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Proposed Pittsfield Tax Rate Would Hike Bills 8.75%

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The administration is proposing a split tax rate that will increase the average homeowner's bill by 8.75 percent.

City Council will hold a tax classification hearing on Tuesday for the fiscal 2024 tax rate; the meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Mayor Linda Tyer and the Board of Assessors have put forward a residential rate of $18.45 per $1,000 of valuation and a commercial, industrial, and personal property rate of $39.61.

This is based on a residential factor of 0.8151 and a commercial shift of 1.75. The city will utilize a levy of about $109.1 million.

The residential rate for FY23 was $18.32 per $1,000 of valuation and the commercial, industrial, and personal property rate was $39.21. If the council adopts the proposed rates, there would be a 13 cent, or 0.7 percent, increase for residential and a 40 cent, or one percent, increase for commercial, industrial, and personal property.

An average home valued at nearly $267,914 will pay an estimated $4,943 in property taxes, representing a $397.82 increase from the previous year when the average home value was $248,100.  This would amount to about $33 additional dollars a month.



Commercial properties would see a less dramatic increase of about $145 yearly, as the assessed median value has only increased by $1,550 from FY23.

The assessed residential value for FY24 is $3,868,977,337, an 8 percent increase from the previous year, and the city's total taxable value is $4,822,885,672, a 7.5 percent increase from the previous year.  
The FY24 tax levy of $109,166,941 is a 7.93 percent and more than $8 million increase from FY23.

Between receipts and real and personal property taxes, the city expects to raise almost $230 million in FY24.
 


Tags: fiscal 2024,   tax classification,   

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Berkshire Veterans Mark 50 Years Since Vietnam War End

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — County veterans gathered over the weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War's conclusion, recognizing the horrors that soldiers endured long after returning home.

Master of ceremonies Lenwood "Woody" Vaspra said when most Vietnam veterans returned, there were no tributes, recognition, speeches, parades, or even handshakes.

"For many of them, it was a horrible return home from Vietnam in a very chaotic time," he said to a crowd in Park Square on Saturday, National Vietnam Veterans Day.

The Vietnam War officially ended 50 years ago in May 1975. Fifty-two years ago, the last American troops departed Vietnam. The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 designated March 29 of each year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

"We're here to join together as a people, to honor the brave men and women who have stood in defense of our country and for all the countless men and women who are still serving in harm's way all around the world," Vaspra said.

He explained that this day provides the opportunity to pay special tribute to the many Americans who served in the war, the 58,281 names memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and to those who never received the recognition they deserve.

"It is time to say thank you and honor all Vietnam veterans," he said.

During his remarks, Vaspra explained that many veterans have been able to re-enter society, go to school, find a job, and raise a family, but their war experience never went away.

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