PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council passed a $226 million "best that they could" budget for fiscal year 2026. 

On Tuesday, the unanimous vote was taken quickly after four nights of departmental budget hearings over the last month. The $226,246,942 spending plan is a nearly 4.8 percent increase from the previous year and includes cost savings from the new trash system and smaller school appropriation. 

"There are a lot of positives, and so if the vote goes the same as it did in the committee, this could be a unanimous vote. Some people aren't going to be happy about that, but like I said, it's one of the lowest increases we've had in recent years," Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren said. 

"And I think all of us up here, the mayor and all of us up here, department heads, obviously they had to work with the mayor to come up with a budget, made a significant effort to do the best that they could." 

He said the last two fiscal years' budget increases have been less than the previous administration. The FY24 increase was 8.9 percent, and the FY25 increase was about five percent. 

"We have cut back, and what some of the public doesn't know is that there's been some things that have reduced the budget that they may not see. It's been stated in the budget sessions, but some people in the public who may not have watched those or watched this meeting might not know, for example, that we had a decent savings in the recycling budget," Warren said. 

"You might not see that because when we save money there, if there's increases in salaries in a contract or something else in another department, that money gets taken up. So, to the public, when they look at the budget, they might not see the recycling savings, but we did that, and it looks like we're on a path to save additional monies next year. That was a win-win for the city." 

The Department of Public Services saw a $600,000 reduction in solid waste disposal due to the city’s new system that utilizes 48-gallon toters for waste and recycling. Councilors also approved $2 million in free cash for street improvements, which Warren pointed out doesn’t need to be raised through the tax rate. 

"There was a decrease in what we contributed to the school budget, not because we're giving them less money, but there were some modifications of the amount of money they contributed to city expenses that we pay for them," he added. 

"Once again, that's a cost savings that the public may not see." 

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso thanked city officials and department heads for attending the budget sessions, "Because it makes a difference." 

The only non-unanimous budget votes on Tuesday were for the water and sewer rates, which Warren, Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn, and Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey voted against. 

Their colleagues approved a 7 percent water rate increase and a 6 percent sewer rate increase based on a 4.40 percent Consumer Price Index Factor. The water rate is based on a 2.60 percent Operational Stability Factor, and the sewer rate on a 1.60 percent OSF.

This raises the typical two-bathroom house's bill about $70 annually, from $1,097 per year to $1,168 per year. For the average metered four-member household, it rises less than $50 from about $734 to $781 per year.

The council also approved: 

• An order to borrow $7,016,000.00 for Enterprise Fund Capital Expenditures for FY26
• An order to borrow $9,727,000.00 for General Fund Capital Expenditures for FY26
• An order appropriating $340,350.00 for parking-related expenditures
• An order amending Order 56 of the series of 2024, appropriating the amount of $526,548.70 for the FY26 Community Preservation Fund Budget
• An order appropriating the amount of $526,548.70 from the Fiscal Year 2025 Community Preservation Fund Budget
• An order appropriating the amount of $500,458.00 from the Fiscal Year 2026 Community Preservation Fund Budget

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