Letter: Dalton Board Should Not Stop Special Election

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To the Editor:

I would like to comment on the travesty that is taking place in the Town of Dalton. The Selectboard chooses not to set a date for a special election. Even a petition of over 200 voters to have a date scheduled for a special election is not persuading them.

This special election is due to the resignation of a Selectboard member on Oct. 1. This past Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Selectboard voted once again to suppress a date for a special election. In doing so they tried to discredit the procedure used by a dedicated elected public servant, our town clerk. The procedures she followed were through the guidance of a state official and Mass General Laws.

This date should have been set a month ago after the resignation took effect. There should not have been a reason for the petitioners to even have to come forward. This issue should have been the first thing on the agenda for the Selectboard meeting on Oct. 9 that was held prior to the special town meeting. Considering that the letter of resignation was sent in early September.

Please call the Selectboard office, go to the town web site and use contact to reach the Selectboard.

This special election will give us our opportunity to choose our representative. This is a right given to us by the Constitution of the United States of America, bylaws of the town and Mass General Laws.

Peace be with you and God Bless the USA.

William Drosehn
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

 

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Lanesborough Sets Single Tax Rate, Bills to Increase

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

LANESBOROUGH, Mass.— The average homeowner's tax bill for fiscal year 2025 will rise about $360.

On Monday, the Select Board adopted a single tax rate of $16.73 per $1,000 valuation.

The rate is a 28-cent decrease from the previous year but the average single-family home valued at $345,786 will see a tax bill increase of $362, totaling $5,785. The average commercial property (estimated at $535,317) will see a $23 increase, paying nearly $9,000 in property taxes annually.

Last year, the same single-family home valued at about $318,800 saw a $107 increase on its bill.

"When people get their tax bills, please remember that you voted for this a town meeting," Select Board member Deborah Maynard said.

"You voted for this budget to be spent."

The tax rate is calculated by dividing the $9.9 million tax levy by the total value of all properties, nearly $592 million, and multiplying it by 1,000. The town will have about $1.6 million in excess levy capacity in FY25, about $150,000 lower than the prior year.

"I know a lot of people think that it has to do with assessments. It's not the assessment that's driving the bill up, it's the levy," Principal Assessor Ross Vivori explained.

"Because if the assessments go up, it drives the tax rate down and if nothing else changed, the bills would stay the same."

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