Tyer Proposes $189M Pittsfield Budget, Up $10M

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The mayor is proposing a nearly $189 million budget for fiscal 2023 that is about $10 million higher than the this year's $179 million budget.

Mayor Linda Tyer's request to raise and appropriate $188,589,144 for the FY23 operating budget was referred to the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday.

Departmental deliberations will begin next week on Tuesday, May 17, with a public hearing on the budget and five-year Capital Improvement Plan, which was made available to the public on Tuesday.

The budget proposal includes $242,784 for the mayor's office, $109,262 for the City Council, $9,138,800 for the Fire Department, $11,927,437 for the Police Department, and $56,686,954 for unclassified spending.

The proposed school department budget is $72,398,262, which is a 7.56 percent, or $5,086,562, increase from this year. Most of the increase is in contractual obligations, which increased by about $4.7 million.


Within the school budget is $1,895,347 for administration, $55,822,847 for instructional, $4,526,341 for other school services, $6,372,746 for operations and maintenance, $472,358 for fixed costs, $68,074 for adult learning, $234,047 for acquisition of fixed assets, and $3,626,502 for tuition payments.

With $570,000 in school choice revenues and $50,000 in Richmond tuition revenues, the total budget amounts to $73,018,262.

Three orders related to the Community Preservation Fund were also referred to the Committee of the Whole: to Amend Order 45 of the 2021 Series, appropriating $974,480.93 for the FY22 Community Preservation Fund budget; to appropriate $670,317.00 from the FY22 Community Preservation Fund budget; and to appropriate $818,435.44 for the FY23 Community Preservation Fund budget.

Last summer, the council adopted an overall budget of $743,451.75 for the fiscal 2022 administration of the CPA. Eleven of the 13 applications received were deemed eligible and funded for a total request of $716,782, with a further reduction after two projects were further refined the costs of their projects.


Tags: fiscal 2023,   pittsfield_budget,   

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Central Berkshire Eyes 4.13% Increase for FY26

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School District is anticipating a 4.13 percent increase to its gross initial budget for fiscal 2026, translating to an increase of $1,473,826. 
 
This year's gross budget was $35,679,791, and next year's is forecast at $37,153,617. 
 
Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis emphasized that these initial projections may change because there are still a lot of unknowns surrounding it, such as Chapter 70 funding and insurance rates. 
 
The budget was developed through a collaborative process involving principals, teachers, the union, and the Finance Subcommittee, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
 
The district relies heavily on its principles to provide the administration with the information needed to develop the budget. This year, part of that process was requesting the principals fill out a form. 
 
On the form, the principals were asked to prioritize their requests, justify them with data, show how they aligned to district plans, explain the student impact, and identify funding sources. 
 
"One other thing to know also is that we do ask principals to talk to their teachers and to talk to staff about this budget, so that it's not just principals that have input into the budget, but it's also teachers that have input into this budget," Blake-Davis said. 
 
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