A first-responder caught an image of the fire before the Fire Department got to the scene.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Christmas Day fire on East Mill Street displaced a family of five.
Deputy Chief Daniel Garner reported that the Fire Department was alerted to the blaze at 23 East Mill at 4:39 p.m. on Dec. 25. Firefighters found flames venting from windows on the first floor of the 2 1/2 story wood frame structure.
One crew conducted a primary search to ensure the three-unit building was evacuated while others worked to extinguish the fire in the first-floor kitchen. The fire was knocked down and under control within 20 minutes but the room sustained fire damage and the first floor smoke damage. Garner put the damage estimate as less than $2,000.
The cause of the fire was not yet determined and the family was being assisted by the Red Cross. There were no injuries reported.
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Dalton Eyes New Software to Streamline Payroll
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Since taking on the role of town manager, Eric Anderson has been finding ways to streamline operations to save on labor hours — now he is eyeing improving workforce management.
"By my rough math, we're chewing up some 1,500 hours a year doing payroll, and there's just no reason for that. The way we're doing it now is incredibly inefficient," he told the Select Board last week.
The board approved Anderson's recommendation to undergo contract negotiations with TimeClock Plus, a scheduling software designed to simplify employee time tracking and workforce management.
The town has 62 paid employees who currently submit their timesheets on paper, which are then manually reviewed by department heads, who calculate hours, vacation time, and prepare cover sheets before forwarding them to the treasurer or town manager to be approved.
The assistant treasurer then spends several days each week processing the town's payroll, Anderson said.
As part of his efforts to streamline this process, Anderson looked at multiple different services narrowing it down to TimeClock Plus, or TCP, because of its ease of integration with the town's regular financial software and that it's commonly used by municipalities.
"Some of the payroll programs are designed to go directly to payroll companies, but since we do our payroll in house, this cuts all the manual correlation, and it filters directly into our existing [Enterprise Resource Planning] financial software," he said.
Last week, the Ordinances and Rules subcommittee voted to remove city councilors' addresses from public documents and create a Lake Management Commission for Pittsfield's waterbodies.
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The town has gotten through this year's challenging budget season with a successful annual town meeting with articles that positions itself to address a projected strenuous financial future. click for more