Pittsfield Council Preliminarily OKs 12 Departmental Budgets for FY25

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council breezed through 12 departmental budgets on the third day of hearings last week for fiscal year 2025. All were preliminarily approved with a unanimous vote.

During the finance and administration discussion, Councilor at Large Alisa Costa stressed the importance of livable wages for city workers. She acknowledged the city's support of raising salaries over the last few years but pointed out that a few positions are making less than $40,000 annually.

Finance Director Matthew Kerwood said all union positions are subject to collective bargaining "so what you see in terms of salaries before you are a result of the collective bargaining process which is agreed upon by both the union and management."

He added that all of the contracts are up at the end of this fiscal year and it will be a discussion point during negotiations "but I will not discuss management's bargaining position publicly."

Costa said a living-wage calculator provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sets it at $21.83 per hour for a single adult in Pittsfield. She said many full-time positions in the city don't allow people to meet their needs while saving money.

"And if you want people to be able to afford taxes, to shop in our stores, we need to bring that up and I know it's a challenge because we have this tight budget but I would just urge you in those negotiations to consider those lower salaries first," she said.

"I think we need to make sure that we're doing everything we can to keep the best people here."

Budget deliberations Day 1

Day 2

Cultural Development

The Office of Cultural Development budget of $134,224 is a $1,726, or 1.27 percent decrease from the previous year. It was preliminarily approved with no discussion.

The decrease is due to a 7.8 percent reduction in the administrative assistant line and a complete reduction of telephone expenses.

Emergency Management

The Emergency Management budget of $32,500 is a $3,098, or 10.54 percent, increase from the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with no discussion.

The increase is largely attributed to a $3,000 bump to the director of emergency management line.

Fire

The Fire Department budget of $10,813,865 is a $341,250, or 3.26 percent, increase from the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with some discussion.

There is an over 56 percent jump in contractual services and communication expenses, which covers the internet, cell phones, the security system, the radio contract, the photocopier lease, and all annual service contracts.

Health Department

The Health Department budget of $675,901 is a $40,390, or 6.36 percent, increase over the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with little conversation.

The community health worker, previously funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, adds $24,850 to the spending plan.

"This role was created with ARPA funding back in 2022 and as we are no longer allowed to use ARPA funding after this calendar year, we want to continue to support this position with that," Director of Public Health Andy Cambi explained.

Building Maintenance City

The city building maintenance budget of $2,094,149 is a $37,162, or 1.81 percent, increase from the previous year.  It was approved with Councilor at Large Earl Persip III asking questions about the boiler and HVAC repairman line being reduced to zero, the nearly $5,000 increase for a plumber, and the $10,000 addition for one seasonal laborer. 
 

Building Maintenance Schools

The school building maintenance budget of $900,000 is the same as the previous year and was preliminarily approved with no discussion.

Building Inspections

The Building Inspector's Department budget of $677,108 is a $25,059, or 3.84 percent, increase from the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with little discussion.

Persip pointed out that the local building inspectors line item seemed "a little low" and Commissioner Jeffrey Clemons explained that two inspectors left and two will be starting soon.

Last year, the council approved the addition of two inspectors for code enforcement on multi-family homes. Clemons said they are doing "fairly well" considering the rotating team of inspectors.

"We've sent letters out to at least 200 since 2023, multifamily buildings. We inspected 84 multifamily buildings. The certified is in the 60s and 17 or so of them failed so they're ongoing inspections," he said, explaining that they are working with the owners to get the buildings in safe condition.

City Solicitor

The city solicitor budget of $269,379 is a $1,753, or .66 percent, increase over the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with no discussion.

IT

The Information Technology Department budget of $1,318,488 is a $51,395, or 4.1 percent, increase from the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with no discussion.

A typo in the city budget proposal originally had the public safety specialist salary listed at $79 and it was corrected to $79,702.

Workers Compensation

The worker's compensation budget of $700,000 is a $50,00 decrease from the previous year due to a reduction in independent medical reviews for employees who have led worker compensation or injured on duty claims.  It was preliminarily approved with no discussion.

Finance and Administration

The finance and administration budget of $1,435,380 is a  $36,840, or 2.63 percent, increase over the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with little discussion.

Unclassified

The unclassified budget of $63,929,171 is a $3,836,916, or 6.39 percent, increase from the previous year.  It was preliminarily approved with little discussion.

Pittsfield City Council Weighs in on 'Crisis' in Public Schools

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
08:59PM / Monday, December 23, 2024

A half-dozen people addressed the City Council from the floor of Monday's meeting, including Valerie Anderson, right.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After expressing anger and outrage and making numerous calls for accountability and transparency, the 11 members of the City Council on Monday voted to support the School Committee in seeking an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members at Pittsfield High School that have come to light in recent weeks.

 

At the close of a month that has seen three PHS administrators put on administrative leave, including one who was arrested on drug trafficking charges, the revelation that the district is facing a civil lawsuit over inappropriate conduct by a former teacher and that a staff member who left earlier in the year is also under investigation at his current workplace, the majority of the council felt compelled to speak up about the situation.

 

"While the City Council does not have jurisdiction over the schools … we have a duty to raise our voices and amplify your concerns and ensure this crisis is met with the urgency it demands," Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey said.

 

About two dozen community members attended the special meeting of the council, which had a single agenda item.

 

Four of the councilors precipitated the meeting with a motion that the council join the School Committee in its search for an investigation and that the council, "be included in the delivery of any disclosures, interim reports or findings submitted to the city."

 

Last week, the School Committee decided to launch that investigation. On Monday, City Council President Peter White said the School Committee has a meeting scheduled for Dec. 30 to authorize its chair to enter negotiations with the Springfield law firm of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas to conduct that probe.

 

Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre, the principal author of the motion of support, was one of several members who noted that the investigation process will take time, and she, like Kavey, acknowledged that the council has no power over the public schools beyond its approval of the annual district budget.