Pittsfield Council to See $216M FY25 Budget, Up 5%By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:36AM / Monday, May 06, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Peter Marchetti has proposed a $216 million budget for fiscal year 2025, a 5 percent increase from the previous year.
Budget season will kick off on Monday with a special meeting of the City Council containing several financial items, one being an order to raise and appropriate $216,155,210 for the city's operating budget. This begins the council's process of departmental spending deliberations with a budget adoption before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
This is about a $10 million hike from FY24's $205,584,497 budget.
Early in the term, the council supported a divisive petition requesting a budget that is "close to level-funded" due to concerns about tax increases. This would come with cuts to employment and city services, Marchetti warned, but said the administration was working to create a proposal that is "between level funded and a level service funded."
When the School Committee OK'd a $82.8 million spending plan, he revealed that the administration "couldn't get to a level service funded budget."
The Pittsfield Police Department budget is proposed to rise 4 percent from $14,364,673 in FY24 to $14,998,410, an increase of about $614,000. A 2.5 percent increase is proposed for the Department of Public Services, rising about $287,000 from $11,095,563 in FY24 to $11,382,122.
Marchetti also submitted a Five Year Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2025-2029 that he called a "roadmap for the future."
A public hearing is planned for May 13.
"The proposed FY2025-FY2029 Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) for the City of Pittsfield invests more than $308 million in important capital projects, prioritizing roadway quality, parks and recreational opportunities, City and School facility improvements. safe and functional vehicles and equipment for staff, and modern information technology," he wrote.
The plan recommends a commitment of 6.5 percent of general fund revenues for capital projects and includes significant funding through the American Rescue Plan Act.
"In addition, the proposed CIP funds all water and wastewater capital projects from enterprise fund revenues (i.e. water/sewer rates and retained earnings) and reflects the city's substantial efforts to seek State grant funds and other funding sources for capital projects," Marchetti wrote.
The total capital requested for FY25 is over $43.4 million for 56 capital projects, sewer projects totaling 35 percent or $15.1 million.
The largest ask of $10.9 million is for a new laboratory building at the wastewater treatment plant. The original was built in 1938 and converted into the plant laboratory in 1973.
Included in the requests are:
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$200,000 for airport terminal renovations
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$2.5 million for school roof repairs
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$1 million for the Peck's Road bridge
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$1 million for stormwater improvements
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$4 million for street resurfacing
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$2 million for the West Street streetscape
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$2.7 million for wastewater treatment plant switchgear
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$1 million for WWTP security improvements
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$1,475,00 for phase two of a water main replacement on Valentine Road.
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$2.8 million for sewer rehabilitation
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$2 million for Cleveland and Ashley water treatment plants' preliminary upgrade designs
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$1.5 million to improve water mains
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$1 million for Phase 2 of the Pontoosuc Lake Park Improvements
Marchetti has also submitted orders to appropriate $2.5 million from certified free cash to reduce the FY25 tax rate, borrow an aggregate sum not exceeding $10,192,500 for general fund capital expenditures, borrow an aggregate sum not exceeding $7,700,000 for enterprise fund capital expenditures, and transfer and appropriate $234,000 from the public works stabilization fund to the Department of Public Services.
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