditures, the use of $2 million in free cash for the tax rate, and the use of revolving funds.
The Pittsfield Public Schools' $86,855,061 budget includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. With $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues, it totals $87,200,061 and is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million.
An intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Dalton for the collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater was also preliminarily approved, as well as Pittsfield's Community Preservation Fund budgets.
The new IMA includes responsibilities related to regulatory compliance, industrial pretreatment, and environmental standards, and ensures that Dalton aligns with evolving federal and state regulations, particularly those concerning pretreatment and inflow/infiltration controls that are critical for environmental protection and public health.
The council preliminarily approved three CPA orders: to appropriate $504,065.19 for the FY26 CPA, to appropriate $474,098.00 from the FY26 CPA Budget, and to appropriate $524,967.19 for the FY27 CPA.
There are eight awardees for this year.
Pittsfield's Affordable Housing Trust was allocated another $150,000 to award to affordable housing projects. Councilor at Large Alisa Costa asked if more could be allocated for this category, given the housing crisis we are in.
"It's a small amount of money otherwise, and we could have a greater impact," she said.
FY26 CPA Projects:
- Berkshire Theater Group's Colonial Theatre Masonry: $121,700, Historic Preservation
- Williams Elementary School playground improvements: $25,000, Open Space and Recreation
- Roots Rising Farm improvements: $125,000, Open Space and Recreation
- Pittsfield Parks Department's Pontoosuc Park improvements: $12,000, Open Space and Recreation
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Pittsfield Conservation Commission's Wild Acres improvements: $14,175, Open Space
and Recreation - Berkshire County Historical Society's Arrowhead painting: $10,000, Historic Preservation
- Pittsfield Historical Commission's historic plaque preservation: $16,223, Historic Preservation
- Pittsfield Affordable Housing Trust's Community Housing Projects: $150,000, Community Housing
Tags: fiscal 2027, pittsfield_budget,
