PCTV and iBerkshires to Host Pittsfield Debates

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Television, in partnership with iBerkshires.com, will present televised debates featuring candidates for the Pittsfield municipal election, in all contested races over two nights next week. 
 
The debates will begin on Monday, Oct. 30 at Berkshire Community College in the K-111 auditorium beginning at 5:00 p.m.  The first debate will feature Ward 2 candidates Brittany Bandani and Alexander Blumin.  The Ward 3 debate will begin at 6:15 p.m. with candidates Matthew Wrinn and Bill Tyer.  At 7:00 p.m., the seven at-large city council candidates will face off in a 90-minute debate. The candidates for the at-large race are incumbents Pete White and Earl Persip as well as challengers Craig Benoit, Kathy Amuso, Daniel Miraglia, Alisa Costa, and Lucas Marion.   
 
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, another series of debates will happen at Berkshire Community College in the Boland Theater beginning at 5:00 p.m. The first debate will feature Ward 6 candidates Craig Gaetani and incumbent Dina Lampiasi.  The Ward 7 debate will begin at 6:15 p.m. with candidates Rhonda Serre and incumbent Anthony Maffuccio.  At 7:00 p.m. the mayoral debate will feature John Krol and Peter Marchetti.
 
The series of debates will be moderated by representatives of iBerkshires and Pittsfield Community Television.  The events are open to the public and will be broadcast live on PCTV CityLink Channel 1303 in Pittsfield, on the PCTV Select App available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, iOS, and Google Play, and on the Pittsfield Community Television Facebook page.
 
PCTV and iBerkshires are also soliciting questions from the public.  You can submit your question for the candidates to election@pittsfieldtv.org, and the panelists may choose to use the questions in the debates. 
 
Pittsfield's municipal election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7.  Polls open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. 

Tags: #PittsfieldElection,   debate,   PCTV,   


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Pittsfield Council Endorses 11 Departmental Budgets

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council last week preliminarily approved 11 department budgets in under 90 minutes on the first day of fiscal year 2025 hearings.

Mayor Peter Marchetti has proposed a $216,155,210 operating budget, a 5 percent increase from the previous year.  After the council supported a petition for a level-funded budget earlier this year, the mayor asked each department to come up with a level-funded and a level-service-funded spending plan.

"The budget you have in front of you this evening is a responsible budget that provides a balance between a level service and a level-funded budget that kept increases to a minimum while keeping services that met the community's expectations," he said.

Marchetti outlined four major budget drivers: More than $3 million in contractual salaries for city and school workers; a $1.5 million increase in health insurance to $30.5 million; a more than  $887,000 increase in retirement to nearly $17.4 million; and almost $1.1 million in debt service increases.

"These increases total over $6 million," he said. "To cover these obligations, the city and School Committee had to make reductions to be within limits of what we can raise through taxes."

The city expects to earn about $115 million in property taxes in FY25 and raise the remaining amount through state aid and local receipts. The budget proposal also includes a $2.5 million appropriation from free cash to offset the tax rate and an $18.5 million appropriation from the water and sewer enterprise had been applied to the revenue stream.

"Our government is not immune to rising costs to impact each of us every day," Marchetti said. "Many of our neighbors in surrounding communities are also facing increases in their budgets due to the same factors."

He pointed to other Berkshire communities' budgets, including a 3.5 percent increase in Adams and a 12 percent increase in Great Barrington. Pittsfield rests in the middle at a 5.4 percent increase.

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