PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Peter Marchetti has proposed a decrease in the city's tax rate but because of rising property values, the average homeowner will see an annual increase of more than $350.

There will be a tax classification hearing during Tuesday's City Council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m.

For fiscal year 2025, the first-year mayor has put forward a residential tax rate of $17.94 per $1,000 of valuation and a commercial, industrial and personal property tax rate of $37.96 per $1,000 of valuation.  
The rates use a residential factor of 0.827103 at a shift of 1.75 to the commercial side.

The $114,615,097 levy limit for fiscal 2025 includes $2,726,686 in new growth, a 4.72 percent increase from the previous year. Pittsfield's real and personal property valuation is $5,270,539,121.

In one year, the average residential property value has increased by $27,377, the median residential property by $22,850, and the median commercial property by $12,750.

The proposed residential rate is 51 cents lower than FY24 and the proposed commercial rate decreased by $1.65. In FY25, the average single-family home is valued at $295,291 for a tax bill of $5,297.52 annually, compared to the average FY24 home valued at $267,914, which paid $4,943.01.

The 7.17 percent increase would shake up to about $30 additional dollars per month for homeowners.  The bill hike is less than FY24, which raised annual taxes by $397.82 for the average homeowner.