I am 74 years old. I spent 45 years in the professional painting trade and have always been known as a dedicated, law-abiding citizen, as well as a passionate self-taught artist and photographer. Yet, I have recently discovered a terrifying flaw in our legal system: it can be easily weaponized by individuals to harass and disrupt the lives of the innocent.
Just over a year ago, what began as a simple, justified complaint about unbearable noise in my apartment — my place of retirement and peace — spiraled into a nightmare. Instead of the system protecting my right to a quiet home, it allowed the upstairs neighbors to fabricate allegations and bring false criminal charges against me.
It is a bitter irony that a senior citizen with a clean record can be railroaded through a court system based on the word of individuals who show a disregard for the law. Even more distressing is seeing a parent stand by and support perjury rather than guiding their family toward integrity.
I am sharing my story because the public needs to know that simply being in the right isn't always enough to protect you. When the court allows itself to be used as a means of retaliation, it ceases to be a system of justice and becomes a system of shame. We must do better to protect our seniors from such blatant legal abuse.
Even though I moved out of that property months ago, on our most recent court date last week, the court again extended a restraining order against me based on completely unjustified complaints by the plaintiff.
We must hold our system accountable to ensure it protects the vulnerable rather than punishing them.
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Lanesborough Property Tax Rate Up 5%
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday approved a single tax rate that will increase the average homeowner's property bill by at least $670.
With a rate of $18.20 per $1,000 valuation, the average single-family home valued at $373,784 will see a $668 increase, and the average commercial property, estimated at a value of $577,990, will increase by $1,125 per year. This rate is 91 cents higher than last year's $17.29 per $1,000 valuation.
"Historically, as part of their annual budget policy, the Select Board and Finance Committee has endorsed a single tax rate option, providing no exemption or discount to a particular property class or group, voting a residential factor of one, which is what we'll do tonight, affirms a single tax rate and proportionate sharing of the tax levy burden between all classes of property," Principal Assessor Ross Vivori explained during the joint meeting with the Finance Committee and Board of Assessors.
This year's levy is $11,760,845, which is a 11.28 percent increase from last year, or $1,192,521.
The town's total taxable value is $648,200,324; about $541 million in residential, almost $9 million in industrial, about $52 million in commercial, and about $44 million in personal property. It is 5.7 percent higher than the previous year.
For fiscal 2027 the max allowable levy is $12,313,803, the town is levying $11,760,845, leaving an excess levy capacity of $552,957. There was more than $6.5 million in new growth, which was described as contributing about $112,855 in tax revenue at the prior year's rate.
Finance Committee member Al Terranova suggested that the rate may change if revenues, such as from the state, changed.
"I just don't want people to look at this and, 'Oh my goodness, I'm going to pay $600 more a year,'" he said. "They would just pick out that one number, because you don't know what the actual number is."
Select Board Chair Deborah Maynard said all the figures are based on the tax recapitulation sheet, which includes estimated revenues and state cherry sheet numbers.
"But there's no way around that, that's the number we're paying," added Select Board member Jason A. Breault. "That's the tax rate."
Ross said property values are rising because people are paying more for homes, but that's not driving the tax rate — town spending is.
"If the [property] value goes up and nothing else changes, the tax rate stays the same," he said. "What's driving the tax rate up is the budget ... everything's gone up and you've got raise the money to operate the town. It is what it is."
In better news, the board accepted what Accountant Angela Garrity agreed was a "healthy" amount of free cash at $949,833.
The three people said they were afraid to cross the street for their mailbox or walk their dogs. They also said it is very hard for them to leave their driveway at the intersection.
The Select Board could not respond during public comment, but at its last meeting, it decided to remove the speed bump based on information from police that it was "useless" as a deterrent and from Emergency Medical Services Director Jen Weber that it was dangerous when transporting patients.
An ad hoc committee with Weber and Police Chief Robert Derksen and board members Breault and Jeff Walters to discuss the best options on reduce speeding in some areas. Maynard reminded people that community members wanting to serve are being asked to submit citizens' interest form with the town.
Lastly, Alison Dixon from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Berkshire Environmental Action Team's Executive Director Brittany Ebeling presented two Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness action grant projects.
One project is the road stream crossing prioritization and assessment program for town-owned bridges and culverts to prioritize crossing replacements. Dixon explained that undersized culverts were identified as a vulnerability in the town's MVP and hazard and mitigation plan. The project is expected to span two years and will notify nearby landowners before field crews work around culverts and bridges. Community members were also invited to share knowledge about crossings they believe have been problematic.
The second project will cover ghost dams. BEAT and BRPC will be working with watershed organizations and a youth team from Greenagers over the next two years locating and documenting unmapped, human-made dams, also called ghost dams, which may pose flood risks. The goal is to create a Berkshires-wide map and connect towns and landowners with information and resources for flood-resilience planning.
A founder of the Berkshire Pond Hockey Classic, he has established a nonprofit foundation to sponsor youngsters who want to hit the ice. He was inspired by the nonprofit Ice Hockey in Harlem program.
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Senior Patrick Holland Saturday finished in fourth place to lead the Mount Greylock boys cross country team to a Western Massachusetts Class B Championship at Stanley Park. click for more
