Pittsfield Council Passes $232.7M Budget
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a $232.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
It is a modest, almost 2.9 percent increase from FY26.
"I do want to give the community kind of a heads up as we move forward on budgets. What we see coming out of the federal government that's trickling down to the states, it's going to be harder and harder for us as a community to meet our needs under the Proposition 2 1/2," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said.
"We're going to have challenges, as we've seen communities across the state trying to override the Proposition 2 1/2, because we have dwindling amounts of money coming from the state and federal government."
She pointed out that, at the same time, utility bills are going up for both residents and the city, as are the costs of pavement and other items.
The amended budget of $232,777,720, down from the $232,782,090 originally proposed, includes cuts to the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the restoration of funds for councilors to attend the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference.
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.
The district's budget will fund 13 schools, as Morningside Community School will retire in the fall, and includes the middle school restructuring.
Councilors also approved the use of $2 million in certified free cash to reduce the tax rate, and appropriated $450,551 for parking-related expenditures.
During the second night of FY27 budget hearings, $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.
Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham motioned to cut $1,430 from the City Council budget, a motion that Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso originally made and then withdrew. It failed with only Amuso and Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn in support.
"I am going to vote for this budget," Amuso said.
"We've done a lot of work on the budget, the directors and staff, and the mayor, everybody has done a lot of work on it."
This line item pays for admission and one night in a hotel for the MMA conference, which councilors said gives them information and connections that help serve residents better.
The council took a 10-minute recess after some procedural confusion about the ability to make budget suggestions outside of Committee of the Whole hearings.
Amuso pointed to the cuts that other departments are seeing, and said she wants them to follow suit. Costa countered that the City Council hasn't seen a raise since 1985, and reiterated a previous point that, adjusted for inflation, the $8,000 stipend would be $25,000 today.
Tags: fiscal 2027, pittsfield_budget,
