Pittsfield politics is entering 2023 with two political insiders running for Mayor

December 9, 2022

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Happy Holidays!

Pittsfield politics will have two insider career politicians running for Mayor in 2023: Peter Marchetti and John Krol.  It looks very likely that Mayor Linda Tyer will retire at the end of 2023 with a lucrative $100,000 per year public pension plus perks along with her multimillionaire husband, who is a Certified Public Accountant, Barry Clairmont.  While I am happy for the lovely Linda's great fortunes, it is always predictable that the career politicians win while the people and taxpayers they serve mostly lose.

Looking back at Mayor Linda Tyer's time in Pittsfield politics, I give her a grade of "A".  She impressed me on many levels.  She always stuck to her platform of human rights and being a leader for all of the people she served, including the poor people and the distressed neighborhoods.  She was the first Mayor of Pittsfield in generations that actually knew what she was doing as a competent public manager of a fiscally constrained and long struggling municipality.  To be clear, Linda Tyer is nobody's fool - unlike almost all of the other lousy state and local politicians in Berkshire County.

Looking forward, Peter Marchetti's biggest flaw is that he stands for nothing in politics.  He is plainer than vanilla.  He worked at a local bank for decades, but he has done nothing but disservices to the taxpayers who live in Pittsfield.  Peter Marchetti lost his 2011 bid for Mayor of Pittsfield because he had no vision for the city.  John Krol is relatively young as a youthful looking middle-aged man, which means that the big wheels in Boston will try to manipulate him into do their bidding, which is never a good thing for Pittsfield and Berkshire County.  If I had to choose between Marchetti and Krol, I would support Krol with the hopes that he will finally bring positive change to Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

In closing, Mayor Linda Tyer is a good public manager, Peter Marchetti needs to stand for something for once in his political life, and John Krol has to prove himself as a leader who will bring positive change to our native hometown.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Two early candidates emerge in next year's race for Pittsfield mayor: John Krol and Peter Marchetti"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, December 9, 2022

PITTSFIELD — When voters select a mayor next year, at least two long-standing figures in Pittsfield politics will be on the ballot.

Former City Council Vice President John Krol and current City Council President Peter Marchetti announced to The Berkshire Eagle on Thursday that they intend to run for mayor.

Krol said he’ll make his campaign official come the spring, but thought it was important for residents “to know this is my intention.”

Mayor Linda Tyer said she decided over the Thanksgiving holiday whether she’ll seek a third term. She isn't saying yet what she decided.

“I’ve always wanted to do this and I think the timing is right now for me personally. But also I think the city is looking for leadership that has passion,” Krol said. “I want people to be excited about Pittsfield again. I want people to love Pittsfield. ... I think we deserve a mayor who truly emanates that.”

Marchetti said he decided in August he’d enter the race for mayor and had planned to make an announcement following the holiday season.

“But if the race is on, the race is on — and I'm in,” Marchetti said.

“I have been toying with [running again] since 2011, when I last ran, and this is the right time for me,” Marchetti said. “I've proven my leadership in the last eight years as the City Council president and for the 15 years that I've been on the City Council. It's time to take my leadership and take Pittsfield to the next step.”

First candidates

Krol and Marchetti are the first candidates to announce plans to campaign for mayor, a race that will be decided in the November 2023 election.

There’s still a question mark around whether Krol and Marchetti will face an incumbent.

Mayor Linda Tyer said she decided over the Thanksgiving holiday whether she’ll seek a third term.

“I spent some time with my family talking about my future and I have made a decision,” Tyer said. “I’ll be making a formal announcement sometime in the very near future.”

“I think that candidates make their decision about whether they’re going to run or not run and make decisions about when to announce based on their own preference,” Tyer added. “I think people should do that regardless of what I’m doing.”

An early look at issues

In remarks this week, Krol and Marchetti put the state of Pittsfield’s economy at the forefront of the campaign.

“What I'm gonna be working on is an economic development plan for the city — which I had been working on in 2011 — and I also think that we need a downtown economic development plan,” Marchetti said, citing top issues as the race begins.

“We know there are many issues such as a new police station, some infrastructure issues — there's a lot of work that will need to be done over the next four years, five years,” he said.

Similarly, Krol said the needs of Pittsfield business owners are core to his plans for the city, should he become the mayor.

“It is hard to do business in Pittsfield, it’s hard to start a business in Pittsfield, it’s hard to expand a business in Pittsfield,” Krol said. “It’s going to take work — it’s not going to be something that happens overnight — but we have to create a system where we are welcoming businesses.”

Krol said he wants to make Pittsfield the greatest small city in the Northeast.

The resumes

The two native sons of Pittsfield have spent much of their adult lives working in city politics.

Krol was a 10-year veteran of the council before he decided not to seek reelection in 2019. Marchetti’s career on the council has spanned a total of 15 years and one prior unsuccessful run for mayor in 2011 against former Mayor Dan Bianchi.

A former reporter, Krol spent the early part of his career as a staffer with the North Adams Transcript, reporting for WAMC Northeast Public Radio and later hosting the "Good Morning, Pittsfield" show on WTBR-89.7 FM.

He later launched a Facebook live program called "The John Krol Show," which he's continued as a podcast since earlier this year.

In 2005, he joined former Mayor James Ruberto’s administration as the public affairs coordinator.

Krol left City Hall in 2007 and took a job as the media relations manager for Berkshire Healthcare. In 2009, he launched and won his bid for the Ward 6 council seat. From 2016 to 2020, Krol served as the council vice president.

In 2019, he announced he wouldn’t seek reelection and secured a job as the director of community relations for a senior living facility in Newton.

Krol returned to the city in October 2020 and took a job as an account executive with Amedisys, a home health care company. He said in the last month he ended his relationship with Amedisys in preparation for his mayoral bid.

He continues to run his Pittsfield-based marketing company OneEighty Media Inc as founder and president.

In 2001, Marchetti entered Pittsfield politics with a successful bid for a councilor at large position. After losing a reelection effort in 2003, Marchetti was back in 2005 and reclaimed a seat on the council.

In 2011, Marchetti launched a close bid for Pittsfield mayor, losing to Bianchi by 106 votes — the closest election in Berkshire County in nearly a century.

The 2015 election brought Marchetti back to the council as an at-large councilor. Since his 2016 inauguration and following successful reelection campaigns, Marchetti’s served as City Council president.

Marchetti’s time on council coincided with a 35-year career with Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, where he is senior vice president of retail banking and operations. Marchetti's been a longstanding figure in the Pittsfield community as  president of the Pittsfield Parade board of directors.

“I think at this stage of the game, I'm looking forward to the challenge and to the campaign,” Marchetti said. “I know that it's a long year ahead of us.”

Meg Britton-Mehlisch can be reached at mbritton@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6149.

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December 9, 2022

Hello Dave Bubriski,

I know all too well that you dislike Linda Tyer as much as I dislike Luciforo in Pittsfield politics.  I have read your comments over the years, and you have made some valid points.  I remember reading that then Pittsfield Mayor Jimmy Ruberto openly stated that his so-called Renaissance, which failed, would take place by building around the poor people and neighborhoods that surrounded inner-city Pittsfield.  My point was that Mayor Linda Tyer actually did some positive things for the poor and the distressed neighborhoods in Pittsfield.  Please do NOT take my praises of Mayor Linda Tyer as anything against you personally.  I guess if you wrote a comment praising Luciforo, then I would have written a similar email to you that you sent to me tonight.  I have written and posted my disagreements with Mayor Linda Tyer's leadership over the years, especially her record setting excessively high municipal spending and budgets.  I really dislike her secretive multimillion-dollar Slush Funds.  However, on the whole, Mayor Linda Tyer is very impressive because she is very intelligent when it comes to public management.

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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December 10, 2022

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I received a second of two negative - on a political level only - reply about my favorable review of Mayor Linda Tyer tenure in Pittsfield politics.  This second reply played on my calling Pittsfield's Pot King the sarcastic name "Luciforo" by the emailer comparing Linda to the Lucifer.

I believe the two people who replied to me unfavorably both made valid points about Mayor Linda Tyer's public record.  What I was trying to write about her is that she actually understands what is going in state and local government, which is unusual for Pittsfield.  I studied state and local government during my graduate studies at U Mass Amherst from the Fall of 1997 to the Spring of 1999.  Furthermore, my dad, Bob, served as a Berkshire County Commissioner for 3.5 years from 1997 to mid-2000.  Due to my background, I understand what is happening on Beacon Hill all the way west to Pittsfield politics.

When I read about Mayor Linda Tyer, she pointed out that Boston should be increasing its state aid to realistic financial figures to Pittsfield and the dozens of other cities throughout Massachusetts.  She also leads the state's dozens of Mayors throughout Massachusetts.  Everyone who is interviewed about Linda Tyer says she knows what she is going in local government throughout all of Massachusetts.  This is unusual for a politician from Pittsfield and Berkshire County because most of them are idiots - or at the least pretend to act like fools in state and local government.  Mayor Linda Tyer is the first local politician in a long time who is nobody's fool, which is a big compliment to her high level of intelligence.

To illustrate, Beacon Hill lawmakers play a whole lot of financial shell games in Boston that only benefit themselves and their wealthy campaign donors and backers.  For example, the Massachusetts State Lottery makes a complete and total mockery of Pittsfield because it is a form of (voluntary) regressive taxation that records multibillion-dollar annual profits that the corrupt career politicians in Boston use to giveaway a little less than $18 billion per fiscal year in state tax breaks to their Boston area big businesses that don't exist anywhere near Pittsfield.  Former North Adams State Representative Dan Bosley used to point out that the state lottery gives municipalities and public-school districts millions of dollars in state aid, but what he doesn't point out is that Beacon Hill would be able to give a lot more in state aid without the lottery due to the billions in state tax giveaways to Boston area special interests that do not benefit Pittsfield.

To be clear, the state lottery gives Pittsfield and the low to moderate income people who live there pennies back on the dollar.  The lottery is a scam on so many levels that it would make the Empire State Building look like a miniature building, but it helps greed-balls such as Dan Bosley, so we get to place more sucker's bets on scratch tickets and numbers games than ever before.  

To illustrate, Beacon Hill is still sitting on billions of dollars in state surplus dollars.  This past Summer of 2022, Governor Charlie Baker stated that the state is sitting on more surplus dollars than at any point in time in the over 400 years of Massachusetts.  Meanwhile, Beacon Hill lawmakers are still on their 5-monthslong taxpayer-funded vacation while the state is derelict in its duty to meet the needs of the people during these cold late-Fall and upcoming Winter months - I suppose we may freeze to death if we cannot pay to heat our homes.

Beacon Hill lawmakers only act when they benefit by enriching themselves and their wealthy campaign donors and backers at the public trough.  Otherwise, they do nothing most of the time - except DISSERVICES!

I never said that Linda Tyer is perfect.  All I am writing about is that she has impressed me on many levels because she understands what is going on from Boston points west to Pittsfield, which is an unusual surprise that I am very impressed with.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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December 17, 2022

Someone asked me if Mayor Linda Tyer's third husband Barry Clairmont, who is a multimillionaire Certified Public Accountant, is partners in Luciforo's Berkshire Roots pot plant on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  My answer is that I do not know the answer to that question, but it is probable that Barry Clairmont has business partnerships with political insiders such as Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior.

While I praised Mayor Linda Tyer over the past nearly 20 years for her political views, managerial skills and leadership abilities, I disagree with her living in a mansion in a Gated Community full of elitist multimillionaires because she is sending the wrong message to the people of Pittsfield, which is an economically distressed and very unequal postindustrial city.  But at the end of the day, we all have to take the good with the bad in life.

If there is a politician whom I aspire to being like, it would be Linda Tyer because she stands for everything that I believe in when it comes to government and politics.  I am impressed with Linda Tyer on many levels.  Pittsfield is fortunate to have Linda Tyer as its Mayor!

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Can Pittsfield's pot tax windfalls soothe taxpayers' sting?"

The Berkshire Eagle, January 6, 2023

To the editor: When I picked up my Eagle today, I was happy to learn that Lenox has reaped such a great reward from “tourist taxes,” which will help stabilize the rate of their property tax increases.

When I received my mail later in the day and was shocked at the Pittsfield tax increase, I couldn’t help but wonder (again) where our pot revenue was being spent. We are not on the tourist trail, but it seems we are becoming famous for our many pot establishments.

Is there some way, mayor and City Council, that we could defray our taxes via pot?

Jeanne Bresnehan, Pittsfield

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January 9, 2023

Who wouldn't want to serve a few 4-year terms as Mayor of Pittsfield?  Linda Tyer's future public pension plus perks will be around $100,000 per year for life.  Not bad for a former public-school secretary who found success in Pittsfield politics.  The cherry on top is her multimillionaire CPA husband Barry Clairmont's Gated Community lifestyle.  Peter Marchetti & John Krol both hope to follow in the Lovely Linda's footsteps.  Former Governor Charlie Baker is making $3 million per year - $60,000 per week - to watch college athletes play sports, which is on top of his 6-figure public pension plus perks.  Meanwhile, the minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15 per hour for the working class.

Jonathan A. Melle

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January 13, 2023

"Just send my Social Security payments directly to the city" - Retiree Helen Austin

"The taxes are shocking" & "A 50% increase" & "My house valuation went up 39% in the last few years" - Senior Citizen resident Ann Carey

Pittsfield holds first city council meeting of 2023, hears citizen concerns about property taxes | WAMC

"The city ended the fiscal year 2022 with $17,130,565 in unused funds."

Source: "Pittsfield ended fiscal 2022 with $17 million in free cash. A city meeting will help decide what to do with it." By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, January 12, 2023.

Mayor Linda Tyer's version of The Twilight Zone: "Pittsfield politics is bankrupting Senior Citizens, while Matt Kerwood "Cooks the Books" with tens of millions of dollars in unused city funds and his secretive Slush Funds"

Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick is the best thing to happen in Pittsfield politics in a long time!

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January 13, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Sarcasm: I received an unhappy Friday telephone call from Kufflinks today about my open political email letter to you along with my blog post on Planet Valenti.  Matt Kerwood told me that Pittsfield's over $17 million in "free cash" is a blessing, and that his secretive multimillion-dollar Slush Funds are a better investment in the people and taxpayers of Pittsfield than them having the money in their personal pocketbooks and wallets.  Kufflinks told me that the Senior Citizens and retirees in Pittsfield should be sending him "Thank You Notes" for them giving Pittsfield politics more and more of their fixed income payments.  Lastly, Matt Kerwood said that he is a better financial manager than Warren Buffett because Kufflinks produces huge public sector cash surpluses and huge secretive Slush Funds, while old Warren Buffett does so in the private sector.

What are your thoughts on my sarcastic political email to you about Kufflinks robbing Peter and Paul to pay the lovely Linda?

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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January 13, 2023

Hello, blogger Dan Valenti,

.... Once Upon a Time.... There was an economically distressed postindustrial city in Western Massachusetts in Berkshire County named Pittsfield that was run by the Godfather movies-like 4 families: Gerry "Barstool" Doyle, Jimmy "Rolodex" Ruberto, Remo "Good Old Boy" Del Gallo, and Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior a.k.a. "Luciforo".  The Good Old Boys are from interrelated provincial families who served in Pittsfield politics for generations.  Barstool since passed away in his early-60s.  Remo since passed away in his mid-90s.  Rolodex never owned a home or rented an apartment in Pittsfield, yet he served as the worst Mayor of Pittsfield for 8 years from 2004 to 2011, while his real home was and still is in Naples, Florida.  Luciforo always lived in Boston as an elected official in Pittsfield going back to 1997, and he still lives in Boston in 2023, yet he runs his Pittsfield Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield to the dismay of the abutting neighborhoods in Pittsfield who complain about his pot growing pollution that stinks up their homes.

People who lived in Pittsfield say that it was a nice small city during the post-WW2 era until GE closed its operation sometime in the early-1990s.  The Good Old Boys were always dabbling in Pittsfield politics going back generations, but there were effective checks and balances on them from dominating the city and region's poisoned politics with their infamous use of retribution.  Over the past 30 years or so, the Good Old Boys became the only game in Pittsfield.  They expect everyone to kiss their dirty behinds and tell them how great they are for putting Pittsfield into the proverbial ditch while they themselves do well.  If one tells them that Pittsfield's "Level 5" public school district is overpriced, its social services downtown is dangerous and surrounded by impoverished neighborhoods, its crime statistics are always in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts each year going back decades, its taxes, fees, spending, debts and other public liabilities are excessively high, its state and local one (Democratic) Party political establishment is useless, and so on, then he or she is told by them that they must "Hate Pittsfield".  To be clear, the Good Old Boys never once looked at themselves in the proverbial mirror, but they lash out at anyone who tells them to do so.

This past week, senior citizens spoke at the open mic to the Pittsfield City Council with several City Council members absent, along with Mayor Linda Tyer being absent, about their financial hardships caused by Pittsfield's excessively high tax bills and fees.  Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick questioned Pittsfield's Creative Accountant Matt Kerwood about a resident who lost their property and home to the city.  Matt Kerwood's predictable answers is that he would have to look up the information and that he doesn't know the answers.  Pittsfield residents have to wait until January 24th, 2023, to receive an explanation for the recent winter storm debacle that caused a little less than 6 dozen automobile accidents and related injuries that did not occur in nearby towns.

There could be effective checks and balances on Pittsfield politics, but the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) backs up the state and local corrupt career politicians and secretive bureaucrats such as Matt Kerwood because they are in line with the Dirty Bird's agenda.  Blogger Dan Valenti, who is in his early-70s, writes and blogs about Pittsfield politics and he allows the people and taxpayers to comment about how mismanaged, corrupt and secretive things are in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  I wish that blogger Dan Valenti would write and post more about Smitty Pignatelli, Tricia Farley Bouvier, John Barrett III, Paul Mark, along with PAC Man Richie Neal, Ed "Maryland" Markey, and Elizabeth Warren, who is not living in Main Street USA, and who fully supports Joe Biden, who took in more money from Wall Street than any other politician in U.S. history.  WAMC's Josh Landes' coverage of Pittsfield politics and the beautiful Berkshires does a good service for his readers because he illustrates how the people feel about the failed political establishment.

I myself, whose native hometown is Pittsfield, Massachusetts, feels that the state and local government "Cooks the Books" to protect the interests of the Financial, Corporate and Ruling Elites, while the rest of us pound sand in disgust.  I believe that Pittsfield politics is predictable in a negative way, and that the city is excessively taxing the people who live there and beyond in return for DISSERVICES, such as its "Level 5" Public School District.  My own experiences with state and local politics in Pittsfield and beyond to Boston when my dad was a Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000) and many years afterwards is that the last thing any of the corrupt career politicians want to do is talk to someone such as myself - Jon Melle - because I am not a greedy lobbyist or wealthy campaign donor who will enrich them at the public trough.  When I spoke with the corrupt career politicians as a then young man many years ago, they looked annoyed with me.  I felt they only wanted to hear people tell them how wonderful they are in state and local government when the opposite was true.

I thought that we lived in a democracy where people and taxpayers have a voice in their state and local government, but that is not the case in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  I thought that the role of a state and local politician was to educate, invest in, and communicate with the people and taxpayers, but that is not the case in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Most communities are proud that they put the 1950s era of the Godfather movies-like 5 families in the trash bin of history, but in Pittsfield politics, it is the worst of both worlds with the living legacies of the late-Barstool, the late-Remo, Rolodex Ruberto from Naples, Florida, and Luciforo from Boston.  When I read Planet Valenti's blog posts and comments, it is clear that Mayor Linda Tyer and mayoral candidates Peter Marchetti, who is the City Council President, and John Krol, who is a former City Councilor, are all clones of Rolodex Ruberto, who is a failed Mayor who sold the people his snake oil.

It is not even rational anymore in Pittsfield politics.  Jimmy Ruberto never lived in Pittsfield.  Rolodex Ruberto lives in Naples, Florida.  His snake oil sales pitch failed.  Why does this old man hold so much power in a city he never invested in himself?  Luciforo always lived in Boston, and when he was a Pittsfield State Senator from 1997 - 2006, he was in the pocket of Boston's big banks and insurance companies, which led to him having to step down from the post.  Luciforo's status as Pittsfield's Pot King is for this soon to be 59-year-old man to rake in millions of dollars for himself for his upcoming retirement, which won't be in Pittsfield.  The late-barstool Mayor sold Pittsfield's polluted environment to the Devil for 30 pieces of silver, lost millions of city dollars that are unaccounted for to this day, and sent the city government into state receivership.  The late-Mayor Remo was a city Democrat operator since at least the mid-1960s, and he is one of the Founders of the no good Good Old Boys club in Pittsfield politics.

When is Pittsfield going to move into the 21st Century?  When will the people tell Rolodex Ruberto to retire in Naples, Florida, and leave Pittsfield politics behind?  It is NOT the 1950s anymore!  Pittsfield should move forward already.  The Good Old Boys put Pittsfield into the proverbial ditch.  I hope that Pittsfield will change for the better in my lifetime, but I will not be holding my breath for that to ever happen.  The corrupt career politicians in Pittsfield should stop telling us that we must "Hate Pittsfield" for speaking out against their failed leadership.  We live in a free country, and Pittsfield is not an island anymore because we have social media, blogs, and the online data to back up our arguments that Pittsfield politics has become a public DISSERVICE.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"A meeting on what to do with Pittsfield's $17 million in free cash has been postponed"

The Berkshire Eagle Staff, January 16, 2023

PITTSFIELD — A City Council subcommittee meeting that would have focused on what to do with the city's unprecedented amount in free cash has been postponed.

The meeting, which was set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, will be rescheduled for a later date according to Council President Peter Marchetti. The meeting was postponed due a family emergency of a city official.

When the subcommittee reconvenes, councilors will discuss a proposal by Mayor Linda Tyer asking the council to approve placing $6 million of the city's $17 million in free cash into two separate stabilization accounts and the other post-employment benefits account.

The proposal would direct $2 million to the general stabilization account, $2 million to the public works stabilization account and $2 million to OPEB fund, which covers the cost of benefits, primarily health insurance, for municipal retirees.

Councilors on the subcommittee will vote on whether they will recommend the proposal to the greater City Council before the plan comes to the full body for a vote. 

Meg Britton-Mehlisch can be reached at mbritton@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6149.

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January 23, 2023

Hello, blogger Dan Valenti,

Pittsfield politics has to decide what to do with its over $17 million in so-called "Free Cash".  What about Matt Kerwood's infamous, secretive multimillion-dollar Slush Funds?  What about the ARPA funds?  How many tens of millions of surplus dollars is Mayor Linda Tyer sitting on?

Moreover, Beacon Hill lawmakers are sitting on between over $7 billion to possibly around $10 billion is surplus state cash.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Pittsfield city councilors will meet Wednesday to discuss a plan to use a portion of the city's $17 million in free cash"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, January 23, 2023

PITTSFIELD — City councilors will discuss this week whether to support a proposal by city leaders to direct $6 million in the city's free cash stores toward two stabilization accounts and an employee benefit account. 

Pittsfield's free cash — the money that’s left in city coffers at the end of a fiscal year and isn’t restricted in use — hit an unprecedented level this year at $17 million. 

On Wednesday, the council subcommittee on finance will meet at 6 p.m. at Room 203 in City Hall to hear from finance director Matt Kerwood about the potential use of the city's free cash. 

The proposal would direct $2 million to the general stabilization account, $2 million to the public works stabilization account and $2 million to OPEB fund, which covers the cost of benefits, primarily health insurance, for municipal retirees.

Councilors on the subcommittee will vote on whether they will recommend the proposal to the greater City Council before the plan comes to the full body for a vote.

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WAYFAIR CUTTING 1,750 JOBS, DOUBLE THE SIZE OF AUGUST LAYOFFS

Its second round of layoffs; first round was last August 2022. 10 percent of their workforce will receive pink slips on this "Unhappy" Friday in early-2023.  CEO cofounder Niraj Shah said that he over-hired.  Wayfair's stock price has lost 75 percent of its value over the past year.

Source: By Boston Globe reporter Aaron Pressman, 1/20/2023

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January 20, 2023

The 3 useless Berkshire-based State Reps - Tricia, Smitty & John - and State Senator Paul Mark only do DISSERVICES!  PAC Man Richie Neal only represents K Street's corporate lobbyist firms, especially insurance companies.  Ed Markey (D- HOT AIR) lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  Elizabeth Warren does not live anywhere near Main Street USA.  Joe Biden takes in more big money from Wall Street and K Street (along with Ukraine, Russia and China) than any other politician in US history.  Pittsfield politics has NO representation on Beacon Hill and the Swamp!

Jonathan A. Melle

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January 24, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

You posted: "More PC B.S. for the kids at the expense of actual knowledge".

I don't know if you realize it, but I noticed that "More PC B.S." could also mean "More PCBs" for the kids in Pittsfield's public schools, especially the Allendale Elementary School that abuts Hill 78, which is a leaky landfill full of GE's PCBs.

"More PC B.S." could be Pittsfield politics' tagline!

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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January 28, 2023

The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle)'s editorial about the state's over $31 million in tax breaks to Wayfair for growing its company's workforce in Boston and Pittsfield alike omitted that "Wayfair is expanding its hiring in India at the same time as it is cutting 1,750 jobs, more than half of them in the Boston area...."

Please Google: "Boston-based Wayfair plans to announce on Friday its second major round of layoffs in less than six months" to read about the bait and switch scheme Wayfair pulled on state and local officials from Boston to Pittsfield.

I requested multiple times that blogger Dan Valenti please post a blog article listing all of the bait and switch schemes that companies large and small have pulled in Pittsfield.  I never received a reply from blogger Dan Valenti about my request for him to please illustrate how state and local tax giveaways have failed in postindustrial Pittsfield since GE closed shop there over 30 years ago.

Welcome to postindustrial America whereby offshoring jobs to foreign countries illustrates how the Almighty Dollar is far more important than corporations investing in the people who work for them and their communities and state.  Why should Massachusetts' state government or Pittsfield's city government fall for these failed bait and switch schemes when corporations are only concerned with their own bottom line?

I was reading about the two financial asset corporations - BlackRock and Vanguard - who own everything in the U.S.A. (including the fictional politician sarcastically named Sellout Shakedown).  If one of the multitrillion-dollar asset managers has majority shares in a company's respective assets, the other one has minority shares and vice versa.

The entire system of government in the U.S.A. is being played by - and bought off by - financial and corporate shell games.  The bigger the government, the more shell games and special interest dollars.  Wall Street and K Street are the real Capitol Hill because they bought and paid for all of the elected Members of U.S. Congress who are about as popular as the Covid-19 virus.  Joe Biden took in more money from Wall Street and K Street - along with China via Hunter Biden - than any other elected official in U.S. history in the 2020 presidential election.  The U.S. Supreme Court is stacked in favor of the top 1 percent, whose earned income grew by trillions of dollars over the past 50 years, while the average working-class family saw a 12-cent per hour pay increase over the past 50 years - that is not even a $5 per 40-hour workweek pay increase since the early-1970s.  Goodbye middle-class, and Hello economic inequality!

In closing, instead of our grandparents' generation saying, "Take this job and shove it. I ain't working here no more.", the newest generation is saying, "Take this job and offshore it.  I ain't working anymore."

Jonathan A. Melle

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January 30, 2023

On Dan Valenti's blog, Pittsfield's Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick asks the following questions:

Krol & Marchetti. Which to choose?

I would have some questions first.

1) Name your ‘third rails.’

2) Is it possible to make a career of opportunism (such as securing your political office by green lighting corrupt activity) and then learn to be an executive and aspire to undo the damage that you have permitted?

Global question: can a corrupt government ever be a well-run?

Here are my answers to his questions about Pittsfield politics:

I choose John Krol because he is willing to bring change to Pittsfield politics after 40 years of failed municipal government.  I oppose Peter Marchetti because he is in bed with all of the provincial insiders - some of whom live in Naples, Florida (Jimmy Ruberto) and Boston (Luciforo) - that have upset me for many years now.

1) Name your ‘third rails.’

My third rails are for the city to Invest in the People who live in Pittsfield because they are the city's most valuable resource; Fire all of the Level 5 public school district's administrators and recruit outside talent to bring needed change to the education system in Pittsfield; Abolish the 24.5-year failed PEDA debacle that should have been a Superfund site a long time ago; Open the city's secretive "Cooked Books" to multiple audits, including a forensic audit, and then charge the corrupt financial manager(s) with fraud; Build public and affordable housing units all over the city to stop: Pittsfield's homelessness crisis, the past 50 years of population loss, and the past 50 years of lost living wage jobs; Implement a plan to reign in city spending and pay down Pittsfield's hundreds of millions of dollars in public debts and other liabilities because the current financial management is unsustainable; Stop the use of retribution and fear in state and local politics and Pittsfield by encouraging civic participation in state and local government; Close down Nuciforo's pot growing building on Dalton Avenue that stinks up abutting residential neighborhoods; Teach young adults about sexual health and provide health resources such as contraception to lower the city's teen pregnancy and STD rates; Stand up to Beacon Hill's (voluntary) regressive taxation schemes such as the Massachusetts State Lottery, which makes a mockery out of cities such as Pittsfield because state lawmakers use the lottery and the like to giveaway tens of billions of dollars in state tax breaks per fiscal year to Boston area big businesses that don't exist anywhere in or near Pittsfield; and, Finally move Pittsfield politics away from its failed past of the Good Old Boys corrupt leadership and bring Pittsfield into the 21st century already.

2) Is it possible to make a career of opportunism (such as securing your political office by green lighting corrupt activity) and then learn to be an executive and aspire to undo the damage that you have permitted?

No.  It is usually the other way around.  A candidate usually is elected to a public office thinking that they will bring needed change the system of government, but then they are bought and paid for by the financial, corporate and ruling elites.  To illustrate, please takd a look at greedy lobbyist Dan Bosley, GE's lobbyist Peter Larkin, disgraced lobbyist Stan Rosenberg, or Pittsfield's Pot King Luciforo.

Global question: can a corrupt government ever be a well-run?

No.  To illustrate, look at the sitting U.S. President Joe Biden and his scoundrel son Hunter Biden.  The Biden "Crime" Family takes in more money from Wall Street and K Street than any other political "crime" family in U.S. history.  All of the tens of trillions of federal dollars that Joe Biden spent over the past two years has left us all paying at least over $100 per week more for the same goods and services we purchased only 2 years ago.  But then again, K Street bragged about its record earnings, and Wall Street is not asking for a new bailout.... yet.

Jonathan A. Melle

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January 30, 2023

Dennis Powell is featured on an online news story:

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-01-30/berkshire-naacp-president-anger-emotion-after-death-of-tyre-nichols

Berkshire NAACP President: “Anger, emotion” after death of Tyre Nichols | WAMC

It has long been said that mostly white police officers over-police mostly minority neighborhoods in the U.S.A.  It has also been long said the color of money is not black and/or white, but it is green, meaning MONEY!

I heard from a friend who did time that Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has a reputation for being friendly to gangs.  There are now over 1,000 gang members who live in inner-city Pittsfield.  It wasn't like that when I grew up in Pittsfield in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "I believe Pittsfield's high schools deserved a different plan"

The Berkshire Eagle, February 3, 2023

To the editor: As a lifetime resident, taxpayer and graduate of Taconic High School, I am fully aware of the distrust constantly provoked by our elected officials.

The recent article on the decision to segregate high school students by curriculum is another in a long in line of false, misdirected narratives. ("The Pittsfield School Committee has unanimously approved Taconic High School's transition to a vocational education," Eagle, Jan. 31.)

We were told Taconic was a failing structure, and updates would be too economically unsound. New construction was deemed as the only financially acceptable answer. While this might have been true, underlying intent was to eliminate a cohesive student body served by vocational and non-vocational courses. The reality is this is another back door, behind-the-scenes grasp to save the dome: As enrollment declines at Pittsfield High School, short-sighted officials trusted with economic stability for residents and taxpayers of this city have once again failed. Presented with new high school construction, thoughts of a singular high school campus were ignored.

As a result, time and time again we are presented with proposals to fund multiple updates to an aging and dated facility. Have cost studies for transportation of students from the four corners of the city to the two campus destinations have been addressed? Has the transport of students from further distances been brought into consideration?

Too late to consider cost of two campuses versus one — once again, short-sighted tunnel vision by the “leaders” of our city.

Timothy Rapkowicz, Pittsfield

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"Pittsfield city councilors want the city's free cash to go toward city roads and sidewalks"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, February 3, 2023

PITTSFIELD — City leaders hoping to direct a portion of Pittsfield’s unprecedented $17 million in free cash toward several accounts left a Thursday night meeting with a clear message from city councilors: put that money toward Pittsfield’s roads and sidewalks.

“I just think this is an opportunity for us — this free cash — to do something for the residents that hasn’t been done, relieve some aches and pains,” Earl Persip III said. “We haven’t done a sidewalk in this town funded by the city in who knows how many years.”

The councilors on the city’s subcommittee on Finance voted against recommending two of the proposals before them related to free cash and asked the mayor to consider doubling down on a third proposal to put free cash into the public works stabilization account.

Council President Peter Marchetti said he’d be sending Mayor Linda Tyer a recommendation to take the $2 million the administration was suggesting to put into the general stabilization account and combine it with the $2 million that was suggested for the public works stabilization account for a deposit of $4 million.

He said he’d like to see the administration come to the city council with that request at the next meeting on Feb. 14, [2023].

Your guide to the free cash conversation

Here’s a guide to understanding what the ongoing conversation about free cash in Pittsfield is all about.

What is free cash?

Free cash is the left over “unrestricted funds from operations of the previous fiscal year,” according to the Department of Revenue’s explainer to city officials. It’s what isn’t used by city business by June 30 every year.

Is free cash my tax dollars?

Some city councilors have called free cash the “overtaxation of residents,” but city Finance Director Matt Kerwood reiterated at Thursday night’s finance subcommittee meeting that that’s not an accurate description of where this money comes from.

Most of this money comes from when local receipts — the money the city receives through things like meals, room and cannabis tax — exceed city estimates. A portion of this money does come from city departments that don’t use up their full budget by the end of the year — budgets funded by tax dollars.

State data shows that for most of the last 20 years, Pittsfield’s free cash total has ranged from $3 million to over $6 million. So the $17 million the state certified this year is a big jump. The main driver of this isn’t taxes — it’s from three one-time sources that all hit city accounts at once last year.

So why do we have so much this year?

In December, state officials certified that the city ended fiscal year 2022 with $17,130,565 in unused funds.

Kerwood explained the two biggest inputs driving that number came from the city’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds and the final payment from the state for the Taconic High School project, which was $4.7 million.

The final factor of the windfall was that this year Eversource paid out several delinquent tax bills to the city.

How can free cash be used?

The state’s Department of Revenue recommends cities to use their free cash for one-time expenses, paying for capital projects or filling other reserves.

So what’s the plan for this free cash?

After Thursday night’s meeting the answer to this question is still in flux. The council’s finance subcommittee was considering a request to put $6 million of the $17 million into three city accounts: the general stabilization account, public works stabilization account and other post-employment benefits trust account.

The proposal would have divided that $6 million equally between the three accounts. Kerwood explained that adding money to the general stabilization account and the benefits trust would give him more to invest to further grow the accounts. As the director put it “let’s use our money to make more money.”

The subcommittee voted against recommending putting $2 million into the general stabilization account and $2 million into the benefits trust. The committee did unanimously recommend the $2 million for the public works account.

Will any of this impact my taxes?

No — at least not directly. If the city chooses to put more money in the public works stabilization account then it could mean less debt for the city. That would make the debt line item in the city’s budget smaller down the road. But don’t expect to see an immediate tax increase or decrease from these council decisions.

What happens next?

At the February 14th, [2023], city council meeting, the full council will review the finance committee’s recommendations and take a vote on where the free cash should go.

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February 5, 2023

If the black community leaders in Pittsfield want accountability, then they should demand that the city's public school district NOT be rated Level 5 by the state year after year.  Also, Pittsfield is always in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime, according to the FBI's annual report.  Inner-city Pittsfield now has over 1,000 gang members living there.  Pittsfield is described by the Boston Federal Reserve as a postindustrial city with a distressed economy with severe economic inequality with an over reliance on social services.  Over the past 50 years, Pittsfield has experienced a lot of population loss and the loss of thousands of living wage jobs.  The insider and corrupt career state and local politicians have long been part of the problem in Pittsfield.  My accountability report card for Pittsfield politics is "F" for the generations of failed leadership! Nonetheless, I still root (in futility) for my native hometown. I am told it is due to sentimental reasons from my youth.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Property tax reduction should be on the table in Pittsfield free cash talks"

The Berkshire Eagle, February 9, 2023

To the editor: This is in response to the recent article ("Pittsfield city councilors want the city's free cash to go toward city roads and sidewalks," Eagle, Feb. 3) about the allocation of the millions of dollars Pittsfield will spend on different projects. 

Recently, the mayor refused to add $1 million to reduce real estate taxes. Most of the City Council agreed with her.

Now we see a proposal for $6 million that will probably be spent on varies nonessential projects.

The mayor argued it would not be prudent to spend another $1 million to reduce the real estate taxes we pay. How can it not be prudent when all they have to do is raise the real estate tax rates if there would be a deficit?

It does not seem the mayor or most of the City Council considers the financial well-being of the people of Pittsfield to be very important.

Thomas Marini, Pittsfield

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February 10, 2023

Is blogger Dan Valenti really saying that Pittsfield politics' barstool, aberration, rolodex-renaissance, Montello, and vibrant-dynamic taglines didn't work?  I thought that PEDA was supposed to attract Fortune 500 companies to Pittsfield instead of PEDA's millions of dollars in always growing financial liabilities for GE's former postindustrial polluted properties.  I thought that Pittsfield's Level 5 public school system was supposed to send the city's youth to prestigious institutions of higher education instead of to the underclass.  I thought that inner-city Pittsfield's over-hyped arts district was supposed to rival London, Paris, NYC, and L.A. instead of being home to over 1,000 gangs who sell drugs and even worse to the local people.  I thought that City Hall was supposed to invest in the city's most valuable resource: the People and their residential neighborhoods instead of letting Luciforo's Dalton Avenue pot growing buildings stink up half of the city.  I thought that Pittsfield's public finances was supposed to favor the 5 decades-long shrinking middle class taxpayers instead of producing huge amounts of so-called "Free Cash" and secretive multimillion-dollar Slush Funds via Kufflink's "Cooked Books".  I thought that state and local politics would be run by politicians who didn't answer to failed and disgraced former politicians who live in Naples, Florida (Jimmy Ruberto) or Boston (Nuciforo).  I thought that Pittsfield politics was supposed to change from its corrupt and insider's only "Good Old Boys" notorious past to the "Brooklyn of the Berkshires" tagline of the 21st century.  I guess that I thought wrong!

Jonathan A. Melle

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Our Opinion: "Pittsfield councilors should strongly consider free cash infusion into lagging benefits account"

The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, February 11, 2023

So what will Pittsfield do with its historically big batch of free cash?

This week, we saw one spending proposal from city Finance Director Matt Kerwood. The request from the mayor’s office asked the City Council’s finance subcommittee to put $2 million apiece toward three city accounts: the general stabilization account, public works stabilization account and other post-employment benefits trust account.

The councilors were all for the public works account infusion, a more than reasonable measure to put a decent chunk of change toward crumbling roads and sidewalks that everyone in the city wants to see improved. But the finance subcommittee was less enthusiastic about putting a fraction of the available free cash in the other stabilization accounts. This prompted some discussion between Mr. Kerwood and the councilors about the current state of the city’s benefit obligations.

Other post-employment benefits (OPEB) are all the non-pension benefits that state and local governments provide to retired employees — mostly health insurance but also life insurance, disability and other payments. According to Mr. Kerwood, the city currently has $307,000 in its OPEB account, while the city’s total obligation is about $377 million. That total obligation is not due this month or next year — it’s the sum of expected OPEB costs for all retired and current city workers. Still, that’s a significant outstanding liability (obligations minus funds on hand) at nearly twice the size of the city’s annual budget. And at less than one-tenth of 1 percent, the funded ratio is concerning as well.

Pittsfield’s far from alone in facing this steepening fiscal path. The vast majority of Massachusetts municipalities, as well as the commonwealth itself, also are far behind the funding 8-ball on their OPEB obligations. As in those other communities, the reality is that there’s little to no chance of Pittsfield putting a big dent in that obligation anytime soon. However, that should not necessarily dissuade councilors from putting a small dent in it when the city is uniquely positioned to do so.

While it’s a drop in the bucket of the total obligation, putting even a couple million dollars toward the city’s OPEB account would grow it several times over. And putting it into the stabilization account allows the city to invest and grow that funding — or, as Mr. Kerwood put it to officials, “use our money to make more money.” Growing the funding-obligation ratio can also improve the discount rate and lower the city’s projected obligation, while lowering the liability can positively impact the city’s financial future by improving its bond rating.

All this should make councilors think twice about forgoing an opportunity to reasonably boost the city’s benefit stabilization account, especially when a historic surplus gives city leaders a rare chance to have a “yes, and” attitude toward forward-thinking investments. The $17 million-plus in free cash left over from the last fiscal year is nearly three times the last known high water mark. In addition to the tax receipts of a reopening economy, Pittsfield’s purse benefited from the city’s share of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Eversource’s at-once payment on a four-year tax bill and the state’s last reimbursement for the new Taconic High School. We share the councilors’ eagerness to see some serious funding for overdue road and sidewalk repair projects. The $17 million could support an allocation of twice the requested amounts to both the OPEB and public works stabilization accounts — with twice as much free cash as the city sees in a typical year left over.

Another pressing matter is the fact that the portion of free cash stemming from ARPA funding has several conditions attached. It must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026 — hopefully an easy deadline but one the city should be sure to beat so this one-time windfall isn’t diminished. It also comes with restrictions on its use, and neither roadwork or benefit account deposits fit the bill.

The rest of this historically robust free cash stash, though, can wisely target both of these worthy investments in the sustainability of Pittsfield’s infrastructure present and financial future. Councilors should strongly reconsider doing so while the city’s free cash picture is likely as good as it’s going to get.

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February 17, 2023

The 24.5-year-old PEDA debacle is still very polluted with GE's PCBs, and it is still accumulating millions of dollars in always growing larger financial liabilities that will never be paid off.  Why did Pittsfield ever agree to this fiasco in the first place?  Why is Pittsfield still pouring money into this black hole of waste?  It should have always been a Superfund site!

North Street hosts somewhere around two dozen empty storefronts.  Dangerous downtown Pittsfield is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley" by day and "The Shooting Gallery" after hours with the over 1,000 gang members who live in inner-city Pittsfield.  North Street's bike lanes is yet another gimmick by Pittsfield politics since the days of the so-called Jimmy Ruberto Renaissance that critics sarcastically wrote rivaled London, Paris, NYC, and L.A.'s arts and cultural centers.  Instead, it ended up rivaling London, Paris, NYC, and L.A.'s homeless shelters and distressed streets where the remnants of Jimmy Ruberto's Rolodex can be found, while the old snake oil salesman and conman himself lives in Naples, Florida.

Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier's priority of decriminalizing sex work may put Pittsfield's out-of-work people to work in the fictional "Happy Endings Massage Parlor" that could be located next to Luciforo's Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield.  Why not put a strip club, liquor store, a lottery outlet, a tobacco outlet, and a would-be casino there, too?

Pittsfield could market itself as the "Unholy Trinity" city for one to act out one's unhealthy sexual fantasies, the place for alcoholics and druggies, and the place for compulsive gamblers. It would attract more of the always growing underclass population to the city.

Why is Pittsfield so F*#k'd up?  Pittsfield's Level 5 public school district going back decades with over 650 students per academic year who choice out to neighboring public school districts and charter schools, Allendale Elementary School abutting GE's leaky capped toxic waste dump named "Hill 78", a top 10 city in Massachusetts for violent crime every year going back decades with a reputation for being friendly to gang members, excessive taxation for substandard municipal services, a one political (Dem.) party monopoly on power that rules through the use of retribution, 50 years of population loss and the loss of thousands of living wage jobs, Jimmy Ruberto's useless Rolodex and failed Renaissance, the Berkshire Museum selling off its historic artwork for tens of millions of dollars, Luciforo's pot growing buildings stinking up residential neighborhoods, and on and on....

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer will not seek reelection"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, February 17, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Linda Tyer has made up her mind.

After 19 years of elections — which brought her to roles as city councilor, city clerk and for the last eight years, mayor — Tyer will sit out this next election and leave public office at the end of her term in January 2024.

“As big of a decision as it was to run for office, stepping away is just as big,” Tyer said. “It’s a bittersweet decision.”

On Thursday, during a brief quiet moment in her day, Tyer gathered with her inner circle in her corner office at City Hall to reveal her decision to The Eagle.

Tyer’s husband and former city councilor Barry Clairmont, Director of Administrative Services and Public Information Officer Roberta McCulloch-Dews, and Executive Assistant Catherine Van Bramer sat silently as Tyer explained how she arrived at her decision.

The mayor said that last fall, she began considering the upcoming mayoral race.

“I definitely had moments where I was like, ‘I’m ready to run for reelection, we have some amazing things underway that I want to see through,’” Tyer said. She took the holidays to talk with members of her office staff, friends and family about what she should do.

Tyer said in the end, she decided to step back for personal reasons — to carve out more time with her husband, as well as with her parents, who are both in their 80s — and political reasons.

“I understand that the political life of a community changes over time and a change in leadership can often be a good thing for a community,” Tyer said.

Van Bramer said that she has tried persuading Tyer to stay. She and McCulloch-Dews remained steadfastly convinced of the mayor’s ability to make meaningful change in the city.

“She really has exemplified transformative leadership, and she has made her mark on the city of Pittsfield in a way that’s going to be hard for anyone to follow,” McCulloch-Dews said. “I really don’t think that people realize what they’re going to miss in having the mayor as mayor.”

Clairmont said he’ll support Tyer no matter what the next chapter brings.

“I knew she would make me proud, and I’m prouder of her than I ever thought I would be,” he said. “I think she’s the best mayor this city has seen in 30 years.”

Tyer said she and Clairmont will stay in Pittsfield. “My husband and I do not own a home in Colorado or on the Cape,” Tyer said, smiling, debunking gossip the couple was looking for greener pastures.

She said she’s still considering whether she’ll look for a new job or count the end of her term, when she will be 58, as retirement.

“Whatever I do next,” Tyer said, “I want it to be meaningful.”

Where it all started

Twenty years ago, Tyer was an executive assistant to the Lenox superintendent of schools. An Eagle article from 2003 explained that Tyer read about a newly formed political-action group aiming to bring more women and more decorum to city politics. She signed on.

And when she went further, challenging incumbent Councilor Mark T. Brennan for the Ward 3 City Council seat, Tyer was one of the first three candidates endorsed by Women Helping Empower Neighborhoods. The political action committee, which sometimes called itself We’ve Had Enough Nonsense, was born out of a particularly raucous moment in the city’s political history. City Council meetings frequently were punctuated by raised voices and animosity between members.

With the support of WHEN, she won the election with 64 percent of the vote.

Looking back, she called it a real inflection moment in the direction of the city.

“It was a very exciting time with a new mayor [James M. Ruberto], a new city council,” Tyer said. “There was a real commitment from everyone that had just gotten elected to move past the [General Electric] era and think about how we reimagine our city.”

A successful vote to put $1 million from the city’s Economic Development Fund for the restoration of the Colonial Theater is one of Tyer’s proudest moments from that period. She views the theater’s success as “a cornerstone” of the “revitalization of our downtown.”

The effort was an important step, Tyer said, as it ushered in a new understanding of what Pittsfield could be: a city with the same stake in the arts and culture economy as the rest of the Berkshires. Tyer continued to represent the residents of Ward 3 over the course of two more terms.

In 2008, Mayor Ruberto asked Tyer to step into the role of city clerk when Jody Philips left for another job. Once again, Tyer signed on, serving out the remainder of Philips’ term, then winning two elections to remain clerk.

Tyer said she devoted her eight years as clerk to modernizing elections, giving voices to all through the ballot, drafting an elections handbook and improving poll-worker training.

Ruberto decided not to seek reelection in 2011. That year, Dan L. Bianchi, a former City Council colleague of Tyer’s, beat Peter Marchetti in a close race and took the helm of the city. Happy with her work but dissatisfied with Pittsfield’s direction under Bianchi’s two terms as mayor, in 2015 she pondered risking her future on moving from a lieutenant’s role to the captain’s chair.

The doubts seemed to multiply — Am I ready? Am I smart enough? Can I raise the money? Do I have enough experience? — which added up to one big question. Tyer remembered thinking, “Can I persuade people that my ideas and my vision is something that people can rally behind?”

She said an article in Commonwealth Magazine about feelings of disenfranchisement among Pittsfield’s residents of color prompted her to think, “This is not — I want our city to be a multicultural city, I want our city to be a place for everyone.”

Another sign on, the biggest one yet.

Making the jump to mayor

Tyer’s first campaign focused heavily on diversity and inclusion, job creation and “creating a business-friendly environment.” With 59 percent of the vote, she unseated Bianchi and had her big question answered.

An early goal was to give city department heads the “latitude to take risks and be creative,” she said. One of those risks came in a restructuring of how the city supported private businesses.

From that was born a clever rhyme for business people needing City Hall’s help: She wanted to replace the “runaround” with “wrap-around” service.

She said she worked to pull the city, the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority and the Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation out of their “silos” to share the salary costs of hiring a business development manager.

Next came the creation of the Red Carpet team, a collaboration of city, state and PEDA and PERC officials “all at the table, at the same time with a business” considering moving to Pittsfield.

That team, Tyer said, has been an important part of the success of adding such companies as Interprint, Electro Magnetic Applications Inc. and Hot Plate Brewery.

That focus on luring the new, however, rankled smaller and existing companies. “One of the things I do feel sorry about is that the smaller businesses in Pittsfield seem to feel left out of that process,” Tyer said, “and that was never the intention.”

Guiding the city through COVID-19

Tyer’s second term came after a contentious race against then-Councilor Melissa Mazzeo, who once had served as City Council president. The campaign focused on crime, the city’s debt and financial standing and increasing Pittsfield’s economic development.

In the preliminary election Mazzeo and Tyer were the top two vote-getters, with Mazzeo on top by 290 votes. But in the final general election Tyer finished 590 votes ahead. Despite a recount and Mazzeo’s assertion of election improprieties, Tyer’s victory was confirmed.

The coronavirus, however, seemed to overtake the early part of Tyer’s second term. In early March 2020 Tyer declared a state of emergency as the virus spread through Berkshire County. Whatever time she had envisioned for innovation got swallowed up by meetings of the coronavirus task force.

Tyer brought representatives from the Berkshire Health System, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and County Ambulance to the decision-making table for 10 months of daily conference calls that focused the city’s response.

“It was a crisis,” Tyer said. “Most of the time you can put a team together to solve a problem and you can do some planning, try a few things, tweak it a little bit and you have time to test your theory. With COVID it was crisis management for two years.”

After a Halloween 2020 surge in virus cases, Tyer in November ordered restaurants closed to indoor dining. The call put her at odds with several local restaurant owners who successfully petitioned Tyer to reopen dining options to state levels in early December.

When COVID hit, longstanding but simmering problems with housing and homelessness boiled over. Homeless people sought beds in limited socially distanced spaces, overwhelming the city shelters. In April 2020 an emergency shelter was opened at St. Joseph’s High School and run by ServiceNet.

When that shelter closed in July, ServiceNet angered several of the displaced by disposing of their belongings. In the days and weeks that followed, people who were homeless set up encampments in Springside Park. Tyer said she regrets not working more on “finding a way to get that (St. Joseph) shelter reopened.”

The city, Tyer said, subsequently has worked to remedy the causes of that situation, pointing out that ServiceNet now has an open shelter space 24/7 year-round. Further, she said, Pittsfield has committed nearly $9 million in American Rescue Plan money to increase affordable housing and housing supports.

Another moment, Tyer said, replays again and again in her mind: the killing of Miguel Estrella on March 25, 2022. A city police officer shot and killed the 22-year old Pittsfield man after officers were repeatedly called to help Estrella through a mental-health crisis.

Tyer called the moment a “terrible tragedy” and said she wonders, “Could I have done something differently to have prevented it?” and, “Could I have put systems in place to have prevented it?”

The city, she said, needs more mental health care, “and it can’t just be the government doing it.” She called on private partners to help. The city has beefed up its efforts, Tyer said, by hiring a new licensed social worker and paying for a more robust co-responder program, the non-law enforcement professionals tasked with helping residents through mental-health crises.

Legacy

Guiding the city through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, though deeply challenging, will be the highlight of her career, Tyer said. During the early days of the pandemic, she said, her model of governing through collaboration achieved its greatest successes.

“I will always cherish that there were no egos, there was an esprit de corps,” Tyer said. “We all locked arms and did what we had to do to protect the community and support small businesses.”

She won’t be in the corner office to see the rewards of the city’s many investments of its federal coronavirus relief money. She said the ARPA investments into housing likely won’t be completed this year, and neither will all of the redevelopment work at GE Site 9.

But she’s ensuring the “vision we’ve set out for the American Rescue Plan will survive” by getting these projects under contract before the end of her term. When the housing is complete Tyer said she’ll be “quietly proud of that.”

She said she sees more of her legacy in the people and residents she’s worked with than in any one project.

Now, for a change, she will sign off.

Looking at her staff members on Thursday, Tyer said “I hope the people that I’ve spent the most time with, that they felt they were supported and that I encouraged their innovation, acknowledged their excellence and inspired them to be the very best that they could be in whatever position they held.”

Mayor Linda Tyer Not Seeking Reelection / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

Tyer Looks Back on Two Terms, Looks Ahead to New Leadership / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Mayor Linda Tyer won't seek reelection (nepm.org)

Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer will not run for a third term | WAMC

With funding finalized for Site 9 rehabilitation, Pittsfield prepares to patch up a grim reminder of its industrial past | WAMC

$10 Million Site 9 Redevelopment Now Fully Funded / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

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February 20, 2023

Re: The imperfect Linda Tyer versus the perfect Founding Fathers

Blogger Dan Valenti and some of his commentators have heavily criticized the tenure of Mayor Linda Tyer of Pittsfield politics, while at the same time they have defended the Founding Fathers' legacy on Presidents' Day 2023.

Sarcasm: I am now brainwashed by Dan Valenti and some of his commentators.  Linda Tyer is imperfect, while the Founding Fathers are perfect.  Why would I have written otherwise?  After all, Mayor Linda Tyer's 7 years, 1 month and 20 days as the chief executive officer of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was one of complete failure.  After all, if I go back in time 247 years ago, it is clear that the Founding Fathers historical record is one of complete success.

Sarcasm: I am fortunate that Linda Tyer did not found our country all of those centuries, decades and years ago because the U.S.A. would have ended up like inner-city Pittsfield in 2023.  I believe that blogger Dan Valenti is right to blame everything that is wrong in Pittsfield on Mayor Linda Tyer, Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and former Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington.  Those goddamned women politicians are the scourge of society!

Sarcasm: Thank you for brainwashing me, Dan Valenti.  I appreciate that I now understand that your political views are the only way for me to think and write about the Founding Fathers versus that no-good scoundrel named Linda Tyer.

Jonathan A. Melle

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February 20, 2023

I understand that blogger Dan Valenti, but why are you being so negative about Mayor Linda Tyer's performance, while you call the historical facts that I write about the Founding Fathers an argumentative "canard"?  Compared to the failed administrations of the late-"Barstool", "Aberration", "Rolodex-Renaissance", and "Montello", Mayor Linda Tyer actually knew what she was doing in City Hall, Pittsfield politics central.  People and elected officials from all over the Commonwealth of Massachusetts praised her intelligence and public advocacy for the state's 47 cities in Boston.  She must be doing somethings right.  The flaw in my view of Mayor Linda Tyer versus other disingenuous corrupt career politicians is that I understand that most politicians play the fool to pull the wool over the eyes of the people they represent in government, but they are really taking advantage of them with such (voluntary) regressive taxation schemes as the multibillion-dollar Massachusetts state lottery SCAM so that they can giveaway many millions of dollars in additional state tax breaks to their wealthy campaign donors in Boston, while places that need the public funds the most, such as Pittsfield, are being mocked by the elitist snobs in Boston and being stiffed by the fictional State Rep. Sellout Shakedown always underfunding state aid to public education and local government.  One of the things that impressed me most about Mayor Linda Tyer is that she understands everything that is really going on in state and local government, and she doesn't hide any of her knowledge like so many of the other phony politicians.  I know this because I have read her discussions in news media interviews over the years.  To be clear, Mayor Linda Tyer is one very smart cookie!

Jonathan A. Melle

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February 25, 2023

Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer co-wrote and co-signed an op-ed in the Boston Globe arguing that Massachusetts' state program called the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP), which provides a small subsidy to closing financing gaps and making redevelopment projects viable, and it is capped at $10 million a year, should receive considerably higher funding in the upcoming fiscal year 2024 Massachusetts state government budget that will become state law on July 1st, 2023.

Growing the middle class in distressed "Gateway" cities such as Pittsfield should mean decreasing the underclass' real-world struggles by providing socioeconomic mobility and public social programs for the people who live there.  Investing in people is nothing new, as it was the centerpiece of the 1946 Christmas movie classic: "It's a Wonderful Life", which is over 76 years ago now.

The financial, corporate and ruling elites should see the people - no matter their class and status in society - as the community's most valuable socioeconomic resource.  The people should have affordable access to housing, public education, healthcare insurance, safe streets, financial literacy, living wage jobs, realistic disability and pension plans, and a real voice in the government without the threat of retribution, which has been the hallmark of Pittsfield politics for generations, and so on.

I have followed Pittsfield politics for over 30 years of my 47.5-year-old life, and when state and local politicians there write/co-write op-eds arguing for more state and federal funds, they often spend the state/federal money on one time gimmicks, while economic inequality, violent crime, Level 5 public schools, polluted air, land and water go unaddressed, and excessive municipal taxation and spending is the number one cause of economic pain for low- to moderate-income families who live in Pittsfield.

Mayor Linda Tyer's public management of municipal finances saw total secrecy in her administration's spending of over $41 million in "Biden Bucks", her chief bureaucrat Matt Kerwood building his secretive multimillion-dollar Slush Funds, the city's public debt and unfunded liabilities load costs go into the hundreds of millions dollars range, which will never be paid off in our lifetimes and beyond, and city taxpayers pay excessively high taxes and fees instead of having their own money in their own personal pocketbooks and wallets.

While I agree with the op-ed she co-wrote and co-signed in the Boston Globe, it would difficult for me to see the state giving her municipal administration additional state funds because she hasn't always followed through with putting the financial needs of the low- to moderate-income people who live in Pittsfield first since she was first sworn in as the Mayor of Pittsfield in 2016.

In closing, despite my criticisms of the aforementioned op-ed, I have supported Linda Tyer in Pittsfield politics for the past 20 years now.  Overall, she stands for everything that I stand for in politics and government: Human Rights, helping the poor and their distressed neighborhoods, investing in people, stability in government finances, supporting the arts, caring about Pittsfield's needs, and the like.  Given the harsh realities she had had to deal with since early-2016, I believe that overall, she did a great job as the Mayor of my native hometown, and I give her a grade of A+.  Even a miracle worker couldn't have done better!

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Massachusetts has a plan to increase affordable housing — now it needs the budget"

By Gateway City mayors and managers, The Boston Globe, op-ed, February 24, 2023

With families scrambling for homes and prices at record levels, one might wonder why Massachusetts continues to produce just a fraction of the housing that was built in past decades.

Suburban regulatory barriers own much of the blame but are just part of the problem. While the Gateway Cities that we represent welcome development, land and construction costs have skyrocketed even faster than rents have increased.

Numerous properties in our downtowns and residential neighborhoods continue to sit idle. These empty lots, abandoned businesses, and half-empty office buildings are especially costly to redevelop. It could be environmental contamination, lack of parking, or a quirky older building that is difficult — and cost prohibitive — to reconfigure. In many cases, convoluted transactions have clouded the chain of ownership, requiring years of costly legal proceedings to resolve. Properties may sit for decades in a state of decay, deterring private investment in buildings that would otherwise represent strong candidates for redevelopment.

Fortunately, Massachusetts has a spectacularly successful state program to overcome these obstacles: the Housing Development Incentive Program, which provides a small subsidy to close financing gaps and make redevelopment projects viable.

Since 2014, HDIP has helped create more than 2,500 units of housing and generated over $800 million in private investment. This level of production is especially impressive given that HDIP is capped at $10 million a year, only enough for a handful of projects across the entire state.

In 2020 and again in 2022, Governor Charlie Baker and legislative leaders introduced proposals to triple the size of the program to $30 million per year. The nonpartisan public policy research organization MassINC estimates that this could generate up to 12,000 units and over $4 billion in total housing investment over the next 10 years.

These figures are not hypothetical. Developers have already put forward projects representing 1,782 units worth nearly half a billion dollars. However, they cannot close on construction loans without HDIP credits, and there are not enough to go around.

Time is not on our side. With the Fed continuing to push interest rates higher, soon these projects will disappear. We will be many years into the next housing cycle before redevelopment opportunities like these reemerge.

Increasing housing options for our residents means creating new homes that minimum-wage earners can afford, as well as apartments for young professionals and empty nesters. We’d like our young people who leave our gateway cities and our towns for higher education to be able to come back home to live and work. We pride ourselves on our diversity and providing first chances for immigrants and new families. And we remain committed to increasing our stock of affordable housing. In fact, our cities have built more than one-third of the state’s affordable housing over the past decade.

HDIP is a powerful tool to jump-start additional housing development that contains a mix of market-rate and affordable units based on project agreements negotiated by local government. In this way, HDIP offers a cost-effective path to build much more housing than the government or private sector could do alone. In fact, the program’s modest subsidy unlocks housing units at about one-twelfth the cost of traditional programs. This relaxes pressure on the housing market and makes housing more affordable for everyone in Massachusetts.

By putting vacant buildings back on the tax rolls, HDIP also helps our cities’ finances and promotes a mix of uses that support foot traffic for local businesses. Most of these projects are near transit, which increases ridership and makes operating this infrastructure more cost-effective for the state. They also help reinvigorate our downtowns, making them stronger economic hubs for our regions.

Massachusetts needs an “all of the above” housing strategy to bring jobs to post-industrial communities, keep our young people from moving out of state, provide stable family housing so that our children can learn without disruption, and give our seniors places to downsize. HDIP is a key part of the equation. Let us build the housing that all of Massachusetts needs.

James DiLisio is acting mayor of Attleboro; Robert F. Sullivan is the mayor of Brockton; John L. Vieau is the mayor of Chicopee; Paul Coogan is the mayor of Fall River; Stephen L. DiNatale is the mayor of Fitchburg; Joshua A. Garcia is the mayor of Holyoke; Brian A. DePeña is the mayor of Lawrence; Dean Mazzarella is the mayor of Leominster; Jared Nicholson is the mayor of Lynn; Gary Christenson is the mayor of Malden; Jon Mitchell is the mayor of New Bedford; Edward A. Bettencourt Jr. is the mayor of Peabody; Linda M. Tyer is the mayor of Pittsfield; Brian Arrigo is the mayor of Revere; Shaunna O’Connell is the mayor of Taunton; and Eric D. Batista is the city manager of Worcester.

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March 5, 2023

Hello Blogger Dan Valenti,

On your blog "Planet Valenti", I read the negative comments about North Street, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  I suggest that the city and regional planners in Berkshire County look at a sample of distressed downtowns to come up with ideas on how to transform the dozens of empty storefronts, social services agencies, Juvenile Courthouse, and so on, into a business district like it was for the two to three decades after WW2.

From my own studies, business districts rely on clusters of attractions from museums, art galleries, restaurants, bars, shops, sporting events, colleges, to a variety of businesses, and so on.  The reason why Jimmy Ruberto's very expensive Renaissance failed is because he did not use the clusters model, but instead, he went all in on attracting the tourists who go to Stockbridge, Lenox, Williamstown and North Adams' arts and cultural centers.

Pittsfield is not like those other towns in the beautiful Berkshires.  When I lived in Germany for one year of my life, everyone I talked to over there knew about Norman Rockwell and Stockbridge.  They asked me where I was from at the time I was in the U.S. Army, and I answered that I lived in the Berkshires.  They told me that they would go on family vacations from NYC up north through the Berkshires and up north to Vermont.  To be clear, while they knew about Stockbridge, they did not know about Pittsfield.

The Federal Reserve Bank in Boston commissioned an economic study of the "Ring of Poverty" distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street in Pittsfield.  The distressed inner-city neighborhoods have long had multigenerational poverty, which means they are stuck in the underclass.  Inner-city Pittsfield is now home to over 1,000 gang members.  The FBI annual reports always cite Pittsfield as being in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime.  Pittsfield's public schools are rated as Level 5 - the worst possible rating - by the state government.  Pittsfield is in a homelessness crisis.  Given all of these facts, changing North Street for the better will take a lot of work over many years.

I have long written and posted on my blog pages that Pittsfield's distressed and very unequal economy is ran on "Perverse Incentives", which is an economics term that explains that a firm profits off of their business causing deleterious societal outcomes.  I believe that Pittsfield's distressed inner-city, including North Street, is by the design of the city and region to always have local people live in misery and have socioeconomic disadvantages.  I believe that Pittsfield profits off of Social Services, Level 5 public schools, always being in the top 10 list for violent crime, having over 1,000 gang members living in its inner-city, and so on.  The reason why I believe in my theory about my native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is because Pittsfield annually receives tens of millions of state administered federal funds for all of its socioeconomic problems.

To illustrate, I will use the multibillion-dollar state lottery SCAM, which primarily targets low- to moderate-income people with their (voluntary) regressive taxation schemes.  The more profits for the state lottery really translates into the financial, corporate and ruling elites in Boston further enriching themselves at the public trough.  The state lottery SCAM is wrong on many more levels that the Empire State Building, and it makes a mockery of distressed cities such as Pittsfield and the low- to moderate-income people who live there.  It is the opposite of investing in people, and the elitist snobs in Boston know that they are putting their own political interests above the economic interests of places such as Pittsfield.  The state lottery SCAM is a perfect example of "Perverse Incentives"!

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "It's apparent that the Pittsfield City Council experiences personality issues"

The Berkshire Eagle, March 7, 2023

To the editor: After attending a few meetings and doing some research on the current rules, it's apparent that our elected officials (including the city clerk) violate rules — especially rule 11 — often, from eye-rolling, body gestures and other inappropriate (nonverbal) gestures.

Rule 11 states, "Every Councilor, except the President, when about to speak or to deliver any matter to the Council, shall respectfully address the presiding officer. Councilors shall confine themselves to the question under debate and avoid personalities."

A ward councilor even voted against a line item for road repairs (in another ward) without questioning the item or getting more information. Is this vote against this line item anything but a personal issue toward the presenting councilor? Are the residents best interests even considered or is this a personal vendetta?

As a lifelong resident of Pittsfield, this leaves me questioning the validity of these meetings. This behavior should not be condoned or tolerated.

Mike Barosso, Pittsfield

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March 7, 2023

Questions for candidates for Mayor of Pittsfield politics John Krol and Peter Marchetti:

* Should sex work be decriminalized in Massachusetts?

* Would you support "Happy Ending" massage parlors in Pittsfield?

* Would you support strip clubs in Pittsfield?

* What is your position on marijuana dispensaries in Pittsfield?

* Would you support safe injection sites in Pittsfield?

* Would you support a casino in Pittsfield?

* Do you support the state lottery?

* Do you believe that the state lottery is nothing more than a (voluntary) regressive taxation scheme that targets low- to moderate-income people and makes a mockery of economically distressed cities such as Pittsfield?

* What is your position on the polluted and heavily indebted almost 25-year-old PEDA debacle?

* Do you support GE's proposal for its so-called cleanup the polluted Housatonic River from Pittsfield to Sheffield with a proposed GE toxic waste leaky landfill in Lee?

* How will you improve Pittsfield's public schools "Level 5" rating?

* How will you address Pittsfield always being in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime, according to the FBI's annual reports?

* What are your views of the two-dozen or so empty storefronts and all of the social services agencies on North Street?

* What are your views about the "Ring of Poverty" neighborhoods that surround North Street?

* What do you think the reasons are for over 1,000 gang members living in inner-city Pittsfield?

* Will you stop Luciforo's Berkshire Roots Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue from stinking up nearby residential neighborhoods with his pot growing odors?

* Will you promise not to use retribution against your detractors in Pittsfield politics?

* Will you hold public forums to hear from the people who live and/or work in Pittsfield?

* Why do you think that Pittsfield has experienced 50 years of significant losses in population and living wage jobs?

* Why does Pittsfield's middle-class tax base always shrink, but its municipal spending, taxes, fees, public debts and OPEB unfunded liabilities always grow larger and larger?

* Do you think that Pittsfield's municipal finances are unsustainable over the long term?

NOTE: I have many more questions, but I don't want to take up any more space on this blog that focuses on Pittsfield politics.

Jonathan A. Melle

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March 8, 2023

I want even more red thumbs down so I will ask the following questions: Will the next Mayor of Pittsfield please promise to change the Pittsfield Police Department's CYA report that stated that Miguel "Miggy" Estrella was NOT a person in distress under the law, despite all of the evidence to the contrary?  The young man was intoxicated and/or high on drugs.  The young man was self-cutting his own skin with a knife.  The man had a well-known history of mental illness and substance abuse history with the PPD.  How on Earth is Mayor Linda Tyer still standing by the PPD's CYA report that this young man who was shot to death by the PPD's deadly use of force was NOT a person in distress under the law?  Why hasn't the city and Mayor Linda Tyer been sued over this legal matter?  Why did then Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington uphold the city's flawed findings on the condition of "Miggy" on the night of his death at the hands of the PPD?  What the Hell is going to happen with this Twilight Zone episode of Pittsfield politics?

Jonathan A. Melle

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With Sherman stepping down, Costa to run for open Ward 3 seat on Pittsfield city council | WAMC

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March 12, 2023

Mayor Linda Tyer wasn't all that bad.  She is intelligent, and she has received praise from state and local officials throughout Massachusetts.  She knows what she is doing, and she publicly advocated for Pittsfield and all of the other cities in Massachusetts when she spoke in Boston.  She brought financial stability to Pittsfield politics, which proved that she is nobody's fool when it comes to financial management.  She advocated for poor neighborhoods and invested in people in Pittsfield.  She established the city's red-carpet team to assist businesses in economic development efforts in Pittsfield.  She spoke out against the daily shootings and violent crime in inner-city Pittsfield.  She has long supported the arts venues and tourist attractions.  I am not saying that she was perfect, but given the harsh realities she faced, she deserves the grade of A+.  I have supported Linda Tyer for 20 years now, which includes me living in Pittsfield back then.  I am impressed with her support for Human Rights, her compassion for the poor people, and her management skills.  Pittsfield is lucky to have Linda Tyer!

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Looking to the future of Pittsfield's Ward 3"

The Berkshire Eagle, March 25, 2023

To the editor: I have been a Ward 3 resident for some 15 years and have been involved with things that affect our Ward 3 residents for years.

I see that the ward needs a genuine advocate on the behalf of the folks, not the powers that be. I have been around to see the City Council pass and undo dozens of items. Our Ward 3 has stood strong against those that would run us over with political speak.

I think that our neighborhoods need work. They need road fixtures. They need crime to be stopped at the center, where it started. We in Ward 3 need to get back to basics. We need, in my opinion, to go back to the old days when voices mattered and crime was at bay — a time when our kids could play in parks without fear and parents didn’t fear for there kids in the neighborhood.

I believe that day has come. We need to look for a successor to Ward 3 Councilor Kevin Sherman. I think he has done a great job keeping our streets plowed and safe. We need to pass the torch — to whom is up to the voters' standards.

I hope they chose history over consultants.

Bill Tyer, Pittsfield

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March 27, 2023

Pittsfield politics gives away millions of dollars to special interests.  Please don't share my fictional email to the lovely Linda Tyer requesting a million-dollar grant for the "Jon Melle Economic Council".  In return, I will provide a vibe for North Street by naming the 15 empty storefronts: "Barstool", "Aberration", "Rolodex", "Montello", "Vibrant", "Dynamic", "Kufflink's Suits", "Old Deanna", "DIE", "Luciforo's Good Old Boys Kingdom", "Shitty's Pigpen", "Chrome Dome", "Paul Marxism", "Tricia's Happy Endings", and "Kapanski's Plungers".

Jonathan A. Melle

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March 27, 2023

I asked Pittsfield Pot King if he would produce edible thongs....I asked Tricia when she will legalize Happy Endings....so I could open my would-be (wood-bee) massage parlor on North Street....I would hang up pictures of Jimmy, Andy, the late-Carmen, Angelo, Smitty, Chrome Dome and Marxism to welcome our clients for a pleasurable and stimulating experience in downtown....Pittsfield.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Activists mark anniversary of Estrella’s killing at Pittsfield city council meeting with demands for reforms | WAMC

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March 31, 2023

Famous Pittsfield words: Unalived, The Houseless, Barstool, It's Happening!, Aberration, Rolodex, Downtown Renaissance, Montello, Vibrant and Dynamic.

Famous Pittsfield politicians: Luciforo: Pittsfield's Pot King, Ben Downing: Little Ben, Adam Hinds: Chrome Dome, Paul Mark: Paul Marxism, Peter Larkin: GE Lobbyist on a Lark, Chris Speranzo: Hack de Sinecure, Trica Farley-Bouvier: Country Buffet and Happy Endings, Sara Hathaway: Level 5 forever, Jimmy Ruberto: Mystery man from Texas to Naples, Florida, Dan Bianchi: A Big Bust, Linda Tyer: Gated Community School Secretary.

Famous Pittsfield taglines: North Street: Social Services Alley.  The distressed neighborhoods that surround North Street: The Ring of Poverty.  Pittsfield #1 industry: The underclass.  PEDA: Postindustrial Debacle.  Pittsfield's industrial chemical: PCBs.  Pittsfield: The beautiful Berkshires' hole in the doughnut.  Pittsfield's transportation: How about that bypass?  Pittsfield's daily rag: The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle).  Pittsfield's Finances: Kufflinks "Cooks the Books".  Pittsfield's taxpayers: The (fictional) Kapanskis.  Pittsfield's budget: Always raise municipal taxes, fees, debts and other liabilities by 5% or more per fiscal year.  Pittsfield's Planning Office: Significant losses in population and living wage jobs over the past 50 years.  Pittsfield's public safety: Top 10 city in Massachusetts for violent crime year-in year-out.  Pittsfield's diversity: Over 1,000 gang members who call Pittsfield home.  Pittsfield's inner-city: The Shooting Gallery.  Pittsfield's diversity office: DIE.  Pittsfield politics: The Godfather movies' Mafia-like 4 families who have run the city into the ditch since the mid-1960s.  Pittsfield City Council: The City Clownsil.  Pittsfield's two candidates for Mayor: Peter Marchetti: Plainer than vanilla, & John Krol: Trying to be the comeback kid in Pittsfield politics.  Pittsfield's Fourth Estate: Blogger Dan Valenti.

Jonathan A. Melle

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March 31, 2023

Linda Tyer will soon retire with a 6-figure public pension plus perks.  She will enjoy her Senior Citizen years ahead with her multimillionaire CPA third husband Barry Clairmont in their mansion in their elitist Gated Community.  In the future, she will join Pittsfield politics' Hall of Fame of the city's former career politicians who put the city into the ditch.  Her 2023 State of the City Address was a tribute to the thousands of people who moved far away from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, over the past 50 years - Pittsfield's shrinking middle-class families.  She rejoiced at Pittsfield's huge underclass population who are dependent on social services, who send their children to the city's Level 5 public schools, who purchase pot, booze, tobacco, drugs, sex workers, and all of the other wonderful goods and services Pittsfield has to offer its large underclass population in return for excessive municipal taxation, fees, debts and other liabilities that will never be paid off in our lifetimes.  She touted Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier's number one state legislative priority in 2023 - 2024 to decriminalize sex workers.  She affirmed her own letter to the editor of the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) last Fall (2022) endorsing Paul Mark for State Senator because he is a rubber stamp vote for Beacon Hill's secretive and corrupt dictatorial leadership.  She said that the DIE Office will ensure that Pittsfield will have diversity so that cops will learn to call the Paramedics and Ambulance instead of shooting suspect in distress to death, and then writing in their Use of Force reports that the suspects were not in distress under the law.  I am sorry you missed her historic speech earlier this year 2023, but I am happy to relay her latest remarks about Pittsfield being a Vibrant and Dynamic city.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Three Candidates Emerge For Pittsfield's Ward 3 / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

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"City Council President Peter Marchetti kicks off his campaign for mayor with vision of 'One Pittsfield'"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, April 4, 2023

PITTSFIELD — One Pittsfield.

That’s the rallying cry of Peter Marchetti, the longtime City Council president, who officially kicked off his second mayoral bid on Monday. The local banker took out nomination papers Monday afternoon before hosting a crowded kickoff event at the Berkshire Hills Country Club.

Marchetti is one of two announced candidates. Former City Council Vice President John Krol, who is also seeking the mayor’s office, will host his own kickoff event at the Italian-American Club on Tuesday night.

Standing at the center of the country club’s dance floor, Marchetti promised to use what he said is his proven dedication and leadership in Pittsfield to guide the city through its next chapter.

“Pittsfield has built a great foundation and it is time to build on that foundation — a foundation that I was proud to help build,” Marchetti said. “As Pittsfield enters its next chapter, it’s imperative that we develop and target a course that will provide assistance to all in a post-pandemic era. I will lead with a management style that places communication and collaboration at the forefront.”

Marchetti’s contributions to city life were an integral part of his campaign kickoff.

To introduce the candidate, City Council Vice President Pete White gave the crowd a run-down of Marchetti’s resume.

Highlights of Marchetti’s career include 16 years on the council — eight of which were as president — a longtime role as the president of the city’s parade committee, board seats with Pittsfield Community Television, Berkshire United Way and Downtown Pittsfield Inc., among other organizations. and more than 30 years as a youth bowling coach.

“When people tell me I’m involved in a lot of things, I think I have tons of time compared to Peter,” White said.

“We’re at a point in Pittsfield where we need steady, consistent leadership that knows that listening and communication are key to our future success,” White continued, “leadership that Peter will give us.”

Marchetti spent much of his speech talking about how he’d continue Pittsfield on its current path, rather than lobbing many pointed critiques at prior administrations. Though that’s not to say the longtime councilor didn’t see room for improvement.

“We need to continue our work to improve government efficiency,” Marchetti said, adding the city can’t neglect its responsibilities related to parks, schools, public buildings, water and sewer services, trash, roads and infrastructure issues.

“We must find ways to stabilize tax burdens to make the government work smarter and not harder and provide more for less,” he said.

Part of Marchetti’s plan to make city services more approachable and responsible include a commitment to a “public and transparent process” in the selection of the next police chief, the creation a liaison for “all aspects of the tourism and hospitality industry” and the creation of two quarterly roundtables on the topics of business and education.

Marchetti’s vision is beginning to show signs of support. His campaign reported $6,583 on hand to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance as of the end of March.

Campaign members said just over 200 people attended the campaign event Monday, which included a suggested donation of $50.

Among them were Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Mayor Linda Tyer, city councilors Pete White, Kevin Sherman, Ken Warren, Earl Persip III, Patrick Kavey, Dina Lampiasi; School Committee member Mark Brazeau; Licensing Board member Dick Stockwell; Community Development Board member Floriana Fitzgerald; Zoning Board of Appeals member John Fitzgerald; several local union officials and a multitude of former city officials.

To a room full of city leaders, Marchetti committed to a mantra: “I can lead, I will lead and together we will accomplish great work.”

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April 5, 2023

Please ask Peter Marchetti and John Krol: Why does Pittsfield politics charges the fictional Kapanski family over $200 million per fiscal year in return for - "a shit sandwich" - Level 5 public schools, the city always being in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime year-in year-out, the almost 25-year-old polluted and heavily indebted PEDA debacle, a downtown with 15 empty storefronts that is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley", a distressed and very unequal local economy plagued by 50 years of significant losses in population and living wage jobs, decades of failed one (Democratic) party insider state and local political leadership, and around 80 percent of voters not even bothering to participate out of fear of the city's vindictive use of retribution?

What does Peter Marchetti's tagline "One Pittsfield" even mean?  It ranks up there with "It's Happening", "Aberration", "Rolodex", and "Vibrant and Dynamic".  Why is John Krol promising to be "Mr. Perfect"?  He will supposedly do everything that is good and right as the would-be next Mayor of Pittsfield....and when I put wings on pigs, they fly all around Pittsfield.  An ideal Mayor of Pittsfield would explain how he (or she) would invest in people, who are the community's most valuable resource.  An ideal Mayor would stand for grassroots democracy (no retribution), economic equality (middle-class families), diversity (equal opportunity), and working hard day-in and day-out on behalf of the fictional Kapanski family.

As for NYC, Donald Trump should be the least of their concerns.  He doesn't even live there full-time anymore, as he is now a full-time resident of Florida.  NYC has poverty and homelessness, drugs and overdoses, violent crime and gangs, and a whole lot of political corruption.  Former U.S. President Donald Trump is a (controversial) politician on the federal level of government who is running for his third campaign for U.S. President next year 2024.  Meanwhile, Bill Clinton, who is a twice Convicted Felon due to decades of his sexual misconduct, has 26 registered flight logs on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet.  Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's ring of over at least 200 rich and powerful men - that may be bigger than we realize - sexually abused, exploited and even raped underage women as young as 14 years old.  Bill Clinton, who is allegedly part of that ring, still lives in NY State!  Why Trump, but not Bill Clinton, NYC prosecutors?  At least the porn star and the Playboy model were consenting adult women instead of 14-year-old girls!

Jonathan A. Melle

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April 5, 2023

Hello Blogger Dan Valenti,

On your blog, and for almost the past 20 years now, people who follow Pittsfield politics have questioned me about why I have always supported Linda Tyer as an elected official.  It is not because I supposedly like her romantically.  I do not even know her on a personal level.  My mom told me that she knew her in Lenox many years ago.  We both agree that Linda Tyer is very intelligent and knows what she is doing as the Mayor of Pittsfield.  In fact, I wish her and Barry Clairmont a happy life together.

The following reasons are why I support Mayor Linda Tyer:

* Her politics and views closely align with mine more so than anyone else in my life

* She has always supported Human Rights for All and has compassion for the poor people and neighborhoods

* She shows a commitment to Pittsfield and the beautiful Berkshires

* She is nobody's fool when it comes to financial management

* She established financial stability in Pittsfield's municipal government

* She is committed to diversity and publicly advocates for a tolerant and caring community

* She has received praise from public officials on the local and state level throughout Massachusetts

* She has dealt with harsh realities from the mess she inherited from the Bianchi Bust in early-2016 to the Covid19 pandemic to the daily shootings in inner-city Pittsfield

* She has always supported the arts and cultural venues and events in post-GE Pittsfield

* She has worked on the issues with Pittsfield's Level 5 failed public school district with well-meaning people such as Bill Cameron, who is a retired Superintendent and Pittsfield School Committee member

* She has given almost 20 years of her life to Pittsfield politics and the community

Please understand that my grade of A+ for Mayor Linda Tyer does not mean that I have not disagreed with her public record at times.  I have openly criticized her administration when it was warranted to do so.  I believe that overall, Mayor Linda Tyer did a great job given the difficult realities she faced.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"John Krol reenters Pittsfield politics with a mayoral bid he hopes will 'reignite the city'"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, April 5, 2023

PITTSFIELD — In a packed and toasty room at the Italian-American Club on Tuesday night, John Krol promised that his return to Pittsfield politics would “reignite the city.”

It was a call that got the crowd of approximately 200 to their feet. Between blue and white balloons and twinkling lights draped around the club’s dining hall, supporters cheered Krol on as he launched into a speech full of promises to Pittsfield residents.

Krol, a former vice president of the Pittsfield City Council, is one of two candidates who have announced their intentions to run for the mayor’s office and taken out nomination papers with the city clerk’s office. Council President Peter Marchetti held his own campaign kickoff event Monday night at the Berkshire Hills Country Club.

Neither candidate is a stranger to these kinds of municipal races. This is Marchetti’s second run at the mayor’s office, and Krol has run in many of his own campaigns during a decade serving on the City Council as a Ward 6 councilor.

Krol’s supporters spoke more about his past than the candidate did Tuesday night. Krol was introduced to the crowd by Mary McGinnis, the founder of First Fridays ArtsWalk and owner of Mary’s Carrot Cakes, and the Rev. Nakeida Bethel-Smith, pastor of the Hood Shaw Memorial AME Zion Church in Providence, R.I.

McGinnis said Krol was an early advocate for the First Fridays program and helped fundraise to keep the project growing. Bethel-Smith, who was raised in Pittsfield, said Krol was a constant fixture in Ward 6 before, during and after his campaigns.

Bethel-Smith said that during Krol’s earlier campaigns and his terms and office she got to see “his compassion [and] his consideration for the people.”

She said she believes Krol is going to “reignite the passion” in Pittsfield.

“It’s not that Pittsfield lost its fire; it just got a little dim,” Bethel-Smith said. “It takes a firestarter, somebody that’s committed, somebody that says I’m going to challenge the community to do something different — he’s not going to come in and have business as usual.”

In Krol’s address to the crowd, he committed to many changes in the way the city conducts business, education and promotes itself.

His first promise: to be the most accessible mayor in the history of Pittsfield. Krol said bringing people into the mayor’s office will be accomplished by changes big and small. He committed to opening all four entrances to City Hall, having a person answer every resident that calls into the mayor’s office and having an “open door policy” with constituents.

Krol said a major focus of his tenure would be to start “a second revitalization of downtown Pittsfield.” He said he’ll bring police foot patrols back to the “front doorstep” of the city. Krol, who runs his own business from an office downtown, said that he’d work on the internal permitting processes in City Hall to remove roadblocks to greater business investment in Pittsfield.

A sizeable part of Krol’s speech was dedicated to education.

Krol’s wife, Cara, is a teacher at Reid Middle School, and his four children attend schools within the Pittsfield Public Schools district. He said seeing the education system through their eyes has given him an important sense of the urgency of supporting educators and families. He said he had a “vision that the Pittsfield Public Schools can be the schools of choice in the Berkshires.”

Krol’s campaign kickoff attracted an audience familiar with the kind of strength it takes to make big change in Pittsfield.

Among the audience were Councilors Ken Warren, Dina Lampiasi and Patrick Kavey; Board of Health member Brad Gordon, School Committee member Vicky Smith; Pittsfield Federation of School Employees President Sandra Amburn; former City Council President and mayoral candidate Melissa Mazzeo; and former City Councilor Mike Ward.

Krol’s campaign reported having $6,343 on hand to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance as of the end of March.

Before closing out the evening he said he’s looking forward to fighting for his “family,” his “community,” and for “what is right.”

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April 7, 2023

Hello editors of the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle), and Blogger Dan Valenti:

Here are all of my questions for the candidates for the open elected position of Mayor of Pittsfield politics:

1. Pittsfield's municipal finances are unsustainable.  Pittsfield currently has a fiscal year "Pickleball" budget of over $200 million.  Pittsfield's municipal debts and other liabilities are in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  Pittsfield has been experiencing a shrinking middle class with significant losses in population and living wage jobs over the past 50 years.  What are the candidates plans for a realistic municipal financial management system going forward?

2. The almost 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle has millions of dollars in always growing larger debts and other liabilities.  The millions of public dollars being spent on it do not remediate the pollution.  What are the candidates plans for PEDA going forward?

3. Allendale Elementary School abuts Hill 78, which is a "capped" leaky landfill full of GE's cancer-causing industrial chemicals called PCBs.  What are the candidates plans with Hill 78 and Allendale Elementary School going forward?

4. Pittsfield is always in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime year-in year-out.  What are the candidates plans for Pittsfield's dangerous inner-city streets that experience daily shootings by the over 1,000 gang members who call Pittsfield home?

5. Pittsfield's public schools have the worst rating by the state, which is Level 5.  Over 650 Pittsfield students per academic year choice out of the city's failed public schools to neighboring public school districts and the like.  What are the candidates plans to improve public education in Pittsfield?

6. The biggest question a municipality should answer is: Would the average middle-class family want to move here?  How would the candidates answer this question?

7. North Street is home to 15 empty storefronts, it is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley", the distressed neighborhoods that surround North Street are sarcastically called "The Ring of Poverty", and many people avoid inner-city Pittsfield out of concern for their personal safety and peace of mind.  How will the candidates change all of these socioeconomic problems for the better?

8. Miguel "Miggy" Estrella was shot to death in an encounter with the Pittsfield Police Department's Officers over one year ago.  This late-young man had a well-known history with the police, including for mental illness, substance abuse and domestic calls.  On the evening of the tragic event, he was self-cutting with a knife, he was high and/or intoxicated, and he was in an ongoing mental health crisis.  But the PPD's Use of Force report stated that he was not a person in distress under law.  Do the candidates believe that the PPD's determination that the suspect was not a person in distress under law is wrong?  If so, how will they fix this grave injustice by the City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts?

9. The residential neighborhoods nearby Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr.'s Berkshire Roots pot growing buildings on Dalton Avenue have publicly complained about the unpleasant odors with no resolution from City Hall.  How would you deal with Nuciforo's disregard for the residential neighborhoods who have to smell the unpleasant odors from his pot growing buildings?

10. Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier's number one (and only) state legislative priority for 2023 - 2024 on Beacon Hill is to pass a law decriminalizing prostitution.  If she succeeds, would the candidates support "Happy Endings" Massage Parlors in Pittsfield?

11. The golden rule of Public Administration is to use the city's limited financial resources to Invest in People as the community's most valuable resource.  How would the candidates invest in the people of Pittsfield?

12. What would the candidates do differently than Mayors: Sara "Aberration" Hathaway, Jimmy "Rolodex" Ruberto, Dan "Montello" Bianchi, and Linda "Gated Community" Tyer?  Why?

Jonathan A. Melle

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Our Opinion: "As Pittsfield mayor's race revs up, we want to know which issues matter most to our readers"

The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, April 7, 2023

With two campaign kickoffs in as many days, this week felt like the official launching point of the Pittsfield mayoral race. City Council President Peter Marchetti and former City Councilor John Krol are the only two formally announced candidates so far. That could change in the near future, but one thing is certain: With Mayor Linda Tyer forgoing another run, the road to November’s municipal elections will feature a contest of new visions for the top executive seat in the city at the heart of the Berkshires.

We look forward to what is hopefully a substantive airing of issues and ideas over the next several months so that the people of Pittsfield can head to the polls informed of their electoral choices. We have some priorities in mind — transparency, economic development, critical infrastructure upgrades just to name a few — but most importantly we want to serve our readership in this crucial project of local democracy and self-determination for our county’s largest community.

For Pittsfield voters, what do you want to see in your new mayor and which issues loom large for that choice? For the greater Pittsfield community, what is the lens through which you view this decision about the city’s future leadership?

We want to know. Send us your thoughts in a letter to the editor of no more than 250 words by noon on April 19. We’ll publish a range of responses that will help inform our coverage mission and shape the contours of the community conversation. Email them to letters@berkshireeagle.com with the subject line “Pittsfield mayoral.” We aren’t looking for endorsements or statements of candidate support — we anticipate plenty of those as the race nears its end. What we’re seeking here is your input on which issues should be at the center of this mayoral campaign.

These submissions will be exempt from our rule restricting writers to one letter per month, but please mind the smaller word limit so that we can process and publish as many as possible. We’ll give priority to Pittsfield residents, since they’ll be the ones voting for their new mayor and most impacted by the outcome, but we welcome perspectives from others who also have a stake in the city’s trajectory, from Pittsfield business owners who live elsewhere to those who commute to Pittsfield for work or education to advocates and community stakeholders who are invested in Pittsfield’s future.

Voting matters. Local democracy matters. The future of Pittsfield definitely matters, and it affects the entire Berkshire community.

Here is a chance to have your say in a way that strengthens the process and dialogue necessary to pursue those values.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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"Nearly All Pittsfield Wards are Seeing Candidates"

By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff, April 8, 2023

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Election papers became available on Monday and by the end of the week all council seats besides Ward 2 are seeing action.

Earlier this week, City Council President Peter Marchetti and former City Council Vice President John Krol launched their official campaigns for mayor.

Marchetti touts his long experience on the council, a 35-year career at the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, and his presence in the community as culminating factors to being a successful city leader. Krol points to his experience in broadcast and print media, working for former Mayor James Ruberto, and time on the council as tools to make Pittsfield the best that it can be.

The two have taken out papers along with resident Craig Gaetani, who ran for mayor in 2015 and garnered 0.51 percent of the vote.  

He also took out papers to run against two-term Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampaisi, who has also taken out papers. The two are the only contestants to date.

Gaetani is a former marketing director of Krofta Engineering and has said the city could save upward of $150 million by using that technology on its water treatment plant. He is a regular at City Council's open microphone with similar sentiments.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin has taken out papers for re-election.

Alisa Costa, who is a local advocate with a career in public policy and community organizing, has taken out papers for an at-large council seat and for Ward 3. Four-term at-Large Councilor Peter White and three-term at-Large Councilor Earl Persip III have also taken out papers.

Ward 3 has two other candidates so far and is the most contested ward. Matthew Wrinn, who has a background in criminal justice and community involvement, and William "Bill" Tyer, who has served on various committees and boards in the community, are also vying for representation.

Over email on Wednesday, Tyer communicated that he is only running for Ward 3 and while he understands Costa's drive to be on the council, he is standing by Ward 3.

Incumbent Kenneth Warren has taken out papers to run again for Ward 1 after being elected in 2021.  He served on the School Committee in his early 20s and as the city councilor for Ward 2 for two terms in the 1980s before moving to Ward 1.

There were no papers taken out yet for Ward 2. Current Councilor Charles Kronick has been contacted on his intent for this election.

Incumbent James Conant has taken out papers for Ward 4. Elected to the ward seat in 2021, he has been involved in local politics for around 20 years serving as a member of the School Committee and Parks Commission, and chair of the Community Preservation Commission.

Two-term Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey has also taken out papers. Kavey entered the political scene as a newcomer in 2019 at the age of 26. He graduated from Taconic High School and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in business management from Westfield State University.

Resident Ocean Sutton has also taken papers out for Ward 5.  According to her social media, she is a 32-year-old mother of three children.

City Council veteran Anthony Maffuccio has taken out papers to retain leadership of Ward 7 for his sixth nonconsecutive term.

Maffuccio was re-elected to office in 2019 after taking about a decade off. He first became involved in local politics at the start of the millennium out of displeasure with the way that the council was being run.

Incumbents William Cameron, Sara Hathaway and Daniel Elias have taken out papers for School Committee as well as former student representative William Garrity, who graduated from Taconic High School last year.

Cameron has served on the committee for three terms and is currently chair. He has 40 years of experience working in public schools which includes working as superintendent of schools in Salem and Central Berkshire Regional.

He has also worked as interim superintendent in Supervisory Union No. 70 and in Lenox.

Hathaway, mayor of Pittsfield from 2002 to 2004, has worked as a teacher, urban planner, and district director for a state senator. She was elected to the School Committee in 2021.

Garrity was the Taconic class of 2022 valedictorian. He served as a student representative and was significantly involved in the school.

Since graduating, he has kept up with local politics while attending Berkshire Community College.

He announced his candidacy on Twitter on Monday, saying he is running on a platform to increase transparency and accountability in the district while maintaining the committee’s reputation of positively working together to bring change to the school system.

He also wants to ensure that all staff earns a livable wage and build trust between teachers, support staff, and administration.

Regular updates on candidates can be found on Pittsfield Community Television's Election Central page.

MAYOR

Craig C. Gaetani

John Michael Krol

Peter M. Marchetti

CITY CLERK

Michele Marie Benjamin

AT-LARGE COUNCILORS

Alisa L. Costa

Earl George Persip, III

Peter T. White

WARD 1 COUNCILOR

Kenneth Warren

WARD 2 COUNCILOR

NONE TO DATE

WARD 3 COUNCILOR

Alisa L. Costa

Bill Tyer

Matthew J. Wrinn

WARD 4 COUNCILOR

James Bryan Conant

WARD 5 COUNCILOR

Patrick Kavey

Ocean L. Sutton

WARD 6 COUNCILOR

Craig C. Gaetani

Dina Guiel Lampiasi

WARD 7 COUNCILOR

Anthony V. Maffuccio

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

William J. Cameron

William David Garrity Jr.

Sara Hathaway

Update: Pittsfield Sees Interest in All Wards, Two Certified Candidates / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

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Former Pittsfield city council vice president John Krol hopes “to reignite that passion in the city” with mayoral run | WAMC

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Bill Everhart: "Gaming out Pittsfield's mayoral election"

By Bill Everhart, op-ed, The Berkshire Eagle, April 12, 2023

Pittsfield mayoral candidates Peter Marchetti and John Krol recently had their coming out parties and the most notable thing, at least superficially, is that both sported beards. The look was early Pittsfield, circa 1780. The Rev. Thomas Allen, the city’s “fighting parson,” would be proud.

Both bearded gentlemen appeared before enthusiastic crowds at their campaign openers, Marchetti at the Berkshire Hills Country Club and Krol at the Italian-American Club. Speeches at these lidlifters tend to be generalized, with specifics to come, the goal being to preach optimistically to the choir. But there are insights to be gained.

Marchetti, the veteran City Council president, is essentially running as the incumbent, although the incumbent, Linda Tyer, who is not running for reelection, was in his audience. He spoke of the need for steady, consistent leadership to build on the city’s solid foundation. He is not running as a change agent but as a veteran city official who can go under the hood and make things that are running well run more efficiently.

Krol is running as that agent of change, telling supporters that his goal was to “reignite the city.” Still, the message delivered by the longtime Ward 6 city councilor and former City Council vice president was not a radical one. The Rev. Nakeida Bethel-Smith, a veteran political and social activist, perhaps made that distinction best by asserting in introducing Krol “It’s not that Pittsfield lost its fire; it just got a little dim.”

Krol wins the award for best symbolic gesture of the two speeches with his pledge to open all four entrances to City Hall, implying that while instituting an open-door policy he also will give City Hall an airing out. The open-four-door policy could, however, be a security nightmare.

Something can be divined by noting which dignitaries were in attendance. Mayor Tyer and former city councilor and current state Rep. for Pittsfield Tricia Farley-Bouvier are the two most prominent political establishment figures in the city, and both attended Marchetti’s event.

Tyer, Farley-Bouvier and Marchetti represent the city’s progressives — what might be described as the Mayor Jim Ruberto wing, although its ancestors go back much farther than Ruberto, who served four terms through 2011 before deciding not to run for another term. The same can be said for the city’s right wing, for lack of a better term. Dan Bianchi, who narrowly defeated Marchetti in his first bid for mayor, is the most recent mayor from this branch.

It would be simplistic, however, to assert that every Pittsfield politician fits snugly into one camp or the other.

Krol, who served as Ruberto’s public-affairs coordinator for two years, has progressive bona fides, but in attendance at his event was former City Council President Melissa Mazzeo, a Bianchi ally who lost a close election to Tyer four years ago following a heated campaign. This gets back to Krol as a change agent and his supporters as advocates of change.

Every mayoral race has its own dynamic, and this one will be no different. But Pittsfield’s long political history, its rivalries and alliances, will color it to one degree or another.

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April 15, 2023

North Street art: A self-service Happy Endings Massage Parlor, a stand with a Rolodex from 2003 next to a barstool from 1997, a statue of the city’s 3am vigilante, a throne in honor of Pittsfield’s Pot King surrounded by mini thrones for the city’s poop kings and queens, baskets full of empty nip bottles and worthless scratch tickets outside of A-Mart, 15 empty storefronts with signs that read “Welcome to Social Services Alley by day and The Shooting Gallery after hours”, an old fashioned street sign that reads 1,435 miles to Naples, Florida, a painting of “Kufflinks” Cooking the Books, the downtown unemployment agency named after John Krol, the rubber stamp museum named after Peter Marchetti, and an invisible space to reference the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family.

Jonathan A. Melle

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April 19, 2023

Re: The distressed state of mind for Pittsfield residents; There is nobody to turn to in Pittsfield politics; A rational middle-class family and/or small business would NOT move to Pittsfield

Economic Growth in Pittsfield: The Underclass, welfare and disability caseloads, social services and not-for-profit agencies, State Lottery ticket sales/SCAMS, marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities, nip bottles, cigs, corrupt career politicians, con artists, and so on.

Political Realities in Pittsfield: The late-"Mayor Barstool", "Aberration", "How about that Rolodex?", "Mayor Montello", "Gated Community", "Candidate Banker versus Candidate Unemployed", "Level 5 School Committee", "The City Clown-cil", "State Rep. Country Buffet Happy Endings", "State Senator Marx", "PAC Man Richie Neal", "Maryland Markey", "NOT on Main Street Elizabeth Warren", and "Prez Joe Xiden". => NO real representation for the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family!

Financial SCAMS in Pittsfield: The $200 million "Pickleball" municipal budget in return for Pittsfield always being in the top 10 cities by population in Massachusetts for Violent Crime, Level 5 public schools, the almost 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with millions of dollars in always increasing unfunded debts, hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts and unfunded OPEB liabilities, huge tax breaks for failed businesses over the years, and the use of retribution against anyone who exercises FREE SPEECH in Pittsfield politics, especially if one is named Melissa Mazzeo.

Arts and Culture in Pittsfield: Art exhibits in upscale art galleries and museums in London, NYC and L.A. with large photographs of Pittsfield, Massachusetts that is billed as: "Pittsfield: A City in Decay".  15 empty storefronts on North Street, which is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley" by day and the over 1,000 gang members' "Shooting Gallery" after hours with the distressed neighborhoods that surround North Street called "The Ring of Poverty".

To answer blogger Dan Valenti's question: "Would you move to Pittsfield or somewhere else?"

Jon Melle's answer: Postindustrial Pittsfield has lost thousands of living wage jobs and thousands more people due to population loss over the past 50 years.  There is nobody to turn to for help unless you are a member of the Good Old Boys network of inbred political families who only want it all for themselves in Pittsfield, while everyone else has to pound sand.

If someone such as "Jon Melle" turned to Pittsfield politics for help, I would lose all of my self-respect and have to kiss the corrupt political insiders' dirty behinds, and they would probably end up mocking me for trying to earn a living wage in Pittsfield because I would have better odds with spending my limited income on the state lottery SCAM that targets Have Nots such as myself.

If I stayed in Pittsfield, I would end up living the rest of my life in a distressed state of mind among the powerful people who have hurt me and my political family without any remorse for many years now.  It would be like living in a recurring nightmare without an exit.

There is a bigger world out there than my native hometown of Pittsfield, but many Pittsfield residents are stuck living their lives in Pittsfield due to low-income and family circumstances.  The answer, blogger Dan Valenti and readers, is that a rational middle-class family and/or small business would NOT move to Pittsfield because there is nobody to turn to in Pittsfield who will help them succeed in living a middle-class life.

Jonathan A. Melle

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"For a second time, Craig Gaetani is running for Pittsfield mayor"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, April 19, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Craig C. Gaetani is launching his second bid for the mayor’s office. 

“If the public is good enough to elect me, I’m going to run the city of Pittsfield as a corporation,” Gaetani said. “Corporations have strict guidelines of how they operate and they report to boards and so forth.”

Gaetani pulled nomination papers on April 3 to run for mayor as well as Ward 6 councilor.

He joins City Council President Peter Marchetti and former City Council Vice President John Krol as a candidate for the city’s corner office. Gaetani would face current Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi if he decides to enter that race. 

“If I can see somebody that would be able to do the job better than I would as the mayor, then I’m very willing to just fall right out and maybe run for Ward 6,” Gaetani said.

A lifelong resident of Pittsfield, Gaetani served in the Army in both Vietnam and at the Pentagon. He returned to Pittsfield following the war and received degrees from Berkshire Community College and North Adams State College.

Gaetani said he taught science courses for about five years in the Pittsfield Public School district before joining Krofta Engineering and Lenox Institute for Water Research.

Pittsfield council votes to give critic the floor on $74M wastewater upgrade alternative

A frequent speaker at council meetings, Gaetani has run in four elections for various city positions in the last eight years. In a 2015 bid for mayor he collected 3 percent of the vote in the preliminary election.

Each time his message is the same: Pittsfield has become a top-heavy government that’s overspending the budgets of its residents. Gaetani thinks he’s the right candidate to save the taxpayers money.

His primary reason for entering this race: the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants.

Letter: Needless expenses hitting Pittsfield

The former marketing manager for Krofta, Gaetani holds his part in selling the company's water filtration system to the city in the '80s as a crowning achievement. Gaetani served as the project coordinator and the technology was credited as a major cost saver at the time.

Pittsfield recently completed an upgrade to its wastewater treatment facility and is preparing to upgrade the Ashley Water Treatment facility. Gaetani has contested the technology used in both endeavors and said he believes he can save the city hundreds of millions of dollars if he’s allowed to handle the projects.

Gaetani's platform would reverse much of the city's current direction. He's calling to "take North Street apart" and return it to its '80s design, remove the Tyler Street and Woodlawn Avenue roundabout and said he would consider leveling the Springside House and putting a new building in its place.

He also promised to have the police, fire, public services and school departments "report directly to the public" in bimonthly City Council presentations.

Gaetani’s prior campaigns were punctuated by a string of courts cases. In 2015, Gaetani was convicted of making a series of harassing phone calls to a city employee at the Pittsfield Fire Department. In 2016, he was convicted of breaking into a vehicle and witness intimidation during a dispute over a vehicle he sold to a local couple. 

He received suspended sentences in both cases.

In 2017, Gaetani lost a $50 million defamation suit he filed against The Berkshire Eagle. Gaetani claimed that coverage of a post-debate interaction with a resident cost him his bid for a City Council seat.

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Conant to run for second term as Pittsfield’s Ward 4 city councilor, endorses Marchetti in mayoral race | WAMC

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Pittsfield city council Vice President Pete White makes pitch for 5th term as at-large rep | WAMC

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April 22, 2023

Pete White is predicted to be the next President of the City Council if/when Pete Marchetti moves up to the corner office.  Pete White has endorsed Pete Marchetti for Mayor in 2023.  He thinks that Pete Marchetti is the best qualified to lead Pittsfield politics.  Pete White talks about the city's so-called "Free Cash".  He said that ARPA money is going towards homelessness.

My thoughts about Pete White are that he doesn't sound like he does all that much on the City Council, but he says that he listens to people's concerns.  He is on the side of Mayor Linda Tyer, Peter Marchetti and the big spenders of "Kapanski Ka$h", while he talks about high taxes and the city's homelessness crisis.  There is no talk of economic development with living wage jobs for the working-class families in Pittsfield.

The mental health issues platform seems like a workaround of the generations of job loss in Pittsfield.  If one is living on the streets without a roof over their heads, then one is going to experience mental health issues in one's distressed life.  Pittsfield has become a magnet for poor people and families with mental health issues who rely on social services agencies to survive.  The problem with that is illustrated by North Street's 15 empty storefronts.

The worst part about it all is that the career politicians only do DISSERVICES to the common people and distressed "Gateway" cities such as Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  The career politicians are NOT doing anything to bring back living wage jobs to places like Pittsfield.  Instead, the common people get SCAMMED with $50 scratch tickets, marijuana and alcohol, and taxpayer-funded social services to keep them with just enough money to buy more lottery tickets, pot and booze.  In closing, Pete White sounds like another typical career politician in Pittsfield politics!

Jonathan A. Melle

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Our Opinion: "We asked, you answered — community perspectives on priority issues in Pittsfield mayor's race"

The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, April 28, 2023

Come November, Pittsfield voters will hire a new mayor to lead the city at the heart of the Berkshires. There’s a lot of race to run between now and then, and incumbent Mayor Linda Tyer forgoing reelection means City Hall’s corner office will see some new vision no matter the electoral outcome.

So far, three candidates have declared: City Council President Peter Marchetti, former City Council Vice President John Krol and previous mayoral hopeful Craig Gaetani. More might enter, but whatever names land on November’s ballots we hope for a substantive, issues-centric campaign that gives voters a clear choice of their options for the leader on Pittsfield’s path to the future. We endeavor to raise, debate and analyze the issues shaping that path, but we also want the letters section to continue doing its part for local democracy by being an incubator for the conversations that the greater Pittsfield community cares about.

To that end, we asked readers what they think mayoral candidates should focus on while making their case to voters. As we expected, our neighbors did not disappoint in offering up thoughtful and varied perspectives on the key issues facing Pittsfield. The aspect most complicated and most beautiful about democracy is that no one perspective is identical to another, and that certainly proved true for these diverse responses. Still, some common themes emerge that Pittsfield’s next mayor ought to heed: Maintaining transparency and clear lines of public communication; making the city more hospitable to businesses and homeowners as well as motorists and pedestrians; building a brighter, more hopeful future for youth struggling now and younger generations to come.

To those seeking to lead the city, we might also add: Listen to your constituents. They see up close the tallest challenges for their communities, and as these responses show, they also have some informed and compelling takes on how City Hall should be moving to address those issues. We’re glad to be able to share those perspectives in this proverbial town square, where ideas might augment and sharpen one another — and where those seeking Pittsfield’s highest office can get an idea of how to shape their mission.

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"We asked readers what they think Pittsfield mayoral candidates should focus on if they want to win their votes. Here are your answers ..."

The Berkshire Eagle, April 28, 2023

Come November [2023], Pittsfield voters will hire a new mayor to lead the city at the heart of the Berkshires. There’s a lot of race to run between now and then, and incumbent Mayor Linda Tyer forgoing reelection means City Hall’s corner office will see some new vision no matter the electoral outcome.

So far, three candidates have declared: City Council President Peter Marchetti, former City Council Vice President John Krol and previous mayoral hopeful Craig Gaetani. More might enter, but whatever names land on November’s ballots we hope for a substantive, issues-centric campaign that gives voters a clear choice of their options for the leader on Pittsfield’s path to the future. We endeavor to raise, debate and analyze the issues shaping that path, but we also want the letters section to continue doing its part for local democracy by being an incubator for the conversations that the greater Pittsfield community cares about.

To that end, we asked readers what they think mayoral candidates should focus on while making their case to voters. As we expected, our neighbors did not disappoint in offering up thoughtful and varied perspectives on the key issues facing Pittsfield. The aspect most complicated and most beautiful about democracy is that no one perspective is identical to another, and that certainly proved true for these diverse responses. Still, some common themes emerge that Pittsfield’s next mayor ought to heed: Maintaining transparency and clear lines of public communication; making the city more hospitable to businesses and homeowners as well as motorists and pedestrians; building a brighter, more hopeful future for youth struggling now and younger generations to come.

To those seeking to lead the city, we might also add: Listen to your constituents. They see up close the tallest challenges for their communities, and as these responses show, they also have some informed and compelling takes on how City Hall should be moving to address those issues. We’re glad to be able to share those perspectives in this proverbial town square, where ideas might augment and sharpen one another — and where those seeking Pittsfield’s highest office can get an idea of how to shape their mission.

Will you make all of Pittsfield more walkable?

To the editor: It goes without saying that a multitude of urgent issues will face our next mayor, and candidates should offer specifics on as many as they can for voters to make a more informed choice.

One issue that stands out for me is whether and how our next mayor will support the city’s movement toward more walkable neighborhoods and complete streets that are safer regardless of your mode of travel. Will they support the city’s Bicycle Facilities Master Plan? Will they pledge that the Department of Public Services will continue to have leadership who will move the city forward on this issue? Can they articulate how revitalizing our historic downtown requires an approach that is fundamentally different from the approach taken by sprawling retail “power centers” like ours in Coltsville?

I see this as key to tackling other challenges the city faces around economics, safety, health, accessibility and equity. A neighborhood where more people are out walking, biking and using other micromobility devices is a neighborhood that is more tightly knit and vibrant. Making it more viable and attractive to get around our city regardless of your age or ability and without requiring a car for every trip and errand will pay dividends on all of the above. I’m looking for a mayor with the passion and political will to continue us on that path.

Jared Cowing, Pittsfield

What is your housing plan?

To the editor: In March 2022, 1Berkshire and the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission published "A Housing Vision for the Berkshires," addressing the shortage of decent housing at all levels — affordable, workforce and market rate.

Which of the specific and concrete strategies in that report will you commit to advancing for Pittsfield?

Choices include (but are not limited to): Establish a rental inspection program; use Community Preservation Act funds to support development; create a room-occupancy tax on short term rentals to support development; recruit housing advocates to serve on permit-granting and development review committees; amend zoning rules to allow more forms of housing "by right" (instead of by special permit); implement the 2008 "Getting Home" plan to end homelessness; identify residentially zoned land served by utilities that could be rezoned for denser housing or mixed use development.

How would you address neighborhood opposition to the development of new housing?

Sara Hathaway, Pittsfield

The writer is a member of the Pittsfield School Committee and a former mayor of Pittsfield.

How will you invest in education and mental health access?

To the editor: There can be no more essential issue than the education and wellbeing of our youngest citizens.

Our next mayor needs to have a forward-thinking, inclusive and broad approach to addressing true change in Pittsfield Public Schools and be moved to action not rhetoric. This includes support for parents, caregivers and teachers; equitable access to children’s mental health and nutrition; and taking the whole child into account when implementing educational change.

Doing more of the same and putting it in a different wrapper is not going to move any of us forward. All change is uncomfortable and often met with resistance. There can be fear of making mistakes, fear of being blamed and fear of losing one’s job.

To create change and implement it, our next mayor must have true and stellar leadership skills, create an atmosphere where mistakes are welcomed and honored as learning tools, and they must be willing to lead by example.

If change were easy, the world would look very different. I want our next mayor to be bold, courageous and kind in showing others how to manage the discomfort of change so we can all be empowered to build a truly new and effective educational system, mental health access, and a community where we listen to each other and help each other thrive.

Ultimately, I want the country to point to Pittsfield as the example of how to create a stellar public educational system and a healthy, inclusive, kind community.

Elizabeth Heller, Pittsfield

How can we give desperately needed hope to Pittsfield’s youth?

To the editor: Too many young people in Pittsfield are falling through the cracks.

Last year, I produced “Hear Me,” a documentary featuring seven local young people who have been impacted by gun violence. Now, I’m interviewing high schoolers at Eagle Academy in Pittsfield and facilitating an arts residency at the Department of Youth Services, where high school boys from Pittsfield go once they’re locked up. It’s no secret that Pittsfield is a through-line of drug trafficking or that guns are more present on the streets than any of us would like.

There are increasing health disparities and inequities between neighborhoods. Pittsfield Public Schools and families are dealing with the fallout of COVID and an uptick in emotional and behavioral challenges.

Traumas go unprocessed and unhealed. As one 15-year-old noted, “I haven’t had hope in 15 years.” Meanwhile, the mall and North Street remain vacant. I constantly hear the same concern: There’s not enough for young people to do. Violence begets violence; the combination of teenage fear and ego can be lethal. The cycle continues, enveloping more families, multiplying traumas. Young people bear the brunt of this inequity; they’re funneled into a system that was never intended to truly rehabilitate. Without proper interventions in place, it can feel like the city is complicit in the criminalization of our youth. We desperately need a bolder plan for proactive intervention.

How does the incoming mayor plan to support our most vulnerable young people, to disrupt this cycle before it takes more of our kids?

Jenny Herzog, Williamstown

The writer is founder and director of Chaos Theory, a nonprofit that uses the arts to platform the voices and stories of Berkshire community members impacted by violence.

Will you pledge to prioritize communication and healthy development?

To the editor: Engagement with the community is key to solving the innumerable difficult challenges the new mayor of Pittsfield will face.

First, improve communications. Start by fixing the city's website and commit to keeping it current. Respond promptly and directly to residents who contact City Hall with concerns. Solicit and respect the input of residents before making major changes that affect their lives.

Second, address the impact on climate of all city operations. Retire city-owned, gas-powered maintenance equipment. Sponsor exchanges to encourage residents to replace gas-powered lawn-maintenance equipment with electric. Adopt dual-stream recycling, mandatory food composting and require businesses to stop using plastic takeout containers. Seek out new strategies.

Third, focus on making Pittsfield a more pleasant place to live and economic development will follow. Prove that the city administration and the police care about the common welfare by listening more and responding with respect. Some police resources should be diverted away from highly reactive emergency response toward greater community engagement. The police need to be better skilled in defusing potentially violent confrontations and in addressing quality-of-life problems — like noise, littering and vandalism — with a problem-solving attitude. The new mayor should engage with the community's diverse stakeholders to develop thoughtful strategies to address the needs of the chronically unemployed, the hopeless and homeless, the mentally ill, and substance users, while also assuring public safety and fostering a shared belief that we are all in this together, striving to make Pittsfield a fruitful place to live, work and educate our children.

Jeanne Kempthorne, Pittsfield

How will you protect public health and housing stock?

To the editor: Issues I would like to see emphasized in the Pittsfield mayoral race include housing and health.

It is time for the city to take action to save existing housing that can be repaired, instead of standing by and letting it crumble. The existing “system” under which houses may ultimately be taken over for tax arrears, allows homes that have become too burdensome for their occupants to handle to continue to decay until they are of no use to anyone. Keeping the city’s houses in good shape everywhere — not just in designated stress zones in the city — would enhance Pittsfield as a place people want to stay. Every year of neglect deepens the problem and adds to the future cost. There are houses now, owned by the city, that have sat empty for several years. The birds are building new nests in those attics.

In the area of public health, I would like to see water safety discussed as a public issue. Our city is home to beautiful lakes and rivers and several pools that are accessible to the public. Last summer’s drowning of a young girl at one of our lakes, while people stood nearby unaware, highlights the need for universal water safety education. For every competitive swimmer coming out of Pittsfield, there are several people who would not be able to save themselves if they suddenly were in water over their heads or offer help if they saw someone else struggling in a lake.

Michele Lydon, Pittsfield

What are your plans for going green?

To the editor: Given the pressing need to improve Pittsfield’s infrastructure and economy, each candidate should issue a strategy statement identifying how the candidate will use the abundance of money available through the Inflation Reduction Act to move the city toward sustainability through electrification.

For example, voters need to know how the candidate will help homeowners, apartment-dwellers and businesses take advantage of the financial incentives offered to them by the IRA.

Voters also need to know who will oversee municipal projects to ensure that city projects meet the emissions goals identified in the state’s climate road map legislation.

Finally, voters need to know how the city will prepare itself for the impact of electric vehicles on city streets.

While there are many issues facing Pittsfield, the city cannot truly move forward unless its leaders adopt a master plan to implement the goals of the IRA and embrace the upcoming transformation to a clean energy economy.

Steve Marantz, Dalton

How will you change the community conversation?

To the editor: Pittsfield has many resources, but to access them one must know where to find them.

Right now, the hunt for community resources is difficult. It should not be. A new mayor could fix that.

A mayoral election without an incumbent provides an opportunity for change. Communication among all members of the community is a critical element to building trust in local government.

People need to know what is happening before it happens. The effective use of the many forms of media employed by citizens must be coordinated and kept up to date.

That means the city’s website must be easy to access and navigate, print options should include local newspapers, flyers, perhaps posters and even postcards. A weekly podcast would be helpful as would frequent meetings to update local activists, residents, and businesses about future plans. Strategically placed digital signage along North Street, and in neighborhoods e.g., the West Side, Morningside, and the North and South ends of the City.

A “one-stop shop” organized by resource topic would be particularly useful, as would a comprehensive community calendar.

An informed community provides the basis of a cooperative and cohesive community.

Virginia O’Leary, Pittsfield

What is your vision of a more unified Pittsfield?

To the editor: I want to see a mayor who builds on a foundation of love to inspire our greatest good as a community, asking the critical question of us all: “How do we want to be as a community?”

I would like to see a mayor who deeply cares about all people in our community and is brave enough to seek creative, compassionate solutions with the multitude of people already here so we all thrive together. We can be our best consultants.

We need a leader who will inspire a collective vision of a strong and thriving community then hold people accountable for contributing to that vision. We don’t need to avoid or try to hide the marginalized people who aren’t attending our local theaters and country clubs. Include them. Make Pittsfield a place where everybody belongs.

I view this voter decision through the lens of unity. Who will inspire us to be our best individually and collectively? Who recognizes and embraces their own strengths and weaknesses to better recognize and accept them in others? Who will courageously help our school system focus on developing each student's unique talents and interests far beyond mere test scores? One person can not do it alone. We need everyone to lift each other up for our greatest collective good!

Vicky Smith, Pittsfield

The writer is a member of the Pittsfield School Committee.

Where will your leadership take Pittsfield?

To the editor: I know many will respond with the obvious: Bring in new businesses, address housing and homelessness, revitalize North Street, reduce the tax burden on our aging citizens, and so on. However, I feel leadership is the most pressing issue facing Pittsfield.

First, there needs to be team-building both within the ranks of city employees and between the citizens and the city. I thought city officials had to live in Pittsfield. Don’t you drive on the same pitted roads and see the same litter and graffiti throughout the city as me? When is someone going to make a stand and get something done? I suggest mandatory vision tests for city officials to make sure they are not blind to the obvious.

Speaking of vision, why don’t we ever hear from any elected officials except during election cycles? We need to set high standards for performance in all areas and then deliver on them. How many patches on 4th Street between Fenn and East are going to be put on year after year before it’s fixed correctly? City funds were spent to build garden areas on North Street, so why don’t we have beautiful gardens throughout downtown?

Unlike Pittsfield, Lee beautifies with countless hanging baskets along Main Street. Stop wasting your energy on the discussion on bike lanes. They are a good thing and should stay as is so you can focus on cleaning up the city and bringing sustainable businesses to Pittsfield.

David Williams, Pittsfield

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May 4, 2023

Good for John Krol for speaking up about North Street's excessive number of Social Services agencies that drives away most people who do not rely on them.  Over 50 years ago, downtown Pittsfield was once a bustling business district.  In 2023, North Street hosts 15 empty storefronts, homeless people shitting on the sidewalks, a bunch of social services and not-for-profit agencies, a few banking offices, a Juvenile Courthouse, the Pittsfield YMCA, and so on.  The distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street's "Social Services Alley" are sarcastically called "The Ring of Poverty".  And the cherry on top of this "shit sundae" is Pittsfield politics' over $200 million "Pickleball" municipal budget that funds Pittsfield's Level 5 public schools that over 650 students per academic year choice out of to neighboring public school districts.  If were in Peter Marchetti's shoes, the last thing I would want to do is reply to blogger Dan Valenti's inquiries because it would make me look like an even bigger @$$ than I already would be as a failed career Pittsfield politician.  However, Peter Marchetti is going to have to debate John Krol later this year, which will give John Krol a big opportunity to hold Peter Marchetti's public record to the proverbial fire!  When John Krol speaks up and tells voters that Peter Marchetti is part of the problem in Pittsfield politics, then John Krol will win the mayoral election in a landslide.

Jonathan A. Melle

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May 5, 2023

I heard a rumor that Hunter Biden is planning to announce his candidacy for Mayor of Pittsfield politics soon.  Hunter Biden will fit right in with all of the deadbeat dads, drug users, sex addicts, financial fraudsters, and being yet another spoiled brat career politician from a Democratic Party-political family.  Also considering a run for the corner office are: a mystery man who once ran Pittsfield politics from Naples Florida, a Pot King and Attorney who lives in Boston, a big and jolly old Elf who has a white beard and wears a red suit with black boots who lives in the North Pole, an Easter Bunny who welcomes us into Spring every year, another famous Bunny who says, "What's Up Doc?", a mouse that can fly, another mouse who has big ears, an Underdog who shines shoes on his down time, the ghost of Jack Welch who will promise to manufacture neutron bombs and spread PCBs, the ghost of Gerry Doyle who will make Pittsfield the barstool capital of the world, and Jon Melle, who will swim across Silver Lake with Cliff Nilan to burn off the Teo's hotdogs and beer we ate for lunch.

Jonathan A. Melle

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May 6, 2023

I shouldn't "make fun of an old man", but rather, I should write about the past 50 years of significant losses in population and living wage jobs, the late-barstool, aberration, rolodex, Mayor Montello, the vibrant Gated Community and dynamic Lexus luxury car secretary, candidate banker, candidate unemployed, and the fringe candidate with a history of legal troubles, groomed for Prez of City Council Pete White, the Level 5 schoolmarm on the "Scohol" Committee, Pittsfield's short and stinky Pot King, dangerous downtown's Social Service Alley with 15 empty storefronts, the "Ring of Poverty" distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street, the almost 25-year-old heavily indebted and polluted PEDA debacle, the over $200 "Pickleball" municipal budget, hundreds of millions of dollars in public debts and other liabilities, the city's top 10 in violent crime status year-in and year out, the only economic growth is in the underclass, and Jon Melle's story of being persecuted in Pittsfield politics to the Boston Statehouse over the past 27 years by a disgraced former Pittsfield State Senator, who was caught being in bed with Boston's big banks and insurance companies, and his network of bullies.  Now that - Pittsfield politics - is a topic for a good laugh because things couldn't get any worse, except in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, of course!

Jonathan A. Melle

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Pittsfield Council to See $205M FY24 Budget Proposal / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

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"Pittsfield water and sewer bills might be on the brink of a big rise — again"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, May 8, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Higher water and sewer bills could be headed down the pipe to residents.

City leaders say they need to increase water and sewer rates to curb unsustainable funding of the city systems and rising costs of the treatment business.

The proposed water and sewer rates for fiscal year 2024, which were delivered to the City Council ahead of its Tuesday meeting, would amount to another $12.87 a month in bills for the typical two-bedroom home on scheduled service and $9.33 a month for the typical four-person home with a water meter.

The proposal calls for water rates to increase 10 percent and sewer rates to increase 24 percent.

Over the course of the year, that’s a $154.44 increase — on the typical bill of $861.68 — for the scheduled service bill holder and a $112.02 increase —on the typical bill of $568.27 — for the metered bill holder.

Last year, the council approved a 10 percent water rate increase and a 12 percent sewer rate increase.

Ricardo Morales, Pittsfield’s commissioner for the department of public services and utilities, said proposed increases this year are absolutely necessary to keep up with quickly increasing costs of the water and sewer business, debt payments on recent major improvements to the city’s treatment plants and to meet state guidance on sustainable funding of the city’s water and sewer operations.

Morales writes in his letter to the council that the cost of chemicals needed for water and sewer treatment have increased somewhere between 23 and 220 percent. The cost for disposing of sludge is up 45 percent and utility costs for the city’s treatment plants are up 20 percent.

These costs are far higher than city leaders anticipated in 2015, the last time Pittsfield commissioned a study on the rates.

Catching up with those costs was one thing, but then the city decided not to raise water and sewer rates during the first two years of the pandemic. Morales told The Berkshire Eagle on Monday that’s “compounded” the amount of money the city needs each year to keep the water and sewer systems running.

“At the end of the day we have to provide clean water to our residents and we have to provide clean water back to the river,” Morales said. “What is being presented is what we need to provide at bare minimum — we’re not giving ourselves luxuries here.”

Throwing another wrench into the rate debate is how money has flowed in and out of the city’s water and sewer enterprise funds. The enterprise funds are special city accounts funded by residents’ water and sewer bills. The money that goes into these funds goes specifically back into the system residents are paying for.

Any money unused from the fund at the end of the year is considered “a retained earning” and stays in the enterprise fund essentially building out a rainy day pot of money for emergent needs or big projects in the water and sewer system.

Pittsfield has used these retained earnings to offset the cost of infrastructure improvements and operational increases.

“In a sense that rainy day fund has been used in these ‘rainy days,’ so to speak, to make up that difference,” Morales said.

City leaders have told the council before that relying on these earnings to cover water and sewer costs “is not sustainable in the long run.”

The commissioner said if the council approves these proposed rate increases, the water and sewer bills from the next fiscal year would help refill those enterprise accounts and keep the city from needing to make another major rate increase in the near future.

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May 9, 2023

Pittsfield's politics' 3 candidates for Mayor (so far) in 2023: Candidate Banker, Candidate Unemployed, and Candidate Fringe.  Pittsfield's current Mayor (2016 - 2023): Gated Community.  Pittsfield's past Mayors (from 1998 - 2015): the late-barstool, aberration, rolodex, and Montello.  There is a predicted recession later this year of 2023 and into 2024. What is Pittsfield politics doing in the face of the predicted recession?  The mansion Mayor, Linda Tyer, City "Clownsil", and Level 5 School Committee are proposing a fiscal year 2024 municipal budget of over $205 million.  In return for Pittsfield politics spending all of this hard-earned taxpayer money (Kapanski Ka$h), the fictional middle-class Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family gets to live in a city with Level 5 public schools, a dangerous downtown and inner-city with daily shootings, an excessive number of social services agencies and 15 empty storefronts, the city always being in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime going back decades, little to no living wage jobs (unless you are a politically connected person), the soon to be 25-year-old heavily indebted and polluted PEDA debacle, Pittsfield's Pot King stinking up residential neighborhoods with his pot growing buildings on Dalton Avenue, the Godfather pulling the strings from Naples Florida, multimillionaire CPA Barry Clairmont (who is Linda Tyer's 3rd husband) suing Melissa Mazzeo over her exercising her Freedom of Speech over the 2019 Mayoral election that his second wife, Mayor Linda Tyer, won, significant population loss and job loss over the past 50 years - Pittsfield's shrinking middle class families, streets full of potholes and deferred maintenance, State Rep. Tricia's number one state legislative priority in 2023 - 2024 to legalize "Happy Endings", Paul Mark being a useless rubber stamp in the State Senate, and less than 20 percent of voters showing up to vote on election day because the fix is always in.  What a rip-off! What a SCAM! What a Shit Sandwich!

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Mayor Tyer is proposing a $205.6 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Here's what that means for taxes"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, May 9, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Mayor Linda Tyer says that her final budget proposal as mayor for a $205.6 million budget is a “maintenance budget” that will cover rising employee costs in a new letter to the City Council.

The proposed fiscal 2024 budget — which represents an 8.9 percent increase over this fiscal year’s $188.8 million budget — would direct $109.3 million to the municipal operating budget, $78 million to the Pittsfield Public Schools budget and $18 million to the city’s water, wastewater and sewer budgets.

“The costs associated with salary increases for both school and city employees, identified as priorities by both the City Council and the School Committee, have limited investments in new initiatives,” Tyer wrote.

The letter and proposal was included in the City Council’s Tuesday night agenda packet and was referred to several Committee of the Whole meetings over the next month.

These hearings, which will be hosted at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers on May 17, 24, 30 and June 5, will be the council and public’s opportunity to weigh in on the proposed spending.

The bigger budget means the city needs to raise more in property taxes. This year, city leaders are proposing raising $109.1 million, a nearly $8 million increase — or 7.8 percent — over the taxes raised this year.

Tyer plans to use $1 million in the city’s free cash — the unrestricted funds left over from the city budgets and operations of the prior fiscal year — to cover a portion of the money the city would need to raise to cover the budget and partially offset the burden to taxpayers.

Property taxes, along with $72.7 million in state aid and about $18.2 million from sewer and water bills, would be the primary funding sources for the city’s budget.

Tyer highlighted wages — $3 million for school employees and about $1.02 million for city employees — as well as a $1.5 million increase in health insurance costs and a $816,000 increase in the city’s retirement contributions as major drivers for the bigger budget this year.

A nearly $700,000 increase in the city’s solid waste collection and disposal costs is also pushing the budget upward.

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May 10, 2023

A recession is predicted later this year of 2023 into 2024....Would NOT a rational politician look to cut the proposed municipal budget instead of raise spending by nearly 9 percent plus the ongoing increases with the water and sewer fees?  It has been a little over 50 years of Pittsfield's shrinking middle-class families that has caused Pittsfield's long-term diminishing tax base with record high tax and spending municipal budgets, public debts and other liabilities that total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  The WORST of both Worlds!

Poor fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, one of the last of Pittsfield's middle-class (fictional) families, who will have to fork over nearly 9 percent more of their hard-earned income in addition to paying for the ongoing water and sewage fee hikes to the current Mayor, Linda Tyer, who herself lives in a mansion in a Gated Community with her litigious third husband, the multimillionaire CPA Barry Clairmont, and then in 2024, to the next would-be Mayor of Pittsfield politics - possibly Mayor Banker, Mayor Unemployed or Mayor Fringe.

Economic and Financial Reality to Pittsfield politics is to what Insanity and Injustice is to The Twilight Zone!  Why not propose a $1 billion municipal budget and give the vested and special interests more taxpayer dollars than they ever dreamed of?

Jon Melle

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May 11, 2023

Hello, Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick,

What are your thoughts on Mayor Linda Tyer's final municipal budget proposal?  Can the median income family afford to pay for these excessively high proposed spending increases?  What value - investments in people - for their hard-earned money will they receive in return for their tax dollars?  Does the proposed budget favor the poor, the (shrinking) middle class, or the rich; why?  Does it favor mostly wealthy Ward 4, which always decides every citywide state and local election?  I liked that you posted a link with the budget documents and public hearings schedule, but I am more interested in your analysis of the biggest SCAM EVER: Pittsfield politics' huge spending, budgets, debts and other liabilities in return for "a shit sandwich" full of Level 5 public schools, dangerous inner-city streets full of gangs and poverty, secretive public financial management schemes, and political corruption that runs south all the way to Naples Florida and back!

Jon Melle

City of Pittsfield Budget FY2024 - Charles Ivar Kronick, City Councilor, Ward 2

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May 11, 2023

But I thought that the following idiots were supposed to have revitalized Pittsfield's distressed economy: The Late-Barstool Mayor & The Level 5 Schoolmarm Mayor & The Rolodex Mayor & The Montello Mayor & The Gated Community Mayor.  Next up are the following three idiots: The Banker & The Unemployed & The Fringe candidates for Mayor.  Pittsfield politics proposed $205.6 fy2024 budget will continue the legacies of the aforementioned failed city leaders who have put the city deeper and deeper into the ditch.  If I - Jon Melle - spent my own money like the past and current Pittsfield's Mayors, then I would run as fast as I could and jump of a cliff without a parachute and then shit my pants prior to my demise.  My last thoughts would be why am I from Pittsfield, Massachusetts?

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May 12, 2023

Please let me - Jon Melle - clearly state the following:

I will NEVER support Donald Trump for U.S. President because I believe that he is a Nazi due to the facts that he had Nazis work for his three presidential campaigns and in his presidential administration, that he is the leader of the racist White Nationalist movement in the U.S.A. that parallels Hitler's Nazi Party movement in Germany 100 years ago, and that his life symbolizes "moral hypocrisy" due to the fact that he cheated on all 3 of his wives, paid off dozens of women whom he had sexual relations and/or inappropriate behaviors with, and he has a history of verbally abusive language towards women and minorities.

Peter Marchetti is running for Mayor of Pittsfield politics so that he will be next in line to serve the Good Old Boys network and then he will retire with a 6-figure city pension after 8 years of raising municipal taxes, fees, public debts and other liabilities that has diminished the city's shrinking middle-class population over the past 50 years.  Peter Marchetti is only in it for himself - just like all of the other corrupt career politicians who only do DISSERVICES to the common people who misguidedly vote to elect and reelect them.

As Pittsfield (Mass.) is my native hometown, it upsets me to read about Mayor Linda Tyer's fy2024 $205.6 million budget proposal that will take effect in less than 2 months on July 1st, 2023.  When one samples municipalities similar in size and makeup, Pittsfield politics clearly spends an excessive amount of tax dollars in return for rock bottom results.

The current and past Mayors of Pittsfield politics are and have been totally disconnected to the common residents of the city.  At this time next year of 2024, Linda Tyer will be collecting her 6-figure public city pension plus perks and will retire alongside her multimillionaire CPA husband Barry Clairmont in their mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community within a few feet from the Hancock border.  Meanwhile, Pittsfield will still be in the ditch.

Jonathan A. Melle

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May 12, 2023

"I find the budget deliberations to be very interesting. I think that there are really good inquiries that happen, and then I also feel that there are times when I don't appreciate things that are said in the council meetings when the budget is deliberated. However, I do feel that it's sort of been an interesting dynamic over the last few years, because the budget that I have presented to the city council is often voted upon at a higher number. So, it's an interesting interplay, because we often hear members of the city council talking about wanting to cut the budget, it's too high, we need to do better. And then in the end, they have asked me to put more money in. And so, it's been an interesting, sort of confusing, I guess, deliberation, but I still consider the process important."

- Mayor Linda Tyer

Tyer outlines final budget proposal; $205.6 million for Pittsfield’s coming fiscal year | WAMC

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Maffuccio says he’s healthy, ready to serve as he seeks another term on the Pittsfield City Council | WAMC

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May 17, 2023

I will turn 48 this Summer 2023, and all of my life I have witnessed Pittsfield politics shoot down proposal after proposal to revitalize downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  No to the downtown Mall proposal.  No to the new ballpark proposal.  No to the pedestrian district proposal.  No to the children's museum proposal.  Over 50 years ago, downtown Pittsfield had a bustling business district, but then the Social Services Agencies took it over, along with the over one dozen empty storefronts on North Street that are surrounded by the "Ring of Poverty" inner-city distressed neighborhoods.  The slum lords, scratch ticket buyers, nip bottle drinkers, over 1,000 gang members shooting their guns daily, corrupt career politicians, con men, pot kings, and so on, all won, while the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski middle-class family lost.  Pittsfield is one of the most economically unequal metro cities in the state and nation with the sitting Mayor, Linda Tyer, living in a mansion in an elitist Gated Community within a few feet from the Hancock border.  In 2024, Linda Tyer will be collecting her 6-figure city public pension plus perks, while city taxpayers will be paying for her $205.6 million fy2024 municipal budget in return for Pittsfield's Level 5 public schools.... Pittsfield profits off of the underclass, which I call "Perverse Incentives" compounded by a SCAM(S)!

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Saddened by the state of North Street"

The Berkshire Eagle, May 18, 2023

To the editor: At one time, I was the owner of two downtown Pittsfield buildings: the Wright block and Burns block (now Hotel on North).

I had a total of 11 active storefronts in these buildings as well as 24 artist studios and other offices on the second and third stories.

This was not so long ago. I am encouraged to read about Julie Copoulos and her team working to revitalize North Street through the TDI program ("Pittsfield's transformation specialists," Eagle, April 11). I hope she reads this letter and is willing to consider what is said.

When I was serving on the City Council and we had James Ruberto as mayor, things were really going along great for all tenants and downtown business. Then along came parking meters, and then someone decided that a bike lane that would take up half the street was a good idea. (By the way, I did have a sighting of a cyclist on the street a couple weeks ago.)

Guess what started to happen? Businesses that were doing fine started to lose customers; businesses started to leave North Street one by one. All the work we had done to revitalize the street — such as adding several liquor licenses for downtown — were all in vain.

As a result of these new ideas, the Wright block and several other buildings are now empty, and it makes me sad. I can only hope that a new administration and hopefully a thoughtful City Council decides to bring back free parking (it would be nice if it were diagonal) and reduce the size of the bike lanes.

It's hard to believe that in eight or nine years we could regress so much.

Louis A. Costi, Cheshire

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May 18, 2023

Mayor Jimmy Ruberto bet it all on downtown Pittsfield from 2004 - 2011, and it worked for a few years, but then it tanked.  The "Ruberto Renaissance" was sarcastically said to rival the arts and cultural venues of Paris, London, NYC & L.A., but it really rivaled their homeless shelters and distressed neighborhoods.  During the 8 painful years of Ruberto's regime, thousands of residents moved out of Pittsfield, as well as the loss of hundreds of living wage jobs in Pittsfield.  Ruberto raised taxes each and every year, including during the worst recession in 2008 since the Great Depression during the 1930s.  Jimmy Ruberto never owned or rented a residence in Pittsfield during his adult life, including his time as a mayor.  He lived in his mother's Pittsfield home (he put her into a nursing home), and his real residence was and is in Naples, Florida.  After he sold his late-mother's Pittsfield home a few years ago, he paid cash for his summertime condo unit in Lenox.  In 2018, Jimmy Ruberto led a campaign for the Berkshire Museum to sell its historic artwork - including two donated Norman Rockwell paintings by the famous artist himself - for tens of millions of dollars.  Protests were held in Pittsfield and NYC.  Jimmy Ruberto was the focus of state "ethics" hearings during his time as Mayor of Pittsfield.  He even had the unethical "Luciforo" swear him into his third term in early-2008, which painted a perfect picture of the Good Old Boys in their infamous glory in Pittsfield politics.  Jimmy Ruberto bequeathed Pittsfield both Linda Tyer and Tricia Farley-Bouvier.  He is sarcastically called the Godfather of Pittsfield politics from Naples, Florida.  That being said, I am sure that Lou Costi's heart is in the right place when it comes to Pittsfield.

Jon Melle

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Budget Overview | Fiscal Year 2024 (cleargov.com)

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May 20, 2023

The CoLAs are the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  All of the other public perks are the expensive part.  The largest employer in Pittsfield is the City of Pittsfield.  The city's OPEB unfunded liabilities are in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Next year, the retired Mayor Linda Tyer will be collecting her 6-figure city public pension plus perks.  After either Peter Marchetti or John Krol retire from being the next Mayor of Pittsfield in the future years to come, one of them will also go onto collect his 6-figure city public pension plus perks.  The local taxpayers will pay for all of the city public pay pensions plus perks instead of saving their hard-earned money for their own retirement.

Matt Kerwood's city salary will be $114,329 beginning on July 1st, 2023.  Linda Tyer's salary will be $115,725 beginning on July 1st, 2023.  Then add 30 years plus their city pension CoLAs for these two "public payroll patriots" and you will have a financial figure of over $7 million that will paid for by city taxpayers until around 2055.  Then times 7 million dollars times a couple of hundred more city personnel and you will see a financial figure of over $500 million to $1 billion.

You, Charles Ivar Kronick, should run for a high paying elected position in Pittsfield politics to feather your own retirement nest egg instead of telling city taxpayers that they will be taxed to death, while Linda Tyer and Matt Kerwood will enjoy a wonderful retirement at their expense.

Jonathan A. Melle

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May 21, 2023

Social Services Alley and the Ring of Poverty distressed neighborhoods that surround North Street, Pittsfield politics' "DIE" zeitgeist, local banks and not-for-profit organizations pandering to the leftists, Tricia Farley-Bouvier testifying in Boston for the legalization of "Happy Endings" massage parlors, Luciforo's corrupt Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue stinking up nearby residential neighborhoods, Mayor Linda Tyer living in a mansion in a Gated Community within a few feet from the Hancock border, Peter Marchetti holding public hearings on the Mayor's proposed municipal budget of over $205.6 million in return for the same old "shit sandwich" full of substandard services, John Krol promising to bring miracles to inner-city Pittsfield, Craig Gaetani continuing his legacy of fringe politics in memory of the late-Peter Arlos.  What is it all for in the City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts?  The answer is for all of the phony political, community and business insiders to pull down 6-figure salaries, while the common people roll their eyes at them!

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Pittsfield City Council votes to recommend next year's budget for a final vote, and gives initial OK to police and public utilities plans"

By Matt Martinez, The Berkshire Eagle, June 5, 2023

PITTSFIELD — The City Council on Monday voted to recommend the proposed budget for fiscal 2024, setting the spending plan up for a final approval at its next meeting.

The $205 million spending plan, which Mayor Linda Tyer has described as a “maintenance budget,” will see a formal vote from that body on June 13 [2023]. The council voted 6-3 to recommend the budget, with Councilors Karen Kalinowsky, Kenneth Warren and Charles Kronick voting against it.

The council heard Monday night from the remaining city agencies that hadn’t presented yet, namely the police and public services and utilities departments. All of the budgets presented received preliminary approval by the council.

The budget calls for an additional $2.4 million for the police department, an increase of just over 20 percent from last year. Chief Michael Wynn took questions on the department’s $14 million ask, explaining that the department was under contractual obligations to staff.

Over the course of the night, Wynn took questions on use of body cameras, $275,000 in capital expenditures for four new frontline police cruisers and overtime funds in the budget. Wynn explained the need for the new cruisers to Kalinowsky, a former police officer who asked if the department could wait a year to get the new vehicles.

“The demands of the mission have changed,” Wynn said. “The expectations on our personnel and our operations personnel, whether they’re on or off duty, for what they need to carry are significantly different … we have a lot of cars in the fleet because we secure a lot of equipment.”

The majority of that increase comes from personnel costs, accounting for $2 million of the extra funding.

Salaries for the department’s staff account for roughly 88 percent of its proposed budget. The plan includes roughly $4.9 million for its 65 patrol officers and $1.9 million for its nine patrol sergeants and four unit supervisors.

Those salaries combined account for an increase of $1.1 million from last year.

The department is planning to increase all of its overtime budgets by 17.4 percent respectively, and will add over $98,000 for holiday overtime allotments in a new line item. Wynn explained that officers who report for duty on holidays will receive extra compensation. The fund was added as part of negotiations with unions representing patrol officers and supervisors.

The budget includes a $510,000 allocation for “professional services,” which covers the department’s expenses for body cameras and its ShotSpotter gunshot detection system. It was a jump of nearly 150 percent from last year, as the department’s contract was approved by the council in February.

Kronick questioned the usage of body cameras, and noted that he would have preferred to see the money go to education for officers. Kronick unsuccessfully lobbied for cuts to budgeted salaries for the department's police captains and finance manager. 

He also questioned the use of overtime generally among city departments, including in the police budget.

During the meeting, Warren proposed an addition of $25,000 for a study to be conducted on alternative community emergency response services. After input from fellow councilors and Mayor Tyer that the money should be allocated elsewhere from the police department, Warren retracted his proposal. He said he does plan to continue pursuing a study, however.

The Department of Public Services had its budget approved for about $11.1 million, an increase of 11 percent from last year. Ricardo Morales, the city’s commissioner of public services and utilities, said that the “elephant in the room” for his department’s budget was the solid waste management expenditures.

Line items for both solid waste collection and disposal were allotted $2.5 million each; Morales said that was the best estimate the department had at the moment.

A contract with Casella Waste Systems is still in the works, Morales said, and he plans to push the waste management company to get a draft soon. The potential contract would cover more than three years, and would need to come before the council for approval.

Kalinowsky asked Morales if he expected to be back before the council asking for more money, and he said it was likely for both contracts.

The council also voted to approve Tyer’s proposed capital expenditures for the upcoming year, including $1 million for the renovation of the track at Taconic High School. The city authorized $10,648,000 from its general fund for the expenditures.

The council voted to table two items for water and sewer enterprise funds. Those items will be reviewed on Thursday night at another meeting.

Matt Martinez can be reached at mmartinez@berkshireeagle.com.

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June 7, 2023

Peter Marchetti is "Candidate Banker" who plays the "kiss up" to power game better than anybody I have ever witnessed in politics.  He is plainer than vanilla because he stands for nothing but "Business as usual" in Pittsfield politics which has led to the city losing thousands of people to population loss and many businesses and living wage jobs to economic loss over the past 50 years, while municipal taxes, fees, public debts and other city liabilities are all excessively high.  His "One Pittsfield" tagline really means the city being stuck in the ditch.

John Krol is "Candidate Unemployed" who has never proven himself as a successful professional in business or government.  He temporarily left Pittsfield for professional opportunities, but it did not work out for him so he moved back to Pittsfield.  He is trying to make his comeback in Pittsfield politics, but it is a stretch to believe that his campaign promises to revitalize Pittsfield's distressed economy are based on reality.  He speaks in favor of former Mayor Jimmy Ruberto's so-called arts and cultural renaissance from a little less than two decades ago, but it failed after only a few years of success and a lot of "Kapanski Ka$h" in the mid-2000s.

Craig Gaetani is "Candidate Fringe" who promises much needed reforms to Pittsfield politics' city government, but he never receives many votes in local elections.  He is well known for getting himself into legal trouble, he is known to raise his voice during public meetings, and he is ignored by the political establishment, and he does not run competitive campaigns.  He bases his political image on old school Pittsfield politicians such as the late Peter G. Arlos, who had a lot of people who were upset with his harsh methods of operation in Pittsfield politics.  Like the late Arlos, Gaetani is not a consensus builder, and he would not work well with the City Council and/or School Committee.

If I still lived in my native hometown, I would not vote for any of the aforementioned candidates for Mayor of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Instead, I would write-in Bugs Bunny or Santa Claus or Mickey Mouse or my old dog named Chocolate.

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 7, 2023

The Mayor of Pittsfield politics manages and directs:

* Level 5 public schools that over 650 students per academic year opt out of to attend neighboring public-school districts

* Pittsfield always being in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime year-in and year-out, according to the FBI's annual reports

* A municipal budget that cost taxpayers over $205.6 million per fiscal year in return for "a shit sandwich"

* The soon to be 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle that has millions of dollars in always growing larger unfunded debts and other liabilities that will be paid off by Matt Kerwood winning the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots

* The city government sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts plus OPEB unfunded liabilities that will be paid off by Matt Kerwood asking Warren Buffett for a cool $1 billion in bailout funds

* North Street's sarcastically called "Social Services Alley" plus 15 empty storefronts that anyone who doesn't depend on social services and welfare programs avoids like the plague

* The sarcastically called "Ring of Poverty" inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street that over 1,000 gang members call home, while the residents try to dodge bullets and all of the other amenities that the underclass' underbelly brings to Pittsfield

* Allendale Elementary School abutting GE's Hill 78 capped "leaky landfill" full of PCBs, while Mayor Linda Tyer lives in a mansion in her elitist Gated Community within a few feet from the Hancock border

* State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier representing Pittsfield in Boston's corrupt Statehouse by making legalizing Happy Endings massage parlors her number one and only priority in 2023 - 2024

* State Senator Paul Mark being the perfect illustration of a rubber stamp for State Senate President Karen Spilka's legislative agenda

* PAC Man Richie Neal living on K Street in the Swamp, which, of course, has nothing to do with his mostly rural Western Massachusetts Congressional District

* I almost forgot to mention Luciforo's Pittsfield Pot Kingdom named "Berkshire Roots" that is the largest grower of marijuana plants in Berkshire County, which stinks up the neighborhoods that abut his Dalton Avenue pot shop

But at this time in next year 2024, Linda Tyer will be collecting her 6-figure city public pension plus perks, and she will retire with her multimillionaire CPA third husband Barry Clairmont, while the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski will continue to pound sand.

Jon Melle

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June 7, 2023

Chris Connell's questions hit the nail on its head.  Pittsfield politics has become excessively expensive for the common taxpayers.  The managerial pay raises in Mayor Linda Tyer's proposed fiscal year 2024 budget:

Budget Overview | Fiscal Year 2024 (cleargov.com)

Budget Overview | Fiscal Year 2024 (cleargov.com)

.... are very high.  The thing that bothers me the most about Pittsfield politics is that the leaders don't live like the commoners in the city.  Mayor Linda Tyer lives in a mansion in an elitist Gated Community full of multimillionaires.  Former Mayor Jimmy Ruberto always lived in Naples, Florida.  Pittsfeld's Pot King Luciforo always lived in Boston.  Chrome Dome Adam Hinds ended up living far away from his Berkshire-based state legislative district after he married his wealthy wife.  In closing, there is a disconnect between the governors and governed in Pittsfield politics!

Jon Melle

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Letter: "A homeowner's water woe in Pittsfield"

The Berkshire Eagle, June 7, 2023

To the editor: When the city and contractors turn off the water to homes, someone doing the work should have the decency to inform the affected homes that their water will be off.

Before, not after the fact. Knowing what work is being done would be of great importance to homeowners.

Dan Kanable, Pittsfield

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"The Pittsfield City Council has voted to approve steep hikes in water and sewer rates. Here's how it will affect your bill"

By Matt Martinez, The Berkshire Eagle, June 9, 2023

PITTSFIELD — When it came to water and sewer rates, Pittsfield city councilors held their noses Thursday and voted to approve a big hike.

“A lot of times we have to do something we don’t like,” said Councilor Earl Persip III. “Today is one of those days.”

The council voted to approve the water and sewer rates 6-4, following a contentious debate in which nearly every member who voted in favor expressed how the rates were unfortunate, but necessary.

The proposed increases will impact both the water and sewer rates — hikes of 12 percent and 25 percent respectively, according to Ricardo Morales, commissioner of public services and utilities. Bills will go up $12.87 a month for the average two-bathroom household on scheduled service, and $9.33 for the average four-member household on metered service.

Pittsfield water and sewer bills might be on the brink of a big rise — again

In a letter to the City Council, Morales said that the increased costs were vital to keep up with debt payments on infrastructure improvements, state regulations and inflated supply costs.

He cited a dramatic increase in the cost of chemicals for water and sewer treatment, ranging from 23 percent to 220 percent. That comes in tandem with a 45 percent increase in sludge removal costs and a 20 percent hike in utilities at the city’s water treatment plants.

The council also voted to approve $7.8 million in capital improvements for the city’s sewer and $6.1 million for the city’s water expenditures.

The city’s sewer expenditures included relocation of sewer crossings on Second Street, a study on sewer effectiveness and an integrated water resources management plan that will help them apply for money from various funders, including state, federal and local sources, per Morales.

Improvements will be made to water mains and a water transmission main project on Valentine Road make up the majority of the city’s spending for those expenditures.

In total, the city will spend $14,445,000 from its enterprise fund for the improvements.

In leading the charge to approve the rate hikes, Persip asked the city’s finance director, Matthew Kerwood, about the consequences of not raising the rates.

Kerwood noted that the state Department of Revenue had sent a letter to the city requesting that the water and sewer expenses be covered by the rates without relying on retained earnings.

If it failed to comply, he said, the state might not certify the tax rate, forcing the city to use a general fund subsidy for the rates. And that, he said, would lead to the costs being borne on the tax rate side, as opposed to through water and sewer rates.

In essence, Kerwood said, the taxpayers would be footing the bill either way.

Councilor Kenneth Warren was among the detractors of the rates, saying that the increases specifically for two-bedroom households on the scheduled rate would have a disproportionate impact on seniors who are least able to afford the increase.

“Senior citizens, income eligible or not, are subsidizing others,” Warren said. “A 90-year-old woman, a 65-year-old man shouldn’t be subsidizing a household of four or any type that’s younger and has more assets available to them.”

Warren asked Mayor Linda Tyer to redouble her administration’s efforts to find seniors eligible to participate in the city’s meter installation program, which is tailored to that demographic.

Councilor Karen Kalinowsky echoed his sentiments in her own questions on the matter.

She and Warren voted against approving the rates, along with Councilors Charles Kronick and Anthony Maffuccio.

Council President Peter Marchetti voiced frustration with the effects of the rates on city residents, although the raises were necessary and not as drastic as previous years in his estimation. He hopes the council can find ways to take more balanced measures in the future.

“The piece that troubles me when we have to do these water and sewer rate increases is that it’s ‘no increase, no increase, bam!’” Marchetti said. “We need to find a way to lighten the burden.”

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June 12, 2023

Peter Marchetti is quoted as saying that the water and sewer rate hikes are "small" compared to past water and sewer rate hikes.  Peter Marchetti is out of touch with the financial realities that so many homeowners are facing during this trying time of 40-year high U.S. inflation.

Pittsfield Council Preliminarily Approves Water, Sewer Hikes / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

Also, Peter Marchetti's pay cut from his big wheel banker job is a tradeoff for a would-be future city public pension plus perks worth 6-figures that over several decades would cost taxpayers a couple million dollars.

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 13, 2023

Who is this Pittsfield politician?

He weighs 300 pounds.  He dislikes citizens who speak to the City Council at Open Mic.  He acted like Mayor Linda Tyer's loyal Lieutenant on the City Council since early-2016.  He ran for Mayor in 2011, but he lost to Dan Bianchi.  12 years later in present time in 2023, he is running for Mayor for the second time.  He calls double digit water and sewer rate hikes "small" compared to past years.  He said he would take a pay cut from his position at a bank if he is elected to Mayor, but he would also gain many years of lucrative public pay plus perks.  He doesn't connect to the financial constraints that most households are dealing with during this difficult time of 40-year high U.S. inflation.  If he is elected Mayor, one wonders what a non-small municipal tax and rate increase would look like over at least the next 4 years.  When tax- and rate- payers send their hard-earned money to City Hall, in return they receive Level 5 public schools, Pittsfield always being in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime going back decades, 15 empty storefronts on North Street's Social Services Alley, and substandard public services.

Answer: Peter Marchetti

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 13, 2023

I asked my dad, Bob, who was a Berkshire County Commissioner many years ago - 1997 to mid-2000 - if he would have called the two double digit water and sewer rate hikes "small" compared to past years, as well as if he would have said he would be taking a pay cut to serve in an elected position; in fy2024, the Mayor's pay is $115,725 - Mayor's Office | Fiscal Year 2024 (cleargov.com) - plus public perks.  My dad, Bob, said to me that he would not have said the out-of-touch statements that Peter Marchetti spoke to the news reporter at iBerkshires.com and blogger Dan Valenti during this past week.  How on Earth could anyone put their good faith into Peter Marchetti for Mayor of Pittsfield politics when he is totally disconnected from the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski who are struggling to stay financially afloat during this difficult time of 40-year high U.S. inflation?

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 14, 2023

To be fair, the large bureaucratic managerial public pay raises were across the board in Pittsfield City Hall.  Pittsfield is very top heavy with big public paychecks and public perks for the top city and (level 5) public school bureaucrats.  On Beacon Hill, state lawmakers received not one, not two, but three big public pay raises on January 1st, 2023.  The state and local career politicians and their managerial bureaucrats will all retire someday in the future with 6-figure public pensions plus perks that will cost taxpayers many millions of dollars over the several decades to come.  Why do you think that people want to have political careers, and the managerial bureaucrats have public careers in state and local government?  The answer: To CASH in at the public trough.  Joe Biden has been in the Swamp for over 50 years, and he is a wealthy multimillionaire with two homes in Delaware, along with his wealthy family members who have used his political career to their advantage to CASH in.  Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly said last year in 2022 that she was only worth $115 million, but I have read that she may really be a billionaire with offshore accounts similar to many wealthy U.S. Americans.  Lastly, the last time the federal minimum wage of $7.25 was raised was in 2009, which tells us everything you need to know about the corrupt career politicians and their bureaucratic managerial staff members in the government!

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 15, 2023

Hello Charles,

I was wondering how you feel about how you were written about in the following online news interview?

Social worker Soncere Williams makes Pittsfield political debut in bid for Ward 2 city council seat | WAMC

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-06-15/social-worker-soncere-williams-makes-pittsfield-political-debut-in-bid-for-ward-2-city-council-seat

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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June 15, 2023

WAMC is on a roll this week.  Josh Landes wrote that Karen Kalinowsky finished in last place with only 281 votes out of more than 6,000 cast in the preliminary mayoral election in 2019.... [Jon Melle's notes: .... that Mayor Linda Tyer was, of course, also in that year, but her third husband, the multimillionaire CPA, Barry Clairmont is suing Melissa Mazzeo over a little less than 4 years later due to Melissa Mazzeo's free speech accusations against him during the 2019 general mayoral election that Barry Clairmont's second wife, Mayor Linda Tyer, won].

After falling short in 2019, Kalinowsky to run for mayor of Pittsfield again | WAMC

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-06-15/after-falling-short-in-2019-kalinowsky-to-run-for-mayor-of-pittsfield-again

WAMC's Josh Landes described Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick as often finding himself at the "center of controversy" in Pittsfield politics over the first two years.

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-06-15/social-worker-soncere-williams-makes-pittsfield-political-debut-in-bid-for-ward-2-city-council-seat

Social worker Soncere Williams makes Pittsfield political debut in bid for Ward 2 city council seat | WAMC

As for "DIE director" Michael Obasohan's $8,000 pay raise that will put his yearly city public pay at $96,000 plus public perks, the over $205.6 million fy2024 city budget gave large public pay raises across the board for all of the city government's bureaucratic managerial positions.

The real issue in Pittsfield politics is that the local elected officials are charging taxpayers top dollar in return for rock bottom results.  To illustrate, it would be like me running a bait-and-switch sales scheme whereby I charge the fictional Mary Joe and Joe Kapanski full price for Barry Clairmont and Linda Tyer's mansion and two Lexus luxury cars in their elitist Gated Community, but in return I really sold the fictional Kapanskis a room for a night at the downtown Pittsfield YMCA after I took them for a "free cash" ride to Silver Lake.

To be clear, Pittsfield politics is A BIG SCAM ran by one political (Democratic) Party insider corrupt career politicians and their highly paid managerial bureaucrats!

Jon Melle

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June 17, 2023

Pittsfield's Juneteenth 2023 event:

Juneteenth Celebration 2023! | Facebook

Juneteenth Celebration 2023! | Facebook

“We are kicking off Juneteenth with a mini parade starting at Persip Park on the corner of North and Columbus, marching down Columbus Avenue into [Durant] Park, and that's going to kick off the Juneteenth Celebration in the park, which will run from 12 to six in the evening," said Dennis Powell, who describes Juneteenth as the true Black Independence Day, reflected on the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the African American community in Berkshire County.

“Empowerment and positive healing can begin by recognizing the past:” Berkshire County celebrates Juneteenth | WAMC

“Empowerment and positive healing can begin by recognizing the past:” Berkshire County celebrates Juneteenth | WAMC

Related event:

I Am Afro: A Street Fair for All the People | Facebook

I Am Afro: A Street Fair for All the People | Facebook

Jon Melle's notes: Will the candidates for Mayor of Pittsfield: John Krol, Peter Marchetti, Karen Kalinowsky, and Craig Gaetani be attending Pittsfield's Juneteenth 2023 event on Sunday afternoon, June 18th, 2023? Will Krol, Marchetti, Kalinowsky and Gaetani support the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion movement in Pittsfield politics at the Juneteenth 2023 event in Pittsfield?  Will blogger Dan Valenti cover the event or will he be intimidated from attending the event because of his criticisms of the "DIE" movement in Pittsfield politics?

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 17, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

This Sunday afternoon, June 18th, 2023, is your chance to see how the four candidates for Mayor of Pittsfield politics will respond to a community event celebrating Juneteenth.  Will candidates Peter Marchetti, John Krol, Karen Kalinowsky and Craig Gaetani attend this community event?  Will they speak in favor of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion movement in Pittsfield politics?  Will you, blogger Dan Valenti, attend the "DIE" event or will you be intimidated from showing up due to your criticisms of the "DIE" movement in Pittsfield politics?

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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Gaetani for mayor: one of Pittsfield’s most outspoken critics makes second bid | WAMC

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-06-22/gaetani-for-mayor-one-of-pittsfields-most-outspoken-critics-makes-second-bid

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June 23, 2023

Peter Marchetti said that he would have to take a pay cut if he is elected Mayor of Pittsfield.  The mayor's salary pays $115,725 per year plus public perks; (A would-be future 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life).  Peter Marchetti called the double-digit water and sewer rate hikes "small" compared to previous years.  Peter Marchetti weighs around 300 pounds, lost his bid for mayor in 2011, and always voted in favor of Mayor Linda Tyer's record setting municipal budgets in return for Level 5 public schools, Pittsfield always being in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime year-in and year-out, and so on - "A shit sandwich".

John Krol is a middle-aged politician with a long history of being unemployed, he has never proved himself as a professional level manager, he says he will revitalize downtown Pittsfield's distressed economy (and paste wings on pigs and watch them fly around North Street), and he is trying to make his middle-age crisis comeback in Pittsfield politics.

Craig Gaetani is a fringe politician who has a history of legal and health issues.  He doesn't work to build consensus on public issues - he is a one-man band.  He criticizes the city's failed leadership in the image of the late Peter G. Arlos, who treated people harshly and caused many people to be upset with him over it.  Craig Gaetani is an old school politician who is out-of-touch with today's post-industrial and highly financialized economically unequal society with a shrinking middle class and a growing underclass, especially in Pittsfield.

Karen Kalinowsky is a retired Pittsfield Police Officer who wants a career in Pittsfield politics.  She supported Melissa Mazzeo for Mayor in 2019, and she opposes Mayor Linda Tyer's leadership, along with Peter Marchetti and John Krol's campaigns for mayor in 2023.  She ran for mayor in 2019, but she lost in the preliminary election.  She faces long odds to advance in the 2023 preliminary election.

If I still lived in my native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, I would rather write-in: Clark Kent, Bugs Bunny, George Bailey, or Mickey Mouse....for mayor!

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 24, 2023

I responded to an email from John Krol.  I was misunderstood about him having a history of being unemployed.  I apologized to him.  I went to high school with his older sister over 30 years ago.  I was off base.  Thank you.

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 25, 2023

To be a Mayor of Pittsfield politics, one has to have sat all day and night on a barstool, or one has to have called violent crime in Pittsfield an "aberration", or say he has a "rolodex" full of (shit) "Good Old Boys" such as Cliff Nilan and Angelo Stracuzzi, or be a manager for Montello, or live in an elitist Gated Community within a few feet of the Hancock border.  Karen Kalinowsky doesn't have a tagline.  Peter Marchetti's tagline is "One Pittsfield".  John Krol's tagline is that he was not unemployed, despite the rumors.  Craig Gaetani's tagline is that he is only a few years younger than Joe Biden and Donald Trump.  Perhaps if Dan Valenti gives Karen Kalinowsky a tagline, then she would feel confident enough to sit with him over coffee or possibly an interview.  I have a suggestion: "Pittsfield's Kop-Knight Karen Kalinowsky fights for the Kapanskis!"

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 26, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

The revised fiscal year 2023 municipal budget will be voted on tonight in Pittsfield politics' endless spending of taxpayer dollars in return for "a shit sandwich" full of Level 5 public schools, violent crime, and so on.

Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick asks if we can predict what the 11 City Councilors will say tonight prior to their vote(s) to spend so-called "Free Cash" to balance the books that end on Friday, June 30th, 2023.

Here are my predictions:

6 of them will say that Mayor Linda Tyer is right to spend the city government into financial oblivion.

2 of them will say that the revised budget should have happened over one year ago.

3 of them will say that they will vote against spending so-called "Free Cash" because it belongs to the taxpayers instead of allowing the Mayor to play financial shell games with the budget.

I predict the City Council's vote will be 8 in favor and 3 against the spending of so-called "Free Cash" for the revised fy2023 municipal budget that will end in 4 days time.

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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[Former Ward 4 City Councilor] Chris [Connell], yeah you see it too. I noticed that the great brains running our departments suddenly need millions of dollars of unbudgeted expenses for 2023 that must be paid one week after 2024 ‘fake’ budget was passed.

2023 was a fake budget. 2024 is a fake budget. There are in fact two budgets.

The Fake Budget

The Council pretends to pass the main budget. It’s an opportunity for the spineless to beckon to reason while not goring anyone’s ox. You are encouraged to look good so long as you don’t mean business. The ‘wise’ get to pontificate in meaningless gibberish why they are serving up the best budget in the city’s history “Don’t touch a thing, you fools!” Company men. A few hopefuls can break their teeth trying to question so much as a dollar. That’s as meaningful as a free ticket to a shitty circus. And then there are the scurrilous wretches who carry the Mayor’s water blocking every cut and blunting every criticism, and then go ahead and vote with the minority with ‘no.’ They will claim in October that they opposed the budget. (This is the worst sort that sits on the podium. They are willing to demean themselves as they bet on your stupidity.) That describes the fake budget that the Council is allowed to play with.

The ‘other budget’:

The Mayor maintains a separate ‘running tally of expenses’ that are budgeted ‘off the record’ then announced at the last minute of the fiscal year with an appropriation from Free Cash. These expenses are known from day one. They generally come about from say, running a municipal water utility or a police force where the labor overhead is 90% OT and 10% flat rate. For example, wastewater treatment plant is running on one piston. The failure of the hardware jacked up the overhead. It’s no one fault – just a fact. The Commish knows this, but ‘just discovers’ it today. And another one: the Mayor suddenly needs a million for 2023 overtime for the PPD. These two requests on their own prove that the Mayor has institutionalized the fake budgeting process with the bloated Free Cash account that is allowed to swell from the excesses siphoned off the Fake budget.

City Council doesn’t pretend to pass that other budget, but they do get to pretend to deliberate over the request.

Chris, let’s take some bets today: who will say what. You should be able to predict exactly what each councilor will say on these Free Cash draws.

- Charles Ivar Kronick

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Hot Dog Ranch owner Benoit making a second bid for at-large seat on Pittsfield city council | WAMC

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June 28, 2023

Peter Marchetti said he would have to take a pay cut to serve as the next would-be Mayor.  What is he really telling us?  Answer: I, Peter Marchetti, want the 6-figure city public pension plus perks that Mayor Linda Tyer will collect over the next couple of decades of her life.  How much money does Peter Marchetti make at the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank?  What is the net difference between his current private sector salary and the $115,725 per fiscal year mayoral salary?  Please post the unknown information.

John Krol said the rumors of him having a reputation of being unemployed are false.  Instead of doing a hit-piece on Karen Kalinowsky, why doesn't blogger Dan Valenti request and then post John Krol's resume?  If John Krol wins, he will make $115,725 per fiscal year in city public pay plus public perks.  After two terms, he will be eligible collect the coveted 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life (30 years or so).

Craig Gaetani is in his mid-70s, and he is an advocate for the common residents and city taxpayers, but he is a one-man-band.  It is impractical and difficult to stand alone against the political machine(s), vested and special interests, and fight windmills in futility.

Karen Kalinowsky is a retired Pittsfield Police Officer who opposes Mayor Linda Tyer, Peter Marchetti, and the mayor's 6 rubber stamp City Councilors.  Observers say that Peter Marchetti mistreated her as a City Councilor.  It is no secret that Pittsfield politics = RETRIBUTION on steroids and in spades!  Small town politics with big fish who would be nobody in the real world is the story of my native hometown: Pittsfield, Massachusetts!

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Pittsfield City Council meeting errupts in chaos as Councilor Charles Kronick issues charter objections over year-end bills"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, June 27, 2023

PITTSFIELD — A City Council meeting erupted in chaos Tuesday night as a maneuver by Councilor Charles Kronick, just days before the city shuts its books on this fiscal year, potentially put Pittsfield at odds with state budget regulations.

Council President Peter Marchetti has scheduled a special meeting of the council for 6 p.m. Friday in the hopes of avoiding any fallout for the city and its taxpayers.

On four separate occasions — three budget items and a committee appointment — Kronick invoked a charter objection, a move that essentially prevents the council from discussing or voting on an item until its next meeting.

The items at the heart of Kronick’s objections were primarily part of what Finance Director Matthew Kerwood said was a fairly routine practice: as the fiscal year winds to a close on June 30, city departments with any budget deficits come to the council and ask for funds to cover their final bills.

On Tuesday, the council was considering a $620,000 request from the Department of Public Services to cover the cost of snow and ice removal last winter, a $75,000 request from the Department of Public Utilities for increased sludge handling costs, and an $850,000 request from the Pittsfield Police Department.

Acting Police Chief Thomas Dawley told the Eagle in an interview Tuesday that the department’s request was to cover salary, holiday and overtime increases that were negotiated in union contract negotiations in September.

The requests by city administration to fund the DPU request with sewer enterprise money and the public services and police request with certified cash also came with the ask that the council deviate from its typical process of sending the items to the finance subcommittee in order to pay city bills before the end of the fiscal year.

Kronick called the request for funding and to waive the Finance Committee requirement poor planning on Mayor Linda Tyer’s part.

“They wait to the very last minute and I don’t like that and I don’t think — it’s not right to do it,” Kronick said. “It sounds fishy.”

“I agree that it’s terribly uncomfortable now, but understand also this: failure to plan on the part of the mayor does not form a crisis for the City Council,” Kronick added. “This solely goes back on to the head of the mayor if it comes down to have a negative impact on the taxpayer, not on the City Council.”

Marchetti repeatedly explained to Kronick that if the council does not give these departments the money they need to balance their books, then those outstanding funds will come due when the city sets its property tax rate later this year. Paying off these balances will likely increase the tax rate and property taxes for city residents.

Kronick also raised a charter objection to the reappointment of the nine members of the Wahconah Park Restoration Committee — the group tasked with setting a course of action for either the rebuilding, renovating or removing of the city’s baseball stadium.

It was the second time in his first term that Kronick has forced the council to return for an emergency session by using the charter objection. Last year, he issued charter objections as the council met to vote on the final fiscal 2023 budget, essentially setting Tyer's original budget in effect by default and undoing multiple sessions of negotiations.

Tensions rose in council chambers with each successive objection that Kronick issued as councilors realized they would be called back to hold an essentially emergency meeting in the final hours of the fiscal year.

Kronick was undeterred by his colleagues’ frustrations, instead continuing to argue that the funding requests were the result of faulty financial practices by city staff. He accused Kerwood of making “fake budgets.”

He said the director had one set of guidance for the use of free cash when councilors wanted to use it to lower the tax levy and thus taxes, but another at Tuesday’s meeting. He said the administration was using free cash “for all the screw-ups we make over the course of the year in overspending.”

Marchetti asked Kronick to reconsider his objections and vote no on the items instead. Kronick replied by saying rhetorically, “Why do we have a City Council” and then telling the councilors he wanted the council to be required to meet on Friday.

Tyer approached Kronick during a recess in the meeting, attempting to explain the requests further, to which Kronick said, “No, I don’t want to talk to you.”

Tyer again tried to explain the process. Kronick began speaking over her and the mayor raised her voice to say “I’m not going to allow you to misrepresent this.”

“Misleading the community — that is what you’re doing,” Tyer said.

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Kronick's Charter Objections Cause Unrest in Pittsfield Council Chambers / iBerkshires.com - The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.

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June 29, 2023

I like that John Krol is running a positive campaign for Mayor of Pittsfield politics.  The only question I have is that if he wins the election, and he is the next Mayor, will he continue to be positive?  I ask this question because we know all too well that Pittsfield politics has been anything but positive over the years.  Many career politicians block my political emails, including in Pittsfield, such as State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, out of retribution for using Free Speech.  As for Karen Kalinowsky, she made her living at the city's public trough as a retired Pittsfield Police Officer, but now she is advocating for lower municipal spending.  This is another questionable promise because we know all too well that Pittsfield politics' municipal spending has been excessive for a very long time now.  Peter Marchetti is the only candidate for mayor who is not making questionable promises, but he has said some alarming things, such as that he would have to take a pay cut as Mayor: $115,725 per fiscal year public pay plus perks, the double-digit fee rate hikes are "small" compared to previous years, and he told Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick that his speech was him "rattling" against the city administration.

Please understand that local government's main function is to invest in the people who live in the community because the people are the city's most valuable resource because the people live, work, own property, pay municipal taxes, shop at local businesses, enjoy their families and lives, and then passes the torch of economic opportunities to the next generation so that there will continue to be a solid middle-class tax base.  It is NOT as simple as making questionable promises to be positive, or lower city spending, or make alarming statements, and criticizing free speech as a dissenting City Councilor "rattling" against the city administration.  The politicians who hold elected offices in the government are there to serve the people, who are the owners of the public sector.  Instead, the people are an ATM for state and local government, and an insurance policy to be cashed in Wall Street wants a bailout.

Jonathan A. Melle

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June 30, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I received the following email reply from John Krol today:

My resume is posted online, open to the public. This has been the case for many, many years. 

Please do better research, Jonathan. You are spreading mistruths. 

Thank you 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkrol

I do not appreciate that John Krol told me that I am spreading mistruths.  Rather, lying to people is the number one job of a politician!  I am not a member of the website, so I was unable to read John Krol's online resume on Linked In.  

When I write political emails and blog posts to politicians, they either block them, ignore them, write a form letter in response, or accuse me of spreading mistruths.  Am I, Jon Melle, supposed to believe that every word that a politician speaks is the truth?  That would be like me believing that I can play for the Boston Celtics NBA basketball team as a middle-aged man who will turn 48 in July 2023.  Now that lie would be a big whopper!

Thanks, Jonathan A. Melle

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June 30, 2023

I do not appreciate that John Krol or any other politician expects me or anyone else to blindly accept what they say and promise to voters as the truth - how ABSURD!  I have every right to write to John Krol or any other politician and question their public record versus their propaganda (lies).  Politicians are usually in government for the Almighty Dollar and Power so that they can get rich by sitting on their fat asses in elected office over many years.

Pittsfield politics is a prime example of state and local politicians delivering Level 5 public schools, distressed inner-city streets plagued with social services agencies, poverty and violent crime, excessively high municipal taxes and fees, hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts plus OPEB unfunded liabilities, the 25-year-old heavily polluted PEDA debacle with millions of dollars in always increasing debts and unfunded liabilities, economic inequality with a shrinking middle-class due to the past 50 years of severe losses in population and living wage jobs, an insider provincial political group of phonies who expect everyone to kiss their dirty behinds when they are all complete corrupt failures, pot growing facilities stinking up residential neighborhoods, and the use of retribution to rule the city by fear.  THE TRUTH HURTS!

Jonathan A. Melle

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John Krol

Director Of Community Relations

Benchmark Senior Living

Jan 2019 - Oct 2020

1 yr 10 mos

Newton, Massachusetts

• Dramatically increased occupancy at independent living community, Cabot Park Village in Newton, Mass.

• Managed Cabot Park through a transition period without an executive director, and continued momentum in transfer to assisted living/memory care community Evans Park at Newton Corner

• Supporting the stabilization and occupancy through transition of a completely new management team, setting the stage for growth.

City of Pittsfield

10 yrs 1 mo

Vice President, City Council

Jan 2016 - Jan 2020

4 yrs 1 mo

Ward 6 City Councilor

Jan 2010 - Jan 2020

10 yrs 1 mo

Creator/Host/Producer

Good Morning Pittsfield Radio/TV Show

Nov 2006 - Jun 2018 · 11 yrs 8 mos

Executive Director

CareOne Management LLC

Jun 2011 - May 2012

1 yr

Media Relations Manager

Berkshire Healthcare

Jun 2007 - Jun 2011

4 yrs 1 mo

Public Affairs Coordinator

City of Pittsfield

Aug 2005 - May 2007

1 yr 10 mos

Berkshire Bureau Chief

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Jan 2005 - Jul 2005

7 mos

News Anchor, Talk Show Host

Vox Communications

Mar 2002 - Dec 2004

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"Pittsfield City Council approves department requests with hours to spare in fiscal year after special meeting Friday night"

By Matt Martinez, The Berkshire Eagle, July 1, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Pittsfield closed the books on its fiscal spending for the year with just hours to spare on Friday night, following a brief meeting to approve the last of its transactions for three city departments. 

It was the second City Council meeting this week, in which requests from those departments intended to cover budget shortfalls were unanimously approved. The session was scheduled after Ward 2 Councilor Charles Kronick raised a charter objection on Tuesday, which prevented the council from discussing or voting on the items until Friday's meeting. 

The requests, totaling $1,545,000 across the departments, were meant to cover budget shortfalls from the last fiscal year. Kronick invoked a charter objection to these items, saying that the city should have anticipated the expenses earlier and avoided spending over the line. He also took umbrage with the departments and city administration waiting until the last minute to present these issues.

Matthew Kerwood, the city’s director of finance and administration, was called upon once again to explain that this process was typical in Pittsfield and across the Commonwealth for balancing the city's books.

Kronick came equipped with a proposal to ensure that the practice did not happen again next year, but was deferred on presenting it until the City Council’s next regular meeting on July 11.

The Department of Public Services requested $620,000 in free cash for unanticipated snow and ice removal costs. The Pittsfield Police Department requested $850,000 in free cash to cover the cost of newly negotiated salaries, holiday and overtime requests.

The Department of Public Utilities requested $75,000 for sludge handling from the enterprise sewer fund.

Kronick came to the meeting with a number of ideas and proposals, but the appetite for debate was slim to none. Councilor Pete White said that, because of the charter objections on Tuesday night which pushed the discussions to the last minute, proposals that might have been given serious consideration would have to be forgone because of how late the meeting came.

“I will not entertain any changes to any of this, but I do look forward to debate and questions that councilors may have had on Tuesday night,” White said.

Council President Pete Marchetti reinforced those sentiments, saying that proposals made to transfer money from other funds at the “eleventh hour” were impractical.

Kronick proceeded to put forth a number of proposals anyway and continued to explain his problems with the process, including a proposal to ask Mayor Linda Tyer to transfer the money for the snow and ice removal costs from the Public Works Stabilization Fund instead of free cash.

Tyer responded simply when the offer was presented to her: “No.”

Kronick posted on social media to try to galvanize his constituents to come to the meeting Friday.

Three people signed up for the public comment period, including Kronick himself. Another was Soncere Williams, who is running for Kronick’s seat on the council. The other was Craig Gaetani, a mayoral and at-large city council candidate.

Williams used her time to urge the council to approve the transactions and Gaetani used his to call for the ousting of several “rubber-stamping” members of the council who he accused of voting on these measures without knowing their contents.

The series of unanimous votes from the council prevented the requests in question from further impacting the city's tax rate, absent another source of funding.

NOTE: Ward 2 Pittsfield City Councilor posted the following comment on PlanetValenti's blog.

We, as a people, have yet to get to the bottom of the requests. As I had spoken in the hearings, the financial reporting, though revealing overruns in general do not give any insight as to the actual scale and timing. The Finance Director strictly asks for blank checks backed by blank purchase orders. “Give me a million, we’ll use less, and I’ll pay whatever turns up between yesterday and tomorrow.”

It is impossible that the President of the Council can review the report and know what we are reimbursing. The the money ought to cover salt. But what if someone transfer invoices from other accounts to the salt account or what if money was transferred out to cover overruns elsewhere (same thing in effect)? You can’t see that in the reports. When he acknowledged that he expected the Free Cash requests in May, he also concedes that he erred by not scheduling a prior meeting to 6.27.23.

We see the fallacies, better the results of the fallacies: high taxes, high debt, unfunded liabilities, ruined parks and business districts, and a City where revenues are driven by State funds to assist with poverty. In time we may be able to get to the root. That is the objective of the people. Make your representatives perform their obligations to check every dollar and demand full accounting. That is the primary function of government. It takes money from you, and spends it appropriately for things that you need and want. And it respects that if a dollar is lost somewhere, it makes certain that it was a one time event and not a continuous problem.

Tonight was the introduction. The problem is now out in the open. That is what the Charter Objection bought.

- Charles Ivar Kronick

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Letter: "Increase Pittsfield Police chief pay, but keep residency requirement"

The Berkshire Eagle, July 1, 2023

To the editor: I read about Mayor Linda Tyer's attempt to make hiring the new police chief a bit easier for her successor. ("Pittsfield officials want to increase the police chief salary before launching a search. City councilors aren't convinced," Eagle, June 26.)

It's an admirable task, and as far as increasing the pay is concerned I disagree with Councilor Ken Warren since we compete for chiefs all over the state, and if you can move 40 to 50 miles for a good bump, many folks will do that — especially since being chief is usually the final stop before retirement and going off to work as a consultant somewhere.

As for the residency requirement, however, I am a firm believer it should stay. We are a city with one-third of the county's residents. There are housing options for all who come — and at the salary we will eventually offer, the overwhelming majority of the city's housing is affordable. In fact, living in towns within 20 miles with one or two exceptions are all pricier than living in Pittsfield.

If you are part of the command staff of the Pittsfield Police Department, you should live in the city to experience the city — including the downside of living in some areas. The overwhelming majority of the city's neighborhoods are great places to live, and if you are the chief, you should be all in. Living in a neighboring town puts you not all in. That should not be what we want.

If the city is worth taking the top paying job in, it's worth living in.

Dave Pill, Pittsfield

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July 2, 2023

Pittsfield politics has been and is totally predictable for the past 30 to 40 years now.  Every fiscal year, the Mayor and City Council raise municipal taxes, fees and spending by at least 5 percent or more, they borrow at least ten million dollars or way more per fiscal year, the municipal debt load is over one hundred million dollars plus the hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities called OPEB debt, the 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle has millions of dollars in always increasing unfunded liabilities -  the exact definition of INSANITY, the city's public schools are rated Level 5 with over 650 students per academic year opting out of Pittsfield's school district to attend neighboring public school district, Pittsfield is always in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime year-in and year-out, the state and local politicians use retribution against the citizens to retain their power, the city's one party political factions all report to the same Democratic Party bosses in Boston, the city spent millions of dollars on many failed businesses over the years, over the past 50 years, Pittsfield and the Berkshire region has lost many thousands of people to population loss, as well as many thousands of living wage jobs to the highly financialized postindustrial "rust belt" economy of the 21st century - the city's shrinking middle-class tax base, North Street currently has 15 empty storefronts in 2023, North Street is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley", the distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street are sarcastically called "The Ring of Poverty", upscale art galleries and museums in London, England, NYC, and L.A. have long featured large artistic photographs of Pittsfield that were billed as: "Pittsfield: A City in Decay", there once was a sinking ship in the Coltsville Shopping Center parking lot that symbolized Pittsfield's downward spiral, the outgoing Mayor, Linda Tyer, lives in a mansion in an elitist Gated Community within a few feet from the Hancock border with her third husband, the multimillionaire CPA Barry Clairmont, who is suing Melissa Mazzeo for allegedly defaming his character over the 2019 mayoral election that his second wife, Linda Tyer, won, Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr.'s Pittsfield Pot Kingdom called "Berkshire Roots" on Dalton Avenue is the single largest grower of marijuana in Berkshire County that stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods with his firm's unpleasant pot growing odors, Jimmy Ruberto never owned his own home (he lived in his mother's Pittsfield home as a man who was in his 50s over 20 years ago), nor rented an apartment, in Pittsfield, but as Mayor, he spent tens of millions of public dollars on his failed downtown "Ruberto Renaissance" that sarcastically rivaled Paris, France, London, England, NYC, and L.A.'s arts and cultural venues - more like its homeless shelters, Tricia Farley-Bouvier's number one priority in Boston in 2023 - 2024 is to decriminalize prostitution, Paul Mark recently voted against affordable housing, Richard E. Neal rakes in millions of dollars per year from K Street's corporate lobbyist firms (which has nothing to do with his Western Massachusetts C.D.), the supposed Green New Dealer Ed Markey supports GE's plan to put a toxic waste leaky landfill inside of a watershed nearby the October Mountain aquifer in the polluted Housatonic River in Lee, Massachusetts, the supposed Main Street public advocate Elizabeth Warren supports Joe Biden, who takes in more money from Wall Street and K Street than any other politician in U.S. history.  In summary, Pittsfield politics charges top dollar for rock bottom outcomes, and the people who live in Pittsfield have rock bottom politicians representing them in the government!

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 3, 2023

Every citywide election in Pittsfield is decided by Ward 4.  Wards 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 will be irrelevant to the mayoral candidates in 2023.  Ward 3 has some pull in citywide elections, but only on a marginal level.  Peter Marchetti will appeal to the voters of Ward 4, he will notice Ward 3, and he will say rhetorical words to the rest of the city's wards.  Over the years/decades, many of the citywide elected office holders lived in Ward 4.  Linda Tyer started out as a Ward 3 City Councilor 20 years ago in 2003 when Jimmy Ruberto won his first term as mayor.  Ward 2 Charles Ivar Kronick pointed out that his ward was shafted by Mayor Linda Tyer's administration when it came to its funding needs.  State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier's home is in Ward 4 (and she sent her children to the nearby Lenox public school district).  The bottom line is that if one wants to win a citywide elected position in Pittsfield politics, one has to appeal to the voters of Ward 4 because Ward 4 has decided every citywide election going back years.  Ward 4 holds a majority of Pittsfield's middle-class to upper middle-class households.  These are the households where residents vote in the highest numbers.  Inner-city Pittsfield doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of having a real voice in the city government.  I hope this explains why Peter Marchetti is hostile to dissenting views of the mayoral administration.  Peter Marchetti knows where the votes are in Pittsfield politics.

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 4th, 2023

Sarcasm: I discussed the points that Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick made at the June 30th, 2023, City Council special meeting over lunch with Mayor Linda Tyer and her number one bureaucrat "Cooks the Books" Matt Kerwood.  I asked the outgoing Gated Community Mayor and Kufflinks if Pittsfield politics is financially unsustainable over the long term.  They answered by saying that they are looking forward to cashing in on their respective 6-figure city public pensions plus perks over the next three decades of their Golden Years lives that will cost taxpayers an estimated $6 million to $7 million through the 2050s.  I asked them why the 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with its millions of dollars in always increasing unfunded liabilities still continues.  They answered by saying that Pittsfield politics has perfected the fine art of always increasing its unfunded liabilities with Pittsfield's 50-year shrinking middle-class tax base due to severe losses in population, business, and living wage jobs.  They illustrated their point by telling me that the single largest employer in Pittsfield is its big spending City Government and the Level 5 Public School District.  Lastly, I asked them if they believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Unicorns, and the lies spoken by all of the secretive and corrupt career politicians in government.  They answered by saying that Pittsfield politics is financially stable and solvent thanks to their 7.5 years of their public [dis]service[s] to the City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Then they made me pay for their lunches!  I was not at all surprised, of course.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "I still have a bone to pick with Springside mountain bike course plan"

The Berkshire Eagle, July 4, 2023

To the editor: Despite the fact-based presentations of three experts on wetlands, hydrology and other environmental damage that could result from a mountain bike complex at Springside Park, the Pittsfield Parks Commission at its June 20 meeting ignored these facts in voting to accept the latest version of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New England Mountain Bike Association. ("Mountain bike group and the city of Pittsfield reach a compromise on proposed Springside Park pump track," Eagle, June 21.)

In addition to environmental concerns, including secrecy for over a year on a final Massachusetts Article 97 decision for change of use and the denial of public input at commission meetings, there are financial issues outstanding.

Over the course of the nearly three-year negotiations, records obtained via the Freedom of Information Act show that NEMBA is eager to control construction and bidding but reluctant to assume responsibilities typical for bike complexes across the country.

Two among many concerns arise from the latest agreement. NEMBA is not obligated to deposit a maintenance fund as in earlier MOUs, yet maintenance would be required on opening. And NEMBA refuses to allow a perpetual removal fund as in earlier MOUs.

This puts the city at serious financial and legal risk. With a budget of at least $400,000 for construction, tens of thousands for maintenance over the years and $200,000 or more for removal, giving NEMBA an off-ramp for responsibility means that the city will be financially and legally liable for removal. Without a maintenance fund prior to construction, there is no guarantee that NEMBA will live up to its obligations, as evidenced by its negotiations in the FOIA records. If a removal fund is necessary, then why not a maintenance fund for care that begins on day one? Both a maintenance fund and removal fund need to be held by the city in perpetuity to safeguard its interests.

The reality is that if the city and NEMBA are truly dedicated to "building a future for Pittsfield recreation" — NEMBA’s final design title — there will be no time limit to responsibility and the earlier agreements would remain. Given the city’s budget issues for property taxes, rising water fees and the homeless situation, the city cannot assume this unnecessary burden.

It is a disservice to our citizens to allow an enterprise — technically nonprofit, yet serving as a conduit for the mountain bike industry and profits for bikes, gear and park construction — to avoid its responsibility.

Royal Hartigan, Pittsfield

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July 5, 2023

Royal Hartigan's letter in the Dirty Bird (Eagle) concerning the Springside Park's mountain bike course most recent revised plan puts all of the financial burdens and financial risks on the city government.  He wrote that the city's rising property taxes, rising sewer and water fees, and the city's homelessness crisis should be addressed before the City's Park Commission signing off on the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA)'s revised plan that would threaten the park's wetlands, hydrology and other environmental damages.

This is very similar to what happened when PEDA came into existence 25 years ago during the Summer of 1998.  GE put all of the millions of dollars in always growing unfunded liabilities of managing the polluted postindustrial Pittsfield so-called "business park" on the fictional commoner family named Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski in Pittsfield.

Pittsfield has Level 5 public schools.  Pittsfield is always in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime year-in and year-out.  Pittsfield's economy is described as "distressed" and over reliant on Social Services Agencies.  Pittsfield's downtown has 15 empty storefronts in 2023.  Pittsfield's operating budget is over $205.6 million.  Pittsfield's municipal debts and OPEB unfunded liabilities are somewhere around $500 million and growing larger.  Pittsfield politics is corrupt and the state and local career politicians practice retribution to retain power.  Beacon Hill's SNOBS systemically mock Pittsfield with their (voluntary) regressive taxation schemes such as the state lottery SCAM.  GE's capped PCBs leaky landfills are short-term solutions because capped toxic waste industrial chemicals dumps eventually fail over time.  Pittsfield allows its POT KING "Luciforo" to stink up nearby residential neighborhoods with his unpleasant pot growing odors.  When I describe my native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to people I know here in Southern New Hampshire, they respond by saying that Pittsfield is part of the postindustrial "Rust Belt".

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 6, 2023

In Pittsfield politics, the over $205.6 bloated municipal budget is now 6 days old.  On Beacon Hill, the over $55 billion excessive state budget is now 6 days late.  In the Swamp, the national debt is over $32,335,958,000,000.00.

Beacon Hill's corrupt and secretive career politicians have not met in formal session in over 2 months: May, June and so far in early-July 2023.  The Swamp's K Street funded wealthy career politicians will meet again in formal session next week through the end of July before taking their August recess until after Labor Day in September 2023.  It is and will be a taxpayer-funded summer vacation for our do-nothing elected officials!

I wonder if I could go back in time 247 years ago and I told the Founding Fathers and Founding Mothers about today's local, state and federal government in the U.S.A., would they tell me that they are happy to live in the 18th Century instead of the 21st Century?  Back then, the people only paid around 2 weeks of their yearly income in taxes to the government.  There were no career politicians.  There was no big government in the new U.S.A.  Today, most people pay many months of their yearly income to the government.  There are many career politicians.  And in return, the common people of mid-2023 receive "a shit sandwich" from the government that they do NOT deserve!

It is no wonder why Matt Kerwood smirked at Ward 2 Charles Ivar Kronick when he spoke out in protest about Mayor Linda Tyer's last minute multimillion-dollar revised budget appropriations to balance the city's "cooked" books.

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 8, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Over 90 public school districts in Vermont have filed a lawsuit due to their exposure to PCBs, which can be released into the air, posing a risk to students and staff.  Please read the news article, below.

Given these facts about the dangers of the industrial chemicals called PCBs that causes cancer, brain damage in adults and learning disabilities in children, why does the Pittsfield Public School District allow GE's PCBs-filled capped leaky landfill named Hill 78 abut Allendale Elementary School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts?

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Toxic Nightmare: Schools in Crisis As Monsanto's Deadly Legacy Haunts Vermont"

Written By BlabberBuzz | Friday, 07 July 2023 14:10

Many Vermont schools have filed a lawsuit against chemical company Monsanto, alleging toxic contamination in educational buildings from now-banned industrial chemicals known as PCBs.

In 2022, Vermont became the first state in the country to mandate older schools to test their indoor air for polychlorinated biphenyls, which were commonly used in building materials and electrical equipment before 1980.

The complaint, filed by more than 90 school districts in federal court, seeks to recover costs and damages. Under Vermont's law, schools with high levels of contamination must reduce exposure.

The removal of PCBs is expected to be costly, with some districts potentially having to demolish and replace buildings, resulting in expenses amounting to "hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars," according to the lawsuit.

The presence of PCBs in school buildings is attributed to caulking and glazing compounds, sealants, adhesives, and other construction materials. However, Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, denies any responsibility, stating that "third party companies, not Monsanto" produced the PCB-laden materials likely used in the schools. The company asserts that it has not manufactured or disposed of PCBs in Vermont for over 45 years.

Monsanto is also seeking an emergency hearing and the preservation of evidence. The company wants to participate in environmental testing and PCB-source identification, as well as document and observe the remediation work.

Polychlorinated biphenyls, which were used in building materials and electrical equipment such as transformers, capacitors, and fluorescent lighting ballasts, were banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1979 due to concerns about their potential to cause cancer and other illnesses.

However, a 2019 Associated Press investigation revealed that millions of fluorescent light ballasts containing PCBs likely remain in schools and day care centers across the U.S., even four decades after the chemicals were banned.

Exposure to PCBs can occur through breathing in dust or vapors containing the chemicals, consuming dust while eating or drinking, or having skin contact with materials that contain the chemicals. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation warns that the chemicals can be released into the air, posing a risk to students and staff.

PCB contamination has already forced an entire Vermont high school to relocate to a closed department store in downtown Burlington, where classes have been held since March 2021 while the old school is being demolished.

The retrofit of the store, which is connected to a now-closed mall, cost $3.5 million and was supported by the state.

In a similar case two years ago, three teachers in Washington state were awarded $185 million after suing Monsanto over exposure to PCBs in fluorescent lights at the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington. The teachers claimed to have suffered brain damage as a result of the exposure.

Last month, the Vermont attorney general also filed a lawsuit against Monsanto, alleging PCB contamination in the state's schools and natural resources.

The lawsuit claims that the chemicals have accumulated to dangerous levels in sediment, wildlife, and fish, and continue to circulate in Vermont's waters. As a result, Vermont has issued a fish consumption advisory for all of Lake Champlain and the Hoosic River due to the contamination.

Monsanto maintains that the lawsuit filed by the school districts, as well as the lawsuit brought by the Vermont attorney general, have no merit for the same reasons it previously stated.

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Letter: "Housing stock shortage complicates police chief residency requirements"

The Berkshire Eagle, July 8, 2023

To the editor: Your recent editorial rightly calls for a new Pittsfield police chief to be immersed in the community. ("Our Opinion: A salute to Police Chief Wynn and a serious look at Pittsfield's task of replacing him," Eagle, July 6.)

Living in Pittsfield is certainly ideal, but calling for someone who lives outside of the city to move to Pittsfield immediately or even within a year doesn't reflect the housing shortage in our area. And an excellent candidate could be living just one town over and still maintain a strong familiarity and involvement with Pittsfield.

It's unfortunate that the huge, already developed parcel of land that was the Berkshire Mall wasn't snapped up by state and local entities to create a residential community. It could be the site of many mixed-income apartments and townhouses in an area that sorely needs more housing. Until Berkshire County figures out its housing crisis, it will have a harder time filling all kinds of jobs. It's important to keep that mind when considering residency requirements.

Amy Mall, Pittsfield

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July 10, 2023

I love to follow Pittsfield politics.  I love it when Mayor Linda Tyer calls Pittsfield "Vibrant and Dynamic".  I love it when Matt Kerwood is confronted by Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick over the city's municipal finances.  I love it when Peter Marchetti calls the double-digit rate increases for the water and sewer enterprises "small" compared to previous years, and that he would have to take a pay cut as the next would-be Mayor, which pays $115,725 per fiscal year plus public perks that includes a city pension for life.  I love it when John Krol promises to revitalize the downtown's distressed so-called business district, which, according to him, is NOT a questionable promise.  I love it when Jimmy Ruberto publishes his letters from Lenox (Mass.) and Naples, Florida.  I love it when people refer to Jimmy Ruberto's "Rolodex" as a symbol of Pittsfield's distressed economy.  I love it when people say that the Ruberto Renaissance of downtown Pittsfield rivaled the arts and cultural venues of Paris, London, NYC, & L.A.  I love it that three of the aforementioned world-famous cities displayed large artistic photos of the city that was billed as "Pittsfield: A City in Decay".  I love it when Sara Hathaway once called violent crime in Pittsfield "an aberration".  I love it when Tricia Farley Bouvier supports Happy Endings massage parlor friendly proposed state legislation in Boston.  Who doesn't enjoy receiving a Happy Ending?  I love it when Paul Mark votes against affordable housing legislation.  I love it when Tricia and Paul vote themselves huge state legislative pay raises plus perks, and they also happily accept up to three state legislative pay raises every two years.  I love it when all of the Fortune 500 companies compete for bids to do business on the polluted PEDA debacle sites - and that when I paste wings on pigs, they fly around the PEDA sites.  I love it that Hill 78's capped PCBs-filled toxic waste leaky landfill abuts Allendale Elementary School.  I love it that Pittsfield is famous for teen pregnancies doubling the statewide average, pregnant mothers who smoke cigarettes, high per capita welfare caseloads, social services agencies, not-for-profit agencies, marijuana businesses, alcohol and tobacco sales, lottery sales, and all of the other lovely things that attract small businesses and middle-class families to move to Pittsfield.  I love it that over the past 50 years, Pittsfield has experienced severe losses in population and living wage jobs, while city municipal spending has gone exponentially higher.  I love it that "Luciforo" boasts of his Pittsfield Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue being the single largest grower of marijuana in the Berkshires, while the nearby residential neighborhoods complain of "Berkshire Roots" unpleasant pot growing odors stinking up their private property.  I love it that Beacon Hill's corrupt career politicians systemically mock Pittsfield and distressed "Gateway" cities similar to Pittsfield with the state's (voluntary) regressive taxation schemes such as the inequitable state lottery, as well as with underfunding state aid to local government and public education.  I love it that Pittsfield's public schools are rated Level 5 by the state.  In closing, I love it that Pittsfield charges taxpayers top dollar in return for "a shit sandwich"!

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 13, 2023

I had a nice time eating pizza, playing cards, and watching the Jeopardy! game show on TV tonight (Thursday, 7/13/2023) with my parents and Aunt and Uncle's family friends from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who visited us in Southern New Hampshire. I asked them what they thought about Mayor Linda Tyer. I said that I think that she is one of the good mayors of Pittsfield, while her predecessors were stinkers. She is intelligent and she knows what she is doing. It is sad to see Mayor Linda Tyer step down. They agreed with me, and they told me that they will be voting for Peter Marchetti for Mayor of Pittsfield later this year. I asked them about the 2018 Berkshire Museum selling its historic Norman Rockwell two paintings that the world-famous artist donated to the museum as an act of charity to the people of Berkshire County, as well as the museum's other historical paintings. They said that it was a choice between the Berkshire Museum closing or staying open. We all agreed that it should not have happened, of course.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Our Opinion: "Mayor's race should drive discussion about how to improve Pittsfield's parking protocol"

The Berkshire Eagle, July 14, 2023

After yet another candidate pulled nomination papers, Pittsfield’s mayoral election could feature as many as five names on the September preliminary ballot if all turn in their required signatures on time later this month. Hopefully that will provoke thorough and multi-perspective conversations on all the issues pertinent to Pittsfield’s present and future. One issue we hope gets some attention and discussion is downtown parking.

It’s not uncommon to see folks who appear to be out-of-towners visiting North Street getting visibly frustrated with the system. The reality is that some folks’ tech savvy lags behind when we upgrade everyday interfaces like parking meters. Those who used to parking meters one way for most of their lifetime inevitably will be slower to grasp the logic behind needing to punch in your license plate even when only trying to utilize the free first half-hour. How much do we need to frustrate the folks whom the city wants to draw downtown to meet a friend for lunch or go for dinner and a show?

Even those who are familiar with the system may find it needlessly punitive. The available app offers added convenience by simply allowing users to pay for parking through the app and avoid using the machine altogether. This also allows parkers to update their metered time without going back to a machine, although if it slips your mind that’s where the added convenience ends. Yet if app users already have their credit card info and license plate number in the system, why not just bill those users for their added parking time instead of hitting them with a violation? We quite literally have the technology; shouldn’t it be used to maximize convenience and limit frustration instead of the other way around?

Getting a parking ticket on North Street can amount to a $30 penalty; does that really need to be 10 times higher than the maximum parking time rate? And does the city really need multiple parking enforcement vehicles patrolling simultaneously? Perhaps the city could lessen the penalty for parking overtime in a North Street spot — say, only three or five times the maximum rate — and balance the lower fees by only paying for one parking enforcement per shift. Yes, the city wants to derive some revenue from this, but a system that discourages people from parking and visiting downtown has its own worrisome fiscal effects.

While many cities still get by with the more traditional meters, for better or worse Pittsfield vaulted its parking system into the higher-tech future several years ago when it rolled out the intermittently spaced digital kiosks that now dot downtown streets and lots. Some likely preferred the old-fashioned way, but it’s unlikely that Pittsfield will be going back. Still, we can’t be the only ones who find the current system clunky and costly to cross.

There’s no such thing as a perfect system that peeves no one, and we’re not saying we have all the answers. But we do have a question that’s also frustratingly voiced by city residents, downtown business-owners and visitors alike: Can we improve the user interface and experience of Pittsfield’s parking situation? There’s no time like a healthily contested mayoral election for such an assessment to get the attention it deserves. Parking might not be the most important matter Pittsfield’s new mayor will face, but it directly impacts a large chunk of city’s constituents and downtown economy.

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July 14, 2023

I wish I could be a Special Forces Soldier and take out Putin and then Edward Snowden in Russia.  Then I would re-earn my honorable discharge and military awards as a Soldier in the U.S. Army over two decades ago, as well as my VA benefits as a 100 percent service-connected disabled Veteran.

As for Mayor Linda Tyer, I have supported her in Pittsfield politics over the past 20 years.  It doesn't mean I agree with everything that she did as Mayor from 2016 to mid-2023 so far.  Overall, I believe that Mayor Linda Tyer is a good mayor because she is intelligent, and she knows what she is doing.  No sarcasm or subversive techniques here.  Mayor Linda Tyer has received praise from state and local officials throughout Massachusetts.  She led Pittsfield through the Covid-crisis. In 2016, she inherited a mess from the Doyle debacle, the Hathaway hack, the Ruberto regime, and the Bianchi bust.

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 17, 2023

Chaz, You are right.  Craig Gaetani is a voice for common sense.  He is not Peter Marchetti saying, "One Pittsfield" (but what about the theoretical multiverse where there are infinite universes with infinite Pittsfields?  Good grief!).  He is not John Krol saying that every campaign promise that he is making is not questionable, including his grand promise to revitalize the inner city's many empty storefronts, social services agencies, parking kiosks, daily shootings, violent crime, and all of the other amenities that keep rational people away from North Street into a utopia whereby he pastes wings on pigs and watches them fly around Pittsfield.  He is not Karen Kalinowsky who openly does not favor Mayor Linda Tyer and her half-dozen rubber stamp City Councilors and Level 5 School Committee members, which seems to really be a political strategy to win votes.

Craig Gaetani said he is wealthy, and he recently announced his candidacy for Ward 6 City Councilor.  The aforementioned three "Pickleballs" running for Mayor stand to financially benefit from a would-be 6 figure mayoral city public pension plus perks.  Peter Marchetti said he would have to take a pay cut to serve as Mayor, but that would-be 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life would more than compensate for his marginal loss in income.  John Krol could serve two or more 4-year terms as Mayor and then retire with the coveted mayoral pension.  Karen Kalinowsky already has a city pension as a retired Pittsfield Police Officer.  She could greatly add to her existing city public pension plus perks with a would-be mayoral pension, which, in 2010, is what critics said Dan Bosley was really doing when he unsuccessfully ran for the excessively highly paid elected position of Berkshire County Sheriff.

Common sense tells me that Peter Marchetti, John Krol and Karen Kalinowsky stand to financially gain from being elected as the next would-be Mayor of Pittsfield politics.  That spells a recipe for DISASTER for the common people, families and taxpayers!

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 19, 2023

Sarcasm:  I just finished interviewing Pete White.  I asked Pete White why Pittsfield public schools are rated Level 5 by the state.  Pete White said that public education in Pittsfield symbolizes the failed leadership of out-of-touch political insiders like himself.  I asked Pete White why Pittsfield is always rated in the top 10 cities in Massachusetts for violent crime.  Pete White said that violent crime in Pittsfield should be stopped by Voltron, Batman, and sci-fi geeks like himself.  I asked Pete White about the 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with its millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities.  Pete White said that PEDA symbolizes the postindustrial rust belt that plagues the U.S.A.  I asked Pete White about the $205.6 million municipal operating budget, the double digit increases in water and sewer fees, the around $100 million in city debt, the over $400 million in OPEB unfunded liabilities, and the fiscal sustainability of Pittsfield's "cooked books".  Pete White said that excessively high municipal spending and debts will attract consumers who rack up credit card debts and when all else fails, declare bankruptcy.  I asked Pete White why he is next in line to be the Pittsfield City Council President under would-be Mayor Pete Marchetti.  Pete White said that he likes the sound of two Peters screwing the fictional Kapanski family out of their hard-earned money.  I told Pete White that is already taking place in Pittsfield politics.  Pete White said that the purpose of Pittsfield politics is to spend as much "Kapanski Ka$h" as humanly possible.  I asked Pete White why Andrea Harrington, Karen Kalinowsky, Earl Persip, and now Pete White are declining blogger Dan Valenti's interview requests.  Pete White said that campaigning for elected office is all about political strategy, and that he will win more votes by avoiding Planet Valenti than by associating with blogger Dan Valenti's coverage of Pittsfield politics.  Pete White said that he will win more votes by telling blogger Dan Valenti that Pittsfield politics doesn't need his negativity.  I asked Pete White about all of the aforementioned negative issues we discussed.  He said that it is easier to scapegoat blogger Dan Valenti to talk about the city's failed leadership.  I told Pete White that he is perfect for Pittsfield politics!

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Mayoral candidate Karen Kalinowsky speaks and listens in equal measure at campaign kickoff party"

By Matt Martinez, The Berkshire Eagle, July 18, 2023

PITTSFIELD — With a light breeze off Pontoosuc Lake ushering in storm clouds on Tuesday, mayoral candidate Karen Kalinowsky offered her vision for Pittsfield to supporters at a kickoff party.

She took the time to hear their ideas, too.

The kickoff was held at the Rusty Anchor Marina and Pub Club, 1451 North St., where a crowd of roughly 70 began gathering around 5:30 p.m. for the event, which was held on the outdoor patio area.

The crowd included several members of Kalinowsky’s family, including some of her 15 siblings, and supporters from around the city. Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren was in attendance, as was Ward 2 Councilor Charles Kronick, who arrived toward the end of the remarks. Former Councilor Kevin Morandi was also in the crowd.

City Councilor Karen Kalinowsky is running for mayor of Pittsfield

Kalinowsky, who is a retired police officer and has served as at large city councilor since 2021, announced her run for mayor in mid-June. She has since pulled her papers and had her signatures certified for the election.

Other candidates in the race include City Council President Peter Marchetti, former Councilor John Krol and residents Craig Gaetani and David Donald Webber. A preliminary election will be held Sept. 19, and the two top vote-getters will face off in the general election Nov. 7.

Kalinowsky delivered remarks at about 6:15 p.m. — a relatively short speech detailing her policy goals and priorities, largely the same values she has supported in the past.

That included her stating her goals of “budgeting by necessity, instead of by past budgets,” increasing the number of teachers and paraprofessionals in the Pittsfield Public Schools, prioritizing funding for city streets and sidewalks, working to address homelessness and increasing transparency in city government.

“My last one is restoring the voice back to the residents and the voters,” Kalinowsky said, drawing a round of applause and calls of “it’s about time” and “bring back common sense” from the crowd.

She noted that she wanted to give residents a direct say on the fate of the North Street bike lanes, and would hope to give them that chance again if elected mayor.

Kalinowsky then invited discussion from the crowd in a question-and-answer format that lasted about 40 minutes. The same microphone she used to deliver the speech was passed among the gathered attendees, often given to them by Kalinowsky herself.

The first question came from resident Michael Lefebvre: “What are you going to do about all the panhandlers in the city?”

Kalinowsky responded by saying that she was hoping to look into a city ordinance to prevent people from standing on traffic islands in the city and keep them back about 2 to 3 feet on sidewalks, as she has seen done in other communities, and work with social service organizations to help provide more resources to people on the street.

Kalinowsky went on to field questions about affordable housing and grants for downtown businesses. There was a sense of frustration from city resident Bill Molner, who wondered why the city supports businesses that “only last one to two years” with grants.

Economic development on North Street was a hot topic. Among attendees, there was a sense that other businesses in the city needed more help, too.

Kalinowsky responded by saying that she was “big on accountability” and planned to take a closer look at the bidding process for city projects, grants and budgeting in general if she was elected. She also said the city needs to become more business friendly.

Resident Kristie Callahan asked Kalinowsky how much “pull” she has to get things done and how she plans on working with people who might be resistant.

“The same thing that we’re doing here,” Kalinowsky replied. “We have to listen to each other. You have to sit down and talk with people.”

She noted that she plans to listen intently to those who have areas of expertise outside of her own. When asked by her campaign manager Rosanne Frieri what she would do in her first 100 days in office, Kalinowsky said she planned to meet with city workers — emphasizing that she would be talking not just with department heads, but employees too.

The general message Kalinowsky wanted people to take home was to get involved and have a voice in the way the city’s run, she said, and engender community involvement. Part of that is being more transparent about government, which is one of her stated goals.

“I think we should be honest in government,” Kalinowsky said. “I know it’s hard to put those two words together but, we need to.”

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July 20, 2023

What is disgraceful is that the corrupt career politicians are making a lot more money than a majority of the people and taxpayers they serve in the government.  Karen Kalinowsky stands to not only collect her current city pension, but if she is elected Mayor of Pittsfield in 2023, she will make $115,725 on top of still collecting her city pension.  If she retires after serving as Mayor of Pittsfield years from now, taxpayers will pay around an estimated $4 million during her retirement years if she lives to an old age of around 85 or older.  Adding up all of the taxpayer money she has, is and would be collecting, Karen Kalinowsky will cost taxpayers around $6 million over the course of her adult life if she is elected Mayor of Pittsfield.  She is only one single person.  Given my blind estimates, Karen Kalinowsky is hypocritically promising to lower municipal spending in Pittsfield without telling voters that she herself stands to financially benefit greatly off of the taxpayers.  I stand by my language saying Karen Kalinowsky is a fraud.

In 2010, we saw a very similar scheme happen when Dan Bosley retired and collects his state pension, and unsuccessfully run for Berkshire County Sheriff in hopes of making a 6-figure state salary on top of collecting his state pension.  Dan Bosley went onto be a greedy registered lobbyist on Beacon Hill and beyond.  Sarcasm: He is a real advocate for the common people and taxpayer....and when Dan Bosley pastes wings on pigs, the winged pigs fly around the Golden Dome atop of the Boston Statehouse on Beacon Hill!

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 20, 2023

"Some here call you a fraud, JM; I do not. Bad words to direct to a stranger."

- Charles Ivar Kronick's post on Planet Valenti's blog

My reply to that is to ask: Is one of those here (in Pittsfield, Massachusetts) the notorious Pittsfield Pot King who is sarcastically called "Luciforo"?

Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior is the biggest FRAUD of them all!

Ever since I first met "Luciforo" when I was only 20 years old during the Spring of 1996 when he started his campaign for Pittsfield State Senator and my dad, Bob, started his campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner back then, "Luciforo" persecuted me over the past over 27 years of my adult life by having his "Nuciforo network" conspiratorially bully me without "Luciforo" leaving behind his own fingerprints, leaving me to look like a then young man who behaved like a paranoid schizophrenic, but in reality, I was facing unusual events over many years because "Luciforo" had a mean-spirited, vindictive vendetta against my dad, Bob, whom "Luciforo" filed multiple state "ethics" complaints against from the Fall of 1997 to the Spring of 1998, and then in the Spring of 1998, "Luciforo" made false and hypocritical accusations against me to the Pittsfield Police Department that I was making "veiled" threats against him to try to have me arrested and jailed.  "Luciforo" was the one bullying me, of course.  "Luciforo" blacklisted me from finding and retaining employment in the beautiful Berkshires for many years of my then adult life.  "Luciforo's" network of bullies spread vicious rumors against me all over Pittsfield.  Enough about me: Jon Melle.

In 2006, "Luciforo" had to step down from the Massachusetts State Senate because he was allegedly illegally double dipping as the Chair of the State Senate Finance Committee while "Luciforo" also served as a corporate Attorney for Boston's big banks and insurance companies from 1999 to 2006.  "Luciforo" always lived in Boston as an adult, but his late father of the same name was a Pittsfield State Senator prior to being a Pittsfield Probate and Family Court Judge many years ago now.  "Luciforo" used his late father's same name to be elected as a Pittsfield State Senator, but he was, in fact, a resident of Boston, not of Pittsfield.   In 2006, "Luciforo" strong-armed two women candidates - Sharon Henault and Sara Hathaway - out of the election for the state government elected position of Pittsfield Register of Deeds, which critics called "Luciforo's" 6-year sinecure, which he used to plot to oust the now late Congressman John W. Olver from U.S. Congress in the 2012 primary federal election.  In early-2007, "Luciforo" lobbied the then new Governor Deval Patrick to appoint him to the state bureaucratic position of Commissioner of Insurance, but "Luciforo" was passed over for the position, so "Luciforo" remained at his no-show sinecure in Pittsfield, despite "Luciforo" really being a resident of Boston, which is at the other end of the state.

In 2012, then U.S. Congressman John W. Olver was redistricted out of his elected seat he held for over 20 years since the early-1990s.  "Luciforo" ran against U.S. Congressman (aka PAC Man) Richie Neal in the 2012 federal primary election.  The Springfield Republican editorial called "Luciforo" mean-spirited.  The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) endorsed Richie Neal over "Luciforo", and the news articles called "Luciforo" "a fringe politician".  "Luciforo" ended up losing the 2012 primary federal election to Richie Neal by 40 points.  "Luciforo's" political career was over - thank God for me: Jon Melle, who had to deal with "Luciforo's" abuses for so many years by then.  "Luciforo" is a disgraced politician and a 4-foot-tall piece of poop in the form of a man!

In March of 2017, Luciforo "went to Pot", and he started what is now called "Berkshire Roots", which is the single largest grower of marijuana in the beautiful Berkshires, has a dispensary on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield, along with a dispensary in East Boston.  The Boston Globe wrote news articles and editorials about "Luciforo" cashing in on his political connections in Boston, as well as in Pittsfield, to be one of the first people to receive a state license from the cities and state to start his Pot Kingdom.  The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) and the online "iBerkshires.com" news outlet wrote many news stories about how "Luciforo's" three story pot growing building on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield causes nearby residential neighborhoods to be captive to his unpleasant pot growing smells without help from the Pittsfield City Hall - namely the Mayor Linda Tyer municipal administration who has boasted about the lucrative marijuana revenues flowing into city coffers.

If Jon Melle is called a FRAUD in my native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, then I ask my name callers to please call "Luciforo" a FRAUD, too!

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 23, 2023

All of my political friends asked me - Jon Melle - what I want for my 48th birthday.

I told Linda Tyer that I want a new Lexus luxury car, to play pickleball, and for her to give me a vibrant and dynamic key to the city.

I told Barry Clairmont that I want him to get over it already after a little less than four years ago, and to please tolerate free speech in Pittsfield politics even if it hurt his big ego.

I told Peter Marchetti I want march next to him in next year's Pittsfield 4th of July parade.

I told John Krol that I want to roll in Kapanski Ka$h.

I told Karen Kalinowsky that I want to be a double dipper by doubling my public salary plus retirement nest egg that is subsidized by the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family who pay their hard-earned municipal taxes in Pittsfield.

I told Craig Gaetani that I want to fire anyone who disagrees with him.

I told Earl Persip that I want to unfavorably label all of his critics on his behalf.

I told blogger Dan Valenti that I want him to know that Tim Shugrue and Tom Bowler have not done any better than his most unfavored politician named Andrea Harrington, despite his since disproven written arguments that it was her progressive policies and leadership that failed to prosecute violent crime in Pittsfield.

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 25, 2023

Peter Marchetti ran for Mayor in 2011, but he lost to Dan Bianchi.  12 years later, Peter Marchetti is running his second mayoral campaign.  He has a lot of valuable financial knowledge, but he will have to always fight the state for adequate local aid and public education funding that is otherwise always underfunded, especially in Western Massachusetts.  He has a solid base of supporters.  My late maternal grandmother's (1909 - 2008) maiden name is Marchetti, and Peter Marchetti is her nephew or great-nephew.

John Krol is running for Mayor to make his comeback in Pittsfield politics.  His promise to be accessible is rare in state and local politics.  He promises to be an activist in the city to make good things happen in Pittsfield.  Some of his campaign promises sound similar to Jimmy Ruberto's campaign promises from 20 years ago, but the "Ruberto Renaissance" ended up failing after a few short years of success and a lot of "Kapanski Ka$h" spent on the downtown arts and cultural venues.

Karen Kalinowsky is running as Mayor Linda Tyer's biggest critic.  Karen promises to be a would-be mayor who would budget by necessity, but it would be her own public pay plus perks that would win.  She currently collects a city pension as a retired Pittsfield Police Officer.  Her would-be $115,725 per year mayoral salary would be on top of her city pension.  Her would-be future city pension would double.  That does NOT sound like budgeting by necessity to me.  It sounds a lot more like double dipping!

Jonathan A. Melle

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July 26, 2023

My reply is that Pittsfield politics has had a lot of stinkers as Mayor with the exception of Mayor Linda Tyer, who is praised by state and local officials across Massachusetts.  Gerry Doyle had millions of dollars go missing that have never been accounted for that sent Pittsfield into state receivership for several fiscal years, he signed the Consent Decree that officially made Pittsfield into GE's capped toxic waste dump, he began the now 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with its millions of dollars in debts and always increasing unfunded liabilities, and he was a notorious Good Old Boy.  Sara Hathaway called violent crime in Pittsfield an aberration, and she publicly said that Pittsfield is a junkie for state funds, but she correctly warned us that Jimmy Ruberto was a snake oil salesman.  Good Old Boy Jimmy Ruberto spent tens of millions of dollars on his so-called downtown revitalization scam, which failed after a few short years of success, he told common people that they had to sacrifice their hard-earned tax dollars for his nut-ball schemes, and he never owned his own home in Pittsfield, nor did he ever rent his own would-be apartment in Pittsfield, as an adult who lived in Pittsfield (in 2001, he moved into his mother's Pittsfield home as a man who was in his 50s and then he put his mother into a nursing home for around 6 years until she passed away), but Mayor Jimmy Ruberto didn't mind spending municipal dollars like a drunken Sailor on leave.  Dan Bianchi was a bad placeholder for the next in line Mayor, Linda Tyer, who is part of the Jimmy Ruberto's political network of spend, spend, spend....  I agree with you, M.A.!

Jonathan A. Melle

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August 6, 2023

Hello Erin Leahy at Act on Mass,

I had a Sunday brunch at my favorite diner in my hometown off Amherst, NH, today (August 6th, 2023); my native hometown is Pittsfield, Massachusetts - which I believe is systemically mocked by the elitist snobs in Boston, especially with the multibillion-dollar state lottery SCAM.  The Have Not named "Jon Melle" who is originally from Pittsfield is the perfect illustration of Beacon Hill lawmakers mocking the common people with their financial shell games and (voluntary) regressive taxation schemes such as the Massachusetts State Lottery SCAM.

During my Sunday afternoon brunch, I sat with my elderly friend who is in his early 80s.  He and I love to talk about financial issues at the local diner.  One of the young bussers of restaurant tables sat down with us.   She is going into her senior year of high school next month.  She was curious about finance.  I wrote her a brief note on a scrap piece of paper.  I wrote to her: "Finance is all about compound interest".  "The 'Rule of 72': 72/6 percent interest = 12 years of compound interest to double your money."  I gave her my note, and I told her that if she holds onto my note over the next 10 years of her young adult life, she will come to understand the crux of finance.  I asked her if she knew what I wrote on my note.  She said no.  My thoughts on financial literacy are that it is so simple to teach young adults in high school, but many adults are financially illiterate throughout part, most or all of their lives.

My story I am writing to you about today leads me to my thoughts on your "Saturday Scoop" political email yesterday.  You, Erin Leahy, wrote that the online lottery legislation was not in the one-month late fiscal year 2024 Massachusetts State Budget.  What you did not write is that the state lottery is nothing more than (voluntary) regressive taxation.  You also did not write that the 50th year of the Massachusetts State Lottery SCAM produced record profits, which state leaders had the nerve to brag about last month.  You also did not write that the state lottery inequitably targets the mostly financially illiterate low- to moderate-income financially constrained residents who have no idea what is really going on here.  You also did not write that the state lottery is misleading because nationally, it only increases state aid financial numbers by 1 percent on average, while 99 percent of the inequitable state lottery revenues go to the high-income residents and big businesses.   You also did not write that on Beacon Hill, the corrupt career politicians represented by the fictional State Representative Sellout Shakedown use the state lottery's inequitable profits to giveaway many millions of dollars in additional state tax breaks to their wealthy campaign donors to enrich themselves, the greedy lobbyist such as state pensioner Dan Bosley, and the financial and corporate elites at the public trough.  You also did not write that while most to all of the multimillion-dollar state tax breaks go to the top 1 percent, which does not benefit most areas of the state, especially in mostly rural Western Massachusetts, state lottery tickets are sold everywhere in Massachusetts.

I agree with your public advocacy for Sunshine laws and a would-be equitable and accessible state government in Massachusetts.  The state lottery SCAM is the perfect illustration of everything that stands as the exact opposite of your public advocacy work on behalf of all of the people and taxpayers in Massachusetts.  Please keep up your good work, Erin Leahy!

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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August 6, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I hope that you are enjoying your vacation.  Please take the time to read the news article that explains that municipalities throughout Massachusetts are deciding how to spend millions of dollars in settlements with the opioid industry.

I thought this news article would interest you because you wrote and blogged about Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer's administration's secretive deliberations and alleged special interest spending of over $41 million in ARPA - "Biden Buck$" - funds.  

Please ask Mayor Linda Tyer if she will be holding public meetings to solicit ideas from the community to help Pittsfield with the opioid addiction and overdose crisis.

Please ask mayoral candidates John Krol, Peter Marchetti and Karen Kalinowsky how they will direct the planning process because the money will keep flowing to Pittsfield for 17 years.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Opioid settlements in Massachusetts are benefiting cities, towns."

By Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe Staff, August 4, 2023

Millions of dollars from settlements with the opioid industry are flowing to cities and towns throughout Massachusetts, leaving municipalities with a welcome challenge: how to spend it.

Local officials are holding public meetings to solicit ideas and considering new investments in such solutions as mobile crisis response teams, transitional housing, and improved access to medications that treat addiction. The windfall offers hope that Massachusetts may finally be able to ease the toll of the overdose crisis, which last year killed more people in the state than ever before.

Mayor Nicole LaChapelle of Easthampton called the planning process “luxurious” because the money will keep flowing for 17 years.

Felice J. Freyer can be reached at felice.freyer@globe.com. Follow her @felicejfreyer.

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"Pittsfield's Charter Review Committee held its first meeting on its two-year quest to update the city's guiding document"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, August 10, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Should individual city councilors hold the power to hit stop on council business by simply voicing a charter objection?

That's among the issues that will be taken up by the city’s new Charter Review Committee.

The seven-member committee met for the first time this week, laying the groundwork for the first systematic review of the charter since its revision in 2013.

Over the next two years, the committee will review the charter — a document City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta described as Pittsfield’s “constitution” and the “backbone of how the city operates” — and recommend to the City Council any changes it deems necessary.

Any recommendation on changes to the charter have to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the council and approved by the mayor before they are put to a vote in a citywide election.

“It’s intended, as most constitutions are, to be more or less stable, to be reviewed as necessary, but not to be reviewed and changed very easily,” Pagnotta added.

Over the course of the last two years, councilors have submitted several petitions on possible revisions to the charter.

Councilor Pete White petitioned that the committee take on what has become a contentious element of the charter — city councilors’ ability to issue a charter objection, which halts discussion and voting on an item until the following council meeting.

Charter objections have been often invoked by the current council members.

Several councilors issued charter objections related to a discussion about water and sewer rates in 2022. Councilor Earl Persip III issued a charter objection to a proposed referendum on North Street bike lanes.

Among the most momentous charter objections recently were those issued in 2022 by Councilors Charles Kronick and Anthony Maffuccio during the final vote on the fiscal 2023 budget — just days before a deadline to approve the city's spending plan — and several issued by Kronick in late June on end of year appropriations to balance several department budgets.

Both objections required the scheduling of emergency council meetings in order to finish discussion and voting on the city's financial responsibilities.  

Some residents have pushed back on White’s request to review the power, calling it a “grudge move.”

“Getting rid of procedural tools and appointing boards to change things that get in the way of the majority of the council’s objectives is the kind of politics that the Ron DeSantises of the world engage in,” resident John Deming said during the July council meeting, referring to the presidential candidate who as Florida governor has been known to target and purge dissenters.

While Pagnotta said the topics up for review by the commission are “pretty wide open” there are key areas not under the commission’s purview.

He said any changes to the offices of the council or mayor would require the creation of a different body — a charter review commission — to which the members are elected rather than appointed.

That may dash the hopes of Councilors Ken Warren and Jim Conant, who in March submitted a petition asking that the charter review committee “review the pros, cons and appropriateness of the city manager form of government.”

In response to a question about such changes, Pagnotta said the committee can review and recommend amendments to the charter “with the exception of changes to the composition in terms of the city council and the mayor — that’s the purview of a charter commission.”

The committee selected members Michael McCarthy and Brendan Sheran to serve as chair and vice chair, respectively. McCarthy promised to invite councilors who had submitted several petitions to the committee to attend the next scheduled meeting on Aug. 28.

“I think before we try to deliberate about anything, we want to hear from as many members of government and the community as we can hear from,” McCarthy said. “That will help us isolate the issues that we need to dig into, as opposed to guessing at what might be important to the community.”

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Pittsfield kicks off first review of city charter in a decade as new committee convenes | WAMC

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Letter: "Mayor and council candidates: What are your plans to bring back PIttsfield?"

The Berkshire Eagle, August 17, 2023

To the editor: How many of you can remember North Street when General Electric was the major industry in Pittsfield?

Were there lots of empty stores on North Street or any other business venue in town? Walk with me from England Brothers north to the Textile Shop, Mike’s Army and Navy store, Jim’s House of Shoes, Besse Clarke. Now we’ll cross the street, going to Rosenfeld’s, Holden and Stone, and a couple of other clothing shops whose names escape me. There were several boutique clothing shops, one of which was Yezzie’s. There were several local jewelry stores like Comet’s. Oh, and movie theaters: the Capitol, Palace, Union Square and the Strand on North Street. There was another on Tyler Street as well. Bakeries abounded, such as the Pittsfield Rye and several others throughout the city. There were beauty shops, barber shops and other similar service businesses available.

Why couldn’t we have that again? I am asking our mayoral and city councilor candidates (especially at-large): Who of you are willing to pitch in to do this? There is help available from the federal government. President Biden wants to bring critical industries back to the United States. Why can’t Pittsfield get one of them?

A friend said we don’t have the necessary labor force. I say, if you build it, they will come. I will vote for those who will work to make this happen. Publish your plans for what you want to do here in The Berkshire Eagle and on social media. You will have my vote.

Barbara Roberts, Pittsfield

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Letter: "Short green light at Park Square needs a traffic tweak"

The Berkshire Eagle, August 22, 2023

To the editor: I would like to comment on the traffic light at Park Square in Pittsfield.

Going north on South Street at Park Square to North Street, the green light during the day is extremely short. When there is a line of cars waiting at the red light and it turns green, it seems that if three cars get through before it turns red again they’re lucky. Usually there is some pause before traffic moves, which makes it worse.

I have never seen such a short green light at a main busy thoroughfare. I know it’s a very busy intersection, but the intersection in Allendale is also very busy and gives traffic more time to get through each way.

I am not a traffic engineer, and I assume that the light was set up that way for a reason, but I would love to see it changed to give the South Street traffic more time.

John Kearns, Lenox

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Letter: "I'm a single-issue voter in city elections: Who will fix Pittsfield's roads?"

The Berkshire Eagle, Sep 1, 2023

To the editor: As August fades away, I have given up any hope of seeing any significant improvement of Pittsfield streets.

It's been five months of good weather (compared to winter), but none of the streets I drive on has seen any repaving. The potholes and sunken manholes abide.

Well, if there are no smooth roads, maybe I would see some new lines, so I could tell where the road ends and the ditch starts and where I can make a left turn and where the crosswalks are and if there is a school in the vicinity. Nope. None of that, either.

A sweeper did come down my street last week, but that was a total waste of effort by the city. A couple of pine cones had rolled out there, but that was about it.

I promise to vote for any council or mayoral candidate who promises to fix any of this. It seems like it should be one of the basic and essential things a city government could do. I don't give a fig about North Street, parking meters and bike lanes. I want to drive around without wrecking my car.

Nick Hubacker, Pittsfield

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Letter: "John Krol has the right stuff for mayor"

The Berkshire Eagle, September 5, 2023

To the editor: Of all the items I can think of that it takes to be an effective mayor, the word "temperament" keeps coming back to me.

I had the privilege to work in the mayor's office in 2013 to 2014 and realized just what "public servant" means. Protecting, listening, planning, ensuring growth in the city are just a few of the many tasks required to be a successful mayor.

John Krol has this in mind for Pittsfield and always has. His temperament has been tested through and through, which I find most impressive. He puts positivity first and foremost, having high hopes for what's best for the future of Pittsfield, researching best practices for a multitude of important issues our city faces, all the while calm, collected and truly interested in what the citizens have to say.

Finding answers to difficult problems and tapping resources to implement them is what John is all about. John Krol would make a good mayor for the city of Pittsfield.

Mary McGinnis, Pittsfield

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September 5, 2023

In Pittsfield politics, every citywide election is always decided by the (mostly middle-class) voters of Ward 4 with a marginal impact from the voters of Ward 3, going back decades in time.  The rest of the city's wards do not matter in terms of deciding who the next Mayor, 4 at large City Councilors, and 6 "Level 5" School Committee members will be, as well as the Pittsfield's State Representative to Boston's corrupt and secretive Statehouse, who resides in Ward 4, of course.

Peter Marchetti ran for Mayor of Pittsfield politics in 2011, but he lost to Dan Bianchi back then.  Peter Marchetti would collect a 6-figure city public pension plus perks if he wins the mayoral election in 2023 and serves one or two 4-year terms in the corner office.  John Krol would make his comeback in Pittsfield politics if he wins.  Karen Kalinowsky would double dip by collecting her existing city public pension plus perks on top of the mayoral salary of $115,725 per fiscal year 2024, and after she retires all over again, she would double her city public pension.

Jonathan A. Melle

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September 6, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I read the news article in the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) rag (newspaper) today that covered the September 5th, 2023, preliminary mayoral debate between Peter Marchetti, John Krol, and Karen Kalinowsky.  My thoughts about their answers about Pittsfield are misguided.  Of course, Pittsfield (Massachusetts) is a city plagued by violent crime, poverty, homelessness, economic inequality, Level 5 public schools, a downtown that is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley", the distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street that are sarcastically called "The Ring of Poverty", the 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with its always increasing millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities (debts), Nuciforo's "Berkshire Roots" Pittsfield Pot Kingdom stinking up nearby residential neighborhoods with his unpleasant odors from his single largest marijuana growing operations in Berkshire County, the city government's bloated $205.6 million municipal operating budget, the city government's hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts plus OPEB unfunded liabilities (debts), 50 years of severe population loss along with thousands of lost living wage jobs that never return in our nation's "rust belt" postindustrial wastelands, Senior Citizens and disability recipients being used as the city's ATM, the elitist snobs in Boston, such as greedy lobbyist Dan Bosley, making a systemic mockery of Pittsfield (and Gateway Cities like it) with the state's (voluntary) regressive taxation schemes such as the 51-year-old state lottery SCAM that allows greed-ball lobbyist Dan Bosley to give his wealthy big business clients in Boston many millions of dollars in additional state tax breaks, while the low- to moderate-income mostly financially illiterate residents, such as "Jon Melle" of (native hometown) Pittsfield, do not understand that they are the target of snobbery and inequitable public policies that make a mockery of them.  I only understand all of these financial shell games because I have a Master of Public Administration degree from UMass Amherst (May 1999).  To be clear, the corrupt career politicians on secretive Beacon Hill only do DISSERVICES to the common people and taxpayers of Massachusetts.  To be clear, the corrupt career politicians on Beacon Hill do nothing but enrich themselves and their wealthy campaign donors via greedy lobbyists such as Dan Bosley at the public trough, while the rest of us pound sand.

This is how state and local government is supposed to work in Pittsfield, Massachusetts:

The voters of Pittsfield elect good men and women to represent their economic and financial interests in City Hall and in the Boston Statehouse.  In return for the common people and taxpayers' hard-earned tax dollars, the good politicians return the favor by investing the city and state government's limited economic and financial resources in people and the community so that Pittsfield would be - in a perfect world - a safe community with Level 1 public schools and small businesses that provide workers with living wage jobs and benefits.  The people and taxpayers are supposed to be treated by the elites as the community's most valuable resource - because they are just that in Pittsfield.

In terms of the environment, the state and local government officials should tell the truth that Pittsfield is GE's toxic waste dump full of GE's industrial chemical waste called PCBs, and that the capped landfills are a ticking time bomb that will set off more public health crises, especially learning disabilities (brain damage) and cancer cluster cases.  The state and local government officials should shutdown the PEDA debacle because it is polluted and heavily indebted, and PEDA should be turned over to the EPA as a Superfund site.

State and local officials should stop all of the tax giveaways that amounts to tens of billions of dollars of Reverse Robin Hood every two years that benefits big businesses that do not exist in most regions of the state, especially mostly rural Western Massachusetts.  State and local officials educate the people and taxpayers about all of the state's (voluntary) and disingenuous regressive schemes such as the inequitable state lottery SCAM that is nothing more than regressive taxation that exploits the poorest residents of the state to make greed-ball Dan Bosley rich, along with his wealthy big business clients.  Moreover, there are some registered lobbyists in Boston who earn 7-figure salaries by legally bribing the fictional Massachusetts State Representative Sellout Shakedown, who sells out his constituents and shakes down anyone and everyone.

In closing, the reason why I have been a supporter of Mayor Linda Tyer over the past 20 years is that she understands public management.  In all of the news articles I have read, Mayor Linda Tyer has said most to all of the aforementioned idealistic words.  She has a compassionate side to her in government, and she always took the time to invest in people and the community, including the poorest people and neighborhoods.  I hope that Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey offers Linda Tyer an important administrative job in her administration in early-January 2024 because Linda Tyer has received praise from state and local officials throughout Massachusetts, and she is a hidden gem in Massachusetts.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Pittsfield's mayoral candidates offer their view of the city's safety and plans for the future in televised debate"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, September 6, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Public safety and health issues were at center stage Tuesday night as mayoral candidates Karen Kalinowsky, Peter Marchetti and John Krol met for the first televised debate of the campaign season at the Berkshire Athenaeum.

The event, broadcast live on Pittsfield Community Television and featuring journalists from WAMC, iBerkshires and the Berkshire Edge was the third debate this campaign season that included all three candidates.

The candidates were quizzed on a number of issues from recent release of police disciplinary records by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, the city’s co-responder program for mental health related calls, the candidates' response to addiction and overdose deaths, homelessness, and their take on the dissolution of the city’s Police Advisory Review Board.

No question put a clearer point on the candidate’s views on the state of the city than one posed by Shaw Israel Izikson, the editor of the Berkshire Edge: "Do you consider Pittsfield to be a safe city?"

Kalinowsky, a former Pittsfield police officer and current at-large city councilor, said while she has no concerns for her personal safety, the city isn’t safe for everyday residents. She painted a picture of a city dealing with gun violence, break-ins and harassment by people asking for money as its everyday reality.

“This is why I can’t say the whole city is safe,” Kalinowsky said.

Krol and Marchetti stopped short of calling the city unsafe. But both acknowledged there is still work to be done.

“I would not, by any means, classify a city as unsafe because there were a handful of incidents or a couple dozen incidents — whatever they are — I think we need to take each of them as it comes,” Marchetti, the current City Council president, said. “There are issues that need to be addressed.”

What addressing those issues would look like varied widely among the candidates.

Krol, a former City Council vice president, said Pittsfield is largely safe on the whole. But even so, he said his administration would focus on a “boots on the ground approach” which would see a greater police presence throughout the city. He also emphasized a desire to increase communication between the Pittsfield Police Department and residents, so residents feel the department is responsive when they make complaints about safety issues.

Marchetti said he wanted to see “more action to create a drug war against our dealers” and would like to see a more targeted approach to responding to panhandlers in the city. He took up a call, first raised by Krol earlier in the debate, to revitalize the city’s West Side and Morningside neighborhood initiatives to address those neighborhoods' concerns.

Marchetti’s larger public safety proposal centered on what he said needs to be a philosophy change at the police department. He said the selection of the next police chief will help set the department's direction going forward on issues such as accountability, transparency and interaction with residents.

Krol, in answering a question on whether the city should revive the Police Advisory Review Board, said that there should be some issues like accountability and the advisory board that should serve as a litmus test for all chief candidates.

The candidates were also asked larger questions about how they will move the city into its next chapter. These questions focused on the state of Pittsfield’s economy, cultural and otherwise; the city’s housing stock and homelessness; and the look and design of city streets.

When asked what they would do to improve the city’s economy, Kalinowsky said she’d launch an effort on multiple fronts to “clean up North Street,” improve the academic performance of city schools and increase the availability of housing — all with the goal of attracting more families to Pittsfield.

Krol said his focus would be on making downtown Pittsfield ripe for revitalization by pushing for the development of empty buildings like the Wright building and providing greater amenities focused on young people. He said Taconic High School was also a key part of his plan and emphasized the importance of the school’s role in training future tradespeople.

For Marchetti, workforce development training was also an important part of his plan for stabilizing the city’s economy. He said he wanted to take better advantage of open space in the city and said now was the time to have the “shovel in the ground” in places like Site 9 at the William Stanley Business Park.

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September 6th, 2023

Posted on "Planet Valenti" blog comment section: I promise to always post under my own name - unlike Eric SwanSIN the SINNER! I am a Have Not, therefore I cannot promise to put $50,000 into a campaign account to go all around Pittsfield and tell voters that if I paste wings on PIGS then they will fly all around the city, and that I will give residents who vote for "Jon Melle for Mayor of Pittsfield politics" umbrellas to keep them from all of the PIG yellow rain and brown SHIT that would fall on their heads, especially the voters in Ward 4.  I wonder if greed-ball lobbyist Dan Bosley would donate money to my would-be campaign, but I would not give him an umbrella because he resides in North Adams and Boston.      I would give Richie Neal a couple of Quarters to play PAC Man.  I would sell HOT AIR to Ed Markey when he is not at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland,  I would give Joe Biden a "Get out of Jail Free card" from Monopoly for his son, Hunter Biden.  Jon Melle

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September 15, 2023

Outgoing Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick is a powerful voice of dissent against Mayor Linda Tyer and her six rubber stamp City Councilors.  I agree with most of what he had to say in Pittsfield politics over the past two years.  He reminded me of Chris Connell's leadership in Pittsfield politics.

I also think that Mayor Linda Tyer's leadership and public management is effective.  She was the only competent mayor in over a generation of failed leadership in Pittsfield politics.

I do not like that dissenting voices are supporting candidates who are running against Mayor Linda Tyer's record because they have not proven themselves as a coalition in power in Pittsfield politics.

To illustrate, retired Pittsfield Police Officer Karen Kalinowsky's whole campaign is based on her criticizing Mayor Linda Tyer, but she herself is looking to cash in on the mayor's $115,725 public pay, which would be on top of whatever her city public pension plus perks are, which would double her city public pension after she would retire all over again as the future outgoing would-be Mayor of Pittsfield.

Alex Blumin would represent the public interests of Ward 2, which is the poorest Ward in the distressed and severely unequal economy of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  The other two candidates for Ward 2 City Council would also speak for their constituents in Pittsfield politics.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Personal safety in downtown Pittsfield"

The Berkshire Eagle, September 15, 2023

To the editor: I was born and raised in Pittsfield but no longer live there.

However, I return as often as possible to visit family in the area. This Labor Day weekend, I invited a friend for a Berkshires getaway. My friend is a frail 77-year-old woman who uses a walker for mobility/balance. I am younger but not as spry as I used to be.

On Saturday evening, we decided to take a walk on North Street. We walked from the Lantern Bar & Grill to the intersection of North and West streets, turned around and headed back toward the Lantern.

Near North Street and Columbus Avenue, two youngish teenage boys approached us. One of them was holding a bottle of hot sauce and asked us if we wanted a drink. I politely said “no thanks.” They continued to follow us at a close distance. One got so close to my friend that she had to push him away from her with her walker. A third boy, riding a bike, soon joined the duo to harass us.

As I was calling 911 on my cellphone, the boys went out to the bike lane where one of them threw the bottle of hot sauce in our direction; glass shattered everywhere.

I told the 911 dispatcher what was happening and asked that a patrol car be sent to assist us.

Two men, on the opposite side of the street, heard the glass shatter and rushed over to see what happened. One of the men proceeded to read the kids the riot act and, after several minutes of yelling at them, he told the boys to go home.

The police never showed up while we were waiting for them in front of the Hotel on North. Although I later learned that they did respond — 19 minutes after I made the 911 call.

A 19-minute response time is unacceptable for this level of harassment/threat. What are seniors to do if the police do not make a timely response to our calls for help? I shudder to think what might have happened had the Good Samaritan not come to our aid that night.

This election year, I hope citizens vote for people who will ensure that Pittsfield is a safe and welcoming place for all who live within its boarders and for all who visit.

Mary L. Ferraro, Cambridge

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September 18, 2023

Pittsfield politics preliminary election 2023:

Vote for Peter Marchetti so he can collect a 6-figure city pension plus perks for life 4 or 8 years from now.

Vote for John Krol so he can make his mid-life comeback in Pittsfield politics.  There was a middle-aged mystery man from Texas who lives in Naples, Florida, who did the same thing 20 years ago, who is infamously known for his Rolodex and failed downtown Renaissance.

Vote for Karen Kalinowsky so she can collect her existing city public pension on top of the $115,725 mayoral public pay, which would double her city pension in 4 or 8 years from now.

Write in Mickey Mouse for Mayor of Pittsfield to send a message to Peter, John and Karen that they all represent the rock bottom of the downward spiral in Pittsfield politics!

Jon Melle

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September 20, 2023

Only one out of five registered voters actually vote in municipal elections in Pittsfield politics - give or take a few percentage points - because Ward 4 always decides the winners of citywide elections.  The city's other six wards do not really matter in citywide elections.  Ward 4 controls the outcome of the mayoral, at-large city councilors, Ward 4 City Councilor, and the six (Level 5) School Committee members.  Then there is the issue of campaign dollars.  Who will raise the big buck$ between now and the general election?  Then there is the issue of social media outreach.  Who will be on social media to sell their campaign messages to the voters?

In 2011, Peter Marchetti lost to Dan Bianchi because he did not stand for anything that the voters wanted out of Pittsfield politics.  Will he make the same mistake 12 years later in 2023 with John Krol?  Peter Marchetti touts his financial management experience and expertise, along with his many years of being involved in community events.  John Krol touts that he will be the most accessible mayor ever, and that he will revitalize the city's distressed economy.  Lastly, I always ask the age old question: What ever happened to investing in people who are the community's most valuable resource?

Jon Melle

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September 21, 2023

I read the news story about the allegations against John Krol by Stacey Carver that he "stole" $6,800 from her not-for-profit animal shelter organization years ago.  She provided documents that showed that John Krol made 5 separate transfers from her not-for-profit animal organization to his credit card, and that it took him a while to pay the money back.  John Krol called her allegations "a political hit job", and he denied any wrongdoing.  John Krol was experiencing financial hardship at the time.  Allen Harris financially helped John Krol pay back $6,100 to make the animal organization whole again.  John Krol never paid back Allen Harris.  The animal organization's accountant wrote about John Krol: "Embezzlement of funds by a director".  Carver and Harris are divorced, but they still run Berkshire Money Management together.  They also paid John Krol $30,000 to do marketing work for their financial company, but they said John Krol skipped town.  Carver said that she is exposing John Krol for being a "crook".  She is warning voters that John Krol should not be trusted as a candidate for Mayor of Pittsfield.

Jonathan A. Melle

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September 21, 2023

Meanwhile, Pittsfield's Pot King recently purchased a $950,000 mansion that is 0.3 miles from Mayor Linda Tyer's mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community neighborhood west of BCC.  Who invested in "Luciforo's" "Berkshire Roots" marijuana business?  Wasn't Nuciforo an alleged illegal double dipper with Boston's big banks and insurance companies in the mid-2000s?  Didn't the King of Pot in Pittsfield use his political connections in Pittsfield and Boston alike to cash in on the green products?  Compared to John Krol's alleged "theft" of $6,800, Nuciforo's story of political corruption and his Pittsfield Pot Kingdom is huge!  BUT, But, but, Nuciforo is a Good Old Boy Democratic Party Prince of Pittsfield politics, unlike John Krol.

Jonathan A. Melle

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September 21, 2023

Re: Jon Melle's thoughts on John Krol's radio interview

My thoughts on John Krol's radio interview are that he has enemies in Pittsfield politics.  Unfortunately, Jon Melle has gone through similar unusual and mean-spirited events in Pittsfield politics since I was only 20 years old in the Spring 1996 - I am now 48 in the late-summer 2023 - thanks to a 4 foot piece of poop that walks around Pittsfield and Boston in the form of a man.

I do not understand why Barry Clairmont is suing Melissa Mazzeo for defamation of his reputation.  I don't understand why John Krol will pursue a defamation civil suit against the named and unnamed people in the Dirty Bird's so-called "hit piece".  The best thing I have done is to write, email and blog about how I am a persecuted person in Pittsfield politics.  People who care about Pittsfield politics know that I was hurt because my dad, Bob, was a Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000).

I disagree with John Krol that he is not part of the political machine because he is endorsed by Jimmy Ruberto and Melissa Mazzeo.  He is not part of the political machine that is currently in power in Pittsfield politics.  In all levels of politics, I feel like at the end of the day, the ruling elites are all in collusion to enrich themselves and their wealthy campaign donors at the public trough, while the rest of us pound sand.

Lastly, I agree with John Krol that most people avoid politics because of the cut throat actions of a few insiders who hurt anyone who stands in their way of power and money.

Jon Melle

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-09-21/pittsfield-mayoral-candidate-krol-denies-embezzlement-allegations-blames-political-rivals-for-berkshire-eagle-hit-piece

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Letter: "Voter turnout for Pittsfield preliminary was dismal"

The Berkshire Eagle, September 21, 2023

To the editor: It was a really sad showing in terms of Pittsfield voter turnout on Tuesday. (“Mayoral candidate Peter Marchetti wins lion’s share of votes in preliminary election and ward races see narrowed fields,” Eagle, Sept. 20.)

It shows younger voters we are a bunch of hypocrites, as we are trying to instill the voting process as the American way.

Pittsfield politics are a joke. We want change, we want lower taxes, real representation, we complain and do nothing to change it.

When the final vote comes in the November general election, remember the people who have been running it for their purpose, not ours. If that is what you want, oh well, stop complaining and watch the multitude of seniors losing their homes, businesses not moving in, city of useless bike paths, schools given free rein of unlimited spending that goes nowhere.

They talk of air conditioning Pittsfield High School when new units at Taconic High School are not working.

Voters of Pittsfield better wake up. You will never know if change will work unless you vote for it.

The present regime is not getting it done. Even if you disagree with me, at least vote.

Maggie Smith, Pittsfield

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September 23, 2023

Re: Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr.'s Pittsfield Pot Kingdom versus John Krol's "theft" of $6,800

The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) cherry picks who to criticize in Pittsfield politics.  For many years now, I have written, emailed, and blogged about Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior's political corruption and his Pittsfield Pot Kingdom.  The Dirty Bird gives "Luciforo" - aka - Pittsfield's Pot King - a free pass, while John Krol receives the harshest of treatment.

Let us review Nuciforo's public record.  First elected in 1996 to the position his late-father of the same name held many years prior - State Senator from Pittsfield - Nuciforo conspiratorially had people in his Pittsfield political network bully, harass and even threaten to physically assault me after I first met him during the Spring 1996 when my dad, Bob, successfully campaigned for the elected position of Berkshire County Commissioner.  I was only 20 years old during the Spring 1996; I am 48 years old on this first day of Autumn 2023.

Nuciforo himself even threatened me twice.  Once during the Summer 1997 after Judge Francis Spina was promoted at the Pittsfield Courthouse when he gave me a long, cold and threatening stare.  The second time, he with Sara Hathaway at his side threatened me by Nuciforo breaking from his Fall Foliage 1997 parade route in North Adams and getting in my personal space with Sara Hathaway never telling Nuciforo to stop.  My Uncle from Saratoga Springs (NY) and my cousin stepped in front of Nuciforo, and then Nuciforo with Sara Hathaway at his side, backed off and they returned to their parade route.

From the Fall 1997 to the Spring 1998, Nuciforo filed multiple state "ethics" complaints against my dad, Bob, to multiple state agencies in Massachusetts to try to get my dad, Bob, fired from his state government probation job that my dad, Bob, held since early-December 1970, and to force my dad, Bob's, resignation from his elected position as a Berkshire County Commissioner.  Thankfully, Nuciforo's plot was ineffective.

Nuciforo did not stop there.  On May 20th, 1998, Nuciforo made secretive and false allegations against me - Jon Melle - to the Pittsfield Police Department that I was making "veiled" threats against him, and that if I entered his State Senate district office, his staff were directed to immediately call the police and I was to be arrested and jailed.  Back then, Nuciforo's closest political ally, the now late Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen Massimiano, Jr., ran the county jail in Pittsfield.  My dad, Bob, had daily communications with Nuciforo and his district office staff back then, but he found out about Nuciforo's plot at his job in the Pittsfield Courthouse, and he told me to stay away from Nuciforo.  Thankfully, Nuciforo's plot was ineffective.

During the Summer 1998, Nuciforo, along with then North Adams State Representative Dan Bosley, filed a rider to the fiscal year 1999 Massachusetts State Budget to abolish Berkshire County Government effective July 1, 2000, and for the state government to take over all administrative duties because - sarcasm - the bureaucrats in Boston know how to manage county government duties better than the people who live in Berkshire County.  For two years from July 1, 2000, to June 30, 2002, Pontoosuc Lake, which sits in both Pittsfield and Lanesborough, was placed in a state accounting agency in Boston, which meant that it was neglected for 2 years, prior to being put into the state environmental agency.

Dan Bosley retired from being a North Adams - he also resides in Boston - State Representative after his term ended in 2010.  In 2010, Dan Bosley unsuccessfully ran for Berkshire County Sheriff against Tom Bowler, who is in his third 6-year term.  Dan Bosley is a greedy registered lobbyist on Beacon Hill and beyond.  Dan Bosley collects a state public pension plus perks, which is on top of his 6-figure lobbyist loot.

Nuciforo's retribution against me when I was a resident of the Berkshires until early-Spring 2004 included him blacklisting me from employment in Pittsfield, having his political network spread vicious and half-truth rumors against me to the Pittsfield area, and then after I moved to Amherst, NH, where my family relocated to back then, Nuciforo and his network still kept up their abuses to hurt me for many years thereafter the early-Spring 2004, but there were and are good people in Pittsfield who apprised me of these ongoing mean-spirited and unusual events, and thankfully, I was defended against the ongoing attacks.  People told me that they were turned off by Nuciforo's uses of retribution.

From 1999 - 2006, Nuciforo allegedly illegally double dipped as the Chair of the State Senate Finance Committee while he at the same time served as a corporate Attorney for the Boston Law Firm "Berman & Dowell" as counsel of Boston's big banks and insurance companies.  Nuciforo's political corruption led him to have to step down from his elected position as a State Senator from Pittsfield - he really always lived Boston as a professional adult - and for him to enter the state government 2006 "election" for Registrar of Deeds in Pittsfield.  Nuciforo strong-armed two women candidates - Sharon Henault and Sara Hathaway - out of the aforementioned "election" to anoint himself to the sinecure.

In January 2007, after Nuciforo became the Registrar of Deeds in Pittsfield, the Boston Globe published a news story that he lobbied the then new Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, to be appointed as the state's Commissioner of Insurance, but Nuciforo was passed over for the position.  The Dirty Bird published an editorial saying that Nuciforo should remain at the Registry of Deeds in Pittsfield.

Over the next 6 years, Nuciforo plotted to oust the now late Congressman John W. Olver from his elected position, but due to the 2012 redistricting, Olver retired from U.S. Congress, and Nuciforo opposed Congressman Richie Neal in the September 2012 primary federal election.  The Dirty Bird wrote that Nuciforo was "a fringe politician".  The Springfield Republican wrote that Nuciforo's campaign was "mean-spirited".  Nuciforo lost to "PAC Man" Richie Neal by 40 percentage points.  Nuciforo's corrupt political career was over after 16 years of him being a mean-spirited political hack who hurt people such as me - Jon Melle.

In March 2017, Nuciforo went to pot.  Nuciforo used his corrupt political connections in Pittsfield politics to the Boston Statehouse to the Boston Financial District to start his marijuana company "Berkshire Roots".  The Boston Globe published news stories and editorials mentioning Nuciforo's ambitions to establish his Pot Kingdom in Pittsfield and East Boston.  

On Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield, Nuciforo's "Berkshire Roots" touts itself as the single largest grower of marijuana plants in the Berkshires.  Behind his Dalton Avenue 3 story tall marijuana growing building, nearby residential neighborhoods have been complaining over recent years to Pittsfield City Hall that they have to smell Nuciforo's unpleasant pot growing odors on a  daily basis, but nothing is done about it because, as one can now see, Nuciforo can do what ever the Hell he wants to do and he never faces any consequences for his action.  Nuciforo has a marijuana dispensary in both Pittsfield and in East Boston.

Two weeks ago, the Dirty Bird published a real estate transaction report that Nuciforo purchased a $950,000 mansion that is 0.3 miles away from Mayor Linda Tyer's mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community neighborhood.  12 days later on Thursday, September 21st, 2023, the Dirty Bird published a bombshell news story that mayoral candidate John Krol allegedly embezzled $6,800 from a not-for-profit animal shelter that has since merged with another not-for-profit animal shelter.  John Krol denied any wrongdoing.

Today, which is two weeks after the Dirty Bird reported that Nuciforo purchased his mansion, the Dirty Bird published an editorial defending its bombshell news story stating that John Krol is a "thief" by asking John Krol to openly publish his banking and credit card statements to defend himself against the allegations that were made against him shortly after the preliminary election this past week.

Please allow me to review: Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr.'s Pittsfield Pot Kingdom versus John Krol's "theft" of $6,800.  Nuciforo has spent the past over 27 years getting away with being a mean-spirited and vindictive corrupt politician, as well as using his disgraced political legacy to cash in as Pittsfield's Pot King.  The Dirty Bird gives Nuciforo yet another free pass after the newspaper reported that Nuciforo purchased a $950,000 mansion in far west Pittsfield.  John Krol allegedly stole $6,800 from an animal shelter, and the Dirty Bird publishes a bombshell news story and then an editorial against him.  This is the exact illustration of the small town news media being UNFAIR!

Jonathan A. Melle

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Our Opinion: "For Pittsfield voters' sake, mayoral candidate John Krol can and should shed some light on Animal Dreams drama"

The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, Saturday, September 23, 2023

On Thursday, this newspaper broke the story that Pittsfield mayoral candidate John Krol had diverted $6,800 from a nonprofit organization of which he was a director to his personal benefit.

Mr. Krol denies wrongdoing. Mr. Krol claims he’s the victim of a political hit job and has castigated The Berkshire Eagle for reporting the story. Significantly, Mr. Krol does not question the accuracy of any of the material facts in the article.

Former president of Animal Dreams says John Krol 'stole' $6,800 from nonprofit; Krol says it's a banking 'mistake'

The story, first published online Wednesday evening (24 hours after Tuesday’s preliminary election) and in print on Thursday morning, raises serious questions about Mr. Krol’s honesty, integrity and fiscal acumen — all matters that voters could and indeed should consider when evaluating any candidate for an executive office.

Mr. Krol said he made the payments on his personal American Express credit card by unwittingly transferring funds from the bank account of Animal Dreams, a nonprofit of which he was a director with the authority to approve money transfers. Mr. Krol maintains he intended for the transfers to come from his personal account.

In June 2019, Stacey Carver, Animal Dreams’ president, discovered five separate withdrawals, from November 2018 to March 2019, from the nonprofit’s bank account. She traced them to Mr. Krol’s American Express card.

Ms. Carver contacted Mr. Krol. He told her then and he continues to assert now that it was Greylock Federal Credit Union’s fault.

Krol’s “explanation” begs more questions than it answers.

If accurate, he mistakenly directed Animal Dreams’ account at Greylock to send money to pay his American Express bill — or, he mistakenly directed American Express to make withdrawals from Animal Dreams’ account.

Mr. Krol can settle his case by publicly disclosing both his American Express card and his Greylock Federal bank account statements for 2018 and 2019. Most likely, these statements are available to him online without cost.

The statements can show when and from what sources Mr. Krol made payments on his American Express card before November 2018. That may, in turn, shed light on his assertion that his mistakes stem from having been given an incorrect “router” number by a Greylock employee in 2015. If his claim has merit, Mr. Krol would have had to have been given an erroneous bank account number — not an incorrect bank routing number.

A comparison of his American Express and his Greylock Federal bank statements might answer questions of what payments, if any, Mr. Krol made to his American Express account from 2015, when he claims he received the bad “router” number, to November 2018, when he made the first payment out of the Animal Dreams’ account. And from November 2018 to March 2019, when payments were made from the Animal Dreams account, and subsequently from June 2019 on, when the Animal Dreams account was no longer connected to his credit card, the account records would show activity that could prove his assertion.

The most glaring question: Did Mr. Krol have enough money in his own account during that time to cover his American Express bills?

If he innocently directed a withdrawal from the Animal Dreams account when he meant to direct the withdrawal from his personal account, why did he not have the money to correct the error when Stacey Carver brought it to his attention? If he mistakenly had those payments made from the nonprofit’s account, his personal account had about $6,000 more than he reasonably thought it contained.

Mr. Krol apparently did not have that $6,800, or anything close to it, when Ms. Carver contacted him. Mr. Krol was not obliged to balance his own bank accounts every month, but most working people would know if their bank reported their balances to be several thousand dollars higher than they believed.

Clearly, Mr. Krol would have had the belief that his account contained that $6,800 when he ordered the withdrawals, so it would be difficult for him to sincerely say that he had no idea what his balances were at the time. Again, disclosing his bank statements would shed much light on the issue.

We must add that Mr. Krol had a fiduciary duty to Animal Dreams when he ordered the withdrawals. As such, the law required him to exercise the greatest degree of trust and loyalty in dealing with Animal Dreams’ property.

Voters need to assess how Mr. Krol has conducted himself in his dealings with Animal Dreams when they decide who will receive their votes. If he’s elected mayor in November, he will be dealing with taxpayer money and public funds.

Mr. Krol controls the information that would allow voters to answer these serious questions.

We call upon him to publicly and promptly disclose the monthly statements issued to him by both Greylock Federal Credit Union and American Express at least from Jan. 1, 2018, through Jan. 1, 2020.

This will give Pittsfield voters real information upon which they can decide on Mr. Krol’s fitness to hold the office of the mayor of the city of Pittsfield.

Impugning the motives of those who have brought the uncontroverted facts to light can only divert the public’s attention while answering nothing. We implore Mr. Krol to do the right thing and release the relevant information.

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September 23, 2023

We live in a new era of McCarthyism.  Instead of giving a person the benefit of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law usually by a Jury of one's peers, there are extremist people and news media outlets out there that go full force against a person in the harshest of terms.

In politics, things become conspiratorial instead of rational.  In my own experiences in Pittsfield politics when I was a young man many years ago, I didn't understand who I was fighting against until I witnessed unusual events unfold before my own eyes.  As a 48-year-old man, I now know who I was fighting against all of those years ago.

Career politicians are all about corruption (money), retribution (rule by fear), and power (authority).  When I witnessed politics over the years, I found out that everything was a done deal because the money went into the pockets of the politicians and their vested and special interest that finance their decades in elected office.  I found out that when someone stands against corrupt career politicians, they receive retribution even in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  I found out that authority applies to who you are, not necessarily your actions.

The Beltway in the Swamp is the wealthiest region of the U.S.A.  Instead of the government serving the people, Capitol Hill is K Street's "pay to play" paradise.  Maryland and then the part of Virginia closest to Capitol Hill and K Street are also very wealthy suburban areas.

Meanwhile, the U.S.A. has a huge swath of the country called the postindustrial "rust belt" whereby there are endless rows of trailer parks, as well as many impoverished inner cities with their countless social services agencies, the jail and prison industrial complex whereby a youth that is able to graduate from high school is at risk of ending up of behind bars because the ruling elites refuse to invest in people and communities, and so on.

In closing, John Krol is and should be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.  John Krol should not have received the harshest of treatment by the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle).  Pittsfield has politicians other than John Krol that almost always receive a free pass from the Eagle.  I will never support John Krol in Pittsfield politics because of his allegiance to Jimmy Ruberto, who is one of the biggest Good Old Boys in Pittsfield politics, and he was a failed Mayor of Pittsfield for 8 years (2004 - 2011) who never owned a home nor rented an apartment in Pittsfield in his entire life.  I see John Krol as a dupe who needs to get his own personal life together instead of trying to make his mid-life political comeback in Pittsfield politics.

Jon Melle

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September 24, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

"Flogging Molly" wrote and posted on your blog: "As far as this Melle innocent until proven guilty horseshit...."

The exact definition of tyranny that the Founders - who mostly owned Slaves - fought the British Crown over was that the Colonialists in the North American 13 States had no legal right to due process of law and they could lose everything they owned, including the Right to Life, Liberty, and Property (the Pursuit of Happiness) at the whim of the British Crown's decree.

John Krol, whom I would never support and/or vote for in politics, is still a U.S. Citizen with state and federal constitutional entitlements including the absolute right to be innocent until guilty just like the rest of us.  I liked his older sister when I was in classes with her over 30 years ago now when we attended Pittsfield High School together.  She is a nice person.  Unlike his older sister, I don't know John Krol on a personal basis.  I am repulsed by his politics because his political boss is Jimmy Ruberto, who was a failed Mayor of Pittsfield who never owned a home, nor did he ever rent an apartment, in Pittsfield in his life, but told local taxpayers to "sacrifice" to move the distressed city forward, which as we all know all too well failed to happen.

This is not about John Krol anymore, but rather, this is about the fact that the Massachusetts and the U.S.A. alike are a nation of laws, not of men.  We put our good faith in the law, not in men.  John Krol's character and reputation was viciously attacked in Pittsfield politics, but it should mean nothing until he is given his right to due process under law with Equal Justice Under Law.  The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) needs to state these words instead of being a self-righteous yellow journalistic rag!

Similar to John Krol, I have been viciously attacked in my native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts in Pittsfield politics beginning when I was 20 years old during the Spring of 1996 when my dad, Bob, successfully campaigned for the elected position of Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000) .  After I first me Nuciforo back then, I have experienced as well as witnessed unusual events and heard horrible words said about me over the past 27.5 years of my adult life, as I am now 48 years old.

No one in Pittsfield politics ever gave "Jon Melle" his day in court when it comes to the aforementioned persecution of me.  I have been hurt over and over again by Pittsfield politics, but people, including you blogger Dan Valenti, have told me that you have defended me over the years.  Thank you!

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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September 25, 2023

Pittsfield politics' mayoral debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIq_ohnHsIE

The last two minutes of the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle)'s mayoral debate dealt with the newspaper's controversial bombshell news story and editorial alleging John Krol is a "thief".  John Krol said that he was treated unfairly, which I agree with him about.  Peter Marchetti said that it had nothing to do with his campaign and he had no comment on the matter.

The first 32 minutes of the mayoral debate was interesting to watch and hear.  Pittsfield is a distressed postindustrial "rust belt" city and the downtown's panhandlers and the alleged harassing young men of tourists and other visitors needs to be addressed by the mayor's office.

The biggest issue in Pittsfield politics that stood out to me is the city's excessive spending.  I thought that John Krol was more realistic about fighting for state funding and managing city spending than Peter Marchetti, who previously said that he would have to take a pay cut from his job at a bank without saying that he would cash in on the lucrative mayoral city pension plus perks for life after he would retire from being the would-be Mayor of Pittsfield.

I did not like how John Krol looked back in time.  I liked that Peter Marchetti looks forward in time, and that he challenges the so-called status quo mentality of his opponent.  I think it will be a close election similar to the 2019 mayoral election that Mayor Linda Tyer won versus Melissa Mazzeo by a small margin 4 years ago.

Jon Melle

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September 30, 2023

The answer is that John Krol is legally entitled to be innocent until proven guilty in a constitutional court of law by a Judge and Jury of his peers.  John Krol is innocent because the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle)'s hatchet job does not constitute due process of law.  Anyone, any group, and newspaper or yellow journalism rag such as the Dirty bird can do a hatchet job on John Krol or anyone else out there, but it means nothing in the eyes of the law.

I have lived this painful experience since I was 20 years old way back in the Spring 1996 when my dad, Bob, began his successful campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000) for the past 27.5 years of my adult life - (Jon Melle is now 48).  The Nuciforo network conspiratorially hurt me over and over again setting up bait for me to behave inappropriately and/or illegally like I was and am a mouse looking at eating a piece of cheese on a deadly mouse trap, but my response is not to take the bait, but rather, for me to write, send political emails, and blog about the mean-spirited abuse I have endured from the aforementioned 4-foot tall piece of poop that exists in the form of a man who is sarcastically called "Luciforo" and "Pittsfield's Pot King".

Politics is a game played by the financial, corporate and ruling elites, and we common people are all bystanders.  To illustrate, the Republicans in U.S. Congress are in the process of impeaching Joe Biden.  Democrats in the Swamp and a few state governments are indicting Donald Trump on felony charges.  The irony of all of this is that they are all corrupt career politicians and multimillionaires in the Swamp - granted some a lot worse than other spoiled rich brats.

When Bill Clinton was impeached because he loved receiving blowjobs from younger women, it came out that many of those in U.S. Congress back then also loved similar sex affairs with younger women - past and present back then.  Moral hypocrisy on the Hill and in the Oval Office - or in Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky's case: The Oral Orifice Cigars and Thongs White House.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "North Street needs a rescue strategy"

The Berkshire Eagle, September 30, 2023

To the editor: Thanks for your coverage of the mayoral candidates' statements on their North Street rescue strategy. ("Downtown business owners seek North Street solutions from Pittsfield mayoral candidates," Eagle, Sept. 28.)

This is a central issue in the fate of Pittsfield. More than tax credits will be required. One block at a time grant programs to entrepreneurs for opening culturally exciting businesses would help, followed by the kind of policing of those areas that the candidates are endorsing.

This is not "rocket science," but it takes a major investment. Over the last decade, we've lost the Ferrin Gallery, Township Four, Familiar Trees and Landmark Tavern. Any of those businesses could, with powerful support, have seeded an urban resurrection.

If this isn't done around Barrington Stage, the Beacon Theater and Hotel on North, the Berkshire County seat could just sink beneath the waves. Get to work, Pittsfield.

Mark Mellinger, Pittsfield

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September 30, 2023

Pittsfield politics: A $205.6 million municipal operating budget, hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts plus OPEB unfunded liabilities, the 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with millions of dollars in always increasing unfunded liabilities (debts), capped "leaky" landfills full of GE's PCBs industrial chemicals including Hill 78 abutting Allendale Elementary School, a dangerous downtown with 15 empty storefronts, Level 5 public schools with over 650 students who choice out to neighboring public school districts, Pittsfield's Pot King stinking up residential neighborhoods with his unpleasant pot growing odors on Dalton Avenue, a Pittsfield State Representative named Tricia Farley-Bouvier who supports illegal immigrants having Massachusetts Driver's Licenses and the legalization of sex workers, Mayor Linda Tyer living in a mansion in an elitist Gated Community along with "Luciforo" who lives 0.3 miles away from Linda and her litigious CPA 3rd husband, Jimmy Ruberto supporting John Krol from Naples, Florida and his Summertime residence in Lenox, the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle)'s yellow journalism hatchet jobs on the proverbial dog catchers....

Jonathan A. Melle

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October 1, 2023

John Krol's calls for reforms to Pittsfield politics and City Hall ring hollow because he has the endorsement of Jimmy Ruberto aka Rolodex, who was Pittsfield's Snake Oil Salesman Mayor of Pittsfield who himself never owned a home, nor did he ever rent an apartment, in Pittsfield in his life, but he often used to tell residents and small businesses to sacrifice, which meant big municipal spending increases, including during the 2008 economic recession, which was the single worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s.  

Compared to Mayors (the late) Gerry Doyle aka Barstool, Sara Hathaway aka Aberration turned Level 5 Schoolmarm, the aforementioned Rolodex, Dan Bianchi aka Bust who also works for Montello Energy, Mayor Linda Tyer is the only good Mayor over the past generation of stinkers.  Mayor Linda Tyer is well regarded by state and local officials throughout Massachusetts.  Mayor Linda Tyer inherited a mess from Dan Bianchi.  Mayor Linda Tyer stabilized the city's municipal finances.  I refuse to judge Mayor Linda Tyer because of her litigious third CPA husband Barry Clairmont.

I hope that Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey will hire Linda Tyer to complement her administration because Linda Tyer is an effective public manager who actually knows what she is doing in state and local government.  John Krol was once friends and allies with Mayor Linda Tyer, but now he is criticizing her because she endorsed his opponent, Peter Marchetti for Mayor of Pittsfield in 2023.

I would be very upset with how things are going if I were in John Krol's shoes, too, because he is being treated unfairly by the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) and conspiratorially by his opposition.  I have experienced similar events throughout my adult life of 48 years thus far in Pittsfield politics, too.  It upsets me on a personal level, too.  My heart goes out to John Krol, but he is NOT above scrutiny as a political candidate for Mayor of Pittsfield.  John Krol knows what he got into when he began his middle-age political comeback in Pittsfield politics.

I have heard rumors about Peter Marchetti for decades, too.  In 2006, I was told that Peter Marchetti spread rumors about me - as I am his relative as my late maternal grandmother's maiden name is Marchetti - in Pittsfield politics, despite me living in Southern New Hampshire back then through present times.  Peter Marchetti has been known to engage in dirty politics, despite all of the rumors spread about him in Pittsfield politics over many years now.

To be clear: I support Mayor Linda Tyer and I think she has been the best Mayor of Pittsfield in my adult lifetime.  John Krol is off base to use her to divert the unfair political attacks he has received over the past couple of weeks.  This could be an episode in the series: The Twilight Zone.  It has turned into an ugly mayoral election campaign in 2023 Pittsfield politics.

Jonathan A. Melle

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October 5, 2023

We have heard it all before and before that...., but the ugly truth is that Pittsfield politics has been and still is totally predictable when it comes to municipal financial management.

Going back to post-Proposition 2.5 in the early- to mid-1980s to present time in the Fall of 2023, Pittsfield politics has always increased its municipal spending by 5 percent per fiscal year.  What percent increase in municipal spending is John Krol promising city taxpayers?  Would it be 2 percent?  Would it be 3 percent?  Would it be 4 percent?  Would it be him pasting wings on pigs and telling blogger Dan Valenti that the winged pigs will fly all around Pittsfield?

The other issue is that municipal officials need to be able to effectively fight for increased state aid from the corrupt career politicians on Beacon Hill in Boston.  Over the past 20 years now, state aid to local governments and public education has significantly decreased in Massachusetts.

If one doesn't believe me, just ask greedy registered lobbyist Dan Bosley.  He will tell you that some lobbyists in Boston earn 7-figure salaries, while most of the greed-balls earn 6-figure salaries by robbing state aid dollars from distressed Gateway Cities such as Pittsfield in order to enrich themselves and the ruling elites who they legally bribe with special interest money by the aforementioned corrupt career politicians in Boston always giving away many billions of dollars per fiscal year in state tax breaks to the wealthy financial and corporate elites, which financially devastates regions such as Berkshire County because Pittsfield is NOT Boston, of course.

John Krol is NOT nobody's fool when it comes to Pittsfield politics.  John Krol is a dupe who is making false financial promises to city taxpayers.  Blogger Dan Valenti knows full well what has been, is and would predictably go on here because he has written about it over many years of his editorial comments and coverage of Pittsfield politics.

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Krol's call for fiscal responsibility is critical for Pittsfield"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 7, 2023

To the editor: Finally, I’m hearing what I want to hear from a potential future mayor on the issue of taxes and fiscal responsibility.

I applaud Mr. Krol for committing to depoliticize the finances in the city with a new finance director not connected to Pittsfield politics. Also, hiring an internal auditor makes absolute sense. At last, the citizens of Pittsfield might begin to have some trust in how our tax dollars are being spent.

Mr. Krol is correct that citizens are rightly angry that we have more in excess funding, federal ARPA money and cannabis dollars, and yet our taxes are going through the roof. It doesn’t make any sense, and I do hope John is elected and we can get to the bottom of this.

John Krol has my vote, and I hope you’ll do the same.

Judy Burt, Pittsfield

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Letter: "Marchetti has helped to make Pittsfield better"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 7, 2023

To the editor: For as long as I can remember, Peter Marchetti has worked to build a better Pittsfield, one neighborhood at a time.

Peter has supported the West Side Initiative, pushed for the creation of the Morningside Initiative and is now calling to grow these programs citywide.

Even when Pete was out of office for two years, he doubled his efforts and continued contributing to the city. Let's not forget the Fourth of July Parade, which has hosted such greats as astronaut Stephanie Wilson and actress Elizabeth Banks, and his involvement with a kids program for bowling.

Peter is a family man and understands what most of the families and neighborhoods are going through. Peter cannot solve issues alone, but he believes in bringing people together to do big things.

Let's keep the momentum going and build on our successes. With a positive and progressive mayor and City Council, we can really capitalize on our strengths. I like how Pete has been pushing for Pittsfield in every way during his 10 years as City Council president.

Please vote for Peter Marchetti on Nov. 7. I know he will make a great mayor.

Ginny Coppola, Pittsfield

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October 8, 2023

Re: John Krol's magical potions versus Peter Marchetti's secretive scams in Pittsfield politics

A Naples, Florida mystery man Jimmy Ruberto backed candidate for Mayor, and a mythical mayoral campaign promising magic potions of audits, downtown revitalization, fighting crime, and pasting wings on all of Pittsfield's pigs and promising voters that the winged pigs will fly all around Pittsfield: "John Krol for Mayor of Pittsfield politics 2023!"

VERSUS

That goddamned banker Peter Marchetti who is backed by the evil witch Mayor Linda Tyer and her alleged "Win at any cost" political network of Pittsfield progressives.  Peter Marchetti would be a puppet that would be propped up by the evil witch of the Gated Community west to continue the evil Linda's secretive scams....

Pittsfield voters' choices are between the mythical John Krol's magic potions versus the evil puppet Peter Marchetti's secretive scams.  Isn't Pittsfield politics looking a lot like an episode of The Twilight Zone as the years pass us by?  Eye roll, please....

Jon Melle

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October 10, 2023

Pittsfield politics nicknames: the late Mayor Barstool, Lobbyist Larkin, Luciforo aka Pittsfield's Pot King, Tricia Country Buffet, Chrome Dome, Mayor Aberration aka Level 5 Schoolmarm, Mayor Rolodex, Mayor Montello, Mayor Gated Community, Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, PAC Man Richie Neal, Maryland Markey, Syracuse Joe, Financial Wizard Krol, Gavel Marchetti, Voltron White, Cumby's Clairmont, Social Services Alley surrounded by The Ring of Poverty distressed neighborhoods, the polluted PEDA debacle, the Hill 78 & Allendale Elementary School chemical cancer center, the Water Wizard, Kufflink's cooked books, Paul Marx, Shitty Pignatelli, career politician John Barett III, greed-ball Bosley, the historic flood zone Wahconah Park, the Dirty Bird's daily yellow journalism rag, a vibrant and dynamic shit sandwich, Linda's ARPA Buck$, over one dozen empty storefronts, Bowler's bullshit, Shugrue's mentor, the Berkshire Museum heist, a top 10 city for violent crime, Shitty Hall, the Shitty Clowncil, the Level 5 Scohol Committee, the Good Old Boys, the Ruberto Renaissance, A City in Decay, economic growth in the underclass, 50 years of population loss and the losses of many living wage jobs, postindustrial rust belt creative economy of welfare and disability caseloads, the 2-headed Pittsfield Democratic Party fighting factions, the infamous Dalton Avenue 3 stories stinker of nearby neighborhoods pot palace, littered streets full of nip bottles, cig butts, and old scratch tickets, the Stockbridge blogger, the so-called delusional and paranoid NH blogger, the GOBSIGs and SUITS, the 20 percent voter turnout apathetic elections, the city of RETRIBUTION and civil lawsuits, the city of severe economic inequality, the once proud city that fell into a downward spiral, GE's toxic waste dump, Lenox's ugly sister city, there are a lot of Pittsfields out there city, the economically distressed city, the leave and never look back city, the most cliquey and mean-spirited city of inbred mulligenerational moron families, the don't drop your keys there city, the Neutron Jack Welch city, the city of con artists, the big 3 police, fire, and public school unions and the special interests and out-of-town millionaires cut of the loot city, the service city for the southern Berkshire towns, the Consent Decree in exchange for 30 pieces of silver city, the no to the bypass, downtown community college, downtown mall, new ballpark city, and the scary city that JON MELLE ran away from as a longtime persecuted person in Pittsfield politics.

Jonathan A. Melle

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October 11, 2023

John Krol's call for municipal financial management reforms leaves out Beacon Hill's corrupt career politicians always systemically under-funding state aid for public education and local government. Pittsfield's revenues come from both Boston's secretive Statehouse and the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family who lives and pays taxes - in return for "a shit sandwich"- in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A would-be John Krol could micromanage the city government's accounting books until the Sun sets everyday, but he would still need to go to Boston to tell the fictional Massachusetts State Representative Sellout Shakedown to stop always being in bed with state pensioner and greedy registered lobbyist Dan Bosley, along with the 7-figure super-greedy registered lobbyists who lucratively promote the unconscionable corruption, secrecy, and top-down dictatorial leadership under Beacon Hill's tarnished Golden Dome. John Krol does NOT know what he is doing. John Krol is a dupe!

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/73307/Campaign-Statement-Krol-Outlines-Steps-for-Strong-Financial-Oversight.html

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Krol's record of service in Pittsfield is what earned him my vote"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 14, 2023

To the editor: John Krol is a shining light in our community who simply makes things happen and brightens lives.

When people talk about commitment to the community and volunteerism, sometimes they may forget that John spent each and every weekday morning from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. hosting the radio/television program "Good Morning Pittsfield: for more than a decade from 2006 to 2018. The five hours a week on live air was only a part of the incredible amount of time and commitment he made in booking, producing and preparing for each episode. During times when he was unable to host himself, he managed to secure fill-in hosts to take his spot while he continued to produce.

To this day, there has never has been a program that has matched "GMP" as far as consistency, quality and honesty on relevant issues. And he did it all in the effort to save a community radio station, WTBR, that was going to be lost forever because of a previous lack of attention and local programming.

Since he finished the program in 2018, John shifted his volunteering commitment. John is a father who has coached several of his four sons’ baseball teams over the past few years. As a coach, he has spent countless hours helping young ballplayers, strengthening their skills, work ethic and discipline on the baseball field. So many kids and their parents remember well the lessons and great experiences they have had with “Coach Krol.” Even when he was working five days a week near Boston in 2019 and early 2020 before COVID, John managed to coach his sons’ CYC basketball team, not missing one practice or game. He never left.

For John, it hasn’t been about the titles or name recognition for his volunteer work, he just simply makes a positive impact on lives each and every day. There is no one more committed and dedicated to his family and this community than John. I can’t think of anyone who would be a better choice for mayor of Pittsfield.

Ann Roche, Pittsfield

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October 15, 2023

2023 Pittsfield politics presents:

Kufflinks Kerwood's cooked books and Mayor Linda Tyer's financial secrecy:

* A quarter of a million dollar discrepancy in the city's Biden Buck$

* Kufflinks' secretive multi-million dollar Slush Funds (Excessive Taxation!)

* The city's multi-million dollar Marijuana Slush Fund$ (Excessive Taxation!)

* Over $17 million in "FREE Cash" (Excessive Taxation!)

* The $205.6 million municipal budget in return for Level 5 public schools....a SHIT sandwich

* Hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts plus OPEB unfunded liabilities (that will never be paid off)

* The 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with millions of dollars in always increasing unfunded liabilities (PCBs-DEBTS)

* Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on dangerous downtown Pittsfield over the past 20 years in return for 15 empty storefronts on North Street, which is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley" (due to teen pregnancies doubling the statewide average in Pittsfield, Massachusetts....)

* Large spending increases to the Police Department budget, but Pittsfield is always listed in the top 10 cities for violent crime in Massachusetts (Over 1,000 gang members call inner-city Pittsfield home)

* Matt Kerwood's over $114,000 city public pay and Linda Tyer's $115,725 city public pay, which will spill over to their future 6-figure city public pensions plus perks for life

* Rubber Stamp Peter Marchetti saying he would take a pay cut as the next would-be Mayor of Pittsfield, but after one to two terms, he, too, would collect a 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life

* John Krol crying foul, but when he worked for Mayor Rolodex many years ago now, as well as when he served on the City Council years ago, he was singing a happy song about Pittsfield politics

* Ward 2 City Councilor Charles Ivar Kronick delivering victories for the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski hard working family who wants to know why they are always being treated like a doormat by Pittsfield politics

* Blogger Dan Valenti writing about Pittsfield politics crushing city taxpayers with record level city spending and revenues that will cause a future financial crisis for the City of Pittsfield if/when a recession hits

* Jon Melle's nicknames for Pittsfield's Mayors: Barstool (passed away), Aberration turned Level 5 Schoolmarm, Rolodex-Renaissance, Montello-Bust, Gated Community, and the would-be Mayors: either Gavel Marchetti or the Financial Wizard Krol

Jonathan A. Melle

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October 27, 2023

Is the City of Pittsfield better than it was 4 or 8 years ago?  The answer is that Pittsfield is in an endless downward spiral of....a shit sandwich.

Does Matt Kerwood aka Kufflinks Cook the Books in Pittsfield politics?  The answer is that he secretly shuffles money around various city accounts to continue Pittsfield politics' 40 year tradition of always increasing municipal spending by 5 percent per fiscal year since Proposition 2.5 became state law in the early-1980s.

Will Peter Marchetti build on Mayor Linda Tyer's public record in Pittsfield politics?  The answer is he would continue predictable Pittsfield politics' business as usual that treats the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working family like a doormat.

Will John Krol change course in Pittsfield politics?  The answer is that he will always make utopia-like promises to voters and use banal taglines such as "AUDIT" to criticize his opposition.   

How will Pittsfield politics go from the shit show that we all know and hate all too well to a functioning democracy?  The answer is NOT Nuciforo's pot lawsuit against the city that basically argues that Mayor Linda Tyer acted in BAD FAITH on the HCAs with Berkshire Roots.  The answer is NOT Barry Clairmont's recently settled lawsuit against Melissa Mazzeo over FREE SPEECH in a FREE COUNTRY.  The answer is NOT 20 percent voter turnout in municipal elections whereby Ward 4 always decides who the next Mayor will be.  The answer is NOT Pittsfield politics other name: RETRIBUTION!

Jon Melle

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Letter: "Krol can bring needed change to Pittsfield as mayor"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 17, 2023

To the editor: Pittsfield does not need more of the same.

I hear Peter Marchetti talking about 35 years of experience as a banker and 16 years on the City Council, the last eight as council president. But I wonder: Is the city better than it was four years ago, eight years ago?

He has promised to build on the foundation of what has been done in the previous administration. What exactly is that legacy? Taxes are out of control. We’re not seeing better services. Our schools are struggling. Our downtown is in shambles. Clearly, building on a “foundation” of this record is not going to lead to better results.

John Krol is the choice to bring change, and he has my vote. I ask you to join me in doing the same.

Sue Halpin, Pittsfield

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Letter: "Krol knows our Pittsfield schools deserve better"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 18, 2023

To the editor: I am very concerned about quality education in our Pittsfield Public Schools, which has led to countless families choosing to send their children to neighboring school districts, along with the millions of dollars in our budget that we lose because of those choices to leave Pittsfield.

From day one, candidate for mayor John Krol has been talking about setting the bar higher, supporting teachers and paraprofessionals, and giving our students the tools that they need to be successful.

In listening to John, he has a far deeper understanding of the issues teachers and families face in the classroom, and he's done work to understand how other school districts often do things more effectively. He's committed to the kind of change that may be uncomfortable for those who are used to the status quo. However, no great change can be made without some discomfort.

I’m voting for a man who values education and wants the best for all students, including his own. Join me in voting for John Krol on Nov. 7.

Anna M. Kunce, Pittsfield

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Letter: "Marchetti's service and integrity would make him a strong mayor"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 18, 2023

To the editor: If you want to know the character of a man, observe him when he is unaware that you are watching.

I came to know Pete Marchetti close to 20 years ago. I was a part of a group of special needs families whose children patronized Ken’s Bowl. Pete showed kindness, encouragement, inclusion, empathy and humor to my son and his friends. He made sure they knew that they belong anywhere and everywhere; he even invited them to be a part of the Pittsfield Fourth of July parade.

In 2008, I became the assistant city clerk in Pittsfield, retiring in 2020. During that time, I came to know Pete as a city councilor. He was always helpful, available, respectful, prepared and devoted to the citizens of Pittsfield. He not only talked the talk; he walked the walk. Observing him, I learned what true service to your community looks like.

As a Dalton resident, I like to think that I do not have any “skin in the game,” but that is not true. All of Berkshire County is affected by what occurs in Pittsfield. Though I may not be able to vote in the Pittsfield mayoral race, I encourage those who can to cast your vote for Pete Marchetti, a man with the knowledge, skill and integrity to lead Pittsfield into the future.

Malia Windrow-Carlotto, Dalton

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Letter: "John Krol is the change Pittsfield desperately needs"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 19, 2023

To the editor: I have always known John as the guy for the people.

His dedication to the city of Pittsfield as an advocate for teachers and nurses is what always stood out to me, as well as his support for local businesses and our entire community.

My first experience with John was in the early 2000s. He stood out, microphone in hand, with Pittsfield Public Schools teachers as a reporter while we picketed for a fair contract. I didn’t know who John was then, but one thing was for sure, he was dedicated to listening to our concerns as educators in Pittsfield. Being a teacher myself in Pittsfield for more than two decades, I have always appreciated John’s willingness to take a stand on issues regarding education and how money is allocated for the schools, specifically getting more resources into the classrooms to better serve our children.

I also watched as John stood out front and center with the nurses to fight for safe staffing. My mother worked as a registered nurse at Berkshire Medical Center for more than three decades on the front lines serving our community with so many other dedicated health care workers.

John advocating for the nurses as well as educators and support staff within the Pittsfield Public Schools is greatly appreciated. John doesn’t do this for the recognition; he does this because he genuinely cares about people, all people.

John has always been the guy who asks the tough questions, does the research and takes action to resolve important issues. He is and always has been the voice of the people. John’s willingness to collaborate with those in power, while at the same time pushing back when something doesn’t seem quite right, is admirable and shows his natural ability to lead. A true leader listens, asks tough questions, does the research, pushes back when necessary, inspires and motivates others and, most importantly, takes action.

I am John’s wife. I truly know his heart and watch him handle all aspects of life daily with grace, humility, strength and tenacity. He is a dedicated father, husband and advocate for the people. I urge everyone to watch the debates, attend a meet and greet, do your research, ask questions and, most importantly, vote Nov. 7 for the change we desperately need in Pittsfield.

Vote John Krol, the man for the people.

Cara Krol, Pittsfield

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October 21, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

A tale of two weasels: It was the best of times for one weasel (Nuciforo), It was the worst of times for the other weasel (John Krol).

The best of times weasel is Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior, who is suing the City of Pittsfield for $440,000 in HCAs fees he paid to the city for his CONTROVERSIAL Pittsfield Pot Kingdom named "Berkshire Roots", plus Nuciforo is asking the city to pay his pot company interest, fees and unspecified damages. The heart of Nuciforo's lawsuit essentially argues that Mayor Linda Tyer acted in BAD FAITH with Nuciforo's "Berkshire Roots" marijuana company when the city charged Berkshire Roots fees for the HCAs. Mayor Linda Tyer said that the city will vigorously fight Nuciforo's lawsuit.

The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) allows the best of times weasel (Nuciforo) off the hook over his years of acting in BAD FAITH as a Berkshire-based State Senator in Boston whereby Nuciforo chaired the State Senate Finance Committee in the mid-2000s while at the same time Nuciforo allegedly illegally double-dipped as an Attorney for the Boston Law Firm Berman and Dowell whereby Nuciforo served as legal counsel for Boston's big banks and insurance companies from 1999 - 2006, which led to Nuciforo having to step down in disgrace from his elected position as a Massachusetts State Senator in 2006 after one decade there (1997 - 2006). The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) could but does not write news articles and editorials about Nuciforo's disgraced political legacy and his hypocritical ongoing lawsuit against the city, but the best of times weasel (Nuciforo) gets a free pass.

The Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle) writes news articles and editorials about the worst of times weasel named John Krol, who allegedly embezzled $6,100 from a not-for-profit charitable animal shelter years ago. John Krol faces criminal legal allegations, but to this date (10/21/2023), John Krol was never allowed due process of law for the Eagle to hear both sides of the story under oath. On November 7th, 2023, John Krol and Peter Marchetti are on the ballot for the elected position of Mayor of Pittsfield. It looks like the Eagle is trying to prejudice Pittsfield voters against John Krol over mere allegations of wrongdoing.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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October 21, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Over the years, you have written to me and others that you know that I was hurt in Pittsfield politics, that you have defended me on your blog, and that we are family friends with our families are all natives of Pittsfield.

While I know I have written to you about it many times before, it bothers me that Pittsfield politics other name is RETRIBUTION.  When Nuciforo started his conspiratorial, mean-spirited and hurtful bullying of me, I was only 20 years old during the Spring of 1996 when my dad, Bob, campaigned for the elected position of Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000), while Nuciforo campaigned for the elected position of Berkshire-based State Senator (1997 - 2006).

It has been 27.5 years of my adult life of me being treated like a doormat or a lot worse, a toilet that Nuciforo's network shits on.  I have read that I am a delusional, paranoid schizophrenic, a horrible person, that I am messed up, and so on due to my writings on this ongoing unusual situation and unusual events.

John Krol is going through it in Pittsfield politics, but like me - Jon Melle - nobody in Pittsfield politics is affording John Krol due process of law, including the Berkshire Eagle newspaper.  Both sides need to be heard under oath in a court of law for allegations to be considered legitimate.  Why isn't the Eagle writing that John Krol is facing allegations of allegedly embezzling $6,100 from a not-for-profit charitable animal shelter account, but over all of these years, nobody has afforded him due process of law?  It looks similar to the unusual events that I - Jon Melle - went through in Pittsfield politics because like John Krol, I never had my day in court with Pittsfield politics.

Everyone has somethings that they hope to hide in their lives.  When Jon Melle or John Krol face allegations over many years of our adult lives, the other side doesn't want to testify under oath because they don't want the truth to be told on them.  It is easy to point a finger at a person, but when it comes to due process of law, it leaves the finger pointer(s) vulnerable to legal jeopardy.

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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October 21, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Someone posted on your blog: "Mere allegations!? The only people who dismiss the obvious evidence and believe that John Krol is merely incompetent when it’s evident John Krol embezzled is you, Dan Valenti, and John Krol’s mom."

My - Jon Melle's - response: I never wrote that I dismissed the evidence in the mere allegations against John Krol that he allegedly embezzled $6,100 from a not-for-profit charitable animal shelter years ago. I never wrote that John Krol is merely incompetent over this matter. Why do you allow someone to put words into my writings on your blog?

The Berkshire Eagle's editorial today omitted that the allegations during John Krol's political campaign for Mayor of Pittsfield are not legitimate because John Krol was never given due process of law whereby all statements are made under oath and both sides are heard and that all are vulnerable to legal jeopardy when they are heard in a court of law. As it stands, John Krol is innocent just like the rest of us until he is proven guilty of the alleged embezzlement from many years ago in a court of law.

The Berkshire Eagle should be questioning the disgraced former politician and lawyer turned Pittsfield Pot King named Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior, whose lawsuit against the City of Pittsfield basically argues that Mayor Linda Tyer did NOT act in GOOD FAITH in the city's signing of the HCAs with Berkshire Roots.

Here is Nuciforo's lawsuit:

https://www.cannabisandthelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/10/Berkshire-Roots-Complaint.pdf

Please go to page 8 to see the name under the signature of Berkshire Roots' lawsuit against the City of Pittsfield: Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr.

There are 43 pages of Nuciforo's lawsuit that essentially argues that the "BAD FAITH" actor named Mayor Linda Tyer defrauded him of $440,000 in HCAs fees from Berkshire Roots to the City of Pittsfield.

For Nuciforo to argue in a lawsuit against the city he once represented as a disgraced Massachusetts State Senator from Pittsfield - who never really lived in Pittsfield - that the "BAD FAITH" actor named Mayor Linda Tyer defrauded him of $440,000 in HCAs fees to the city is the height of hypocrisy by Nuciforo.

The Boston Globe has published multiple news stories and editorials about Nuciforo over the years. The Boston Globe reported that from 1999 - 2006, Nuciforo allegedly double dipped as a State Senator, who chaired the Senate Finance Committee in the mid-2000s, while at the same time, he served as an Attorney for the Boston Law Firm Berman and Dowell whereby Nuciforo served as legal counsel for Boston's big banks and insurance companies. In 2006, Nuciforo had to step down from being a State Senator in disgrace over this matter.

Nuciforo's public record was NOT in GOOD FAITH! Nuciforo's double dipping was allegedly illegal. Nuciforo should have been charged over this, but he stepped down in 2006 to cover his behind. Nuciforo should be a Convicted Felon over this matter. Nuciforo should have been disbarred over this matter. Nuciforo's ongoing lawsuit should not even be reality if we lived in a perfect world whereby Nuciforo was held accountable over this matter.

Nuciforo's Pittsfield Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue, as well as his dispensary in East Boston, is CONTROVERSIAL! Nuciforo used his disgraced political connections in Pittsfield and Boston alike to cash in on the multi-billion-dollar predatory pot industry in Massachusetts. There are questions about how Nuciforo's marijuana business always had such deep pockets of money. Where did Nuciforo receive his pot company's investments from? How was he one of the first people to receive permits over other worthy candidates to start marijuana businesses?

Why does the Eagle always give Nuciforo a FREE PASS on all of his corruption in politics, the law, and the marijuana business? For crying out loud, Nuciforo is suing the City of Pittsfield and he is arguing that Mayor Linda Tyer acted in BAD FAITH to defraud him of $440,000 over Berkshire Roots HCAs with the city. For crying out loud, Nuciforo has a long history of acting in BAD FAITH on many levels in Pittsfield and in Boston alike.

When one compares the Eagle's coverage of John Krol's alleged embezzlement of $6,100 to Nuciforo's lawsuit against the city that argues Mayor Linda Tyer acted in BAD FAITH to defraud Berkshire Roots of $440,000 in HCAs fees to the city, one sees the Eagle's double standard of questioning John Krol with mere allegations, while giving Nuciforo a FREE PASS.

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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October 22, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti, and the Honorable Mayor Linda Tyer,

Someone wrote on your blog, Planet Valenti: "Jesus, Jon, do yourself a big favor and let Nuciforo go. The only one you are hurting is yourself."

I wish to thank this person for looking out for me.  However, I have something to say here.

I had breakfast with my 79-year-old dad, Bob, this Sunday morning.  I asked my dad, Bob, if he is surprised that Pittsfield's former disgraced State Senator named Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior is suing the City of Pittsfield and essentially arguing that Mayor Linda Tyer acted in BAD FAITH and that she thereby allegedly defrauded Nuciforo out of $440,000 in the HCAs fees that Nuciforo's Berkshire Roots marijuana company paid the city years ago.  My dad, Bob, said that Nuciforo wants the money.

I also asked my dad, Bob, who is a former Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000) if Nuciforo's lawsuit could backfire on him given all of the corruption and allegedly illegal double dipping Nuciforo was accused of in the mid-2000s when he was the Chair of the Massachusetts State Senate Finance Committee while he also worked for the Boston Law Firm named Berman and Dowell whereby Nuciforo served as legal counsel for Boston's big banks and insurance companies from 1999 - 2006.  Nuciforo was a State Senator from 1997 - 2006, but due to his corruption in state government with Boston's Financial District, Nuciforo had to step down from being a State Senator in disgrace in 2006.  My dad, Bob, said that the city's lawyers can present Nuciforo disgraced political legacy in Massachusetts State Government to the Berkshire Superior Court as part of Nuciforo's character, especially given that Nuciforo's lawsuit against the city is basically arguing that Mayor Linda Tyer's character is one of her NOT acting in GOOD FAITH with Nuciforo's marijuana company named "Berkshire Roots".

To read Nuciforo's lawsuit against the City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, please go this link:

https://www.cannabisandthelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/10/Berkshire-Roots-Complaint.pdf

Given all that I know about how Nuciforo operates in politics, the law, and the lucrative marijuana industry, how could I stay silent and allow Mayor Linda Tyer to be persecuted by Nuciforo?  The other thing is that there are no other lawsuits or formal complaints that I know of that argues that Mayor Linda Tyer acts in BAD FAITH and allegedly DEFRAUDS people or businesses.  I understand that there is another Pittsfield marijuana company suing the city to receive a lesser amount of their HCAs back, but Nuciforo's legal argument targets Mayor Linda Tyer's character.

The hypocrisy by Nuciforo of attacking Mayor Linda Tyer's character is that Nuciforo is the disgraced politician, not Mayor Linda Tyer!

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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October 25, 2023

Downtown Pittsfield has 15 empty storefronts, social services agencies, not-for-profit agencies, banks, law offices, the YMCA, Hotel on North, and it is surrounded by impoverished inner-city distressed neighborhoods.  When I was a young man a few decades ago now, I always feared that I would end up as a low-income man who would be stuck in this shit sandwich in inner-city Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Now that I am 48, I feel very fortunate to live in my condo unit in Amherst, NH, with my (ESA) dog named Chocolate, with my immediate family living near me nowhere near inner-city Pittsfield.

Inner-city Pittsfield is scary.  It is full of poor people who are dependent on the system - an illustration of the underclass in a modern day Charles Dickens novel.  John Krol did NOT nail it with his "Boots on the ground" tagline!  Peter Marchetti didn't hit a home run with his mental health and charity proposals.  

The purpose of state and local government is to INVEST in PEOPLE and COMMUNITIES, as well as to operate an efficient and equitable, effective and accessible, and accountable and responsible system of government.  John Krol and Peter Marchetti should have promised to publicly manage the limited resources of state and local government to make Pittsfield better off than it has been in over 50 years of the city's downward spiral.

When Pittsfield's population and living wage jobs decrease, while its taxes and poverty rate increase over the past 50 years, then the state and local politicians who have failed the people and community for so long need to step down from elected office.  The problem with money and power in government is that the career politicians never give it up because they win, while the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski lose.

Jon Melle

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October 25, 2023

Valid points.  Why would any career politician expect a HAVE NOT such as myself - Jon Melle, who is a native of Pittsfield (Mass.) - to pay the government taxes, fees and the like, if they failed to use my tax dollars to invest in people and communities to make our lives better off than before I paid taxes?

If a career politician(s) only wants my tax dollars without returning the favor of investing in people and communities, then they are no different than a thief in the night who steals my money and other belongings to make money for himself at my expense.

Part of the deal between taxpayers and career politicians managing the government's limited financial resources is that We the People get something beneficial back in return for our money.  ....In a Perfect World, that is....

Jonathan A. Melle

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October 26, 2023

I agree with blogger Dan Valenti about predictable Pittsfield politics' corrupt and secretive municipal financial management that has always increased city spending by 5 percent per fiscal year going back 40 years since Proposition 2.5 became state law in the early-1980's.  Over the past 20 years, state lawmakers have severely cut state aid to local government and public school districts in Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, the fictional Massachusetts State Representative Sellout Shakedown gives away many billions of dollars in state tax breaks to the financial and corporate elites who donate special interest money to the ruling elite's campaign coffers, which means that the greedy lobbyists - such as state pensioner and greedy lobbyist Dan Bosley - and the elites are all enriching themselves at the public trough, while local taxpayers are footing the bill - becoming poorer while the rich get richer off of the ONE (DEMOCRATIC) party state and local government.

If one thinks Pittsfield politics is corrupt and secretive, then they should look at how severely corrupt, secretive and top-down the do-nothing (but DISSERVICES) Beacon Hill lawmakers have been in recent years.

John Krol is playing the outsider card in the current 2023 mayoral race, but the truth is that he is backed by Rolodex (of Naples, Florida and Lenox) and Melissa Mazzeo (of Dalton).  John Krol has failed to have proven himself as an experienced public manager of Pittsfield's over $200 million municipal budget in return for Level 5 public schools, Pittsfield always being in the top 10 cities by population in Massachusetts for violent crime, the 15 empty storefronts on North Street's "Social Services Alley", the 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with its millions of dollars in always increasing unfunded liabilities (debts), and 50 years of population loss, along with 50 years of losses in living wage jobs in Pittsfield - a downward spiral of a shrinking tax base with increasing city spending and public debts.

As for Peter Marchetti, I believe that he hopes to be the next Mayor of Pittsfield for the 6-figure city public pension plus perks, which would be on top of his possible 6-figure pension from the bank he worked at over the past 35 years, which would be on top of his future monthly Social Security check.  Talk about a local politician looking to cash in!

As for Matt Kerwood, if a would-be Mayor John Krol terminates Kufflinks' employment as Pittsfield's Financial Director, Matt Kerwood would then be able to collect a 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life beginning in early-2024.  Matt Kerwood is paid over $114,000 per fiscal year, while Mayor Linda Tyer is paid $115,725 per fiscal year.  In early-2024, Mayor LInda Tyer will begin to collect her 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life, too.  Poor old fictional Mary Jane & Joe Kapanski, who pays taxes and then has to pound sand.

Jon Melle

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October 28, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Please attend the advertised political event in Pittsfield politics on Monday afternoon:

A big event will take place this upcoming on Monday, 10/30/2023, at 1pm, at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield:

https://massculturalcouncil.org/event/cultural-facilities-fund-grant-celebration-in-the-berkshires/

I wonder if John Krol and/or Peter Marchetti will attend....

If Peter Marchetti and/or John Krol attend, you could see them in person prior to or after the aforementioned event.  You could ask them about the "breaking news" that the management of Pittsfield Co-op Bank are being sued in federal court for harassment and discrimination based on gender against former bank employee Victoria May.

All of the Berkshire area elected officials will be at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield on Monday afternoon for you to talk to.

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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October 28, 2023

LITIGIOUS Pittsfield politics:

Mayor Linda Tyer's 3rd husband multimillionaire CPA Barry Clairmont sued and recently settled his lawsuit versus Melissa Mazzeo for $140,000.  He wanted her to publicly apologize to him for saying that he was in the City Clerk's Office close to the voters' ballots close to election day in November 2019, but she refused, so he sued and recently settled with her in 2023.  So much for FREE SPEECH!  Pittsfield politics other name is RETRIBUTION!

Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior's Berkshire Roots is suing the City of Pittsfield for $440,000-plus.  Nuciforo is essentially arguing that Mayor Linda Tyer acted in BAD FAITH with his marijuana company over Berkshire Roots' HCAs payments to the city.  The irony is that Nuciforo is the DISGRACED former FRINGE politician turned Pittsfield Pot King, NOT Mayor Linda Tyer.  Nuciforo's long disgraced public record may be used against him in the legal proceedings at the Berkshire Superior Court, which would lead to him losing his lawsuit against the City of Pittsfield.

Please click on the link and go to page 8:

https://www.cannabisandthelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/10/Berkshire-Roots-Complaint.pdf

John Krol said he may sue the named and unnamed people who accused him of embezzlement from years ago.  John Krol said it was a political hit job by the Berkshire Eagle newspaper.  John Krol was never afforded his day in court by his accusers.  What do his accusers have to hide here?  We will never know, of course.  It is too easy to point the finger against John Krol without his accusers having to face due process of law whereby they would be questioned under oath, too.  It is a one-sided mudslinging attack meant to bias Pittsfield voters against John Krol's candidacy for Mayor in 2023.

Peter Marchetti is being sued as part of the management team at Pittsfield Co-op Bank in Federal Court for allegedly harassing and discriminating against former bank employee Victoria May.  Peter Marchetti allegedly verbally abused the former female bank employee by allegedly calling her "a bitch", among other allegations.  If a would-be Mayor Peter Marchetti acts similarly in City Hall, then city taxpayers will pay for his alleged temper tantrums in would-be future lawsuits.

Jon Melle

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October 29, 2023

Pittsfield politics' Mayors: (the late) "Bar-stool", "Aberration/Schoolmarm", "Rolodex", "Montello", "Gated Community".

Pittsfield's next would-be Mayor: "The Gavel" or "The Embezzler" - both of whom could end up behind bars, but are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Pittsfield's public school district: Level 5 - the WORST rating!

Pittsfield's downtown: "Social Services Alley" with 15 empty storefronts.

Pittsfield's inner-city: "The Ring of Poverty" with over 1,000 gang members living there.

Pittsfield's daily rag: "The Dirty Bird" (Berkshire Eagle)'s political hit jobs based on allegations without formal legal complaints.

Pittsfield's Lucifer: "Pittsfield's Pot King: Luciforo"- the disgraced former fringe politician who is suing the city; Please click on the link and go to page 8:

https://www.cannabisandthelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/10/Berkshire-Roots-Complaint.pdf

Pittsfield's State Rep.: "Illegal Immigrants - Happy Endings - Country Buffet" who sent her own children to the Lenox public school district.

Pittsfield's State Senator: Paul Marxism who is Karen Spilka's favorite rubber stamp vote.

Pittsfield's Congressman: PAC Man Richie Neal who is the darling of K Street corporate lobbyist firms, especially insurance companies.

Pittsfield's business park: The 25-year-old indebted and polluted PEDA debacle that is symbolized by an old bar-stool and a rusted out rolodex found at the rock bottom of Silver Lake.

Pittsfield's economic growth: The underclass, teen mothers, welfare caseloads....

Pittsfield's business model: A shrinking tax base with record breaking city budgets....in return for "a shit sandwich".

Sarcasm: Pittsfield is really attracting Fortune 500 companies, small business investments, middle-class families, and its so-called "Renaissance" that rivals Paris, London, NYC, and L.A. because after all it is "Brooklyn in the Berkshires"!

Jon Melle

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October 29, 2023

Please read the lawsuit against Pittsfield Co-op Bank due to Peter Marchetti's alleged actions against Victoria May.

https://planetvalenti.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/May_v_Pittsfield_Cooperative_Bank_et__madce-23-30091__0001.0.pdf

Thank you.

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October 30, 2023

I sent Governor Maura Healey the following web-form, below, email via:

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office

Please feel free to let her know about Peter Marchetti's alleged "bad boy behavior"!  She endorsed Peter Marchetti for Mayor of Pittsfield politics.  She might want to reconsider it considering the federal lawsuit against Pittsfield Co-op Bank.

Jon Melle

Please read the lawsuit against Pittsfield Co-op Bank due to Peter Marchetti's alleged actions against Victoria May.

https://planetvalenti.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/May_v_Pittsfield_Cooperative_Bank_et__madce-23-30091__0001.0.pdf

Thank you.

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October 30, 2023

Peter Marchetti disputes Victoria May's legal accusations against him:

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-10-30/pittsfield-mayoral-candidate-city-council-president-marchetti-named-in-sexual-discrimination-hostile-work-environment-suit-against-bank

"Marchetti told WAMC he cannot comment on pending litigation other than to say he disputes many of the allegations."

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Letter: "Marchetti is the honest, competent choice for mayor"

The Berkshire Eagle, October 31, 2023

To the editor: Character still matters.

A mayor should be a person of solid character, an example for young citizens and a person taxpayers can trust. A mayor should have a successful work history, a demonstrated ability and propensity to work diligently year in and year out. A mayor should have a selfless approach to public service, with an ability to withstand the significant pressures of special interests. A mayor should be honest and above temptation of using the office for self-enrichment. A mayor should be able to empathize with the citizens of their community as they meet the challenges of everyday life.

A city’s chief executive should be competent to do the job, which includes developing and managing a $200 million budget and supervising a significant municipal workforce. A mayor should have the vision to see how education, public safety and economic development fit together to advance the community and serve the citizenry.

Peter Marchetti has been a steady, significant contributor as an executive of one of our valued community financial institutions for more than 30 years. Pete has given selflessly on boards and commissions. Shortly after becoming mayor, I was proud to appoint Peter to the charter commission. He has given hundreds of hours of planning and work so that the people of Pittsfield can enjoy one of the best Independence Day celebrations in America. Pete has donated many years to give young people in our community a wholesome recreational outlet through a long lasting bowling program. Peter Marchetti’s commitment to our community and his significant and relevant career makes him the overwhelmingly best choice to become Pittsfield’s next mayor.

I respectfully urge the voters of Pittsfield to support an honest, competent and proven dedicated public servant who we can entrust with the office of mayor. Please join me in voting for Pete Marchetti on election day.

Dan Bianchi, Pittsfield

The writer is a former mayor of Pittsfield.

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November 1, 2023

The Gavel versus The Embezzler in Pittsfield politics' 2023 mayoral election.

The Gavel is INNOCENT until proven guilty in a court of law.  The Gavel faces serious workplace violations complaints by Victoria May, which The Gavel said he disputes.

The Embezzler never faced any formal legal complaints by his accuser(s).  The Embezzler said he plans to sue the named and unnamed accusers in the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle)'s news stories and editorials that allege that he embezzled thousands of dollars from a not-for-profit animal shelter charitable account to pay his personal credit card and small business bills.  The Embezzler is also INNOCENT until proven guilty in a court of law.

The Gavel was endorsed by Mayor Linda Tyer, former Mayor Dan Bianchi, and Governor Maura Healey.  How do these two women and one man politicians feel about The Gavel allegedly calling his women bank employees: BITCH?

The Embezzler is endorsed by former Mayor Jimmy Ruberto, who he once worked for in Pittsfield's City Hall many years ago.  The Embezzler is giving The Gavel a good run for his money in next week's municipal election.

Jon Melle

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Bill Everhart: "North Street's promise and problems loom large amid decisive Pittsfield election cycle"

By Bill Everhart, op-ed, The Berkshire Eagle, October 31, 2023

What’s to be done about North Street? It’s a question that has been asked since at least the turn of the 21st century and is being asked again this election season.

In its glory days, it defined Pittsfield and attracted visitors from all over the county, especially during the legendarily bustling Thursday nights when the street took on the look of a mini Fifth Avenue.

A recent walk north on North Street from Hot Harry’s to Carr Hardware and back down the other side of the street reveals that North Street has much to like. There’s just not enough of it, and the “empty teeth,” as Hotel on North co-owner Laurie Tierney refers to the forlorn stores that once housed thriving businesses, drag down the whole street, aesthetically and economically.

Plenty to eat

Hot Harry’s, the Marketplace Cafe and the Beacon Cinema create a bustling little stretch that provides a hint of what “upstreet” in its entirety would look like ideally. Foot traffic becomes more sparse going north, but an impressive collection of eateries provide life along both sides of the street.

The venerable Soda Chef soldiers on although in a different spot from where it began. Dottie’s Coffee bustles with customers and Lulu’s Breakfast and Lunch, Empire Pizza, and the Spot are among the other places that bring customers to the street. What’s sorely missed, however, is the Lantern Bar & Grill, a defining eatery for decades at the corner of North and Linden.

The street contains a striking number of ethnic restaurants and marketplaces. There are venerable establishments like the House of India and Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant and relative newcomers like the Placita Latina Restaurant and Market, Brazilian restaurant Espetinho Carioca and the Berkshire International Market. The influx of immigrants to Pittsfield and Berkshire County gives these establishments a base, but they might need to bring in the Irish and Italian locals to thrive.

The street also has a boutique hotel in Hotel on North, which is a little ways up from the eyesore that is the former Jim’s House of Shoes. Laurie Tierney believes the street has been neglected by the city and recently hosted a mayoral candidate’s forum on the street’s issues. Hotel on North and its enjoining restaurant Berkshire Palate are as important as the Beacon to the street’s welfare.

Downtown Great Barrington is what downtown Pittsfield once was, and while there are many reasons why, the most obvious one is that Great Barrington’s main drag just looks nicer. So let’s give props to Hotel on North, the Shipton Building, Clark Vintage Lighting and the always immaculate grounds of St. Joseph’s Church for elevating North Street’s appearance.

The street hosts a variety of social service and government agencies, all of which provide important services and none of which add much in the way of foot traffic and aesthetics. The Ralph J. Froio Senior Center serves a major city demographic, and housed as it is in the former Capitol Theater, the center also provides a bittersweet reminder of when downtown was dotted with movie houses.

Barrington Stage’s Wolfson Center is a welcome addition to the street and highlights the importance of the side streets, like those that are home to the Barrington Stage theaters. The side streets could use more places like Hot Plate Brewing Company on oft-forgotten School Street.

Plenty to improve

North Street has bike paths that take up a disproportionate amount of the street. During a recent two-hour stroll of the street, I saw two bike riders, one of whom was a police officer.

North Street also has panhandlers, as does much of downtown. They’re a distraction and a bother and it seems apparent they are organized and work in shifts. As they in essence constitute a small business, maybe they can be regulated and in that way encouraged to take their business elsewhere, but the panhandlers aren’t committing a crime, which reduces the city’s options.

Last year while parked on North Street and texting, I was approached by a young guy who asked if he could “borrow” my phone to make a call. The same thing happened a couple of months later in the parking lot off McKay Street. Not wanting to risk seeing my phone walk away, I declined.

As a native of Pittsfield, those incidents didn’t bother me much, but if I were an out-of-towner dining at Trattoria Rustica or seeing a play at Barrington Stage, would I have been rattled enough to decide not to come to downtown Pittsfield again? Maybe, but what do you do about it? It’s no more a crime to ask to borrow a cellphone than it is to ask for money at a stoplight.

Downtown has a crime problem, but it also has a problem with nuisances that feel like crimes but are not. North Street faces real problems and problems of perception. It is a tough combination for a street that has seen better days and desperately wants to believe that better days are to come.

Bill Everhart, a former Eagle editorial page editor, is an occasional Eagle contributor who writes about Pittsfield issues and politics.

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Letter: "Why I'm running for Ward 6 City Council seat"

The Berkshire Eagle, November 1, 2023

To the editor: We only have a few days before we head to the polls to vote.

I am running for Ward 6 city councilor in the hopes of bringing much needed technical and scientific support to the City Council.

For many years, I have been saying that the technology installed at the city's wastewater treatment plant was the wrong type of technology to reduce phosphorus from the plants effluent into the Housatonic River. It is now a fact that the type of technology chosen has failed to reduce the phosphorus. I have asked and successfully submitted to the City Council a petition asking that the city's public utilities director Ricardo Morales and the city's consultants AECOM and Klienfelder appear before the City Council on Nov. 14 for the purpose of telling us what is going on at the sewage treatment plant. We have been charged $74 million for this pink elephant project, and I am now pressing the city to review the performance guarantees supplied to the plant for problems such as these.

The mere fact that the plant can't eradicate the phosphorus means the consultants are on the hook to either fix the problem or reimburse the city for the $74 million. This is a very serious breach, and we are due answers from the parties who miscalculated the capability of the chosen technology. Also these same consultants have suggested that $84 million be spent to update the city's two drinking water plants, which employ Krofta sand float clarifiers invented designed and built by me and my two colleagues Milos Krofta and Lawrence K. Wang. Our units have operated continuously for 40 years and need no updating.

I am working on killing these updates, and this will yield a savings of $84 million to the city's tax- and ratepayers. Combined for both projects, the savings to the rate payers will be $158 million. Does this scenario sound unattainable? Well just remember I did factually save the city $115 million dollars in the 1980s.

I can do it again. I ask for your vote on Nov. 7.

Craig Gaetani, Pittsfield

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Letter: "Having worked with both Pittsfield mayoral candidates, Marchetti is the only qualified choice"

The Berkshire Eagle, November 1, 2023

To the editor: I have had the opportunity to work closely with both Pittsfield mayoral candidates.

I'm not surprised to learn of John's mishandling of a nonprofit's funds. ("Former president of Animal Dreams says John Krol 'stole' $6,800 from nonprofit; Krol says it's a banking 'mistake,'" Eagle, Sept. 20.)

I also am not surprised by his excuses for this untenable behavior. As an aide to former Mayor James Ruberto, John consistently tried to use his position to benefit himself. In spite of statements implying otherwise, John never led a department, managed staff or even a dollar of city funds. His private sector experience is sketchy at best. He has no experience that qualifies him to be mayor.

Peter Marchetti is an honest, talented professional committed to his community. He led the City Council through challenging times. He worked hard and rose through the ranks of a local financial institution to become a respected senior vice president. He has been an active volunteer in our community for decades. On the Parade Committee, he consistently works hard to include everyone and produce the best parade for our community every year. He has proven himself qualified to be mayor.

As a longtime resident of Pittsfield and former department head for the city, I ask you to vote for the only qualified candidate for mayor, Peter Marchetti.

Deanna Ruffer, Chatham

The writer is a former Pittsfield resident and was a Pittsfield city employee from 2004 to 2012 and from 2017 to 2023.

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November 1, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

As I recall, Deanna Ruffer was hired by then Mayor Jimmy Ruberto to lead the city's economic development office a little less than 20 years ago.  Given the 2-decade time frame, we can clearly see that her work mostly failed Pittsfield's postindustrial post-GE distressed economy.  Deanna Ruffer also administered the city's over $41 million in "Biden Bucks", which was handled secretly by the Mayor Linda Tyer administration.  Deanna Ruffer is a city public pensioner plus perks that will cost city taxpayers a lot of money over the course of her golden years.

Deanna Ruffer's letter criticizing John Krol begs the question as to why she did not speak out many years ago that "John [Krol] consistently tried to use his position to benefit himself."  O.K., Deanna, if true, please illustrate how John Krol abused his clerical position under Mayor Jimmy Ruberto, pretty please!  What did you see back then, Deanna Ruffer?  Why didn't you do anything about it back then, Deanna Ruffer?

Peter Marchetti allegedly calls the woman bank employees: "BITCH".  Peter Marchetti is facing serious workplace violations by former bank employee Victoria May in federal court.  John Krol never faced any criminal charges in his life.  John Krol is the target of one-side, half-truth allegations by named and unnamed people in the Berkshire Eagle's news articles and editorials.  That is a very big distinction, Deanna Ruffer!

If John Krol is elected Mayor of Pittsfield, and he audits the ARPA funds you, Deanna Ruffer, administered in secrecy under Mayor Linda Tyer, and he finds wrongdoing, will you be charged?  Is that what you are really afraid of here, Deanna Ruffer?

You were a failure in Pittsfield politics, Deanna Ruffer!  North Street has 15 empty storefronts.  The 25-year-old indebted and polluted PEDA debacle is a worse symbol than former Pittsfield Mayor Jimmy Ruberto's "Rolodex".  Pittsfield's public schools are rated Level 5 - the WORST rating.  Pittsfield always ranks in the top 10 cities by population in Massachusetts for VIOLENT CRIME.  That is your "economic development" legacy over the past less than 20 years in Pittsfield, Deanna Ruffer.

Jon Melle

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"In final debate, mayoral candidates Peter Marchetti and John Krol trade hits on campaign controversies"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, November 1, 2023

PITTSFIELD — In the final debate of the Pittsfield mayoral campaign, Peter Marchetti and John Krol used their opening statements to trade jabs over allegations facing their opponent rather than the number of issues facing the city.

On Wednesday night, Krol, Marchetti and a loyal contingent of both candidates’ supporters gathered at Berkshire Community College for a debate co-hosted by Pittsfield Community Television and iBerkshires.com.

Krol led the event with an opening statement that called on voters to select a candidate who would “empower” the staff working with them and leaned into recent news that Marchetti had been named as one of four defendants in a workplace sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit.

“A mayor needs to show respect for the people he or she works with — colleagues, staff, every person — no matter their gender or no matter their role,” Krol said.

“We talked about experience and no matter what that experience is, we have to look at the nature of it, we have to look at the character of it,” Krol continued. “If it doesn’t have respect and it doesn’t have equitable actions and fairness, then we have to have a change.”

Krol claimed the lawsuit was proof of how Marchetti treats coworkers “behind closed doors.”

Marchetti is a 35-year employee of the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. He served as the senior vice president of retail banking and operations until September when he began a temporary leave of absence from the bank to run his mayoral campaign.

A lawsuit filed by the bank’s former vice president of marketing was served to the bank, Marchetti and two other top male executives on Oct. 18.

Marchetti and his employers have resoundingly disputed that any wrongdoing took place. Pittsfield Cooperative Bank issued a statement to local media stating that while the female employee had issued a harassment complaint against Marchetti, the complaint had been investigated by an outside investigator who determined the claim was unfounded.

Marchetti used his own opening statement to address the suit. He read in part from a statement he said was from his employer that said “the investigator concluded that Mr. Marchetti did not violate the bank’s anti-harassment and discrimination policy, nor did he violate any laws, including sexual harassment laws.”

Marchetti said that because the lawsuit was ongoing — the defendants have until Nov. 8 to submit their response to the complaint in federal court in Springfield — he was limited in what he could say. He did emphasize his belief in the importance of anti-harassment policies and his support of the city’s diversity, equity and inclusion office.

“As a gay man myself, I understand the importance of a fair, respectful and harassment-free culture,” Marchetti said. “I have and will continue to support a safe and non-hostile work environment, a culture that is accepting of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age and disability.

“I will stand up for fairness of women and anti-harassment and discrimination policies in the workplace,” he added.

Moderator and iBerkshires executive editor Tammy Daniels then asked Krol if he would like to address any "controversy" in his campaign.

In mid-September, the former president of Animal Dreams, a local feline rescue nonprofit, came to The Berkshire Eagle with allegations that Krol had embezzled funds from the nonprofit’s bank account. Krol had served on the board of the nonprofit.

Records provided by both the nonprofit head and Krol show that Krol used the account to pay off a credit card connected with his marketing business, OneEighty Media. Krol claimed the payments were made by “mistake” because he had been sent the incorrect account number by Greylock Federal Credit Union, the bank for both the nonprofit and his business account.

Krol paid back the nonprofit the total of the misused funds — more than $6,800 — primarily with a secret check from the then-husband of the nonprofit president, Allen Harris.

The records Krol provided to The Eagle also revealed that Krol attempted to use the account to pay four years of state corporate tax with the nonprofit’s funds.

Krol said at the debate that “I have brought all the evidence forward and I have been open and honest,” in reference to meeting for an interview on the subject with The Eagle.

“Let me be very clear, a mayor needs to not hide behind attorneys,” Krol said. “They have to be able to come out and be able to be open and honest with the evidence.”

Krol has not provided The Eagle with accounting records that the paper has sought from Krol’s former accountant to verify his claim that his state corporate taxes were later paid from his own account. Krol copied his attorney in an email to an Eagle reporter denying access to interview that source.

Marchetti issued his own salvo at Krol in his response to Krol’s statements, claiming his former city council colleague had violated state ethics laws by accepting the $6,800 “donation” from Harris. Krol never paid Harris back that money.

State law, generally, prohibits elected officials or public employees from accepting gifts or donations valued over $50. While there are some exemptions to those laws, officials are often required to file a disclosure statement as part of the exemption.

Krol claimed his opponent had “lost [his] cool” in recent debates and that Marchetti’s “temperament” would be a potential issue if he was elected.

In a final retort before conversation turned to the issues facing voters, Marchetti said “there’s a difference between losing your cool and standing up for yourself.”

The debate served as the last public meeting between the candidates before voters make their choice in the municipal races on Election Day, Nov. 7.

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Letter: "As a Krol supporter, I want to city Pittsfield turn out for change"

The Berkshire Eagle, November 2, 2023

To the editor: As one of the few young persons in Pittsfield outwardly supporting a mayoral candidate (John Krol), I am calling on everyone to vote.

The election on Nov. 7 comes at a time where we need real change brought to this city.

Born and raised in Pittsfield I have watched our city blame its decline in population, loss of business, and decline in academic performance on General Electric and Sabic leaving, not getting a downtown mall, nobody wanting to teach, etc. The buck must stop right here, right now. It’s time for real change.

I can count on one hand the exciting activities added to Pittsfield over the past decade and have watched countless businesses come and go. We need to do better or more and more people my age will leave Pittsfield.

As the child and grandchild of lifelong teachers in Pittsfield and a current coach at Pittsfield High School, I can tell you firsthand our schools need real change. Our teachers and students need help. We must do better to set these students up for success.

I have faith that this city can once again be the shining light of Berkshire County and beyond, and I know John Krol can help change Pittsfield for the better.

I ask you all to please join me in voting for John Krol for mayor. This is a pivotal time in this city’s history. Let’s revitalize this community.

Aaron Weeks, Pittsfield

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Our Opinion: "Peter Marchetti for Pittsfield mayor"

The Berkshire Eagle, November 3, 2023

When considering who will lead Pittsfield from the mayor’s office for the next four years, voters should consider public service experience, leadership style and personal integrity. The Eagle editorial board feels that Peter Marchetti is the obvious choice across all three of those domains in a heated mayoral race that will conclude Tuesday.

Mr. Marchetti is a longtime productive and orderly presence on the City Council who has led the council as president for the last eight years. His opponent, John Krol, is a former council colleague who served alongside Mr. Marchetti as the council’s vice president and a representative of Ward 6. Both have considerable community connections and public service records in Pittsfield. Those records warrant careful examination and comparison, especially given the fact that the two mayoral hopefuls align on many general policy priorities, from economic development goals and easing the city’s housing crunch to boosting North Street’s potential and mitigating public safety concerns.

As neither candidate is an incumbent, this campaign has featured repeated diagnoses of the city’s biggest problems with promises and policies addressed at correcting the mistakes or building on the progress of past administrations. To us, the key distinction is that Mr. Marchetti can point to a record of not just flagging issues in front of the cameras and microphones but putting his head down and doing the work to solve them.

It’s likely that the city’s celebrated Fourth of July Parade, for example, would not be what it is today and might not exist at all if Mr. Marchetti didn’t put his managerial and organization skills to work when the city needed them.

When the City Council has been sidetracked or derailed by personal disagreements and unproductive antics, Mr. Marchetti has been a stabilizing force as president, putting the city’s priorities over personality. After two other councilors’ bumbling and ill-timed charter objections undermined the council’s ability to weigh in on the city’s budget last year, Mr. Marchetti worked diligently with the mayor’s office to ensure council priorities still made it into the annual spending plan.

Meanwhile, his deep experience in the financial world from decades with Pittsfield Cooperative Bank gives him the skillset needed to manage a city with unique fiscal challenges and a hunger for growth and business investment. And since any Pittsfield mayor will have to collaborate with state and regional partners on the most stubborn systemic issues, endorsements and praise for Mr. Marchetti matter when they come from figures like state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, who represents Pittsfield in the state House, and Gov. Maura Healey.

Now compare Mr. Marchetti’s record of walking the walk with his opponent’s demonstrated ability to talk the talk. Mr. Krol is a gifted, trained political communicator. He pronounces many priorities we care about, from courting business investment to increasing economic activity and safety on North Street. But the record and substance isn’t there, and the mayor’s office needs more than a sloganeer.

When Mr. Krol speaks of “boots on the ground” regarding his proposal to increase downtown police presence, there is not only a lack of explanation as to how this snappy sounding policy addressed the deeper social issues plaguing some Pittsfield neighborhoods. There’s also an unanswered question of how a Krol administration would pay for it when Pittsfield Police Department budget constraints would complicate such a plan.

In calling for transparency — a value we believe in that Mr. Krol has failed to exemplify in his own campaign — Mr. Krol has made his pitch for an “internal auditor” a key plank in his platform. Yet in doing so, he either misconstrues or misunderstands what an auditor’s role is, suggesting that a Krol administration would allow an auditor to affect budgetary or spending decisions. Like any mayoral administration, Mr. Krol’s could choose his finance director, although conflating that role with an auditor’s suggests an unfamiliarity with financial basics that should be concerning for someone running to be chief executive of a city with a $200 million budget.

Stacey Carver came forward to The Eagle this week with documentation — text messages, bank statements, email exchanges — that show five separate transfers from the Animal Dreams bank account into Krol’s American Express account. The withdrawals, ranging from $209 to $3,000, were made over the span of five months.

This only adds to the concerns raised by the revelations that Mr. Krol directed at least nine payments from a nonprofit whose account he was overseeing to his credit card and business tax bills over the course of three years. Animal Dreams executive director Stacey Carver spoke up about the years-long issue when she realized Mr. Krol might become mayor. Mr. Krol blamed the bank for giving him an incorrect “router number” (presumably referring to a bank’s routing number), Ms. Carver for raising the issue and The Eagle for reporting on it. Essentially, Mr. Krol blamed everyone but himself, and he failed to live up to his campaign’s repeated mantra of “transparency” by blocking The Eagle from trying to obtain evidence that could have corroborated some or all of his side of the story. Instead, he refused to discuss the issue with us further. Mr. Krol denies that he has a problem here and that it should even be an issue. But it is extremely serious, and it would loom over a Krol administration.

Months after that scandal rocked Mr. Krol’s campaign, another scandal has rocked Marchetti’s in the final stretch of this race. This week, it was revealed that a former Pittsfield Cooperative Bank employee had filed a harassment lawsuit against the bank, naming three of its executives as defendants — including Mr. Marchetti. Mr. Marchetti disputes the allegations, as does the bank, which claims that it had responded to an internal complaint from the suit’s plaintiff earlier this year by hiring an “outside investigator” who concluded that the complaints against Mr. Marchetti and others were “unsubstantiated.” Follow-up Eagle reporting revealed that one of the few specific factual allegations in the complaint — that another woman who worked at the bank allegedly was forced to leave due to a hostile work environment — was directly contradicted by the woman in question.

If the allegations in this lawsuit are true, they would be deeply concerning, regardless of Mr. Marchetti’s political ambitions. “If” is the key word, though, and we don’t have the information to adjudicate the suit’s charges. We would caution those who are tempted to equate the mayoral candidates’ respective scandals that one of them is a lawsuit whose claims require as-yet provided substantiation, while the other is an incidence of repeated, long-term financial mismanagement whose ground facts — that Mr. Krol repeatedly misused a nonprofit’s finances to the benefit of his personal accounts — are not in dispute.

By our lights, city voters face a choice of empty style versus proven substance in hiring the city’s next mayor. Addressing Pittsfield’s problems and multiplying its strengths are not superficial concerns, and so we urge voters to back the candidate with a proven track record and the most substantive platform.

The Eagle endorses Peter Marchetti for mayor of Pittsfield.

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Letter: "Krol would bring needed transparency to Pittsfield mayor's office"

The Berkshire Eagle, November 3, 2023

To the editor: It is so puzzling to me that an alleged banking error resolved years ago has received so much coverage in The Eagle. ("Former president of Animal Dreams says John Krol 'stole' $6,800 from nonprofit; Krol says it's a banking 'mistake,'" Eagle, Sept. 20.)

And yet $255,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act money is overreported by the city and subject of a special meeting of the council, but hardly a word is heard. ("An audit of Pittsfield's ARPA funds revealed a 'significant deficiency' in its reporting. Here's what city leaders said about the report," Eagle, Oct. 19.) Where is the in-depth article with graphs and flow charts for the "significant deficiencies"?

I’ve known John Krol personally for more than 25 years. I’ve witnessed his commitment to this community ever since he was young man. I remember when he volunteered his time to coach CYC basketball, he was a coach for the Pittsfield High School track and cross-country teams and the countless hours he volunteered toward Good Morning Pittsfield radio show, conducting interviews every weekday morning for a dozen years. Now that he has children of his own, he still enjoys volunteering his time coaching his sons’ baseball teams.

I’ve seen him grow in city government, starting with a job in the mayor's office, ward councilor for a decade, and serving on countless committees and boards. He truly knows the ins and outs of how city government works, and he has been successful at working with others to make wonderful advancements in Pittsfield already from things like the Colonial Theater, The Barrington Stage Co., the new Taconic High School, Third Thursdays, First Fridays Arts Walk and more.

John plans to bring a fresh change to the city with the transparency in the mayor’s office that we need. He is hard-working, dedicated to all that he does and is an amazing father.

He truly cares about the people of Pittsfield and truly loves the city and will be the one that can help guide it to its fullest potential.

I hope you will join me in voting for John Krol on Nov. 7.

Joseph E. Burke, Pittsfield

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Letter: "John Krol offers true leadership and real change"

The Berkshire Eagle, November 3, 2023

To the editor: Pittsfield has a critical choice to make Nov. 7 and our city can go in one of two very different directions.

We can continue on a path of general decline and apathy, or we turn in a new direction to re-energize our city. John Krol is the candidate who can make that happen.

During my tenure as Pittsfield’s mayor, John was a key member of our city’s leadership team that transformed the attitude and adopted policy changes that led to a revitalization of our downtown and so much more. He is truly a team player. During his time in my office, John demonstrated and practiced his firmly held belief that respecting his colleagues was key to focusing on results through open, honest and direct communication.

Let me emphasize that John’s idea of effective communication begins with listening so he can fully understand others’ viewpoints as part of his decision-making process. And when faced with controversial or challenging issues, I observed his ability to stay balanced and act in a cool and collected manner before making a decision. To be very clear, this behavior is an essential trait for a mayor to be successful. A respectful and professional approach sets the foundation for getting the very best out of city employees and, by extension, our residents and the wider community.

In addition, John believes that great leadership is about sharing a vision that is so powerful that others cannot help but adopt it as their own. That’s where the magic happens and transformation becomes a reality. And sharing vision requires speaking the truth, which includes both the path to be followed as well as the obstacles that must be overcome to realize a positive result.

To conclude, John truly has the vision, compassion, temperament, tenacity and courage to make the changes necessary to revitalize our city yet again. It takes guts and passion to be a great mayor of Pittsfield, and John has got all of that and more. In this election cycle, he has more than proven that he can take more than a few punches, stand tall, be professional and continue to do the right thing.

Today, we are at a true crossroads in the city of Pittsfield. We cannot afford to continue down the current path. John knows what it takes to turn it around. He is absolutely the man for this job. Pittsfield would be proud, as would I, to call John Krol our mayor.

James M. Ruberto, Lenox

The writer is a former mayor of Pittsfield.

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November 5, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Things got UGLY - even F*ugly - in Pittsfield politics in 2023.  The Berkshire Eagle lived up to its yellow rag status by dropping a half-truth filled bombshell on John Krol, who was never charged with a crime in his life.  Peter Marchetti plays the sweetheart gay man card, but the sex discrimination hostile workplace violations complaints in Federal Court, along with the named and unnamed people alleging John Krol is an EMBEZZLER, showed his dark side.  If a would-be Mayor Peter Marchetti calls women city employees "BITCH", then it will be the taxpayers will be paying for his temper tantrums.  I cannot endorse either John Krol or Peter Marchetti for Mayor of Pittsfield politics.  It is "A Tale of Two Weasels"!

Every citywide election going back decades is always decided by Ward 4, which is Pittsfield's wealthiest Ward.  Ward 3 is also a solid voting block.  The other 5 city Wards focus more on their respective City Councilors' elections.  There are usually one or two dissenting voices and votes on the City Council, but the fix is always in.

The Pittsfield School Committee is Exhibit A in FAILURE!  They oversee Level 5 public schools - the WORST rating - and they see over 650 students per academic school year choice out to neighboring public school districts.  They charge taxpayers top dollar - well over $100 million per fiscal year by some estimates - in return for rock bottom results.  They choose insider-only public school district administrators who go along with the Mayor and School Committee members instead of improving the academic performance of the public school system.

I disliked Josh Landes of WAMC's radio news hit piece on Alex Blumin.  He portrayed Alex Blumin as an intimidating and threatening person in Pittsfield politics.  Unlike Peter Marchetti allegedly calling bank employees: "BITCH", I haven't heard of Alex Blumin calling city employees: "BITCH".  Alex Blumin is eccentric and passionate about municipal government matters.  He is a conservative voice in a liberal city and state.  A while back, Josh Landes of WAMC also unfavorably covered Charles Ivar Kronick.  All three good men are Jewish.

Jimmy Ruberto's letter endorsing John Krol for Mayor seemed to call out Mayor Linda Tyer for leading the city in the wrong direction, but claiming that a would-be John Krol could right the ship like he did in the mid-2000s.  Jimmy Ruberto was a failure as Mayor of Pittsfield, but to be fair the 2008 economic recession was the worst downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s.  After Jimmy Ruberto's 8 years as Mayor of Pittsfield, it is clear that he did not deliver on most of his campaign promises.  Jimmy Ruberto was a Linda Tyer for Mayor supporter in 2015 and 2019.  I wonder what happened between them over the past couple of years.  Jimmy Ruberto signs his letters from Lenox (Mass.) and Naples, Florida, NOT from Pittsfield!

Lastly, the real winners in Pittsfield politics will be Mayor Linda Tyer and Matt Kerwood after they both retire in early-January 2024 and then collect their 6-figure city public pensions plus perks for life.  Sarcasm: Congratulations to those two weasels for cashing in!

Jon Melle

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November 7, 2023

Let us hope that Mayor Peter Marchetti is able to get through his 4-year term as the next Mayor of Pittsfield politics without anymore controversy so that he will retire with the coveted 6-figure mayoral city public pension plus perks for life, which will be on top of his 35 years bank pension, plus his future monthly Social Security checks.  This man will hit the lottery in his Golden Years!

Jonathan A. Melle

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November 7, 2023

I never rejected the Founding Fathers.  What I write about them is that while they fought and wrote for Classical Liberalism, most of them owned Slaves.  Our country is very different from the 18th Century when the Founding Fathers led the birth of the new nation founded on both the Rule of Law with most of the Original Rulers owning Slaves.  It was, is and always be a stain on the United States of America.

When the British King George III ruled over Colonial America, the British-American subjects of the United Kingdom paid only 2 weeks of their yearly incomes in taxes to the Crown.  Well, in 2023, it is many months of our incomes to local, state and the federal government.  What happened to the question: Are you better off in 2023 than you were in 1775?  The answer is not when it comes the modern bureaucratic U.S. tax code.

The Founding Fathers blamed British Colonialism for Slavery in America.  When the Revolutionary War was over, they kept the Slave system in place until they were long gone and it was abolished shortly after the U.S. Civil War.  They also signed treaties with the Native Americans, but then they stole their tribal lands anyway.

In the 1920's, the country other than Germany that Adolf Hitler wrote most favorably about was the U.S.A. because of the U.S.'s racist and anti-Semitic immigration laws, Jim Crow laws, the disenfranchisement and marginalization of Native American Tribes, the segregated U.S. Armed Forces that won World War One, the wealth and industrialization of the U.S.A., the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the practice of racist and anti-Semitic eugenic laws in the U.S.A.  Adolf Hitler modeled some of  Nazi Germany after 1920's America.  The Nazi regime in the 1930's defended its racist and antisemitic laws by citing U.S. racist and anti-Semitic laws.

Over the past 50 years, the U.S. Have-Nots have received a pay raise of one dime per week per year, or one dollar per weeks per decade, or five dollars per week per one-half century.  Over the past one-half century, most of the national income gains have gone to the top one percent of U.S. households and big businesses.  The U.S.' number one non-farm export to the world are arms sales.  Joe Biden has surpassed Donald Trump in arms sales, as well as arms sales exports to authoritarian regimes around the world.

The number one cause of greenhouse gas global warming emissions are the military industrial complexes of the U.S.A. and China.  Combined, the U.S.A. and China account for a little less than one-half of global warming pollution because they have the world's largest military industrial complexes.  Joe Biden has signed the single largest defense budget in U.S. history at a little less than one trillion dollars.

This is the same Joe Biden that named billionaire John Forbes Kerry as the nation's first ever climate envoy.  This is the same Joe Biden that has killed domestic energy production and many thousands of domestic energy-jobs in the name of the Green New Deal.

Thankfully, the military is defending our country.  I am a 100 percent service-connected disabled Veteran who served our country honorably in the U.S. Army.  I love our country - the U.S.A. - but I fear the government from my native hometown of Pittsfield (Mass.) to the corrupt career politicians in Boston, which I am only a one hour (one-way) commute from in Amherst, NH, to the multimillionaires and billionaires in the U.S. Congress in the Swamp.

Putting it all together, Joe Biden raises more money from Wall Street and K Street than any other politician in U.S. history.  The Swamp's military industrial complex, recurrent military conflicts and proxy wars, arms sales exports and the Pentagon makes Wall Street trillions upon trillions of dollars in profits; the Green New Deal is to the Founding Fathers' Classical Liberalism as Global Warming greenhouse gas emissions are to most of the Founding Fathers' owning Slaves; and, the U.S.A.'s history of racism, antisemitism, and economic inequality are still fueling social conflict, while the Have-Nots are struggling to earn that paltry $5 per week pay raise in 50 years time, while the top one percent are receiving most of the income gains.

To be clear, the financial, corporate and ruling elites are enriching themselves off of the government, while the Have-Nots are either cutting even or falling into our nation's always increasing in numbers in the Underclass.  The middle-class is becoming a myth.  The government is NOT investing in people and communities anymore.  Over 50 years in the Swamp career politicians such as Joe Biden are giving us a lot of HOT AIR while we try to support our families and communities during this time of high "Biden-inflation".

As for Pittsfield politics, I have followed it for many decades of my life.  My dad, Bob, was active in Pittsfield politics and the community over 2 decades ago.  I find it to be predictable, postindustrial, and economically unequal.  I wish Mayor Peter Marchetti good luck, but I believe that he is going to cash in on the coveted 6-figure mayoral city public pension plus perks in 4 to 8 years time, which will be on top of his 35 years bank pension, plus his future monthly Social Security check.  It looks to me that he is in it for his own financial interests, but I have been wrong before.

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Defendants in a lawsuit against Pittsfield Cooperative Bank want the court to strike the most 'scandalous' claims"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, November 9, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Attorneys for the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank are asking a federal court to strike several claims in a recent discrimination suit filed by a former employee, claiming that the allegations are meant to only damage the defendants' reputations and not based on fact.

The motion relies on a rule that allows judges to strike content from a lawsuit that is deemed "an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter."

Victoria May, the former vice president of marketing at the bank, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in September against the bank and its top executives — Jay Anderson, Harry “Chip” Moore and Peter Marchetti. In the lawsuit, May claims the three men were part of creating a "sexually inappropriate" work environment; that the bank favored men over women; and when she complained about what she viewed as harassment, she was punished and eventually fired.

The suit became a central talking point in the final week of the Pittsfield mayoral campaign as voters attempted to sort through May’s allegation that Marchetti had become enraged during a meeting and called her a ”bitch and other derogatory names” and then nitpicked her work.

Marchetti won the mayor’s race on Tuesday, hours after Boston-based attorneys hired by the bank filed their motion to strike. While the motion does not touch on May’s description of the meeting with Marchetti, it does ask the court to remove four central claims from May’s 19-page complaint.

“To be clear, plaintiff’s complaint is rife with allegations that defendants vehemently deny and will vigorously dispute in this matter,” the motion states. “The instant motion only addresses those allegations that are so lurid, patently false, or unfounded that they prejudicially impugn defendants’ public reputation and/or moral character(s).”

The first is May’s allegation that “it was a well-known secret” that Moore, the bank’s executive vice president and CFO, watched pornography in his office on his work computer. May claimed that Moore’s computer “caught a virus as a result of the websites he was visiting on work hours.”

The motion claims that May knew before filing her suit that allegation was incorrect because when she issued a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination prior to the lawsuit, the bank provided specific details about its IT policy that refute the claim.

In an affidavit, the bank’s senior vice president chief information officer states that pornographic websites are blocked by the “bank’s firewall and website content filtering systems” and that no computer on the bank’s Wi-Fi network would be able to access sexually explicit sites.

The officer also says that she checked the bank’s IT records and there was no record of Moore ever needing his computer fixed because of a virus from a pornographic website.

The motion to strike also claims that May misdescribed the story shared in the office about a work trip Marchetti, Moore and Anderson took to Las Vegas.

The executives returned from a Las Vegas conference and described to their coworkers how two women dressed as “showgirls” approached Marchetti while the trio were walking down the Vegas strip, according to an affidavit from Anderson. The women flirted briefly with Marchetti to try and get the group to attend a show but the men declined and went on their way.

May’s lawsuit claims that when the executives returned they “came back talking about the prostitutes that they had been with.”

Anderson said in a new affidavit that when the executives returned from the trip they told their colleagues about the minute-long exchange but “did not describe the women as 'prostitutes.'"

The bank’s attorneys write in their motion that the specific phrasing was “calculated to suggest that some kind of illicit sexual activity occurred, even though it did not.”

The last two claims the defendants are seeking to remove from the complaint are related to May’s claim that the environment at the bank was so hostile to women that several other female employees left the bank after facing sexual harassment by senior employees.

May named three women that she believed left due to the hostile work environment — including Allison Loring, a former assistant vice president and commercial loan officer. May added to this claim that she “understood” that Anderson “propositioned” Loring.

Loring reiterated in an affidavit to the court what she told The Berkshire Eagle last week, that May’s description of her time and departure from the bank was “a lie.” She said that neither May nor her attorney ever reached out to let her know about the lawsuit or talk with her and that she left the bank for another job opportunity, not because of harassment.

Attorneys for the bank claim that May’s lawsuit not only did damage to the reputations of Anderson, Moore and Marchetti, but also the three women she named in her suit.

A document filed with the court late Wednesday said that the bank's attorneys and May's attorney spoke and May "did not agree to amend or remove any of the allegations" in the motion.

The defendants are requesting a hearing to offer oral arguments on their motion.

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November 9, 2023

Did Peter Marchetti call bank employee "BITCH"?  Did Peter Marchetti call bank employee other derogatory names?  Did Peter Marchetti nitpick bank employee's work?

Why didn't the bank's Boston Attorneys deny bank employee's allegations against Peter Marchetti?

These are important questions that need to be answered.  If Peter Marchetti's actions violated workplace law, then he should not be allowed to be sworn in as the next Mayor of Pittsfield politics in Western Massachusetts.  

What if a would-be Mayor Peter Marchetti does similar workplace violations in city government and the (level 5) public school district?  What if he is really a vindictive bully person who lashes out at people who upset him?

Peter Marchetti needs to answer these questions more-so than the Berkshire Eagle calling out mayoral candidate John Krol over his financial accounts from years ago that John Krol never faced any criminal charges over.  Why is the Eagle publishing news articles without the same or similar criticisms of their endorsed mayoral candidate: Peter Marchetti?

This is what happens when a person uses the WIN at ANY COST method in politics and business.  Peter Marchetti's actions matter in Pittsfield politics.  Peter Marchetti needs to undergo a psychiatric clinical evaluation to determine if he is fit for the mayor's office.

Jon Melle

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November 10, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

In response to my blog commentary postings on Planet Valenti defending Alex Blumin from WAMC's Josh Landes' yellow journalism, someone emailed me:

"What Landes did to Blumin is reprehensible, Jon. The rest, to me, doesn't matter. You would be surprised to know he was a reluctant candidate. Didn't really want to run. The man is desolate and feels personally beaten. This so-called 'city'....runs hot on hate.

 

So the animals say, "when you run, you should expect to be exposed etc..." That is true if you run for Senator, President, Mayor. But running for a lowly ward seat where the votes are total 600 does not amount to a public race. It's a community race. To broadcast a caricature over a radius that stretches to Springfield and down the Hudson Valley is disproportionate."

My response is that Josh Landes online radio story portraying Alex Blumin as an intimidating and threatening caricature of a man in Pittsfield politics was over the top and sensational.  Alex Blumin a Jewish man who is originally from Ukraine and he is a U.S. Citizen who lives in Pittsfield's poorest Ward 2.  I would describe Alex Blumin as eccentric and passionate about Pittsfield being called a distressed city in decay because he wanted to make a difference by running for the Ward 2 City Council elected position, which he lost in the November 7th, 2023, municipal election.

How would Josh Landes have liked it if he moved to an overseas distressed city similar to Pittsfield (Mass.) and a radio journalist basically made an ASS out of him for running for elected office in that overseas country's poorest Ward in an overseas municipal election?  Would anyone from a would-be overseas country step forward to defend Josh Landes?  I would hope so.

When people, including yellow journalists such as Josh Landes, make an ASS out of a good man, it ends up backfiring on Josh Landes!  There are so many politicians in Pittsfield and beyond who are much more problematic than Alex Blumin.  Moreover, Pittsfield has so many problems for Josh Landes to write about and publish his online radio news stories about.

We need to stand up to Josh Landes' yellow journalism, blogger Dan Valenti, once and for all.  Josh Landes must be stopped from making an ASS out of good men such as Alex Blumin and Pittsfield politics.  I request that you please publish a blog posting about what he did to Alex Blumin.  Pittsfield may be at rock bottom in 2023, but that doesn't mean that we have to put up with Josh Landes making an ASS out of a good man!

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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November 10, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Unlike the disgraced former Pittsfield State Senator Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior and his despicable political network of bullies in Pittsfield politics to Boston, there are still good people who defend me and my family in Pittsfield, Massachusetts; someone wrote in an email to me tonight:

"For record, I never tolerated the abuse heaped upon you and the coarse calumnies. A gentleman called me 6 months ago. He apologized to me on behalf of the village for their behavior. He spoke of and your father and spoke of your grievance."

I wish to thank all of the good people who fight the good fights and who fight for good people who live in Pittsfield, Boston and beyond.

In Manchester, NH, Alderman-at-large Joe Kelly Levasseur won reelection this past week.  In 2008 - 2009, he defended me from political attacks in the City of Manchester, NH.  He is a Republican, but at the end of the day, we are all Americans who believe in democracy, liberty and justice for all.

There are good people everywhere.  I am a disabled Veteran and I go to the VAMC Manchester, NH, on a weekly basis.  I have wonderful neighbors, family and friends in Amherst, NH.

I am thankful that you, Dan Valenti, have told me that you have defended me over these past 27.5 years of political persecution since my dad, Bob, ran and served as a Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000).  North Adams' John Barrett III also defended my dad, Bob, back then.

During this month of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all of the good people in my life.  I hope to pay it forward in the years to come during my short time of life on Earth.

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-11-10/as-massachusetts-emergency-shelter-system-reaches-capacity-pittsfield-and-great-barrington-sheltering-over-30-families

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November 11, 2023

Happy Veterans Day.  The Berkshire Eagle's editorial essentially calls for rebuilding Pittsfield's Middle-Class families.  Economics 101 in public management is to use the city's limited resources to invest in people - the community's most valuable resource - and the community itself.  It is not just to grow the tax base for the sake of raising municipal spending, but it is a nice thing when the people return the favor of being invested in by investing in the community.

It is old as economics itself: How to rebuild and maintain the middle class?  The answer is that the career politicians vote for and fund: Housing, Healthcare, Public Education, Transportation, support businesses that pay employees a full-time living wage with benefits, teach everyone Financial Literacy (such as the state lottery is really voluntary regressive taxation), support policies that favor realistic pension plans, offer unemployment, workman's compensation and disability income and programs, teach unskilled workers how to be skilled professionals, call out politicians who do not invest in people and communities, demand a government that is equitable and efficient and effective and accessible and open and transparent as possible, that does not giveaway millions or billions of dollar per fiscal year in tax breaks to the wealthy financial, corporate and ruling elites (see: greedy registered lobbyist Dan Bosley on Beacon Hill), while systemically underfunding government and public education funding, and the like.

North Street in downtown Pittsfield has many empty storefronts, many social services agencies - as North Street is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley", too few businesses, and it is surrounded by the sarcastically called "The Ring of Poverty" impoverished and distressed neighborhoods. Pittsfield is always listed in the top 10 cities/population for violent crime in Massachusetts.  Pittsfield's public school district has Level 5 public schools, which is the WORST rating.  In return for all of this, Pittsfield politics spends an excessive $205.6 million operating fiscal year 2024 municipal budget.  All of this combined is the OPPOSITE of Economic Development!  No rational middle-class family or small business is going to choose to relocate to Pittsfield given these sad realities.

The proposed restoration of the over 100-year-old Wahconah Park comes with a steep price tag: an estimated $30 million!  I believe that Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D-Happy Endings), Becket State Senator Paul Mark (D-Rubber Stamp), PAC Man Richie Neal (D-K Street), Maryland Markey (D-Chevy Chase), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Joe Biden) could request state and federal funds to assist the city in this worthy endevour.  The next Mayor of Pittsfield could take Governor Maura Healey to a baseball game in Pittsfield next Summer 2024.

I went to a baseball game at Wahconah Park when Mike Dukakis was the Governor of Massachusetts many years ago now, and after the announcer told us of his attendance at the Pittsfield baseball game, some people clapped, while others rudely booed.  Years later, I saw Superman - Christopher Reeve - attending a baseball game at Wahconah Park.  It was sad to see Superman - Christopher Reeve - in a wheelchair, but we all loved that Superman was a resident of Williamstown in the beautiful Berkshires back then.  The Iron Horse - Lou Gehrig - played minor league baseball at Wahconah Park a very long time ago now.

Lastly, I believe that Mayor Linda Tyer is the best Mayor of Pittsfield in my lifetime of 48 years - if not EVER.  She is a great public manager, and she has received praises from state and local officials throughout Massachusetts.  She is nobody's fool when it comes to financial management.  My mother knew Linda Tyer when they worked in the Lenox public school district over 20 years ago.  She told me that Linda Tyer did a great job back then, and that everyone admired her professional work in Lenox.  I have been a supporter of Linda Tyer in Pittsfield politics for the last 20 years.  She is a politician who believes in many of the same beliefs that I, myself, believe in, including supporting Human Rights, Investing in People and the Community, having compassion for the poor people and neighborhoods, having strong financial management skills, and doing well by the City of Pittsfield.

Jon Melle

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Our Opinion: "The most-pressing issues facing Pittsfield's reshaped leadership"

The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, November 11, 2023

Following Tuesday’s municipal election, Pittsfield’s leadership landscape will soon shift considerably. In addition to the mayor’s office, five of 11 City Council seats — including half of the four at-large seats — will see turnover when city leaders are sworn in early next year.

They will have to hit the ground running to address the many issues that matter most to Pittsfield residents, which include long-lingering concerns that have and will elude cheap and easy answers. These are the issues that we see as the most-pressing based on our assessment of the state of the city as well as the perspectives of hundreds of readers who wrote letters to the editor during the election about what they wanted to see. We’ll continue to focus in and raise questions on these issues down the line, but  and foster the priorities pronounced during campaign season.

North Street

There are many perspectives about precisely what North Street should look like, but the common theme is that the city can do better by its once-thriving downtown center. While the exact conditions of the GE heydays likely won’t return anytime soon, what are the best ways to not only nurture new life in empty storefronts but support extant downtown business-owners who too often feel their concerns are overlooked by city leadership?

And what is the plan to resolve the knotty issue of traffic flow and bike lanes? While there are plenty of folks with a reductive view in either direction — rip up North Street to make it exactly as it was vs. leave the confusing bike lanes as they are and ignore the growing complaints — we urge city leaders to get both creative and practical in finding a solution. No option will please everyone, and the sudden and apparently underthought redesign a couple years ago needlessly polarized this issue for many. City leaders must envision an evolution of North Street’s formulation that promotes safe transit on four, two and zero wheels while limiting headaches for downtown visitors and businesses alike. Easier said than done, but leaving it as is for much longer is only going to promote discontent and derision in a downtown that Pittsfield needs to flourish.

Public safety

There was much debate, particularly in the mayoral race, about exactly what posture the Pittsfield Police Department should take on North Street and other areas where residents and visitors alike have reported feeling unsafe or uncomfortable. Even if all parties agreed on precisely what that posture should be, what gets less oxygen are the necessary questions about how to pay for some ambitious plans to beef up PPD staffing, particularly on North Street and other spots with heavy foot traffic, given the department’s current staffing and budgetary restraints.

Beyond that, though, combating the many systemic issues that give rise to public safety concerns will require more than just balancing police patrol numbers. We already expect a lot from our police — some might argue too much, in fact. We not only task them with the tough and dangerous job of fighting and preventing crime, but often rely on them as first responders to those struggling with stubborn social problems that can lead to crime or safety concerns: addiction, mental health extremis, housing insecurity, economic desperation.

By all means, let's stop panhandling in Pittsfield, but treat it like the symptom it is. Feed people. House people. Pay people a living wage. Fund and fully staff addiction, mental health and social service programs.

As a thoughtful op-ed from city faith leaders recently underscored, it’s both understandable and easy to complain about pervasive symptoms like aggressive panhandling. It’s far harder but all the more necessary to diagnose and treat the social ills that give rise to those symptoms. Pittsfield leaders must determine how to not only apply band-aids to the symptoms but treat these diseases at their sources with the budgetary resources it has. That will require both a careful balance of principles and practicality as well as an eye for collaborative opportunities with like-minded nonprofit, regional, state and federal partners.

Economic development

Like many of its post-industrial peers, Pittsfield is hungry for economic growth and transformation. There have been some modest to major success stories in recent years that suggest a path forward, and the current administration’s record and groundwork is worth heeding — for both its wins and losses. Mayor Linda Tyer’s administration, including the so-called red carpet team meant to court new business, can reasonably point to some successes in plugging Pittsfield as a place for burgeoning tech business — attracting firms like Electro Magnetic Applications, presiding over the opening of the Berkshire Innovation Center and seeing expansion at companies like Pittsfield Plastics Engineering and General Dynamics. That ambition must be tempered with realistic and sustainable goals, however, as unfortunately demonstrated by the unceremonious shuttering of the Wayfair call center three years after its celebrated opening.

What’s clear, though, is that Pittsfield needs to boost its tax base if the lofty promises of campaign season are to survive budgetary reality. A common theme from voters — in this or any city — is that they want more out of their public services (such as more headway on the city’s considerable deferred maintenance backlog) while mitigating tax and fee hikes for residents. Anyone who’s taken Economics 101 will tell you the only way to accomplish both of those things is to broaden the tax base. Pittsfield has made some progress here, but it must build on it now.

Wahconah Park

While this issue is more specific than the others, it’s a pivotal one to the spirit and vitality of Pittsfield. Thanks to the work of the Wahconah Park Restoration Committee, plans to put some long overdue shine on this historic diamond are slowly but surely coming along. And they come with the prospect of a steep price tag: an estimated $30 million. The restoration committee this week voted to send a feasibility study for the renovation plan to both the current mayor as well as Mayor-elect Peter Marchetti.

A new and revitalized Wahconah Park is one step closer to fruition. There are, however, still miles to go before any construction can start.

Mr. Marchetti during his campaign was careful to both recognize the importance of Wahconah Park’s future as well as keep his eye on the ball of other big-budget items that demand the city’s attention, from grappling with deferred maintenance to paying for an overdue new police station. The Wahconah Park Restoration Committee has done much good work gathering consensus and forwarding a plan to preserve this ballpark for generations of baseball-lovers to come. But forwarding an eight-figure project is a very different matter than financing that $30 million project in a city with an annual budget of $200 million. Balancing the sustainable future of Wahconah Park with budgetary responsibility will be a tall order, and this field of dreams in the heart of Pittsfield needs city leaders to step up to the plate and bring this one home safely.

This is neither an exhaustive list of all the issues facing Pittsfield nor a prescription for easy answers on all the matters highlighted here. But the problems and potential in Pittsfield need action sooner than later, which will require some momentum to be built up in this critical transition period. We will be watching closely as Mayor-elect Marchetti picks the pivotal members of his administration, particularly the role of finance director. And with the results in hand from a nonbinding referendum showing Pittsfield voters’ strong support for maintaining the city’s residency requirement for public safety chiefs, the stage is set for what should be a swift but thoughtful process of hiring a new police chief. We urge the mayor-elect and councilors-elect to be transparent with their constituents about their plans and process for tackling these myriad issues.

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November 15, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

The letter writer did not vote for either John Krol or Peter Marchetti in the Pittsfield politics 2023 municipal mayoral election.  He pointed out both Krol and Marchetti have allegations of wrongdoing made against them.  He pointed out that the voter turnout was low.  He asks for a qualified candidate to run for mayor.

Mayor-elect Peter Marchetti needs to answer questions of his alleged wrongdoing prior to him being sworn in in early-January 2024.  Did Peter Marchetti call then bank employee Victoria May: a BITCH?

I also believe that Peter Marchetti should under go a psychiatric clinical evaluation due to his alleged history of temper tantrums in the workplace.  He may be unfit for the Office of Mayor of Pittsfield.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "Disillusion in the voting booth"

The Berkshire Eagle, November 15, 2023

To the editor: On Election Day in Pittsfield, I went to Crosby Elementary School to vote as I always do.

Normally, I have a list in hand, the results of my research into each candidate that I'm eligible to vote for. But on this day, I was empty-handed.

I was torn between mayoral candidates. One [John Krol] is accused of possible [alleged] theft of funds from a previous nonprofit position. The second [Peter Marchetti, elected Mayor] is accused of misogyny at his current place of employment [in a federal court sex discrimination and hostile workplace lawsuit in Springfield, Massachusetts filed by Victoria May against versus Pittsfield Co-op Bank and three bank managers including Peter Marchetti].

Neither one has been officially charged with a crime. But I'm expected to choose between these two a person that I believe will lead Pittsfield for the next four years.

I chose to not vote for mayor. How about a "none of the above'' choice next time around?

Is it any wonder why the voter turnout is so low? Give me a qualified candidate, and I'll vote.

I wound up casting one vote, and that was for Kathy Amuso for City Council. I hope she runs for mayor in four years.

Richard Daly Sr., Pittsfield

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November 17, 2023

Is that why Pittsfield politics has two Peters: Pete & re-Pete? To serve the vested interests (all of the unionized public employees in Pittsfield politics) and the special interests (the out-of-town millionaire businessmen who receive huge tax breaks from the city, while Grandma has to choose between food and medicine due to the thousands of dollars she pays in municipal taxes and fees).

Here is the list:

Mayor-elect Gavel and his anointed City Council President re-Pete

Mayor Gated Community and her 3rd husband Cumby's Clairmont

Mayor Montello: The Bianchi Bust

Mayor Rolodex: The Ruberto Renaissance in downtown Pittsfield that rivals Paris, London, NYC, and L.A.'s homeless shelters

Mayor Aberration: The Level 5 Schoolmarm who sued the city and walked away with an unknown settlement during the Bianchi administration.

Similar to the Hathaway hack, Sara's former political boss, Nuciforo, is currently suing the city for $440,000 in HCAs fees plus unspecified additional monetary damages to his Pittsfield Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue named "Berkshire Roots" that stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods with his unpleasant smelling largest in the Berkshires pot growing operation

(The late) Mayor Bar-stool: The Doyle debacle

Then we have:

Maryland Markey who really lives in Chevy Chase and supports GE's plan to put a PCBs toxic waste dump in Lee (Mass.) - So much for the Democrat's so-called Green New Deal that really allows China to pollute more greenhouse gas emissions than ever before, while we pay top dollar for our energy consumption

Elizabeth Warren (D-Joe Biden and his record setting campaign fundraising dollars from Wall Street and K Street. So much for Main Street, USA)

PAC Man Richie Neal from K Street, especially insurance companies' corporate lobbyist firms that put big bucks into his multi-million-dollar campaign coffers - What the Hell do K Street's corporate lobbyist firms have to do with the people in Western Massachusetts, Congressman-for-life Richard E. Neal?

State Senator Paul Marxism (D-Karen Spilka's biggest Rubber Stamp)

State Representative Trippy Country-Buffet (D-Happy Endings and illegal immigrants - Sarcasm: Just what Pittsfield needs from Boston)

State Representative Shitty Pigpen: (D-GE's PCBs dump in Lee supporter over the protests of his constituents who live in Lee and Lenoxdale and beyond)

State Representative John Barrett III (D-career politician for life)

Boy, isn't the above list of politicians who represent the city a dream come true for the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski family who works and lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts? I think not because they have to pay taxes and then pound sand! It is really the Kapanski's nightmare list of failed corrupt career politicians who only do DISSERVICES to the common people they represent in local, state and federal government.

Jon Melle

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November 17, 2023

Pittsfield politics pays its Superintendent big bucks in return for Level 5 public schools – the WORST rating! It must be about the state administered federal public education funding that City Hall sees as its CASH COW! It certainly is NOT about the students’ academic performance levels.

What is worse: Level 5 public schools, the 25-year-old indebted and polluted PEDA debacle, the 15 empty storefronts on North Street, the city always being listed in the top 10 cities by population for VIOLENT CRIME in Massachusetts, the city’s $205.6 million fiscal year 2024 operating budget in return for a SHIT SANDWICH, Jimmy Ruberto’s letters to the Eagle from Naples, Florida and Lenox about his views of Pittsfield politics, Nuciforo’s Pittsfield Pot Kingdom stinking up nearby residential neighborhoods and his lawsuit versus the city?

What a cluster f*#k!

Jonathan A. Melle

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November 17, 2023

A Pittsfield politics' Parody: Little Joey goes to his Level 5 public school and asks his woman teacher if it is O.K. if he calls her "A BITCH" like Mayor Peter Marchetti allegedly called bank employee Victoria May "A BITCH". The woman teacher replies to her student that it is not nice to call anyone "A BITCH". Little Joey replies that if Mayor Peter Marchetti does it, then why don't you tell him that. The woman teacher replies that she doesn't want the Mayor of Pittsfield to call her "A BITCH". Little Joey writes a letter to Mayor Peter Marchetti telling him that it is not nice to call anyone "A BITCH". Mayor Peter Marchetti writes back to little Joey that he goes to ANGER MANAGEMENT groups so that he won't allegedly call women "A BITCH" anymore. Little Joey writes back to Mayor Peter Marchetti and asks him where did he learn to call women "A BITCH". Mayor Peter Marchetti wrote back to little Joey and said that he is the product of the Pittsfield public school system. Little Joey asked his parents if they would please move out of Pittsfield to a more civilized community. Little Joey's parents told him that if they could of moved out of Pittsfield, they would have done so long ago. Little Joey said to his parents that he is stuck in Pittsfield with Mayor Peter Marchetti allegedly calling women "A BITCH", Level 5 public schools, 15 empty storefronts on North Street's "Social Services Alley", Pittsfield always being in the top 10 cities by population for violent crime in Massachusetts, the 25-year-old polluted PEDA debacle, Nuciforo's pot kingdom stinking up nearby residential neighborhoods, capped PCBs sites and two PCBS toxic waste dumps, State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier saying her one and only state legislative priority in Boston is to legalize sex workers, and record setting municipal budgets and spending in return for A SHIT SANDWICH. Little Joey's parents apologized to their disillusioned son, but said it is called "Life in the Pitts"!

Jonathan A. Melle

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November 19, 2023 For decades now, Pittsfield and North Adams are always ranked in the top 10 cities by population for VIOLENT CRIME, according to the FBI's annual reports. For decades now, mayoral candidates and other political hacks have pledged to solve this serious issue in the Berkshires. For decades now, all of the politicians are batting 0.000 in fighting VIOLENT CRIME in Pittsfield and North Adams. For 4 short years from 2019 through 2022, Andrea Harrington served as the (first woman) Berkshire County District Attorney. Please put her short time in elected office in perspective in the big picture of Pittsfield politics' SHIT SANDWICH. Yes, NOTHING CHANGED for the better, but what else does one expect in a postindustrial polluted and indebted Gateway City that hosts Level 5 public schools, excessive welfare and disability caseloads, severe economic inequality, political corruption all the way from Rolodex's hometown of Naples, Florida to Nuciforo's Pittsfield Pot Kingdom on Dalton Avenue, and the Gavel allegedly calling bank employee Victoria May A BITCH and then the bank terminating her employment and now a Sex Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment Federal Lawsuit in Springfield, Massachusetts that names the Mayor-elect Peter Marchetti as one of her three men bank managers alleged discriminating harassers? Like his recent predecessors, sitting Berkshire County District Attorney Tim Shugrue has NOT changed things for the better in Pittsfield. It called Pittsfield politics' "Business as usual" tagline for (not so) good reasons. Pittsfield politics other name, of course, is RETRIBUTION, which we will see a lot of during the Marchetti administration. Jon Melle -----

"Pittsfield city councilors want more time to set property taxes. Here's what's on the table" By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, November 28, 2023 PITTSFIELD — A proposal that would have raised taxes by by nearly $400 next year for the typical city homeowner is on hold for now. The council had been expected to vote to set property tax rates on Tuesday, but members opted to hold off for two weeks amid discussions about whether to shift more of the burden to commercial property owners or to tap into the city's free cash reserves to offset the increases. To fund Pittsfield’s operating expenses for fiscal year 2024, the city needs to raise $109.2 million in property taxes — about $8 million more than fiscal year 2023. Under that proposal, the residential property tax rate would be set at $18.45 per $1,000 in assessed value and the commercial property tax rate at $39.61 per $1,000 in assessed value. That’s a rate increase of 13 cents per $1,000 for residential properties and 40 cents per $1,000 in assessed value for commercial properties over the fiscal 2023 rates. The owner of a single-family home with an average assessed value of $267,914 would see an increase of $397.82 in their property taxes. The Board of Assessors on Tuesday night asked the council to increase the share of the tax levy borne by commercial property owners. City councilors held off on voting up or down on this rate — though outgoing at large Councilor Karen Kalinowsky and Ward 2 councilor Charles Kronick expressed strong opposition to what they called runaway spending by the city. Instead, the council voted 6-4 to delay the setting of the residential and commercial tax rates to the Dec. 12 council meeting. The two-week window could give the Massachusetts Department of Revenue enough time to certify Pittsfield’s free cash stores — the amount of unclassified money left unused at the end of a financial year. Once certified, that money could be leveraged toward the city’s tax levy, lowering the amount needed from property taxes and making a small impact on the tax rate. -----

November 29, 2023 Would someone out there explain this news story, above, please? The average Pittsfield homeowner would pay $400 more in property taxes in fiscal year 2024 than in fiscal 2023. The city "needs" to raise $8 million in additional property tax revenues to pay its bills in fiscal year 2024. The City Council delayed by two weeks the vote to set the property tax rate because they are awaiting the "FREE CASH" report from the state DoR bureaucrats in Boston. Two City Councilors - Karen Kalinowsky and Charles Ivar Kronick - called out the so-called "runaway spending" by the city. What about the increases in the enterprise fund rates for the water and sewer bills? Combined with the would-be $400 increase per fiscal year in property taxes for the average homeowner in Pittsfield, how much more money in taxes and fees during fiscal year 2024 will the average city taxpayers be fiscally liable for to the city? While I understand that over the past 40 years now, the city has to play financial shell games under Proposition 2.5 with the state government by predictably increasing municipal spending by 5 percent or more per fiscal year, the city has a record amount of discretionary cash that could be used to lower the tax rate, as well as the enterprise water and sewer rates. How does the city's tax and fee rate increases compare to workers' pay increases, as well as with retirees' CoLAs? What about with the above average increases in U.S. inflation? Isn't the city government supposed to be serving the people here? Instead, the property tax increase proposal looks like yet another DISSERVICE! (Sarcasm: BIG $urpri$e! - The state and local government is ran by a bunch of financial SCAM ARTISTS and Greedy Lobbyists such as Dan Bosley). Jon Melle -----

Letter: "Pittsfield's new City Council has work cut out for it on downtown issues" The Berkshire Eagle, December 7, 2023 To the editor: I recently heard that Westfield received a grant from the state government to help them revitalize their downtown area. I am not sure if anyone has applied from Pittsfield, but I certainly hope so. Out downtown needs a life rather than the present hangout for people. We need shops, businesses, etc., that give one a purpose to head downtown. It will be interesting to see what the new City Council and Mayor-elect Peter Marchetti will do to solve this blight in our city. An open policy of what is being considered should be reported in the paper as to monies available and for what use it is being spent. Right now, our "gateway city" has theater and some amenities, but they are mainly for the tourists; many locals have not visited these, as I see few locals at the cultural venues I have attended. More housing downtown (like the White Terrace Apartments and the Wright building) are nice, but many other businesses are given incentives and then they leave town. Obviously the apartments will be rented, but how expensive will they be? What jobs are available here to allow people to stay and be able to pay these rents? What entertainment is affordable for families? A carousel sits unused, and the city does not fund a request. It's been said before, but move the carousel to Pontoosuc Lake where there was one for years when I was younger. The restoration of Wahconah Park is fine and desperately needed, but where will the $30 million come from? The streets are filthy and like a washboard. We don't need speed bumps as potholes control the speed. We paved Valentine Road and then dug it up and patched it unevenly. Nobody wants their taxes raised, but no one gets a clear answer to where cannabis money or COVID funds are allotted. Taxes always go up and services dwindle. I have no solutions but will watch this "new" council take over. Good luck — you will need it, as this task will be monumental. Jim Armstrong, Pittsfield -----

December 11, 2023

Mayor-elect Peter Marchetti's online radio interview:

https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-12-11/pittsfield-mayor-elect-marchetti-discusses-administrative-staff-appointments-2024-goals-reflections-on-messy-campaign

He said that he is not a fan of social media, and that he asks the people and taxpayers of Pittsfield to please give him a 90 day grace period after he is sworn in as the new Mayor of Pittsfield on January 2nd, 2024, and after early-April of 2024, he is fair game to be critiqued.

I found his aforementioned comments to be weird.  Aren't the people and taxpayers of Pittsfield politics supposed to practice FREE SPEECH?  Isn't Pittsfield a municipality within the United States of America?  When has any other career politician said anything similar to this?

Jon Melle

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December 12, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Tonight is the first big test for City Council President/Mayor-Elect Peter Marchetti.  Will he succeed in raising the municipal tax rate(s) by a little less than 9 percent during tonight's City Council meeting?  What arguments will he make to support the city government and (level 5) public school district to spend up to $230 million in taxpayer dollars during this current fiscal year 2024 that ends on June 30th, 2024?  Will he also address the fact that the a little less than 9 percent tax rate(s) increase(s) does NOT include the increases in the water and sewer rates?  Will he (pretend to) sympathize with the low- to moderate-income households in Pittsfield?  Will he restate that he will be taking a cut in pay when he is sworn in as the next Mayor of Pittsfield at a city salary of $115,725 per fiscal year (that will increase in forthcoming fiscal years) plus all of his city public perks?  Tonight's city council meeting should be interesting because it will set the tone for the next 4 years of the Mayor Peter Marchetti administration in Pittsfield politics!

Happy Holidays! (....unless you are a Pittsfield taxpayer, of course!),

Jon Melle

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Letter: "A bigger tax burden on Pittsfield homeowners is concerning"

The Berkshire Eagle, December 15, 2023

To the editor: Here we go again — homeowners keep taking the brunt of all this mismanagement, lack of oversight, Band-Aid approaches to maintenance and some extreme payrolls. ("Pittsfield homeowners, your property bill is going up next year," Eagle, Dec. 12.)

People are leaving, yet we want a tax base to keep going up, as well as the water and sewer bills, which keep going up, too. How about some tightening of the belts in the city? If you intend on tapping us for more and more, give us better, safer, schools that have proper heat and are rodent-free. If the building is new, hold the ones accountable that installed malfunctioning equipment or shoddy workmanship, not have our city maintenance deal with the issues when we paid a great deal of money for, let's say, a new Taconic High School that since opening has had a host of issues and still does today. And Pittsfield High School is a whole other issue.

Can we have an administration that looks at line items and make smart decisions to help the people here in town that want to stay but have a hard time watching taxes and water keep going up? Where's the cannabis money? Where is the push to get new business and manufacturing in to our city? Let's market our natural surroundings and all we have to offer, and maybe it will lighten the load off residents who are here now and want to stay in a city that is smart and affordable.

Fred Garner Jr., Pittsfield

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Saturday, December 16, 2023

A recap in the past week of Pittsfield politics - Holidays edition:

This past week in Pittsfield politics, the City Council raised the municipal tax rate by a little less than 9 percent, which almost triples the 3.2 percent Social Security CoLA and almost doubles the median increase in workers' pay.  6 out of the 11 City Councilors voted to soak the low- to moderate-income property homeowners who are scared for their financial livelihood.  4 City Councilors voted no, while Councilor Earl Persip was absent and he was not present to vote on the excessive tax rate hike.

Later on this past week in Pittsfield politics, Mayor Linda Tyer - who lives in a mansion in an elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College (along with her neighbor and Pittsfield's Pot King "Luciforo" whose lucrative marijuana kingdom is suing the city over $440.000 in years ago HCAs fees plus unspecified damages) - announced that she was selected for a high paying state government 6-figure position as the new Executive Director of Workforce Training and Community Education at Berkshire Community College.

To recap, the retired nurse who told the City Council that the city's excessive spending is causing her to fear for her financial security and that she fears having to lose her home due to the hundreds of dollars more she has to pay to the city every fiscal year.  Meanwhile, Mayor Linda Tyer is moving on to a 6-figure sinecure working for the state government in a new position at Berkshire Community College - a very short drive from her millionaire estate.

Lastly, the thing that is most alarming to me is that this past week, Governor Maura Healey's administration stated that the state's surplus cash is at a record high of $8.2 billion.  I would think that the Governor of Massachusetts would have then stated that she is going to give rebates to the property taxpayers with the state's historic Slush Fund, but instead, she filed her economic development bill this past week that went to the do-nothing (but DISSERVICES) state lawmakers who are enjoying their 7-weeks-long taxpayer-funded vacation.

Jon Melle

P.S. The above events and facts is a perfect illustration of why most people dislike career politicians!

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December 18, 2023

I went through far worse in Pittsfield politics since the Spring 1996 when I was 20 years old  way back then when I first had the unfortunate experience of meeting "Luciforo"; I believe that I am persecuted person who has had it worse than anybody else in Pittsfield politics over the past over 27.5 years, but my heart goes out to all of the other victims of Pittsfield politics over the years.

As we all know all too well, blogger Dan Valenti, Pittsfield politics' other name is RETRIBUTION.  We are supposed to live in a FREE COUNTRY whereby the state and local government is NOT a FIEFDOM, but Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is, indeed, a FIEFDOM run by a few inbred families that love to hurt anyone who challenges their control over the provincial FIEFDOM.  I am thankful for you, blogger Dan Valenti, for defending me and anyone else who has been a victim of RETRIBUTION in Pittsfield politics.  What a DISGRACE!

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer's next job will be a top role on Berkshire Community College's workforce development team"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, December 18, 2023

PITTSFIELD — Mayor Linda Tyer will join the staff of Berkshire Community College as the new executive director of workforce development and community education when her term ends at the close of the year.

Tyer’s new role, which will start in early February, will give her a seat on BCC President Ellen Kennedy’s cabinet and the top role on the college’s workforce development and community education team.

Tyer, a two-term mayor, announced in February that she would not seek reelection when her term concludes at the end of this year. That decision cleared the way for a mayoral election race between City Council President Peter Marchetti and former Council Vice President John Krol, which Marchetti won in November.

Tyer said in a release about her new role that the college has “a proud history” in the training and retraining of local workers, especially those employed in the health care, hospitality and advanced manufacturing fields. She said she’ll bring “a fresh approach” to the college’s next chapter in this work.

“By expanding the network of partnerships to develop customized training and skills advancement in sectors such as nonprofit and government, career training and adult education, Berkshire Community College can be the premier destination for high-quality training programs,” Tyer said in a statement.

As executive director, Tyer will be responsible for “setting the course and goals for a renewed approach to workforce training and community education” at BCC, according to a job posting for the position.

The job posting calls the executive director “the primary driver of partnerships to advance access to economic and social mobility in the region, with a goal of becoming the customized training partner of choice for Berkshire County employers."

During Tyer’s time in office, she launched the Red Carpet Team, which brought together the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority and Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp. out of their silos and into a joint effort to attract and retain businesses in the city.

Tyer called the creation of the team a highlight of her time in office during an interview with The Eagle earlier this year — one that has had an important part in the success of companies like Interprint, Electro Magnetic Applications Inc. and the Hot Plate Brewing Co.

Kennedy highlighted the Red Carpet Team, among Tyer’s other professional accomplishments, as part of the “wealth of experience” that she said will make Tyer an asset to the college’s workforce training efforts.

“Her extensive knowledge of Massachusetts government and quasi-public organizations supporting community and economic efforts will undoubtedly make her an invaluable partner in our mission to meet the education and training needs of our community,” Kennedy said in a statement.

Tyer has served nearly 20 years as an elected official in Pittsfield. Tyer served first as the Ward 3 city councilor from 2004 to 2009. She was one of the first three candidates endorsed by the Women Helping Empower Neighborhoods, a political action committee formed to support women and people of color seeking local elected office.

In 2009, she was elected to the position of City Clerk, a role she held until her election as mayor in 2016. Tyer is a former president of the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association and is currently a member of the Massachusetts Municipal Association and Samuel Harrison Society.

Prior to her political career, she worked for Lenox Public Schools in a variety of positions including as the executive assistant to the superintendent and worked as a legal assistant for the law firms of Hill & Barlow and George, Degregorio & Massimiano.

Linda Tyer is a graduate of Bay Path Junior College in Longmeadow.

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December 25, 2023

The 12 days of Christmas in Pittsfield politics:

Day 1. "A 90 day GRACE period"

Day 2. "Up to $230 million in fy 2024 municipal spending"

Day 3. "An almost 9 percent tax rate hike"

Day 4. "Unknown millions of dollars in FREE Cash"

Day 5. "Kufflink's multi-million-dollar Slush Funds"

Day 6. "I will have to take a pay cut to be Mayor"

Day 7. "$8.2 billion in surplus state cash in Boston"

Day 8. "$50 scratch tickets"

Day 9. "Some lobbyists in Boston earn 7-figure salaries"

Day 10. "Nuciforo's +$440,000 lawsuit against the city"

Day 11. "15 empty storefronts on North Street"

Day 12. "Level 5 public schools for the children"

Jonathan A. Melle

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December 30, 2023

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I read outgoing Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer's interview with the Dirty Bird (Berkshire Eagle).  I disagree with her words about how the people and taxpayers of Pittsfield should take it easy on all of the bureaucrats and career politicians who run the city government and (level 5) public school district.

In fact, I would say the opposite.  I would say to give 'em Hell!  The state and local government has failed the people and taxpayers of Pittsfield for decades.  Pittsfield is always in the top 10 cities by population in Massachusetts for Violent Crime each and every year!  The Pittsfield Public School district is rated Level 5 each and every year.  North Street, which has 15 empty storefronts, is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley" and the inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street are called "The Ring of Poverty".  The 25-year-old indebted and polluted PEDA debacle was a huge mistake.  Hill 78, which is a capped leaky landfill full of GE's industrial chemicals PCBs, abuts Allendale Elementary School - no wonder why the public schools are rated Level 5.  The municipal tax rate was recently increased by a little less than 9 percent, while the 2023-2024 Social Security CoLA increased by 3.2 percent.  Senior Citizen homeowners are paying hundreds of more dollars per fiscal year to the city in return for "A Shit Sandwich"!  

Pittsfield is part of our nation's huge underclass and postindustrial "Rust Belt" economy.  The only growth in Pittsfield's economy is its huge underclass population and the excessively overpriced city government and public school district.  Pittsfield is one of the most economically unequal metro areas in the state (of Massachusetts) and nation (U.S.A.).

On the state level, Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier has done little to nothing in a little over 11 years in Boston except push for state driver's licenses of illegal immigrants and push to legalize sex workers in Massachusetts.  Becket State Senator Paul Mark is the biggest Rubber Stamp vote in Boston, which has given the rest of the state the record profits from its biggest SCAM: the (voluntary) regressive taxation scheme called the multi-billion-dollar "Massachusetts State Lottery", which systemically mocks the mostly financially illiterate low- to moderate-income residents of "Gateway Cities" such as Pittsfield, along with the City of Pittsfield itself.  It is called "Elitist Snobbery" and "Class Warfare" at the state's highest level of the banality of inequity.  The state lottery is wrong at so many levels that if it were a building, it would be taller than the Empire State Building.

On the Federal Level, PAC Man Richie Neal only represents K Street corporate lobbyist firms in the Swamp.  Maryland Markey spews his HOT AIR in the Swamp.  Elizabeth Warren says she fights for Main Street, but she fully supports Joe Biden, who has taken in more money from Wall Street and K Street than any other politician in U.S. history.  Joe Biden has spent over $10 trillion printed out of thin air, along with borrowing trillions of U.S. dollars, and U.S. inflation reached double digits for the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working class family in Pittsfield, who have been hit by high taxation and fees.

Linda Tyer has a 6-figure sinecure waiting for her at Berkshire Community College, which is close to her mansion in her Gated Community west of BCC.  For Linda Tyer, it is easy for her to say to us low- to moderate-income taxpayers that we should take it easy on the government.  But for the rest of us common people out there, I say the opposite.  I say, "Given 'em Hell!"

Jon Melle

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January 1, 2024

Happy New Year 2024!  Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti requested "a 90-day grace period" - January, February and March - to NOT be criticized by the people and taxpayers of Pittsfield whom he works for, but Peter Marchetti has to take a pay cut with the mayoral pay of $115,725 per fiscal year, plus all of his public perks.

Sarcasm: I remember reading about his request for "a 90-day grace period" in George Orwell's book: "1984".  I think it said that if you dare to criticize Mayor Peter Marchetti during his requested "90-day grace period", then you will experience RETRIBUTION!

Peter Marchetti said that he is NOT a fan of social media and blogs.  Perhaps he should change his title from "Mayor" to "Boss".

Did you know that Peter Marchetti and Jon Melle have the same great-grandfather and great-grandmother long before we were born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  I did NOT get to choose my relatives!  Unlike Peter Marchetti, I am all for FREE SPEECH in our FREE Country.  I am against "a 90-day grace period" for Mayor Peter Marchetti.

Also, re-Pete White is running to succeed Peter Marchetti as the next President of the City Council.  With Pete and re-Pete running Pittsfield politics, one may hear an echo now and then.

Pete and re-Pete and Pittsfield politics sounds very different than the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family who lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and will pay for it all and pound sand.

Jon Melle

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January 3, 2024

The Peter Marchetti financial plan for (himself) Pittsfield politics:  Work at a bank for 35 years.  Serve as an elected municipal official for several decades.  8 years from now, Peter Marchetti retire with three pensions: the bank, the city, and Social Security.

The Linda Tyer financial plan for (herself) Pittsfield politics.  Work as an elected official for two decades after she worked for the Lenox Public School District as a Secretary.  Work for the state government at Berkshire Community College for two decades.  She is married to her third husband, the multi-millionaire CPA Barry Clairmont.  Retire with two public pensions and her wealthy third husband.

What do the people, families and taxpayers who live in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, get for the mayors'  financial plans?  Pay for excessively high record setting city and public school spending in return for "business as usual".

Does anyone out there really believe that the state and local career politicians are going to change the government for the better for the benefit of the common people, families and taxpayers?

I do NOT!  I believe that the state and local government is going to be run by the same political insiders who DO NOTHING but DISSERVICES to us little people, while enriching the financial, corporate and ruling elites at the public trough.

I see and hear Governor Maura Healey on TV and the radio on a weekly basis.  But what has she done in her first full year (2023) as governor?  I receive political emails that state that the Massachusetts State Government had its least productive year (2023) in over one decade.

Jon Melle

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January 10, 2023

I read that the Pittsfield City Council accepted GE's "30 pieces of silver".  I understand that the city government is sitting on a record amount of "Free" Cash and like Slush Funds in the millions of dollars.  Then I read that Mayor Peter Marchetti will not commit to lowering city spending in the Fiscal Year 2025 municipal budget that will begin on July 1st, 2024.

https://www.wamc.org/news/2024-01-10/pittsfield-city-council-calls-on-marchetti-for-close-to-level-funded-budget-in-first-meeting-of-term

It would be too unrealistic to write that the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family who lives in Pittsfield (Massachusetts) are like a doormat.  Rather, they are more like a toilet that City Hall shits on!

Move the Hell out of Pittsfield while you can!!!!

Jon Melle

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January 18, 2024

Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti will air his new local TV show on the Monday evening prior to the biweekly Tuesday evening City Council meetings.

SARCASM:

He will talk about Pittsfield politics excessively taxing the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family out of their home.

He will talk about the Pittsfield public school district's Level 5 rating, which is rock bottom.

He will talk about Pittsfield always being ranked in the top 10 cities by population in Massachusetts for VIOLENT CRIME.

He will talk about Allendale Elementary School abutting Hill 78, which is a capped leaky landfill full of industrial chemicals called PCBs.

He will talk about all of the Social Services Agencies and the 15 empty storefronts on North Street.

He will talk about postindustrial Pittsfield's past 50 years of huge losses in population and living wage jobs.

He will talk about Pittsfield State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier's sole state legislative priority to legalize sex workers in Massachusetts.

He will talk about Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior's Pittsfield pot kingdom called "Berkshire Roots" stinking up working-class and middle-class residential neighborhoods near his Dalton Avenue marijuana business, while Nuciforo lives in his $950,000 mansion in the same elitist Gated Community former Mayor Linda Tyer resides in.

He will talk about Governor Maura Healey being one of the most unproductive governors in Massachusetts history, while she recently cut state funding for all of the social services agencies and programs that Pittsfield's distressed and extremely unequal economy over-relies on.

"Throw the underclass, disabled, children, elderly and working poor people of Massachusetts off of the proverbial cliff, Maura!"

He won't be talking about "Luciforo's" civil pot lawsuit versus the City of Pittsfield.

He won't be talking about Jimmy Ruberto's Rolodex (debacle).

He won't be talking about the federal lawsuit that names him, his men colleagues, and the local bank he worked at for 35 years that alleges sex discrimination by Victoria May.

He won't be talking about trying to reduce spending in the next fiscal year's municipal budget (even though he said he took a pay cut to be the mayor at a city salary of $115,725 per fiscal year 2024).

He probably won't be inviting blogger Dan Valenti on his local television show because he publicly said that he wants a 90 day grace period free of criticism on social media websites and blogs, which he said that he is not a fan of.

Jon Melle

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February 5, 2024

The past 4 and 1 current Mayors of Pittsfield politics:

Sara Hathaway called violent crime in Pittsfield "an ABERRATION".  I recently read that violent crime in Pittsfield more than doubles the statewide average since at least 1980.  Sara Hathaway is a (litigious) schoolmarm who has a seat on the (Level 5) Pittsfield School Committee.  (Sarcasm: NO conflicts of interest there).

Jimmy Ruberto touted his ROLODEX that were to bring businesses and living wage jobs back to postindustrial Pittsfield, but now the Ruberto ROLODEX has become a sad symbol of postindustrial Pittsfield's place in the U.S.' distressed economic Rust Belt.  He went onto be a full-time resident of Florida, and less than 5 years ago he purchased a condo unit for $490,000 in Lenox, Massachusetts, where he is a part-time resident.

Dan Bianchi said that he would bring his financial management skills to Pittsfield City Hall.  He treated the mayor's position as a part-time job, while he continued to work for Montello.  Meanwhile, the city's finances, especially spending and borrowing, continued to excessively increase at the dismay of local taxpayers.

Linda Tyer said that she would bring people together in Pittsfield politics.  She then went onto marry her third husband, who is a multimillionaire CPA who is also known as Cumby's Clairmont, who lives with his second wife, Linda Tyer, in a mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community.

Since late last Summer 2023, their new neighbor is "Luciforo", who purchased his mansion for $950,000.  Sarcasm: (Jon Melle's homelessness sidewalk is on the corner of First Street and Fenn Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  That is, if it were up to "Pittsfield's Pot King", who has conspiratorially persecuted me since I was 20 years old starting in the Spring 1996 when my dad, Bob, began his campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner, 1997 - mid-2000).

Peter Marchetti said that he is will unite the city with his "One Pittsfield" 2023 campaign tagline.  He went onto publicly ask for a 90 day grace period free from criticism, as well as letting all of us know that he is NOT a fan of social media and blogs.

The Hathaway HACK, The Ruberto ROLODEX, the Bianchi BUST, the Tyer TAXER, and the Marchetti MANIA.

Jon Melle

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February 6, 2024

It figures that former Mayor Dan Bianchi is a partner in Nuciforo's pot company named "Berkshire Roots".  Dan Bianchi was to the late Mayor Anne Everest Wojtkowski (who was Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior's Aunt) as Matt Kerwood was to former Mayor Linda Tyer and is to sitting Mayor Peter Marchetti (who, unfortunately, is my relative, as we share the same great grandparents who migrated from Italy to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a long time ago).

The aforementioned people who ran or run Pittsfield politics are all disingenuous and only out for themselves.  Dan Bianchi, the late "Queen Anne" and her evil nephew "Luciforo", Matt Kerwood, Linda Tyer and Peter Marchetti have all done very well for themselves in Pittsfield, while the rest of us have not.

The late "Queen Anne" and "Luciforo" conspiratorially persecuted me since I was 20 years old beginning in the Spring 1996 when my dad, Bob, began his campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner, 1997 - mid-2000.  They were mean-spirited and abusive with their political power in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  My dad, Bob, served on the Pittsfield School Committee with "Queen Anne" a long time ago.  They obviously did not like each other, which led to them targeting me to get to my father, but it ended up backfiring on them, and I read and hear that good people in Pittsfield still defend me from the ongoing mudslinging attacks even though I haven't lived in Pittsfield in about 20 years.

"Luciforo" is currently suing The City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts" over his $440,000 pot HCAs fee payments that he wants refunded with unspecified damages to "Berkshire Roots".

Jon Melle

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February 7, 2024

Mayor Peter Marchetti earns a city salary of $115,725 per fiscal year 2024, which will mostly likely increase during his 4-year term(s).  He will retire with a 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life, which will be on top of his 35-year bank pension plus his monthly Social Security checks.

Mayor Peter Marchetti publicly stated that he requests a 90-day grace period free from criticism, and that he is not a fan of social media and blogs.

Mayor Peter Marchetti stated that he will not close to level fund the city's would-be fiscal year 2025 operating budget.  Mayor Peter Marchetti's would-be proposed fiscal year 2025 operating budget will probably increase municipal spending by between 5 percent to 10 percent beginning on July 1st, 2024.

Mayor Peter Marchetti's tagline is "One Pittsfield".

Mayor Peter Marchetti is named in Victoria May's sex discrimination federal civil lawsuit versus Pittsfield Co-op Bank.  She alleges that when Peter Marchetti was a manager at the bank, he called her "a BITCH" and otherwise mistreated her along with two other men bank managers.

Mayor Peter Marchetti publicly says that he is openly gay.  He was endorsed by the openly gay Governor, Maura Healey.

Peter Marchetti and Jon Melle are relatives.  We share the same great-grandparents who migrated from Italy to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, well over 100 years ago.  I did not get to choose my relatives, especially Peter Marchetti.

Peter Marchetti ran for Mayor of Pittsfield in 2011, but he lost to Dan Bianchi back then.  In 2023, he ran for Mayor of Pittsfield and was victorious versus candidate John Krol.

Jon Melle

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February 16, 2024

Do you know anyone who would serve as my Attorney to sue Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior, who - by the way - is currently suing the City of Pittsfield over his marijuana company Berkshire Roots' past payments of $440,000 in HCAs fees plus unspecified damages?  I would be more than happy to sue "Luciforo" for all of his conspiratorial abuses against me since the Spring 1996 when I was 20 years old and my dad, Bob, began his successful campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner, 1997 - mid-2000!

I believe that Nuciforo belongs in prison due to his allegedly illegal double dipping in the mid-2000s when he chaired the Massachusetts State Senate Finance Committee while at the same time serving as an Attorney at the Boston Law Firm Berman & Dowell as legal counsel for Boston's big banks and insurance companies, which led to Nuciforo having to step down in disgrace as Pittsfield's State Senator in 2006.  These are all facts that were published in The Boston Globe in early- to mid-January 2007.

Furthermore, in present day 2024, Nuciforo still has a law office in Boston's financial district.  Someone needs to hold Nuciforo accountable for being a mean-spirited, abusive and corrupt disgraced politician, Attorney, and marijuana businessman.

Instead, Nuciforo lives in a mansion he purchased last Summer 2023 for $950,000 in the same elitist Gated Community neighborhood west of Berkshire Community College that former Mayor Linda Tyer also resides in.  Also, Nuciforo's owns other properties in Pittsfield and Boston.

The Berkshire Eagle targets other politicians and people, but not Nuciforo, who is the biggest FRAUD in the history of Pittsfield politics!

Jon Melle

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February 19, 2024

Happy U.S. Presidents' Day 2024

Here are my ideas for Pittsfield politics' Holidays:

Life in the Pitts Day

PEDA Day

PCBs Day

Cancer clusters Day

Level 5 Scohol Day

Learning disabilities Day

Blame the GE Day

Barstool Day

Aberration Day

Rolodex Day

Gated Community Day

Openly Gay Day

County Buffet Day

Luciforo Day

Violent Crime Day

Dead Downtown Day

Kufflinks' Day

Kapanski Day

Krooklyn in the Berkshires Day

Rinaldo's Day

Nip bottle Day

Lottery litter Day

The Dirty Bird Day

The Fart of the Berkshires Day

Sell Norman Rockwell paintings Day

20 percent Voter Turnout Day

Growth in the Underclass Day

50 years of population loss Day

No living wage jobs left Day

Fall off the Cliff (Nilan) Day

Homeless in Pittsfield Day

DISSERVICE-Net Day

The Good Old Boys Day

The 5 Families who run Pittsfield Day

Pittsfield is a political fiefdom Day

FREE CASH Day

Excessive municipal spending Day

Pittsfield is a junkie for state aid Day

The panhandler on every corner Day

The 3 am Cumby's Clairmont Day

The Tell 'em Angelo sent you Day

The Carmen Massimiano, Jr. Day

The everyone is related to each other Day

The low gene pool Day

The Retribution Day

The there is nothing for you here Day

Jon Melle

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February 23, 2024

Sarcasm: Would-be Mayor of Pittsfield politics Jon Melle files a counter lawsuit versus Pittsfield's Pot King "Luciforo" for being a 4-foot-tall piece of poop in the form of a man who will turn 60 - "666-0" - this upcoming Monday.

More sarcasm: If I won, then the would-be city-owned Berkshire Roots marijuana business would be renamed Berkshire Poops because Nuciforo and his pot business both STINK!

Jon Melle

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February 23, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

One of your well-informed posters on your blog wrote: "Locally how can you say the city is following the example of the 4 freedoms when the citizens are afraid to voice opposition in fear they will become JM?"

My reply is that Pittsfield politics' other name is RETRIBUTION.  The career politicians only do DISSERVICES to the common people, while they serve their political, financial and corporate backers.  The multi-billion-dollar per fiscal year record breaking Massachusetts State Lottery is a perfect illustration of the government scamming the common people to enrich the financial, corporate and ruling elites at the public trough.

My dad, Bob, once was a political and community activist in Pittsfield (Massachusetts) many years ago now.  When I was a young man back then, my dad's political enemies abused me as a means to hurt my dad, especially "Luciforo".  I - Jon Melle - know that if I ever returned to my native hometown of Pittsfield, they would find ways to hurt me there all over again.  But I am not the one who is suing the city, unlike the aforementioned Nuciforo (aka "Pittsfield's Pot King").

Predictable Pittsfield politics should not be always raise its municipal fiscal year operating budget by between 5 percent to 10 percent every year since the early-1980's.  There is no real middle-class tax base in Pittsfield anymore.  The city is basically robbing the Senior Citizens of their monthly Social Security checks, among other low- to moderate-income local taxpaying households.

I wish I could change and reform things for the better in the government, but it would end up being me getting abused and hurt again (and again and again....) in an act of futility.

Jon Melle

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On Monday, 2/26/2024, Pittsfield's Pot King "Luciforo" turns "666"-0 years old.  Nuciforo's marijuana company's lawsuit versus the City of Pittsfield is claiming that the city government owes him $440,000 in past HCAs fees plus unspecified damages.  Maybe "Luciforo" will end up winning a sum total of $666,666?  As Nuciforo is playing the victim card here, we should all sign his birthday - victim - card and wish him a Happy Birthday.

Poor 60-year-old Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior. He has made millions of dollars off his stinky marijuana company called "Berkshire Roots", but nonetheless, he is playing the victim card by suing the city government. I hope he loses his lawsuit because he is a stinky old fart.

On the night of "Luciforo's" 60th birthday, Pittsfield City Councilor Alisa Costa is holding her first constituent meeting at Living in Recovery off of McKay Street at 7:00 pm on Monday, February 26th, 2024.  What if one of her constituents asks her about his addiction to marijuana, and if it is O.K. that Nuciforo is profiting off of being a drug dealer of pot products?

https://www.wamc.org/news/2024-02-23/pittsfield-city-councilor-costa-to-launch-new-series-of-constituent-meetings-monday

Jon Melle

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February 27, 2024

Nuciforo owns multiple properties that he rents out in both Pittsfield and Boston.  Nuciforo's mansion home in Pittsfield is 0.3 miles from former Mayor Linda Tyer's mansion home in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College.  Nuciforo does not live near his pot growing building on Dalton Avenue.  Nuciforo also has a residence in Boston, as well as a law office in Boston's Financial District.  Nuciforo is suing the City of Pittsfield over his marijuana company's $440,000 in HCAs payments from years ago, along with unspecified damages.

I agree with "Merry & Bright" that your Ward in Pittsfield deserves some answers about Nuciforo's Pittsfield Pot Kingdom from Mayor Peter Marchetti, City Councilors and the Health Department.  It seems like everyone but me - Jon Melle - is afraid of Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior, whom I believe belongs in prison for being a corrupt disgraced former politician, unethical lawyer, and a stinky marijuana businessman.

Jon Melle

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February 28, 2024

Sarcasm: I told Kufflinks that the city government forgot to pay me back $440,000 plus unspecified damages over my marijuana company's past payments of HCAs fees from years ago.  Kufflinks told me that he didn't forget to pay me because it was part of my pot permits to make millions of dollars off of being a drug dealer of pot products.  So last Summer 2023, I filed a civil lawsuit versus the City of Pittsfield in Berkshire Superior Court to recoup my money from the city government, which is still ongoing in 2024.  I am also a disgraced former Pittsfield State Senator who had to step down from my elected position in 2006 because I was double dipping as the Chair of the State Senate Finance Committee while at the same time serving as an Attorney for the Boston Law Firm Berman and Dowell as an Attorney serving Boston's big banks and insurance companies.  In 2024, I still have a law office in Boston's Financial District because I get away with everything under the Sun.  From 2007- 2012, I anointed myself as the Middle Berkshire Registrar of Deeds whereby in 2012, I ran a failed campaign for U.S. Congress.  Years ago in March 2017, I went to pot and co-founded "Berkshire Roots" by using my corrupt political connections with deep pockets of money as one of the first pot permit holders in Pittsfield and Massachusetts alike.  My large marijuana growing building on Dalton Avenue stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods, but the city government that I am suing lets me do whatever the hell I want.  In the Summer 2023, I purchased a $950,000 mansion in the same elitist Gated Community neighborhood west of Berkshire Community College that former Mayor Linda Tyer lives in.  I don't live near my pot kingdom on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield (Mass.) because I don't want to smell all of the stinky marijuana growing odors that so many city residents complain about.  I am a 4-foot-tall stinky piece of poop who exists in the form of a man.  My sarcastic nicknames are "Luciforo" and "Pittsfield's Pot King".  I have hurt a lot of people over the years because I want everyone to fear me, but as the years go by, I am the one who is called mean-spirited, corrupt, litigious, hypocritical, and so on.  I just turned 60 years old earlier this week, which means that I hope to live for at least another 25 years before I end up in Hell for eternity.  I liked blogger Dan Valenti's satirical play about Pittsfield politics' Agenda 12 requesting the city government pay a $43,000 bill from around one year ago.  I am asking over 10 times that amount from the city government from pot payments that I paid years ago now in my lawsuit versus the City of Pittsfield.  I hope that blogger Dan Valenti does not write a satirical play about me.  I get picked on enough.  The Berkshire Eagle wrote that I am "a fringe politician".  The Springfield Republican wrote that I am "mean-spirited".  The Boston Globe wrote about how I used my political connections with deep pockets of money to cash in on being a drug dealer of marijuana products.  Jon Melle always writes that I belong in prison over all of the above corrupt things I have done over the years.  I am Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior.

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April 3, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

The city government has a FREE CASH Slush Fund of $8.1 million, and the Marchetti administration plans to use up to $2.5 million to reduce the tax rate in his May 14, 2024, municipal budget proposal.  That leaves $5.6 million in FREE CASH in fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025).  The city's FREE CASH is a financial shell game the city administration has to play with the inequitable state government in Boston, which will underfund local aid by millions of dollars in fiscal year 2025.

Going back over 40 years since the misguided Proposition 2.5 state law went into effect, Pittsfield politics always increases municipal spending by at least 5 percent per fiscal year.  The Eagle stated: "City expenses are climbing faster than city revenues."  The automatic 5% city spending increase plus contractual budget obligations compounded by a marginal increase in state aid will add another 5% spending increase on top of the benchmark 5% spending increase.  My prediction is that Pittsfield politics will increase its annual operating budget spending by close to 10 percent in less than 3 months time.

Jon Melle

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"Pittsfield Mayor Marchetti says his budget will bring cuts, but still can't fend off tax increases"

Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, April 3, 2024

PITTSFIELD — Mayor Peter Marchetti said his goal in creating his first city budget was to maintain Pittsfield’s current level of services and resources for residents. After running the numbers, Marchetti doesn’t think that will be possible.

Marchetti and Finance Director Matt Kerwood laid out the state of city finances at the annual joint meeting of the City Council and Pittsfield Public School Committee on Tuesday. The coming fiscal year brings increasing health insurance costs, retirement contributions, debt payments and negotiated wage increases as well as smaller than anticipated increases in state aid.

Along with a difficult financial picture, the mayor is facing a council that has petitioned the administration to present a “budget that is close to level funding, knowing that contracts need to be filled.”

The mayor told the council that while he finds the kinds of cuts to city services required to achieve a level-funded budget — one that freezes the money departments have at their current amounts — unacceptable, he can’t make the numbers work on a budget that maintains city services either.

The mayor said he plans to present his budget to the council on May 14, 2024.

“I think we’re going to meet somewhere in the middle,” Marchetti told the council, “because the budget you’re going to receive from this administration won’t be level-service funded because we can’t get there.”

In short: cuts are coming.

That doesn’t mean that residents will see a decrease in their tax bills when the fiscal year 2025 starts on July 1, 2024, though. The mayor said in the most restrictive scenario — that of a level-funded budget — the city would have to come up with about $11.2 million in cuts to city services and the administration would still have to ask the council to approve a tax increase.

That’s because of a squeeze the city is feeling from some budget drivers. Kerwood told city leaders the city is anticipating a 5.2 percent increase in health insurance costs, a 5.4 percent increase in retirement contributions, a 9 percent increase in debt payments and a $3 million increase in city and school employee wages and overtime.

City expenses are climbing faster than city revenues.

In the preliminary look provided by Kerwood at city revenues for fiscal year 2025, state aid is estimated to come in at about $73.7 million — about $519,000 over the current fiscal year. That’s a much smaller increase than the prior two years in which state aid increased by about $6.9 million and $5.5 million in FY 2024 and FY 2023, respectively.

Kerwood believes the local receipts the city collects from things like motor vehicle excise and hotel and meals tax will total just under $13.9 million — about $390,000 over the current year.

The finance director said the administration is also willing to use up to $2.5 million of the city’s $8.1 million in free cash to reduce the tax rate if called upon to do so.

One of the final pieces of the revenue picture is the tax levy. Kerwood said the city anticipates raising $115.2 million in property taxes. That would be a $6 million — or 5.53 percent — increase over the taxes collected by the city this year.

Councilors said that as much as they’d like to avoid it they know rising tax bills are coming. Councilor Kathy Amuso, who authored the petition for a “close to level funded” budget said her goal this budget cycle wasn’t to “dismantle departments” with budget cuts but find a path toward more modest increases in tax bills.

“My expectation is that my tax bill — whenever I open it, whenever it comes in January — isn’t going to be reduced,” Amuso said. “But I want to just be prudent and look at the budget.”

Councilor Patrick Kavey called on the mayor to give special consideration to maintaining staffing in the city’s highway department — which the council expanded in recent years — to avoid having city residents foot the bill for paying contractors to do the same road work at a higher rate later on. He also asked that the building inspector’s office be shielded from any cuts as one of the revenue generating offices in the city.

Council Vice President Earl Persip gave his support to putting funds toward programs or supports that result in greater efficiencies in city business. Marchetti said he’s still committed to hiring the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts-Boston to conduct efficiency studies of city departments — though that work may not happen until the coming fall.

The mayor said that when the budget is presented in a month’s time, he expects the council to carry the weight of making a palatable budget for the city alongside him.

“When you guys receive the budget, if your priorities don’t align with mine it’s when you guys get out the red pen and we’ll abide by the reductions that you guys want to make,” the mayor said. “I think I said early on that there’s not necessarily going to be blood on these hands alone — if we need to make drastic cuts, we’re going to share them together.”

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April 6, 2024

Re: Marchetti's secrecy and monetizing social services in Pittsfield (Mass.)

The Eagle's editorial states that Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti should not have started his new mental health and addiction advisory committee with secrecy and by giving Marchetti unilateral power to shape public policy.  For decades, I have written and argued that my native hometown of Pittsfield (Mass.) uses Perverse Incentives when it comes to public education and social services state administered federal funding.  I believe the reason why Mayor Peter Marchetti - who is my relative as we share the same great-grandparents from over one century ago - set up this new committee the misguided way that he has done is because he wants to monetize social services funding in Pittsfield.

Pittsfield has Level 5 public schools, which is the bottom rating by the state.  Pittsfield has acutely high per capita welfare and social services caseloads.  Hundreds of residents are homeless in Pittsfield.  There are a couple dozen deadly overdoses per year in Pittsfield.  It has been this way in Pittsfield for a very long time.  Why hasn't it changed for the better?  I believe the reason for this is because City Hall uses Perverse Incentives to monetize the state administered federal social services funding as a considerable revenue source in the over $205.6 million excessive municipal operating budget.

I compare it to the state lottery SCAM, which is really regressive taxation that predatorily targets the mostly financially illiterate low- to-moderate income residents and the economically distressed and unequal cities the underclass resides in throughout Massachusetts.  The larger the lottery's annual profits equals the larger state tax breaks that greedy lobbyists such as Dan Bosley are able to get for their wealthy big business clients, who, in turn, donate big campaign dollars to the corrupt career politicians on Beacon Hill.  To be clear, the state lottery uses perverse incentives, among many other levels of inequity, to monetize state revenues that primarily financially benefit the ruling, corporate, ruling and greedy lobbyist elites, while those of us common people who have limited income are being exploited by the government that is, in theory anyways, supposed to serve us, financial fools.

In closing, I believe that Mayor Peter Marchetti - similar to many other career politicians - are disingenuous with public policies, government secrecy, and/or unilateral legal authority as it relates to the government's limited resources because he wants to use the city's mental health crisis and addiction crisis alike to monetize social services funding in Pittsfield.  It is always MONEY over people when it comes to Pittsfield politics and beyond!

Jon Melle

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"Marchetti's mental health committee is a good idea; shielding it from public view is a bad idea"

The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, April 6, 2024

We welcome Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti’s initiative in creating a committee to guide Pittsfield’s policy responses to growing mental health and addiction issues. It was a central pledge of his campaign last year, and we agree with the need to bring a wide and diverse array of expert perspectives to the table to see how the city might mitigate the impacts on public safety and quality of life that many residents are feeling.

However, we disagree with the mayor on one critical aspect of the newly minted committee: We believe its work should be public-facing.

Last year, then-mayoral candidate Marchetti pledged to create a task force with a mission of targeting the cracks in available services and supports for those with mental health and addiction struggles to make those existing programs more efficient and effective. Such an approach, Mayor Marchetti maintains, might help the city deter crime, homelessness, panhandling and other growing concerns without further burdening the city’s already shaky budgetary footing.

After taking office, however, Mayor Marchetti decided against the “task force” model and instead opted for an advisory committee reporting only to his office. Such bodies that are created to advise an individual official on decisions he or she alone has responsibility for are not subject to the state’s Open Meeting Law. That means this committee ostensibly formed to benefit the people of Pittsfield won’t be compelled to announce its meetings, publicize its agendas and minutes, or conduct its business in public at all.

Mayor Marchetti said he opted for this model to give the group greater privacy to discuss the nitty-gritty nature of these pernicious issues in a way that the mayor says might not be “appropriate to have on TV.”

“I want people to be able to speak freely about the issue and not have to sugarcoat it,” Mayor Marchetti added. “Doing so in a public forum may make that more difficult.”

We also want folks with critical expertise and relevant backgrounds to speak freely, but while the mayor is concerned that doing so in public will make that more difficult, we’re concerned that doing so in private has pitfalls, too. Whether the mayor finds the committee’s targeted topics appropriate for TV, the reality is that many of his constituents are all too familiar with the stakes and the effects of the mental health crisis and the scourge of addiction — a reality that the mayor must know given his welcome prioritizing of the issue. Those same constituents deserve to see the more holistic assessment the mayor is seeking as well as the difficult but necessary conversations that might inform new public policy postures.

We agree that we don’t want advisory committee members to sugarcoat the facts on the ground and the available options for action. Yet the implication that this critical analysis must be either sugarcoated or shunted away from public view builds up the barrier of stigma that the mayor has rightly said we must work to dismantle if we hope to fully expose and treat these vicious social ills.

The mayor already has fully appointed the advisory committee, which comprises 30 members whose work and advocacy puts them face to face with various facets of the twin crises in mental health and addiction. From health care and social workers to EMS and law enforcement to safety net and civic organizations, the mayor has clearly put together a team that can offer up the holistic picture he’s looking for with regard to how these pressing issues are affecting Pittsfield and what more can reasonably be done at the local level.

In casting such a wide net, why foreclose the public’s view and input? The large number of appointees clearly intends to produce well-rounded and well-informed discussion, but we worry that the committee’s size might make it unwieldy. That’s all the more reason to increase, not limit, the public’s observation to better scrutinize the committee’s productivity and let residents know whether this endeavor produces actionable results. Beyond observation, citizens could offer valuable insight, too.

Further, the “advisory committee” model that ducks Open Meeting Law compliance implies the only topics to be tackled will be those relating to actions the mayor can take unilaterally. These issues are bigger than that, though, and the mayor knows neither his office nor any singular entity can single-handedly meet this complex and expanding crisis. Will the committee make public meetings and minutes that raise matters and measures outside the mayor’s command, or will that be a limiting factor for the breadth of discussions? This is a communitywide and national issue; the synthesis of perspectives offered by this initiative originating from a public office ought to be publicly available.

The exemption carve-outs in Massachusetts Open Meeting Law are unfortunate but clear. It is the mayor’s prerogative to shield what we otherwise consider a wise initiative from public view. Still, in the weeks leading up the committee’s first planned meeting, we urge him to reconsider that opaque approach. Absent that, we implore the advisory committee to make public as many of their meetings as possible. Otherwise, this panel not only stands to conceal from the people of Pittsfield a necessary conversation convened on their behalf but also risks validating the stigma that the mayor acknowledges is a barrier to truly confronting these wicked problems.

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April 11, 2024

Predictable Pittsfield politics:

1. An excessive municipal operating budget that always increases spending by at least 5 percent up to 10 percent per fiscal year.

2. Instead of small businesses, Pittsfield is the Social Services and Not-for-Profit Capital of Massachusetts.

3. Instead of investing in the people and the community, Pittsfield screws anyone and everyone who is not part of the incestuous-like one political (Democrat) party insider's club.

4. Level 5 public schools with over 650 students per academic year who choice out to nearby neighboring public school districts.

5. Lottery Tickets and Nip Bottles and Marijuana Dispensaries and the like epitomizing the state's systemic mockery of the low- to-moderate income underclass residents who live in Pittsfield's distressed economy.

6. Mayors who say that Pittsfield is a Junkie for State Aid, Crime in Pittsfield is an Aberration, I have a Rolodex, I will revitalize post-GE Pittsfield, Pittsfield is Vibrant and Dynamic, I request a 90-day Grace Period free from criticism, and I am NOT a fan of social media and blogs, I formed a [secretive] advisory committee on mental health and addiction whereby I have unilateral authority....

7. Past Mayors who now live in Sunny Florida, a Gated Community along with her litigious neighbor who is sarcastically known as Pittsfield's Pot King Luciforo, and anywhere else but inner-city Pittsfield.

8. The School Committee and City Council supporting demolishing two West Side public schools, while omitting the elementary school that abuts Hill 78, which is a capped leaky landfill full of GE's PCBs industrial chemicals that causes brain damage, learning disabilities and cancer.

9. Pittsfield politics other name is RETRIBUTION!  It is NOT democracy.

10. NO real representation on any level of government for the fictional family named Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, who lives, works, and pays taxes in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Jon Melle

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"My questions about the Housatonic River cleanup plan"

The Berkshire Eagle, Letter to the Editor, April 11, 2024

To the editor: Two years ago, I fell in love with the Berkshires and this beautiful community of people, not to mention the stunning environment.

I left behind 35 years of Boston-living to take root here. I feel stupid now. I didn't think to ask my real estate agent if a plan was in place to truck PCBs through my neighborhood for 5 - 13 years and store them miles away from my front door only to partially clean a toxic river.

So now I am asking.

How much PCB, which the Environmental Protection Agency considers a probable human carcinogen, will the trucks and/or trains leak into the air during transport?

If there is a transport accident, what is the threat to our health and to the environment?

What is the evacuation plan if the upland disposal facility leaks? Who is in charge of alerting us and cleaning it up?

What exactly is the truck or train transport route going to be? Does it pass by schools?

Why is Berkshire County - a place that depends on the pristine beauty of its environment for economic sustainability - allowing this to happen?

How many years will this toxic waste storage facility be viable?

Is this plan solving the problem 100 percent now and for future generations?

I understand agreements were made years ago, but that was 20 years ago. Life has changed, our climate has changed, our environment has changed and we know much more about the hazards to all living things when deadly chemicals are trucked (or trained) through neighborhoods and stored in them as well. A potential for complete disaster is being created when none exists.

I was in a meeting with an elected official, and she asked me what my solution would be. Here it is, seriously: Before Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti decides to raise my taxes again, the town of Pittsfield can collect back-rent from GE for five decades of free toxic waste storage in our river. Then, charge GE yearly storage rent equal to the town's budget deficit forever. That is a solution that is risk-free to our environment and our community and helps us recover, in part, from the toxic mess we didn't make in the first place.

Elizabeth Heller, Pittsfield

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April 12, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I believe the root of the social problems cities such as my native hometown of Pittsfield (Mass.) and the city I lived in for 4 years of my adult life in Manchester, NH, is that society is uneducated about the UNDERCLASS.

Carol Robidoux, who publishes Manchester Ink Link, sent out her daily news email today (Happy Friday, 04/12/2024) whereby she wrote about the city's ARPA hire for Manchester's homelessness crisis whose employment was terminated yesterday by the Mayor, but she was given a $57,000 settlement from the city.  Carol wrote about the decades of failed social services policies and programs to assist the city's underclass out of  a life of poverty.

In the Berkshire Eagle, I read the headline and one paragraph of an op-ed column whereby the author wrote that gambling is a regressive tax.  Despite the way in which the government and big business structured gambling, the underclass is consuming gambling products and thereby (voluntarily) paying regressive taxes.  I thought to myself that greedy lobbyists, such as Dan Bosley, supports gambling and other regressive taxes because it enables them to obtain large state (and beyond) tax breaks for their big business clients.

I support social services, public education, mental health and addiction committees that are NOT secretive and give Mayor Peter Marchetti unilateral authority, and so on.  But the hole in the proverbial doughnut is that a majority of people do not understand the UNDERCLASS population in our inequitable society.

Instead of a top-down big government and big business approach to social services, Mayor Peter Marchetti should take a bottom-up approach.  If I were the Mayor of Pittsfield (Mass.) like my relative is - as we share the same Italian great-grandparents who migrated to Pittsfield over one century ago, I would educate the public about the city's largest growth demographic: The city's huge UNDERCLASS population.  I would also explain that the state lottery SCAM is a regressive taxation scheme that targets the UNDERCLASS and makes a systemic mockery of economically distressed "Gateway" cities such as Pittsfield.

Carol Robidoux is right on target.  Manchester, NH, has had decades of failed social services policies and programs to assist the city's underclass out of a life of poverty.  I would add that one of the main reasons for these decades of failures is that we do not understand the UNDERCLASS population from a bottom-up viewpoint.

Best wishes,

Jon Melle

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April 12, 2024

Sarcasm: That is me: Jon Melle, who is racing to post my delusional rants.... I should join the ranks of "Junkie for State Aid" & "Aberration", "Rolodex" & "Renaissance", "Vibrant & Dynamic", and "90 day grace period".  I should run for U.S. Congress versus PAC Man Richie Neal and then after I lose by 40 points, I should appoint myself as Pittsfield's Pot King.  I should propose demolishing 2 West Side public schools, while NOT doing anything about the elementary school that abuts the capped leaky landfill full of PCBs industrial chemicals that causes brain damage, learning disabilities, and cancer.  I should be the first would-be openly gay Governor of Massachusetts, but then have the sarcastic nickname of "Unproductive".  I should be a U.S. Senator who represents Massachusetts in the Swamp, but really live in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  I should be the U.S. President and say that I am very proud of my scoundrel son, Hunter.  There you have it: Jon Melle's DELUSIONAL rant.

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April 14, 2024

The letter, below, really bothered me on many levels.  When I think of a bureaucrat, I think of a banal micro-manager who is bought and paid for to serve their political boss' "Twilight Zone" interests.  A perfect bureaucrat dots all his i's and crosses all of his t's.  A greedy bureaucrat only cares about his job, pay, perks and pension.

To illustrate, the corrupt EPA supports GE's plan to put a capped leaky landfill full of PCBs industrial chemicals in Lee, Massachusetts.  I, along with many other concerned people, wrote to the corrupt EPA during the public comment periods.  The corrupt EPA bureaucrats found technical reasons to disregard all of the public comments that did not align with their poisonous findings.

To illustrate, Pittsfield's Allendale Elementary School abuts Hill 78, which is a GE capped leaky landfill full of PCBs industrial chemicals that causes brain damage, learning disabilities and cancer.  The Pittsfield public school bureaucrats wrongly allow this poisonous public school to continue to operate, while there is a severe public safety threat to hundreds of students, faculty and staff.  Sarcasm: Thanks again, corrupt EPA bureaucrats!

Pittsfield's public schools are unfortunately known as Level 5 public schools.  One of its bureaucrats found that a statewide undercount of low-income students resulted in millions of dollars in state funding in favor of the city's failed public school district.  What I see here is that the city's large population of underclass students are attending Level 5 Pittsfield public schools that led to increased state aid funding for the city's public school district.  That is not really a victory - even in Pittsfield.

Would anyone want to deal with the corrupt EPA bureaucracy that agreed to a capped leaky landfill near an elementary school?  Would anyone write to the corrupt EPA about capped leaky landfills only to read that they found technical reasons to reject all of the comments that did not align with the EPA bureaucrats' point of view on the matter?  Would anyone want to pay excessive municipal taxes in Pittsfield in return for the city's huge underclass population's children attending the city's Level 5 public schools?

Jon Melle

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Letter: "In defense of bureaucrats"

The Berkshire Eagle, April 13, 2024

To the editor: It can be all too easy to give bureaucrats and bureaucracies a harsh word.

The words themselves are sometimes used as insults. They are frequently those who enforce rules and processes we don't like or sometimes don't understand. We hardly ever hear the word “bureaucrat” used in any sort of positive way.

But near the soul of every good administrative bureaucrat lie two very important questions: “Is this right?” and “Is this the best we can do?” They see the humanity of the systems they’re a part of and do their best to address these questions with honesty and hope. Part of a bureaucrat’s job is to remain behind the scenes or around the edges. However, sometimes one of them does something so important that it’s important to pause and shine a light on them for more than a moment.

This week, we learned of the work of Kristen Behnke, assistant superintendent for business and finance of the Pittsfield Public Schools. Through her good work, we learned of a statewide undercount of low-income students that, if unchecked, would have resulted in millions of dollars in cuts. ("A Pittsfield school official revealed a statewide undercount in low-income students. It will unlock another $2.4M in aid," Eagle, April 12.)

Her work has helped prevent suffering for those who serve all of us through their work in school systems — work that is already harder than it should be — and thousands of students and parents. We owe her our deep gratitude.

Yes, bureaucrats and bureaucracies are frequently regarded as a problem. Usually, what gets highlighted is a mistake or error instead of their everyday work that keeps things functioning. But at their best they are protectors of well-being, defenders of shared assets, guardians against costly errors, and the energy that keeps an organized society functioning in ways we never usually see at all.

The Rev. Mike Denton, Pittsfield

The writer is pastor of United Church of Christ, Pittsfield.

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April 14, 2024

I liked reading that The Planet will be dealing with the REVEREND [Mike Denton, Pittsfield; The writer is pastor of United Church of Christ, Pittsfield] in the Wednesday column.

I did not like reading his letter either whereby he praised the bureaucrats who run Pittsfield's over-priced, Level 5 public schools that are full of underclass children who qualify the city for millions of dollars in additional state aid.  Does the Reverend live in "The Twilight Zone"?

While he is at it, he should also praise all of the state and local bureaucrats for North Street's glut of Social Services Agencies and the sarcastically called "Ring of Poverty" inner-city distressed neighborhoods that surround downtown Pittsfield's "Social Services Alley".  The underclass population - Pittsfield's largest growth sector for many years now - brings in millions of dollars in additional state aid to the city.  But, I ask, at what cost?  Answer: At the cost of REAL economic development instead of millions of dollars in additional state aid due to Pittsfield's large underclass population.

While he is at it, he should praise the EPA bureaucrats that transformed Pittsfield into GE's toxic waste dump full of capped leaky landfills.  They plan to do the same to the Town of Lee, Mass.  He should praise the bureaucrats who run the polluted PEDA debacle and its millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities that continues to increase in cost as time goes by.  He should praise the bureaucrats that put Hill 78 - GE's capped leaky landfill full of PCBs that causes brain damage, learning disabilities and cancer - right next to Allendale Elementary School.

While he is at it, he should praise the bureaucrats for the fact that since at least 1980 through 2024, violent crime in Pittsfield has more than doubled the statewide average, according to published studies.  When a middle-class family or a small business looks at Pittsfield's crime data, they look to live elsewhere.

The list goes on and on.  Bureaucrats who serve the one political (Democratic) party government in Massachusetts give us excessively high taxes, the lottery SCAM, and all of their other "Twilight Zone" DISSERVICES, while they enrich themselves and their inequitable bosses at the public trough - to illustrate, some super-greedy lobbyists in Boston earn 7-figure salaries; state lawmakers in Boston giveaway billions of dollars per fiscal year in state tax breaks - government at is WORST.

Jon Melle

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April 15, 2024

Pittsfield politics and beyond:

The late Gerry Doyle debacle: "Barstool" & "Good Old Boys club"

The Sara Hathaway hack: "Aberration" & "Junkie for state aid"

The Jimmy Ruberto regime: "Rolodex" & "Renaissance"

The Dan Bianchi bust: "Montello" & "Part-time Mayor"

The Linda Tyer taxer: "Gated Community"& "Vibrant & Dynamic"

The Peter Marchetti mania: "90 day grace period" & "Openly gay" & "Affordable level service budget spending increase [is an oxymoron by a moron]"

Pete White: "Porkchop" & "Voltron"

Tricia Farley-Bouvier: "Country Buffet" & "Driver's licenses for illegal immigrants" & "Happy Endings"

Paul Mark: Paul "Marxism" & Karen Spilka's favorite "Rubber Stamp"

Maura Healey: "Unproductive" & "Inequitable state spending"

Richie Neal: "PAC Man" & "Inaccessible"

Ed Markey: "Maryland Markey" & "Hot Air"

Elizabeth Warren: "Joe Biden receives more campaign donation than anyone in U.S. history, but I endorse him while I fight for Main Street [because 2 + 2 = 5]"

Joe Biden: "Dementia Dem" & "Hunter's businesses and millions of dollars in income were not connected to me" (The two quotes are connected to each other)

The fictional Mary Joe and Jane Kapanski: "Just get it over with and take my tax dollars while I pound sand."

Jon Melle

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April 16, 2024

I agree.  Bureaucrats and bureaucracies are banal micro-managing cogs in an inequitable and corrupt system of government.

I agree.  The Level 5 Pittsfield Public School System has an excessive number of bureaucrats.  Over the years, the enrollment numbers decreased, while the costs have increased.  In the land of bureaucratic financial formulas, it is a net loss.

I agree.  Matt Kerwood ("Kufflinks") is a true to form bureaucrat who plays financial shell games with the state that most people don't understand, while increasing city spending by between 5 percent to 10 percent per fiscal year.  It has been this way in Pittsfield politics since the early-1980's after the misguided state law named Proposition 2.5 went into effect in Massachusetts.

Bureaucrats are NOT about right versus wrong, fairness versus unfairness, equity versus shoving it up peoples' asses with their SCAMS such as the state lottery regressive taxation scheme, and so on.  Rather, bureaucrats are about serving "The Twilight Zone" views of their political bosses so that they can earn lucrative public pay plus perks for life.

Jon Melle

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Sarcasm: Luciforo told me to remind everyone that today is 4/20 [2024] and his Anti-Christ idol Adolf Hitler's birthday.

Luciforo is suing the City of Pittsfield because he wants his $440,000 in HCAs fees for his pot permits back.  Luciforo also filed a lawsuit in Boston to try to take away unions in the Massachusetts marijuana industry.  Luciforo loves MONEY, which is the root of all EVIL.

Luciforo lives in a mansion in the same elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield that former Mayor Linda Tyer and her 3rd husband Barry Clairmont HAVE their own mansion in.  Luciforo lives far away from his Dalton Avenue pot growing 3-story building that stinks up nearby residential Pittsfield neighborhoods.

But not to worry because Luciforo is 60 years old, which means that in about 25 years from now, Luciforo will rot in Hell where he will smell sulfer for eternity along with his birthday buddy Hitler.

Jon Melle

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April 24, 2024

Predictable Pittsfield politics always increases municipal and public school district spending by at least 5 percent per fiscal year since the early-1980's.  In recent years, the number is closer to 10 percent per fiscal year.

Pittsfield has hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts plus OPEB unfunded liabilities.  Moreover, the soon to be 26-year-old polluted PEDA debacle has millions of dollars in debts/unfunded liabilities, which increase in red ink as each year passes us by.

If someone out there wanted to write and publish a textbook on how NOT to financially manage a municipality, then one would title the textbook: "The City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts" and "Kufflinks" Matt Kerwood would be the starring bureaucrat.

Big Government and Big Businesses' financial management is NOT similar to one's personal financial management.  It is all a financial shell game to the bureaucrats and the career politicians whom they serve in government by giving the rest of us DISSERVICES on more levels than the Empire State Building has in floor numbers.

In Pittsfield, the bureaucrats always pass an annual local budget to receive as much state aid as possible.  It is NOT about the local taxpayers, who have to pay excessively high state and local taxes.

In Boston's corrupt and secretive Statehouse, it is PAY to PLAY state politics.  The do-nothing state lawmakers and unproductive openly gay Governor pass a record setting annual state budget that gives away billions of dollars per fiscal year to Boston area big businesses via regressive taxation predatory schemes such as the state lottery SCAM.  In return for the excessive state budget, the lobbyists - some of whom report 7-figure salaries in Boston - fill the career politicians' campaign coffers with big buck$.

In the Swamp, the U.S. national debt - https://www.usdebtclock.org/ - increases with a disputed reported federal budget deficit that averages somewhere around $2 trillion per fiscal year.  Joe Biden is said to have printed well over $10 trillion out of thin air, which would put the federal budget deficit at an average of over $4 trillion per fiscal year.  Meanwhile, K Street corporate lobbyist firms had the nerve to brag about their record earnings in the tens of millions of dollars per Swamp K Street corporate lobbyist firm.  It is PAY to PLAY Swamp politics.

What is wrong with this inequitable picture of the financial, corporate and ruling elites cashing in via all of these financial shell games?  The Answer: The middle-class family is shrinking in numbers over the past 50 years.  The government is taking our hard-earned tax dollars, but the government is NOT investing in the people it is supposed to be serving.  The system needs to change, but, unfortunately, we are stuck with either Joe Biden or Donald Trump in 2024.

Jon Melle

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Our Opinion: "North Street redesign effort is welcome. Pittsfield officials must get it right this time"

The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, April 27, 2024

In the course of four years, North Street has had two major redesigns and been the subject of countless hours of debate and political drama. A recent study could point the city's main corridor in a different direction altogether.

It’s no secret that North Street’s reconfiguration has attracted more controversy than kudos, inspiring more than a little road rage among travelers of this pivotal Pittsfield artery. We’re hopeful that a new redesign being pursued by the city might smooth out some of the bumps in this road so critical to downtown’s vitality.

Those who wish for North Street to simply go back to its previous form — two lanes of traffic, no bike lanes — are unlikely to see that wish come true. The redesign plan the city is now eyeing, however, does appear to address the most troublesome aspects of the current configuration while retaining the more sensible goals and features of the haphazard change foisted on North Street a few years back.

Perhaps the most notable change in the city’s plan — hatched with a consultant and presented to the City Council this week — involves the bike lanes. The “preferred design” would wisely relocate these cyclist corridors so that they no longer occupy the precarious strips between moving and parked motor vehicles. Instead, the bike lanes would be between the sidewalks and parking spaces, separated from parked cars with a raised median.

This approach makes sense. Among the categories of downtown travelers, cyclists are much more like pedestrians than motorists. This would get bicycles out of traffic, making it easier and safer for cyclists to navigate downtown while improving flow for motorists, many of whom still use the bike lanes as turning lanes out of confusion, frustration or both.

In fact, this approach modeled in many cities makes so much sense that one wonders why it wasn’t Pittsfield’s “preferred design” when it reconfigured North Street in 2021. Better late than never. Among the other troublesome aspects of the last reconfiguration, it was reasonable to worry whether the city’s questionable approach might sow disdain for the basic concepts of bike lanes, walkability and other potentially beneficial aspects of modern urban design.

Hopefully this redesign plan can undo some of that damage and demonstrate that we don’t have to compromise on improved safety for all downtown travelers vs. convenience and navigability. We credit North Street business-owners and other downtown stakeholders who have pushed city officials to address the state of North Street. We also give some credit to the city’s public works department, including Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales, for being responsive, albeit slowly, to that public feedback with this plan for a more sensible-sounding redesign.

We urge city officials to forward this plan in a way that engenders more public confidence than the last time North Street was reshaped. The city made a significant and sudden change, seemingly driven more by haste and grant availability than sound design and user experience, without sufficient input from those whose quality of life is affected by the state of North Street — from area residents to regular commuters to downtown business-owners.

We know it will be a while before any shovels are in the ground on a North Street redo, but it would be wise to give the ultimate design a trial run before fully committing. Trying it out with painted lines and some portable cones would welcome downtown community input on a new design’s performance before the new North Street is set in stone. If the substance and volume of that feedback compels an edit to the design — as user feedback to the last redesign certainly did — it is much easier and cheaper to pick up some paint and cones than dig up North Street again. That could wind up saving the city some money and headaches in the redesign’s final implementation. It also would signal that city officials heard their constituents’ complaints and are letting that feedback inform a more thoughtful process for this redesign. That could help the city get it right this time — and Pittsfield can’t afford to get it wrong on North Street again.

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May 6, 2024

Predictable Pittsfield politics' Financial Management plan:

* Always increase city spending by at least 5 percent since the early-1980's

* Tax Senior Citizens' households at least $5,000 per fiscal year each on their respective residential property

* Increase Water/Sewer rates by at least 8 percent per fiscal year

* Spend tens of million of dollars in state aid per fiscal year on the city's Level 5 public schools

* Spend millions of dollars on so-called economic development, which in Pittsfield's case, the city's only economic growth is in the city's huge underclass population

* Elect career politicians for life who enrich themselves and their politically-connected cronies on the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family's dime

* Mocked Mayors sarcastically called the late-Barstool, Aberration, Rolodex, Montello, Gated Community, and the sitting "90 day grace period" openly gay stool sample who shove it up our asses with record high municipal taxes, fees, debts and unfunded liabilities in return for a shit sandwich

* Over 50 years of large losses in population and living wage jobs, large numbers of declining public school enrollment, over 650 students per academic year who choice out of city schools to neighboring public school districts, and a myriad of financial shell games in the state and local government that the average common person does not understand

* The "Jon Melle" resident of Pittsfield (Massachusetts) having better - terrible - odds of winning the state lottery - regressive taxation SCAM - jackpot than finding a full-time, living wage job in Pittsfield's dead downtown that is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley" with the inner-city's surrounding neighborhoods also known as "The Ring of Poverty", which is by design because....

* Pittsfield politics is run on Perverse Incentives, which means that the larger the underclass population equals the larger the state aid funding for "Life in the Pitts"

Jon Melle

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/75248/Pittsfield-Council-to-See-216M-FY25-Budget-Up-5-.html

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May 10, 2024

The cornerstone of Pittsfield politics: Predictable retribution.

The cornerstone of the feminist Me-Too movement: Double Standards.

The cornerstone of the extremists movements: Moral Hypocrisy.

The cornerstone of Beacon Hill politics: Do NOTHING but DISSERVICES.

The cornerstone of the Swamp: Pay to Play.

The cornerstone of 300,000 years of human nature and behavior: GREED.

The cornerstone of so-called JUSTICE: MONEY.

The cornerstone of power: Divide and Conquer to dominate.

The cornerstone of the Miss Hall's sex scandal case: Wait many years to accuse a man teacher of being sexually inappropriate with teenage girls.

The cornerstone of GE: Make Pittsfield (and Lee) into GE's toxic waste dumps.

The cornerstone of blogger Dan Valenti: Criticize Pittsfield and beyond from his upscale home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The cornerstone of Jon Melle: Say that I am a persecuted person due to the abusive, conflictual and mean-spirited actions by Luciforo and other bullies, and also, blame the financial, corporate and ruling elites for over 50 years in inequitable socioeconomic policies - Class Warfare - that makes the commoners pound sand, while the super-rich get richer and the underclass gets poorer.

Jon Melle

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"Mayor Peter Marchetti is calling his first Pittsfield city budget a 'compromise.' Here's what's included in his proposal"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, May 13, 2024

PITTSFIELD — Mayor Peter Marchetti is calling his first budget in office “a compromise.”

The mayor sent the City Council the proposed $216.2 million budget, along with a letter, earlier this week, marking the official start to the municipal budgeting process. The proposed financial plan for fiscal 2025, which begins July 1, is about a $10.7 million — or 5.1 percent — increase over the current budget.

To fund this budget, city leaders anticipate they’ll need to raise $114.9 million in property taxes — which equates to a 5.3 percent or $5.8 million increase over this fiscal year — and use $2.5 million in free cash alongside the state aid and local receipts.

In the letter to the council, the mayor called the proposal a middle ground between the level-funded budget requested of him by the council early this year and the administration's goals for a level-service budget.

"You will continue to hear, 'We need more teachers, we need more police officers, we need more,' but that plea for what we need more of is followed by, 'Don't raise my taxes,'" Marchetti told The Eagle on Friday. "We as a community have to decide what our priorities are."

Review of the line item budgets from each department shows that the mayor is seeking a middle point not only from what the council was seeking but from what city departments requested as well.

The budget isn’t set in stone. While the council met May 6 in a special meeting to officially receive the budget, the real work at refining the city's financial plan starts next week. 

Over the course of the next month, the council will host several hearings and review the proposal department by department. These meetings serve as an opportunity for councilors to hear from the city staff leading each office and for councilors to suggest their own revisions to proposed spending.

Those talks kick off at 6 p.m. Monday in the council chambers at City Hall.

At this first meeting, Marchetti is slated to present an overview of the budget and his five-year capital improvement plan. The capital improvement plan, which covers fiscal years 2025 through 2029, calls for $43.4 million in capital investments over 56 projects in the coming fiscal year.

Funding for those projects — which range from roof repairs to city schools, sidewalk improvements, street resurfacing, a new fire engine, work on sewer and water mains, and more — would come from both city coffers, state and federal aid, and borrowing authorizations.

THE 'COMPROMISES'

The mayor's letter lays out the financial factors he is balancing. On one side there are increasing costs. This year there will be about $3.5 million in increases to the city’s fixed costs related to health insurance coverage, retirement contributions, debt service and contractual salary increases. On the other side is decreasing revenue in a smaller increase in state aid than the year before.

The mayor has said throughout the creation of the budget that those elements alone keep the city from being able to fully pursue the petition sent to his office by the council for a “budget that is close to level funding.”

Even so, Marchetti had city staff go through the exercise of listing the cuts and impacts that would be required to create such a budget. The mayor presented those findings during the annual joint meeting of the council and Pittsfield School Committee in early April.

The picture the mayor painted of a level-funded budget included major staffing and service changes — particularly from the city’s four largest departments.

The school department would have had to eliminate more than 100 staff members, the fire department would have needed to cut its overtime and shut down a firehouse on a rotating basis, the Police Department would have had to cut 11 officers and the Department of Public Services would have had to cut five highway maintenance craftspeople and two park maintenance workers.

Marchetti said a level-service budget — one that maintains staffing and city services and programs at their current level — just isn't in the cards. 

"After we finalized the level-service budget we were looking where we were and we were still at a place where under the levy we couldn't raise enough taxes to fund the budget," Marchetti said.

State law prevent cities from raising taxes to an amount more than 2.5 percent of the community's "full and fair cash value" of the taxable real estate and personal property in the city.

The different between Pittsfield's levy limit and the taxes needed to create a level-service budget was quite a gap. The mayor said when he realized the deficit between the numbers, he went back to the department heads for the Fire Department, Police Department and Department of Public Services and asked each to cut another $200,000 each from their budgets. 

The mayor then requested an additional $100,000 cut from the police budget. 

His final budget proposal avoids many of the predicted staffing cuts by making reductions to the department’s supply and expense budgets. This year, Marchetti received — outside of the school department budget — requests for $134.5 million in budget requests for city departments. His budget calls for just under $1 million in cuts to those requests.

The budget put forth by Marchetti avoids many of those staffing cuts — but not all of them.

Schools: Kristen Behnke, the assistant superintendent of business and finance for Pittsfield Public Schools, said that had the district maintained the same staffing and programming as this year its budget would have totaled $84.4 million in the coming fiscal year.

Instead, the School Committee voted to finalize a budget proposal about $1.5 million shy of that at $82.9 million. School leaders knew no matter what, this year would likely mean staffing cuts due to the sunsetting of COVID-era federal aid to schools. That program, called the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, funded 44 staff positions which — for the large part — have not been rolled into the new budget.

Earlier in the budget process for the school department, it appeared lower than anticipated state aid would force school leaders to cut an additional 60 full-time employees. The discovery of a technical error on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s part delivered an additional $2.4 million, which reduced the number of expected layoffs.

District leaders now plan to cut 23 full-time employees in the coming year in order to support the current budget.

Fire: The Fire Department submitted a request for an $11 million budget to the mayor’s office — up 5.2 percent from its current $10.5 million budget.

Marchetti’s proposal would give to the department $10.8 million — a 3.3 percent increase — this year while avoiding the major reduction in overtime that would have forced the weekly closing of a firehouse due to staffing shortages. Rather than completely eliminate the overtime budget, Marchetti is reducing it by $25,000. The reduction gives the budget more space to cover contractual salary and service agreement increases.

Police: When Marchetti presented the picture of a level-funded budget, councilors said they were against major staffing changes to both the fire and police departments. Marchetti’s budget proposal cuts overtime for general policing and drug investigations rather than the number of staff officers.

The department’s budget request for fiscal 2025 was for $15.3 million — a nearly $934,000 increase from this year’s budget. Marchetti’s proposal stops just shy of that at $15 million by making cuts to overtime staffing and supplies.

Marchetti is considering whether the city should change the way police staffing of special events is handled. Currently some events are city sponsored and the cost of the police detail and officer overtime is pulled from the city's budget. The mayor said there may need to be a conversation with organizations hosting events about fronting the cost for the police details.

The mayor’s budget would reduce funding for annual training and recertification, uniforms, ammunition and technical equipment while still proposing a roughly $634,00 increase in the department’s funding.

Those cuts would come alongside department proposed reductions to the budget for officers attending the training academy, the contract for ShotSpotter and body cameras and temporary custodial services.

Department of Public Services: The department requested a nearly $487,000 — or 4.4 percent — increase to its current $11.1 million budget in the coming year. Marchetti’s proposed budget would instead give the department a $287,000 — or 2.6 percent — increase if approved.

The department’s funding request proposes reducing spending on equipment rental, tools and safety equipment for highway maintenance and parks maintenance supplies.

The budget put forth by Marchetti goes further and anticipates the acceptance of a proposed contract with Casella Waste Systems for trash pickup. That contract relies on the city switching to a trash program that would give residents a standardized toter and have them pay for additional receptacles. That contract would save the city an estimated $80,000 in its trash collection costs.

A 'pay-as-you-throw' trash proposal has fizzled before. Will Pittsfield embrace the 'toters' under the latest proposal?

Other changes: Outside of the largest departments, Marchetti’s proposed budget attempts to find savings in efficiencies.

One example is a $50,000 change being made to the Office of Veterans' Services. Each year the department allocates funds to cover financial and medical assistance programs for veterans and their families. This year the department budget $750,000 for those efforts but as of this week had only spend $632,000. In fiscal 2023, the department budgeted $800,000 for those programs but spent just under $600,000. 

The mayor said that made him feel comfort that cutting from that budget wouldn't impact the services veterans are seeking. 

Another example Marchetti gave was a simple change to the city's phone plans.

Up until this year, departments like the Health Department, building inspector, Municipal Airport and Cultural Development entered to individual contracts with cell providers for phones for employees. This year, those plans have been bundled together and included in the IT department's budget for an overall savings. 

Department leaders looked for similar savings in their budgets for office supplies and equipment budgets.

"[Department heads] couldn't touch salaries or contractual obligations so they had to make other changes," Marchetti said. "That gave us an opportunity to see where we could make impacts that wouldn't hurt at the end of the day."

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May 13, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

This is how I would have written the news article by Eagle journalist Meg Britton-Mehlisch.

Every fiscal year since the early-1980's since the misguided state law named Proposition 2.5 went into effect, Pittsfield has had to play financial shell games with the Massachusetts state government bureaucrats by increasing its annual operating budget spending by at least 5 percent per fiscal year.

The political hack Mayor of Pittsfield breaks down his (or her) operating budget proposal by costs incurred to the city and (level 5) public school district.  On the surface, it makes financial sense, but beneath the surface, it is disingenuous.

The city's operating budget is really about receiving as much state aid funding as possible.  The city's financial bureaucrats - in this case, "Kufflinks" Matt Kerwood - sees all of the revenue sources as a means to shuffle taxpayer dollars around and create (his) secretive slush funds that are well hidden from the public.

The state and local taxpayers should be aware that in Boston, state lawmakers giveaway somewhere around $20 billion per fiscal year in state tax breaks to their special interests big business campaign donors.  In fact, some lobbyists in Boston report 7-figure annual earnings.  In Boston, they are all enriching themselves at the public trough.

In Pittsfield, which is at the opposite end of the Commonwealth, the state sells its regressive taxation scam products disguised as state lottery tickets.  Boston loves to brag about its record profits from the lottery, and the state lawmakers love it too, because it allows for even larger state tax breaks to big businesses that don't exist in the mostly rural region of Western Massachusetts.  Boston receives most of the financial benefits from the lottery SCAM, while Pittsfield is being systemically mocked by its underclass residents spending their money on the lottery SCAM.

In Pittsfield, most people don't understand that the at least 5 percent annual city spending increase is not about them at all.  Moreover, they don't understand that Boston is under-funding state aid that Pittsfield's budget is really all about in the first place.  Furthermore, they don't understand that the state lottery is a scam that delivers multiple disservices to Pittsfield and the mostly unaware low- to moderate-income residents who live there.

In closing, the state and local politicians are deceiving you by taking more and more of your hard-earned tax dollars.  It is all really a mockery towards most of the people who don't understand that it is all a financial shell game to enrich the financial, corporate and ruling elites - along with all of the greedy lobbyists - at the public trough, while the rest of us have to pay for it all.

I am a journalist with a good conscience.  I don't want my readers to be played for financial fools anymore.  Please vote out all of the phony corrupt career politicians and replace them with ones who will STOP LYING to you.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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May 13, 2024

This link is (not) for the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family:

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/berkshireeagle.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/a1/ba17cdf2-0d92-11ef-83ec-bb624691fe81/663c0ab3071b3.pdf.pdf

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"At the first of four upcoming hearings, Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti presented what he called a 'responsible budget'"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, May 14, 2024

PITTSFIELD — Standing before the City Council, Mayor Peter Marchetti on Monday said he believes the financial game plan he's proposed for fiscal 2025 represents a “responsible budget.”

Given the council's request for a “close to level-funded budget,” Marchetti said he felt he the plan he presented kept “in mind the needs of the community and our residents” — particularly in light of the challenges of rising costs to health insurance, retirement contributions, debt service and contractual salary increases.

“The conversations that we had were not easy, but needed,” the mayor said of his talks with department heads in forming the budget. “This budget is one that continues the operations our residents expect with limited expenses.”

The proposed $216.2 million budget would increase spending over the current budget by $10.7 million — or about 5.1 percent.

Monday's session begins a month-long review process in which councilors will question Marchetti and department heads about staffing and spending in order to pull a budget into a clearer view. It also represented the first opportunity for the mayor to characterize the budget with the body.

Marchetti has called the budget “a compromise” between his vision of Pittsfield and the request of the council. It’s a label that Councilor Ken Warren took the opportunity to respond to directly.

Warren said that while he feels like the public misunderstood the intention of the council’s petition to the mayor for a “close to level-funded budget,” he felt ultimately that the petition had accomplished the councilors’ goals.

Warren said over the last several months there’s been more collaboration and communication between the mayor’s office, council and public over the budget. The net result, he said, is a budget that grows less this year than last year and provides “tangible results.”

“If that’s a compromise, I’ll take it,” Warren said.

The council’s near unanimous preliminary approval of the 11 budgets and five-year capital improvement plan presented Monday during the first of four nights of hearings, showed the prevalence of feelings like Warren’s.

The council preliminarily approved the budgets of the Council on Aging, Retired Senior Volunteer Program and Community Development without any debate or discussion. 

The capital improvement plan, which essentially signals the interest but does not commit the administration to $43.4 million in capital investments over 56 projects in the coming fiscal year, passed unanimously without much discussion as well.

That didn't mean there wasn't any hints of further changes percolating in councilors' minds. Councilor Kathy Amuso asked Michael Obasohan, the city's chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, if there'd ever been much collaboration between him and staff hired for DEI work within the Pittsfield Public Schools.

Obasohan told Amuso that while there were some occasional conversations around equity and discrimination as it relates to student experience, his office and the schools department didn't often work together. 

Amuso asked Marchetti if Obasohan's office could take on all the DEI work for both the school and the city. 

"I think if we're going to look for one person to provide diversity, equity and inclusion for all the employees of the city, all the employees of the school department and 5,200 children — I'm not sure that's feasible for one person," Marchetti said.

Amuso and other councilors also questioned Dan Shearer, manager of the Pittsfield Municipal Airport, about the use of city vehicles by employees and whether there could be a reduction in the number of city staff allowed to take vehicles home. 

Shearer said for his department, the ability of the three airport employees to have their city vehicles at hand is a necessity of the job. The employees are all on-call in case of an emergency or weather event at the airport and need to be able to respond as quick as possible. 

While Amuso said she believed the necessity of the vehicles for airport staff, she indicated to the administration that she wanted to see a policy about which city employees are allowed to keep vehicles at home and what kind of liability comes with that use. 

The next budget hearing will be at Pittsfield City Hall at 6 p.m. May 20. The hearing will discuss the proposed $82.9 million budget of the Pittsfield Public Schools.

Department budgets

Here's how Pittsfield city councilors voted on department budgets during the first night of the hearings.

Mayor: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 2.4 percent increase for a $261,816 budget.

City Council: 9-1 to preliminary approve a zero percent increase for a $109,262 budget.

Veterans' services: 10-0 to preliminary approve 5.3 percent decrease for a $826,869 budget.

City Clerk: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 6.9 percent increase for a $436,540 budget.

Council on Aging: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 4.9 percent increase for a $411,103 budget.

Human Resources: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 5.9 percent increase for a $273,374 budget.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion office: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 2.6 percent increase for a $186,502 budget.

Airport: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 8.7 percent increase for a $338,352 budget.

Community Development: 9-0 to preliminary approve a 4.5 percent increase for a $823,546 budget.

Berkshire Athenaeum: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 4.8 percent increase for a $1,588,320 budget.

RSVP: 10-0 to preliminary approve a 6 percent increase for a $124,078 budget.

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May 13, 2024

Voltron Pete White the pork-chop's online radio interview about soaking Pittsfield's taxpayers:

https://www.wamc.org/news/2024-05-13/as-hearings-begin-pittsfield-city-council-president-breaks-down-mayor-marchettis-first-budget

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May 18, 2024

A letter writer questioned Pittsfield politics' city budget with its excessively high municipal taxes, fees, debts and unfunded liabilities that in return deliver substandard municipal services and level 5 public schools.

My answer to Pittsfield politics financial management is that the city budget is really a financial shell game with the state bureaucrats in Boston with the end being the city receiving as much state aid funding as possible.  To be clear, it is NOT about municipal services and public education because every fiscal year since the early-1980's when the misguided state law named Proposition 2.5 went into effect in Massachusetts, the city government has increased its operational budget spending by a predictable margin of at least 5 percent per fiscal year.

The state government in Boston also plays financial shell games.  The Governor and Legislature are in the process of passing a $58 billion fiscal year 2025 state budget.  What they don't tell us is that they give away somewhere around $20 billion per fiscal year in state tax breaks to the big business campaign donors in the Boston area.  Without enriching their big campaign donors and greedy lobbyists who serve them on Beacon Hill, the state budget would be somewhere closer to $38 billion in fiscal year 2025.  In 1997, the state budget was under $20 billion for fiscal year 1998.  Adjusted for inflation, the aforementioned fiscal year 1998 state budget would be closer to the aforementioned $38 billion figure.

The state government systemically underfunds state aid to local governments and public school districts.  They talk about revenue shortfalls to pseudo-justify either cuts or level-funded state aid funding in the state budget.  Do they think that we are stupid?

Yes, indeed, the state government thinks that we are financial fools.  To illustrate, less than one year ago during the Summer 2023, the state government officials bragged about the Massachusetts State Lottery's record profits due to its then new $50 scratch ticket to mark the state lottery's 50th birthday.  The fact is that the state lottery is a SCAM that is really regressive taxation.  The state uses the lottery's profits to give away even larger state tax breaks to the career politicians' big business campaign donors that see some super-greedy lobbyists in Boston reporting 7-figure per year salaries.

Career politicians are nothing more than SCAM ARTISTS who play financial shell games with our taxpayer dollars and then lie to us because they think that we are their financial fools.  It is time for us to vote out all of the career politicians because they only do DISSERVICES to us, but they still take our money to enrich themselves and their wealthy campaign donors and their greedy lobbyists at the public trough.

From Pittsfield to Boston, it is state and local government at its WORST!

Jon Melle

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Letter: "What are our taxes paying for in Pittsfield?"

The Berkshire Eagle, May 18, 2024

To the editor: I work so that I can pay bills and provide for my family and loved ones and of course pay taxes.

The vehicle I drive is one that I pay excise tax on, even though that has never realistically been explained to me as not being double taxation, which is supposedly illegal. I must dodge enormous, car-swallowing potholes just to get out of my street and across town.

I pay real estate taxes, too — you know, the ones that increase almost yearly with no real explanation. Why is the city in complete tatters? Why does it seem as though the only attention to maintenance is focused on the areas that are government and grant-funded? For those of us that don’t live off the system and continue to make our own living while forking over our hard-earned money at every turn, there is no investment, upkeep or reward.

Every day as I look around myself this area looks more and more dreary, desolate and run down, from the panhandlers at every major intersection to the empty store fronts and lack of opportunity. The more this place falls under ruin, the less chance there will ever be to save what is here and those of us that call it our home.

The “easy” thing is rarely the right thing to do. Allocate funds appropriately for once and give back to the real community that keeps this city alive in the first place. Without us, what little is left here would surely crumble.

Josh Liccardi, Pittsfield

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Our Opinion: "Pittsfield's painful budget cycle underscores the need to grow the city's tax base"

The Berkshire Eagle, May 18, 2024

Mayor Peter Marchetti stood before the City Council on Monday night and said that the proposed $216.2 million budget before the body represented a “responsible budget.”

When Mayor Peter Marchetti brought his first spending plan to the City Council this week, he called it a “compromise.” It’s also a lesson in fiscal reality and the importance of prioritizing tax base growth for the Berkshires’ biggest community.

The mayor is correct that this budget reflects a compromise. It’s not the bare-bones level-funded budget that some councilors theatrically requested earlier this year, but it does come in well below the Marchetti’s administration’s initial goal for a level-service budget. The mayor’s $216.2 million budget proposal would amount to a $10.7 million increase over this fiscal year.

Some taxpayers might reasonably ask why a more than 5 percent bump over the previous year’s budget would still see the city fall short of the previous year’s total services. As is the case for plenty of post-industrial cities seeking a new economic identity and post-COVID recovery, the municipal math is tough on Pittsfield. City workers, most of them unionized, receive raises as negotiated. Other fixed costs related to health insurance coverage, retirement contributions and debt service are becoming a bigger burden on municipal coffers. State aid is increasing at smaller rates than previous years, while Pittsfield and other communities face the “fiscal cliff” of a steep drop-off from several years of increased pandemic-related federal aid that padded all manner of local government spending.

All of these factors test not only the financial flexibility but the community values of scrappy cities like Pittsfield. As Mayor Marchetti aptly summed it up to The Eagle: “You will continue to hear, ‘We need more teachers, we need more police officers, we need more,’ but that plea for what we need more of is followed by, ‘Don’t raise my taxes.’ We as a community have to decide what our priorities are.”

Easier said than done, but credit where it’s due to Mayor Marchetti for getting real about the city’s budgetary reality. Pittsfield’s spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1 is not set in stone, and the ball is now in city councilors’ hands as they begin the real work of refining the plan in multiple hearings and reviews over the next month. We urge the council to take a careful and critical look at the city’s books and avoid the grandstanding missteps that have sidetracked the budget process in recent years.

We know that, like the mayor’s office, councilors have heard impassioned and sometimes contradictory pleas from constituents to boost public services like road maintenance and schools funding while limiting taxpayer pain. At this juncture, the reality is that Pittsfield’s fiscal footing necessitates an increase in property taxes just to fund less-than-level services compared to last year. That is frustrating for residents and officials alike.

Let that frustration fuel a desperately needed conversation that Pittsfield must continue after the headlines of budget season fade: What cost savings can the city can responsibly pursue, and how can the city expand its tax base to diffuse the real and growing burden on Pittsfield taxpayers?

Answers to the first question are easier for the city to control but risk political pushback. After all, we hear most Pittsfield residents calling for more, not fewer, services. And even when the opportunity arises to modernize city services in a way that saves money with little to no downside — such as the recently revived “toter” trash and recycling collection plan — status quo bias can hamstring those necessary steps. Change might be scary to some, but it’s an alarming picture of the fiscal future for all if the city can’t get smart on cost-cutting where it needs to. A painfully tight budget cycle only underscores the need for forward thinking with ideas like the toter proposal.

The answers to the second question — How can Pittsfield spur substantial and sustainable economic growth? — aren’t quite as prickly but are far more tricky. The city can’t just budget for a boon in local business. Still, the taxpayer pinch set to tighten even with a below-level-services budget plan demonstrates why Pittsfield must prioritize growing tax base. That means the policy conversation during and after this budget cycle must focus on how the city can foster growth in existing businesses as well as attract new ones to grow the pie.

As both a candidate last year and as a newly minted mayor this year, Mayor Marchetti pitched a revitalization of the city’s small business trust fund paid for by the city’s share of the Rest of River agreement with General Electric. By our lights, that’s a wise consideration that should be on the City Council’s agenda as soon as budget season wraps on July 1.

Neither this nor any other individual policy move will be a silver bullet that spurs the economic development Pittsfield needs. But this budget cycle certainly underscores just how desperately that growth is needed. As soon as this budget season is over, the mayor and the City Council must get to work on making next year’s budget cycle less burdensome by growing Pittsfield’s tax base.

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May 24, 2024

Pittsfield politics in the opinion and news media.  The Mayor's new trash plan is said to be penny-wise, pound-foolish, but that has been the financial management policy of the city for decades.

Former Mayor Linda Tyer Clairmont, who lives in a mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College, along with her litigious neighbor: Pittsfield's Pot King (of lawsuits) "Luciforo's" nearby mansion that is not in the vicinity of his 3 story pot growing building on Dalton Avenue that stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods with "Berkshire Roots'" unpleasant marijuana growing odors, is a new corporator at Lee Bank.

Jon Melle

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Letter: "I believe Pittsfield's new trash plan is a bad idea"

The Berkshire Eagle, May 24, 2024

To the editor: It looks like the City of Pittsfield will be making another terrible decision.

It’s bad enough what they did to North Street with electric scooters, poor parking and bike lanes. And let’s not forget what they did with Wahconah Park, letting it fall into disrepair.

Now, thanks to their penny-wise, pound-foolish trash proposal, the city is making another bad decision. ("Pittsfield recycling program will save money, officials say. Are residents on board?" Eagle, May 22.)

Slowly but surely, Pittsfield’s leaders are letting down the city and the Berkshire community as a whole.

John DiTomasso, Peru

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"Lee Bank Holds Annual Meeting, Elects Four New Corporators"

iBerkshires.com - May 23, 2024

Lee Bank's board of trustees elected four new corporators all of whom have accepted their roles.

 

New corporators, nominated by the board's governance committee, include:

 

Linda Tyer Clairmont, a resident of Pittsfield, who works as the Executive Director of Workforce Development and Community Education at Berkshire Community College.

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/75435/Lee-Bank-Holds-Annual-Meeting-Elects-Four-New-Corporators.html

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https://massinc.org/2024/05/24/26-gateway-city-mayors-and-managers-write-to-state-legislators-for-an-act-relative-to-strengthening-massachusetts-economic-leadership/

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May 30, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I wish to state for the public record that I was proud of then Mayor Linda Tyer for standing up and fighting Nuciforo's pot lawsuit versus the City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

I wish to state for the public record that I dissent about Mayor Peter Marchetti and 10 out of the 11 Pittsfield City Councilors settlement with Nuciforo's pot lawsuits versus the City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  They also settled with two other Pittsfield pot companies in 2024.

Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior - also know as "Luciforo: Pittsfield's Pot King" - is a FRAUDSTER many times over.

Nuciforo's marijuana company named "Berkshire Roots' has a "largest in the region" 3-story tall pot growing building on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield, which stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods with unpleasant pot odors.  Nuciforo himself lives in a mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community neighborhood west of Berkshire Community College, along with his wealthy neighbors Linda Tyer and Barry Clairmont.

There should be a class action lawsuit versus Nuciforo's Berkshire Roots for allegedly lowering the nearby residential neighborhood(s) property values in Pittsfield.  When Nuciforo double dipped from 1999 - 2006 as a Pittsfield State Senator who chaired the State Senate Finance Committee back then, and who at the same time served as a private Attorney for Boston's big banks and insurance companies, he should have been prosecuted and sent to state prison.  There are so many alleged wrongdoings by Nuciforo over the years, including his conspiratorial persecution of me: Jon Melle - since I was 20 years old in the Spring 1996 when my dad began his successful campaign for Berkshire County Commissioner (1997 - mid-2000).

Who are the alleged unknown private investors in Nuciforo's "Berkshire Roots" pot business?  Are any of them from his political and legal connections from the Boston Statehouse and/or Boston's big banks and insurance companies.  What is the status of Nuciforo's law office in Boston's Financial District?  Did Nuciforo do any unethical and/or illegal favors for his pot company's alleged unknown investors?

Where are you, blogger Dan Valenti, on this matter?  Where is The Berkshire Eagle points east to The Boston Globe and Boston Herald?

Why is Nuciforo trying to bust unions and workers in the marijuana industry in Massachusetts with his other pot lawsuit that he filed in Suffolk (Boston) Superior Court?  Do unions and workers in the marijuana industry even matter to Governor Maura Healey and state lawmakers?

How does Nuciforo always get away with all of the above matters?  I believe the answer is because he plays people and institutions for fools.  I must be the only person on Earth who cares about Nuciforo's public record in Pittsfield and Massachusetts alike.  I hope that Nuciforo will be stopped sooner than later because he is a son of a bitch in both "Bitchfield" and Boston!

Jon Melle

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May 31, 2024

Mayor Peter Marchetti's first municipal budget for fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025) won its first round of rubber stamp approval votes on Thursday night, May 30th, 2024.

https://www.wamc.org/news/2024-05-31/pittsfield-city-council-preliminarily-approves-mayor-marchettis-debut-215-9-million-budget-after-cut-to-school-budget

The final municipal budget vote will occur on Tuesday night, June 11th, 2024.

The average Senior Citizen household has to pay the city an average of over $5,000 in municipal taxes and fees....for Pittsfield politics:

The 60-year-old Nuciforo will receive a "FREE CASH" settlement from the City of Pittsfield for the amount of $341,000, and in return, Nuciforo's "Berkshire Roots" Dalton Avenue marijuana business is allowed to stink up nearby residential neighborhoods with his unpleasant "largest in the region" unpleasant pot growing odors.

After his mayoral 4-year term(s), Mayor Peter Marchetti will collect his lucrative city public pension plus perks for life.

This is what happens in a corrupt small postindustrial city when the wrong people have power in state and local government.  Is there anyone out there who will stop the city's "business as usual" GREED?

Jon Melle

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June 1, 2024

Thank you.  The highest honor I - Jon Melle - could ever receive in my life would be to see Nuciforo sent to prison for all of his wrongdoings, the GREED in Pittsfield politics and beyond end by the people and taxpayers standing up to the likes of "Bitchfield" Mayor Peter Marchetti and Voltron Pete White the pork-chop, and Beacon Hill lawmakers passing a state law giving at-risk homeless Veterans entitlement to Emergency Shelter in Massachusetts, which illegal immigrants already have, along with other lucrative taxpayer-funded benefits that Veterans are not receiving in Massachusetts.

Please know that the 3 Berkshire-based State Representatives Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Smitty Pignatelli and John Barrett III all recently voted against giving at-risk homeless Veterans priority for Emergency Shelter in Massachusetts.  Shame on Tricia, Smitty and John!

Jon Melle

P.S. Luciforo: Pittsfield's Pot King is a piece of SHIT who is collecting $341,000 in "Free Cash" from the City of Pittsfield's settlement with three Pittsfield marijuana companies, and who has a 2nd pot union busting lawsuit in Suffolk (Boston) Superior Court to try to take pot unions away from marijuana workers in Massachusetts.  Taxpayer dollars do NOT matter to Nuciforo.  Unions and marijuana workers do NOT matter to Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior.  Hopefully, Governor Maura Healey and state lawmakers in Boston will oppose Nuciforo's 2nd pot lawsuit.

P.P.S. Luciforo: Pittsfield's Pot King's "largest in the region" 3-story pot growing building on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods - who allegedly lost value on their biggest investment: their homes - with his unpleasant pot growing odors.  Nuciforo himself does not live near there, but rather, Nuciforo lives in a mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community neighborhood west of Berkshire Community College, along with his multi-millionaire neighbors Linda Tyer and her 3rd husband Barry Clairmont.

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June 2, 2024

On Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Hunter Biden:

Most people did NOT want to see a rematch of Donald Trump versus Joe Biden in 2024.

All of us know that Donald Trump will APPEAL all of the loaded legal cases.

All of us know that Joe Biden raises more campaign cash than any other politician in U.S. history with Donald Trump catching up to him in 2024.  Which one of them will buy The White House in the 2024 presidential election?

Hunter Biden is due in Federal Court on Monday, June 3rd, 2024, to face gun charges because he allegedly lied on a gun and ammunition form to purchase a gun and ammunition by saying that he was not an addict of drugs and alcohol.  Hunter Biden later wrote and published a book stating that he used to smoke crack cocaine every 15 minutes and drown himself in alcohol.  In September, Hunter Biden will face an alleged tax and wire fraud federal trial.  Will Joe Biden pardon his son, Hunter Biden, if his son is found guilty in Federal Court in June and/or September 2024?

On Pittsfield politics:

Most Pittsfield taxpayers did not want the always predictable 5 percent spending increase by Mayor Peter Marchetti in his excessive and record breaking fiscal year 2025 municipal budget that will begin in less than one month on July 1, 2024.

Most Pittsfield taxpayers did NOT want "Luciforo: Pittsfield's Pot King" to receive a $341,000 pot settlement from the City of Pittsfield in 2024.

Most people in Pittsfield politics know that Voltron Pete White the pork-chop hopes to be next in line to be the next Mayor of Pittsfield.

Jon Melle

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Letter: "Lamenting the delay to save Wahconah Park"

The Berkshire Eagle, June 8, 2024

To the editor: Howard Herman's weekend column on Wahconah Park laid out the sad facts on the historic ballpark's structural repairs. ("Howard Herman: The start of a quiet summer on Wahconah Street," Eagle, June 1.)

Not a pretty picture.

This year's baseball season is on a "pause" that may well turn into a permanent end to Pittsfield baseball.

The structural repairs required are in the hands of a committee in which "the project has seemed to run off the tracks or gotten bogged down." The obvious intention of a bunch of penny-pinching politicians without the ability to preserve a precious asset of the town.

It's a scandal. The politicians should not be given a pass — it is their failure.

General Electric is gone. Berkshire Carousel is gone. Wahconah Park is on the way out. Poor Pittsfield.

Andy Davis, Stephentown, N.Y.

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June 8, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I had to laugh at the words: "a bunch of penny-pinching politicians" because on Tuesday night, June 11th, 2024, the Pittsfield City Council will vote on Mayor Peter Marchetti's record setting municipal operating budget: A predictable 5.1 percent spending increase that will equal over $215.9 million for one fiscal year of Pittsfield politics.

Small post-industrial cities similar to Pittsfield (Massachusetts) cost tens of million of tax dollars less per fiscal year to operate.

The late Jim Bouton wrote and published a book titled "Foul Ball" about Pittsfield politics failures to restore Wahconah Park for professional minor league baseball.  Jimmy Ruberto was one of the players in Pittsfield politics who screwed over Jim Bouton, but the Berkshire Eagle loved it.

Two decades later, and there is no baseball at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield this Summer 2024.  Similar to Jimmy Ruberto's Rolodex and downtown Pittsfield so-called "Renaissance", Wahconah Park's debacle is symbolic of Pittsfield's downward spiral.

What happened to the millions of tax dollars that PAC Man Richie Neal earmarked for Wahconah Park?  Is that roll of dough sitting in one of Kufflink's secretive Slush Funds?

Why is predictable Pittsfield politics such a mess?  Why would any rational person praise the state and local career politicians who put Pittsfield into the ditch?

Jon Melle

P.S. I met my elderly neighbor's family who visited her today who are from and live in North Adams.  They are very nice people.  North Adams still has baseball this Summer 2024.

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June 10, 2024

Please write a book about Pittsfield politics, author and blogger Dan Valenti.  I would love to read about you extensive knowledge of how generations of state and local career politicians put the once promising small city in the heart of the Berkshires into the ditch.

Chapter One. Downtown Pittsfield: From a bustling business district to Social Services Alley.

Chapter Two.  From GE factories to the heavily indebted and polluted PEDA debacle.

Chapter Three.  All in the Family: The Good Old Boys club of fools with the nicknames of Barstool, Aberration, Rolodex, Mayor Montello, Gated Community, and Openly-Gay and Voltron the Porkchop, along with Luciforo, GE Lobbyist Larkin, Chrome Dome, Paul Marxism, Country Buffet, The Dumpster, and so on.

Chapter Four. From the impoverished inner-city to the elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College: How the ruling elite are disconnected from the people they only do DISSERVICES to.

Chapter Five.  Boston's elitist snobs make a mockery of Pittsfield with all of their inequitable financial shell games, especially via the multi-billion-dollar state lottery SCAM that is wrong on more levels than the floors in the tallest building in the world.

Chapter Six.  Why the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski hate FREE CASH and Kufflink's Slush Funds, along with his cooked books when they fork over their hard-earned tax dollars to Pittsfield City Hall.

Chapter Seven.  Pittsfield's Level 5 public school district eats up most of the excessively high city operating budget, but it is really all about the annual tens of millions of dollars the city receives in state aid funding instead of quality public education for the city's youth.

Chapter Eight.  The two political factions in Pittsfield politics serve the same Democratic Party bosses in Boston, which is the worst of both worlds.

Chapter Nine.  Cancer cluster neighborhoods, Allendale Elementary School abutting Hill 78's capped "leaky" landfill, and 21st Century Pittsfield is GE's toxic waste dump with Lee (Massachusetts) next in line in return for 30 pieces of silver.

Chapter Ten.  Over 50 years of huge losses in population and living wage jobs in Pittsfield, while city spending has excessively increased because city taxpayers don't matter to the Suits, who are enriching themselves at the city's public trough, while little old ladies pay an average of over $5,000 per fiscal year each in property taxes and fees.

Chapter Eleven.  Since at least 1980, violent crime in Pittsfield has more than doubled the statewide average, along with the recent occurrences of daily shootings, over 1,000 gang members living in Pittsfield's distressed inner-city, and the only economic growth in Pittsfield is in the city's large underclass population.

Chapter Twelve.  The two-Petes city government: A story of the 90-day grace period openly-gay Mayor and Voltron the Porkchop City Council President leading Pittsfield's downward spiral..

Jon Melle

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"Pittsfield City Council passes $216 million budget — with a cut to school spending and a free cash infusion"

By Meg Britton-Mehlisch, The Berkshire Eagle, June 11, 2024

PITTSFIELD — The City Council on Tuesday night approved budget of just under $216 million for fiscal 2025.

The budget, Mayor Peter Marchetti’s first in office, passed in a 10-1 vote with a single amendment from the council — to reduce the Pittsfield Public Schools department funding request by $200,000. Councilor Brittany Noto was the lone “no” vote.

Councilors heard from an impassioned crowd of school employees, who asked the council to reconsider the reduction or increase the funding to schools. During an open mic session that lasted nearly an hour, community members made clear and emotional cases for the variety of ways that money might be used.

In the end, several councilors said they wanted to see greater “belt-tightening” from the department and said the cut was part of a duty to residents who have repeatedly asked that the city not replicate the tax increases of recent city budgets.

An earlier motion, which essentially solidified the operating budget amount at $215,995,210 and cemented the cut to schools in the final budget, was approved on a 6-4 vote, with council President Peter White and Councilors Jim Conant, Alisa Costa and Noto voting against.

The budget, which covers the fiscal year starting on July 1, [2024], represents a $10.4 million, or about 5.1 percent,  increase in the current budget. Councilors also unanimously voted to approve using $2.5 million in the city’s certified free cash to reduce the tax rate they’ll need to set later this fall.

Meg Britton-Mehlisch can be reached at mbritton@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6149.

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June 14, 2024

Neither does "Luciforo" care a bit about the working-class people in Pittsfield with his $341,000 cash pot settlement from the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, along with Nuciforo's 2nd pot lawsuit in Suffolk (Boston) Superior Court that is trying to bust unions in Massachusetts who represent and advocate for marijuana workers.

I wonder if the 90 day grace period, openly gay Mayor Peter Marchetti, Voltron Pete White the Porkchop, and others in City Hall didn't collude with Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior's "Berkshire Roots" marijuana business to pay him a "FREE CASH" city settlement of $341,000?

Nuciforo made many millions of dollars from his Pittsfield Pot Kingdom with his second marijuana dispensary in East Boston, but the 2 Petes who run Pittsfield politics voted to give "Luciforo" $341,000, while they cut $200,000 from the (Level 5) Pittsfield Public School District's fiscal year 2025 budget.

That is Pittsfield politics in a NUTS-HELL!

Jon Melle

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June 16, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Population of Pittsfield (MA) is a little over 43,000 residents

Population of Westfield (MA) is a little over 40,500 residents

Pittsfield's operating budget: $216 million

Westfield's operating budget: $178 million

Net difference between Pittsfield versus Westfield's budgets: $38 million

https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/06/city-councilors-cut-more-than-11m-to-bring-westfield-budget-down-to-178m.html

The fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family who lives in and PAYS their hard-earned tax dollars to Pittsfield politics would love to see Pittsfield's budget NOT be nearly $40 million more than Westfield's budget.

Jon Melle

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June 19, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Pittsfield politics Mayor Peter Marchetti is only in it for his future city public pension plus perks for life.  He worked a bank for 35 years, which means that he has a 2nd pension with his 401k plan.  He will also collect his monthly Social Security check in his Golden Years.

The Pittsfield taxpayers never mattered to any of the career politicians in state and local government.  For over 40 years now, predictable Pittsfield politics has always increased its annual city spending by at least 5 percent per fiscal year.

What most people do not understand about state and local financial management is that it is never about the taxpayers, but rather, it is all a financial shell game.  Pittsfield plays financial shell games with the state bureaucrats in Boston to receive as much state administered federal aid as possible - and please do NOT forget about Kufflink's secretive Slush Funds (that rightfully belong in the pockets of the city's taxpayers).

The thing I cannot understand is why Pittsfield's municipal budget is somewhere between $30 to $40 million more than similar small cities.  It does not fit into any of the financial management schemes.  Is there any justification for over-taxing the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family who struggles to send in their hard-earned tax dollars to City Hall?

In Boston, the misguided Governor, Maura Healey, and the career state lawmakers, only do DISSERVICES to the common people in Massachusetts with their financial management shell games.  They use an excessive number of regressive taxation schemes - especially the state lottery SCAM that greedy lobbyist Dan Bosley loves (to pretend to hate) - to give away many billions of state tax breaks to the big businesses who donate big bucks to the powerful state government politicians.

It is estimated to be somewhere around $20 billion per fiscal year in state tax break giveaways to the big business special interests by the do-nothing corrupt career politicians on Beacon Hill.  One big problem with Boston running the state is that there are little to no big businesses in areas such as the state's mostly rural Western Massachusetts region, but there are plenty of lottery tickets available there.

Career politicians are really SCAM Artists.  Greedy lobbyists such as Dan Bosley are cashing in at the public trough.  Peter Marchetti is going to be the old man with 3 pensions: his bank's 401k plan, his future City pension, and his monthly Social Security check.

Jon Melle

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June 21, 2024

I view Mayor Peter Marchetti's plan to deploy Social Workers and Social Services resources to the poverty-ridden inner-city Pittsfield (Massachusetts) as a means to further monetize social services and (level 5) public education in return for many millions of dollars in revenues to the city from the state administered federal aid funding.

I grew up in Pittsfield.  I experienced the worst of both worlds as a no income and low income then young man and then a disabled Veteran.  I also lived in inner-city Manchester (NH) for 4 years of my adult life in my then early-30's from early-2005 to early-2009.  I am now 48 who will turn 49 in a little over one month from now.

I have a Master of Public Administration, but I don't know why because I am a member of our nation's huge underclass population.  I studied economics and finance, and I found out that the government uses PERVERSE INCENTIVES to cash in on deleterious social outcomes.

To illustrate, the more poverty in Pittsfield equals more state aid for social services and the (level 5) public school district.  To illustrate, the more crime in Pittsfield equals more state aid for the public safety agencies.

The state lottery SCAM is the PERFECT illustration of perverse incentives.  Last Summer 2023, the Massachusetts lottery officials boasted record profits.  But the state lottery is wrong on more levels than a skyscraper building with over 100 floors.  The state lottery is really regressive taxation.  The state lottery revenues equals greedy lobbyists such as Dan Bosley obtaining huge state tax breaks for his big business campaign donors to the corrupt career politicians on Beacon Hill.

For at least over 30 years now, Pittsfield chose the many millions in state aid funding from poverty, (level 5) public schools, state lottery state aid dollars, etc., over bringing back living wage jobs from the post WW2 era of middle class growth until the mid-1970's around the time I was born.  To be clear, Pittsfield's municipal budget is really about the city receiving tens of millions of state aid dollar per fiscal year (in return for....).

Pittsfield's largest demographic for population loss is in the city's young adult population who want to earn a living wage to live in the middle class versus being stuck in a city that will profit off their socioeconomic misery.

Pittsfield's financial management also consists of taxing the average Senior Citizen household over $5,000 per fiscal year.  Meanwhile, Kufflinks has his secretive multi-milion-dollar Slush Funds, so-called FREE CASH account(s), and alleged cooked books.

Peter Marchetti will serve  his 4-year mayoral term(s) and then cash in on his 6-figure city public pension plus perks, which will be in addition to his bank's 401k plan, along with his future monthly Social Security checks.

Jon Melle

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June 26, 2024

Pittsfield (Mass.) Mayor Peter Marchetti blocked my political emails.

I should have kissed his dirty behind for serving as mayor so he will collect his 6-figure city public pension plus perks for life when he retires, along with his bank's 401k pension and his Golden Years Social Security monthly checks.

I should have told him how proud I am of him for publicly asking for a 90-day grace period free from criticisms, along with his statement that he is not a fan of social media commentary.  I should have told him that he should be treated like a King whereby FREE SPEECH is met with the harshest of RETRIBUTION.

I should have told him that his use of the City's FREE CASH to pay pot settlements to Luciforo and the 2 other marijuana companies benefited the taxpayers....because PIGS have WINGS and FLY.  I should have told him that he was (NOT) right not to tell Luciforo to GO TO HELL!

I should have told him that his $216 million municipal operating budget that raised city spending by the predictable Pittsfield politics rate of 5 percent per fiscal year was a stroke of genius.  I should have told him that him raising the water and sewer rates by 8 percent was the lowest rate hikes in the last couple of years.

I should have told him that him being named in Victoria May's federal sex discrimination and sexual harassment civil lawsuit versus the Pittsfield Co-op Bank shows that he is the target of an alleged witch hunt.  I should have told him that Victoria May's allegations that Peter Marchetti called her a BITCH could not possibly be true.

I should have told him that he stands for "One Pittsfield".  I should have told him that the 2 Petes city government will unite the city towards progress for Pittsfield's Level 5 public schools, Pittsfield's inner-city distressed neighborhoods, Pittsfield's downtown that is also known as Social Services Alley, Pittsfield's violent crime rate more than doubling the statewide average since at least 1980's, and so on.

I should have told him that NO baseball in 2024 was not his fault.  I should have told him that he should spend the city's tax dollars on flowers and PRIDE flags instead.

Jon Melle

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Letter: "Mountain bike proposal for Springside Park deserves more scrutiny"

The Berkshire Eagle, July 10, 2024

To the editor: It seems that New England Mountain Bike Association and local advocates for the proposed Springside Park mountain bike complex are showing their true intent. ("The Pittsfield Parks Commission continues to support a proposed mountain bike course at Springside Park. When will it be built?" Eagle, Jan. 18.)

Their request at the June 18 Parks Commission meeting is a 180-degree reversal from their past promises. The current plea for city assistance and funding defies credulity.

Since it is clear they can't raise the necessary funding, they are now desperate and trying to change or even (re)move the goalposts previously established.

And once again, they are betraying a public commitment since fall 2020 to fully fund the planning, design, construction, maintenance and removal of the structures and their donation to the people of Pittsfield. This guarantee, out of an altruistic dedication to the well-being of our community, especially for "economically depressed" residents of the Morningside area (of course, at thousands of dollars per bike plus gear) appears false. They pretend to love nature while, in my opinion, proposing to destroy plant and animal habitat, demolishing roots, the land and all forms of environmental well-being.

After three-plus years of committing to fully funding all aspects of the complex with NEMBA, the bike advocates are now looking for an off-ramp, asking for a taxpayer-funded handout, despite our city being in the midst of numerous financial crises. Could this have been a well-positioned strategy instigated by corporate NEMBA promoters to initially influence local officials on a "free" donation to the city, but without success now seeking help at the end? An analysis of Parks Commission meeting minutes over the years and all memoranda of understanding generated from the discussions with the city since 2021 demonstrate that the city only accepted the proposal on the condition of no cost to the city. As the old adage goes, when things seem too good to be true, they aren’t.

This charade needs to be aired publicly so that everyone — the public, city officials and media — can see what a deception it is at the expense of the people, true local democracy and the natural essence of Springside park that we all love.

Royal Hartigan, Pittsfield

The writer is co-founder of the Friends of Springside Park and a member of the Vincent J. Hebert Arboretum at Springside Park.

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Letter: "High praise for improved downtown picture in Pittsfield"

The Berkshire Eagle, July 11, 2024

To the editor: As longtime business-owners, we would like to commend Mayor Peter Marchetti, our entire Pittsfield Public Works Department, Downtown Blooms, Pittsfield Beautiful and the many volunteers who worked countless hours to make our downtown look like a million bucks.

This is the best it has looked in years. The welcome mat is pristine.

Steven and Evan Valenti, Pittsfield

The writers are owners of Steven Valenti's Clothing for Men on North Street.

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July 13, 2024

Please Google: Pittsfield is offering a course for people to learn about their local government

Pittsfield politics 101: Mayor Peter Marchetti requested a 90 day Grace Period free from criticism, and he publicly stated that he is NOT a fan of social media and blogs that allow FREE SPEECH

Pot politics 101: Pittsfield's Pot King Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior received a city FREE CASH settlement in the amount of $341,000, while he stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods with his unpleasant largest in the region pot growing odors, while Luciforo lives in a mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community neighborhood west of Berkshire Community College

PEDA politics 101: The 28-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with millions of dollars in always increasing unfunded liabilities (public debts) that will never be paid for

Public "Scohols" 101: Charge taxpayers an excessive amount of dollars in return for Level 5 public "scohols", including Allendale Elementary School that abuts Hill 78 that is a capped "leaky" landfill full of GE's PCBs that cause cancer and brain damage

Pittsfield poverty 101: North Street's Social Services Alley and the surrounding inner-city neighborhoods known as the Ring of Poverty

Pittsfield politics scandal 101: (Former Bank Manager) Peter Marchetti is named in Victoria May's federal sex discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit whereby he allegedly called her a BITCH

Pittsfield's cooked books 101: Kufflinks secretive Slush Funds, Creative Accounting schemes, and Financial Shell Games

Pittsfield's mayoral nicknames 101: Bar-stool, Aberration, Rolodex, Mayor Montello, Gated Community, and Openly Gay

Pittsfield budgeting 101: Similarly sized postindustrial small cities' operating municipal budgets cost $30 million to $40 million less than Pittsfield's bloated $216 million operating budget

Pittsfield SCAMS 101: Pittsfield plays financial shell games with the state government in Boston that has nothing to do with the people and taxpayers that have been paying for 5% or higher annual spending increases for over the past 40 years, but it is really about the city receiving as much state administered federal aid funds as possible

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/75922/Pittsfield-Accepting-Applications-for-Citizens-Academy.html

Jon Melle

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August 30, 2024

The special edition trash barrels of Pittsfield politics - edition 2024:

The Peter Marchetti mayoral toter:  An over-sized bin with a Pride Flag logo

The Pete White toter: A trash bin with a logo of Voltron eating a pork-chop

The Earl Persip toter: An extra large bin for old political lawn signs

The Kathleen Amuso toter: An old bin with Pittsfield's level 5 logo

The Alisa Costa toter: A bin that will "costa plenty"

The Ken Warren toter: A bin for the fine print

The Brittany Simola Noto toter: A bin for Ward 2's underclass residents

The Matthew Wrinn toter: A bin for Rin Tin Tin's dog waste

The James Conant toter: A bin for the homeless to sleep in

The Patrick Kavey toter: A bin for the hair stylists to use

The Dina Lampiasi toter: A bin in honor of Helen Moon

The Rhoda Serre toter: A bin for useless old academic textbooks

The Bill Cameron toter: A bin for GE's PCBs industrial chemicals that cause brain damage - as well as cancer - in human beings that are near public schools, especially Allendale Elementary School that abuts Hill 78

The Dan Elias toter: A bin for stale donuts

The Dina Belair toter: A bin for old school lunches

The Bill Garrity toter: A bin for old bureaucratic spreadsheets

The Sara Hathaway toter: A bin for old Schoolmarm lawsuits and aberrations

The Dominick Sacco toter: A bin for the over-priced level 5 public school district

The Linda Tyer toter: A bin for BCC plum sinecures

The Dan Bianchi toter: A bin for Montello's energy waste byproducts

The Jimmy Ruberto toter: A bin for old, rusted out, useless Rolodexes

The Tricia Farley Bouvier toter: A bin for doing nothing for 12 years and counting

The Paul Mark toter: A bin for big rubber stamps

The Richie Neal toter: A bin for old PAC Man video game parts

The Ed Markey toter: A bin for HOT AIR from Maryland

The Elizabeth Warren toter: A bin for supporting big money Democrats in the Swamp

The Maura Healey toter: A bin for maxed out state credit cards

The Joe BIden toter: A bin for the trillions of dollars in digital money he printed out of thin air that nobody knows where all of the "Biden Bucks" actually went to

The Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski toter: A casket that fits two bedraggled working-class taxpayers

Jon Melle

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Letter: "I question Pittsfield leaders' spending priorities"

The Berkshire Eagle, August 29, 2024

To the editor: When it comes to making decisions about how tax revenues are allocated in Pittsfield, there are "nice to haves" and then there are "need to haves."

Clearly, the city and its economic development partners are working hard to attract new businesses and employment opportunities. One of the first questions prospective businesses and investors ask during their discernment process is "what is the quality of the schools?" and not "does the city have a baseball park suitable for the Futures League?" After all, many employees make a decision to join a company and/or relocate based on quality of life, with the quality of the school system at the top of the list.

As I understand from the Aug. 27 Berkshire Eagle article "Green light to design park," after $3 million in federal funds are considered, there will be a $10 million funding gap for Wahconah Park's restoration. And that gap could continue to grow, based on a number of unknowns. Guess who might bear much of the burden of that $10 million or more? The taxpayers of Pittsfield.

Yet this spring, the city could not find $200,000 to fund Chromebooks for our students. ("Pittsfield Public Schools shave $200,000 for computer replacements to offset cuts made by City Council," Eagle, June 27.) Educators and paraprofessionals hold their breath each budget cycle, wondering if their jobs are secure. Pittsfield paid $1.9 million in school choice fees to the Lenox school district in 2022-23 alone.

Where are our priorities?

Our city leadership needs to take a strategic look at what is really important when it comes to attracting new businesses. Hint: It's not a ballpark.

Susan LeBourdais, Pittsfield

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September 23, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti and blog posters and readers,

Off topic:

Pittsfield politics: has new toters - has a record high municipal operating budget - has an annual operating cost of between $30 million to $40 million more than similar postindustrial small cities - has predictable annual municipal budget increases of around 5 percent or higher for over 40 years now - has mostly unfunded municipal public debts (including OPEB) in the hundreds of millions of dollars - has the Wahconah Park "Big Dig"-like boondoggle project proposal - has Tricia Farley Bouvier Country Buffet going into her 14th year (of doing nothing) in Boston - has Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior $341,000 richer (allegedly, thanks to his $1,000 donation to Peter Marchetti's 2023 campaign) - has Luciforo: Pittsfield's Pot King's Berkshire Roots largest in the region marijuana growing operation on Dalton Avenue stinking up residential neighborhoods with his dead-skunk pot odors (while Nuciforo himself lives away from it all in his mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College) - has Peter Marchetti being named in Victoria May's federal sex discrimination lawsuit versus a local bank whereby the then bank manager Peter Marchetti allegedly called Victoria May "a BITCH" - has Peter Marchetti's Pride flags flying around the city - has Pete White cosplay Voltron - has Bill Cameron proposing tearing down 2 west-side public schools while he omits Allendale Elementary School being next to Hill 78's capped leaky landfill full of GE's PCBs that cause brain damage and cancer alike in human beings - has Level 5 rated public schools (the worst rating by the state) - has over 650 students choice out of the Pittsfield public school district to neighboring public school districts - has over 50 years of its only economic growth being in its large underclass population - has a downtown that is sarcastically called "Social Services Alley" with the inner-city distressed neighborhoods that surround North Street sarcastically called "The Ring of Poverty" - has a violent crime rate that more than doubles the (Massachusetts) state-wide average since at least 1980 - has over 1,000 gang members living in its inner-city neighborhoods with reported daily shootings - has over 50 years of severe losses in living wage jobs and population - has an incestuous-like clique of multi-generational, inter-related families that are sarcastically called "The Good Old Boys" - has a daily newspaper (The Berkshire Eagle) that is sarcastically called names such "The Dirty Bird" that does a DISSERVICE to real journalism most, but not all, of the time - has news media blacklists of free speech letter writers such as myself (Jon Melle) whereby the Eagle hasn't published one of my many letters in over 20 years now - has state lottery sales that most of the residents don't understand is really (voluntary) regressive taxation that systemically mocks the low- to moderate income mostly financially illiterate residents and Pittsfield itself on many levels - has Pittsfield politics' other name being called RETRIBUTION (my dad, Bob, and I should know thanks to Nuciforo's decades of conspiratorial persecution of me/us) - has voter turnouts of around 20 percent give or take a few points - has public participation apathy syndrome whereby only a few residents dare to speak or write letters about Pittsfield's downward spiral - has the 26-year-old polluted PEDA debacle with millions of dollars in always increasing higher unfunded liabilities (public debts) - has been the subject of museum exhibits in London, NYC, and L.A. whereby Pittsfield was titled: "A City in Decay" - had the Berkshire Museum in 2018 selling 2 Norman Rockwell paintings that the famous artists himself donated (along with other historic paintings) for tens of millions of dollars - had the Boston newspapers write that Pittsfield is a service city by the working-class residents for the wealthier southern Berkshires - had the N.Y. Times write that Berkshire County's real estate market is hot, but to avoid the hole in the doughnut: Pittsfield - has Mayors with nicknames of (the late) Bar-stool, Aberration, Rolodex, Montello, Gated Community, and the sitting Mayor also known as Openly Gay - always has a majority rubber stamp City Council - and last, but not least, has the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family paying their hard-earned money to state and local taxes in return for....I won't write it....because it is all listed above.

Jon Melle

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September 29, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I want my toter to have the words: Pittsfield politics spends up to $40 million more per fiscal year than similar postindustrial small cities in return for....2x the rate of violent crime statewide (since at least 1980), over-priced Level 5 public schools, the heavily indebted 26-year-old polluted PEDA debacle, the ingrained one (Democratic) party state and local political corruption and all of their DISSERVICES (see below), the distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street aka - its sarcastic nickname of - Social Services Alley, etc.

I like to pretend that I could put Luciforo into my would-be toter with wheels and then roll it down the hill and push it off the cliff (Nilan). This sarcastic sentence was NOT a veiled threat. Rather, it is only freedom of speech to express my dislike for my enemy #1 who lives in a $950,000 mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College, while he owns and operates a lucrative marijuana business named "Berkshire Roots" on Dalton Avenue that stinks up nearby residential neighborhoods with his dead skunk-like pot growing odors - and Nuciforo received a $341,000 pot settlement from the City of Pittsfield (Mass.) in 2024 to boot - after Pittsfield's Pot King donated $1,000 to Peter Marchetti's mayoral campaign in 2023.

There are little to no living wage jobs in Pittsfield (Mass.), but the city's record setting municipal budget is somewhere around $216 million.  How does any of it even begin to make any financial sense?  Answer: Perverse Incentives whereby the city and public school district profits off of no- to low- to moderate income residents and families whose underclass social status brings into the city many millions of dollars in state administered federal aid dollars.  Even then one-term Pittsfield Mayor Sara Hathaway (2002 - 2003) once notoriously quipped that "Pittsfield is a junkie for state aid".

Pittsfield's perverse incentives predictable public policies are along the same lines of the last 2 fiscal years (2023 & 2024) record setting over $1 billion per fiscal year in profits by the Massachusetts State Lottery, which relies on the mostly financially illiterate no- to low- to moderate income residents and other gamblers to purchase/play the lottery's tickets and games.  The lottery - like all forms of gambling - is really (voluntary) regressive taxation that exploits the masses to benefit the financial, corporate and ruling elite's special interests.  It is wrong on many levels, but it is all around us everyday of our lives of being financial fools....and there also are plenty of lottery tickets and games for sale in Pittsfield (and beyond, of course)....I just wish that it didn't go over so many people's heads!

It is NOT really about public safety, public schools, roads and bridges, social services programs, etc., to the City of Pittsfield.  Nor is it about all of the above to the state government in Boston.  Rather, it is about the city and state playing financial shell games with each other to receive as many state administered federal aid dollars as possible, which the ruling elites then use to always giveaway billions of dollars in state and local tax breaks per fiscal year to their wealthy financial and corporate elite big campaign donors, which also benefits the greedy lobbyists - some of whom report 7-figure per year salaries in Boston, the Swamp, and the like.

Also, it is about selling as many lottery and other gambling products and services as possible to enrich the elites, while systemically mocking the financially foolish people and taxpayers that the state and local government is supposed to be serving instead of financially exploiting for their own special interests and personal benefit(s).  But it almost all goes into the pockets of the wealthy few, while sadly, it all goes over most people's heads!

I think Pittsfield's capped leaky landfills full of GE's PCBs industrial chemicals that cause brain damage and cancer alike in human beings has made the city's leaders into brain damaged mutants who would not be anybody of important class and status outside of Pittsfield politics.

Jon Melle

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September 30, 2024

I feel the same way about you know who....is my enemy #1....whose name rhymes with Luciforo....who I like to pretend to be in my would-be toter with wheels that I would roll down the hill with him inside and throw it off the cliff (Nilan)....and then Luciforo would spread his Devil wings and fly away to his $950,000 mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College....and I would give him two middle-fingers....and this is all only sarcasm; it is NOT a veiled threat....but rather, it is only meant to be free speech....because one needs it to deal with the morons who run Pittsfield politics....into the costly waste disposal dump....when they are not monitoring GE's PCBs inside of the city's capped leaky landfills that do not last forever in containing the aforementioned industrial chemicals that cause brain damage and cancer alike in human beings....but Hill 78 abuts Allendale Elementary School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and it all still stands through present day....thanks to the late Mayor Gerry Doyle taking 30 pieces of silver from the late GE CEO Jack Welch....that Mayor Peter Marchetti will use some of the GE settlement funds for the "Big Dig"-like Wahconah Park project that will turn into yet another costly boondoggle....while we are all focused on 2 lousy presidential candidates in 2024....with Kamala Harris pretending to be Mrs. Santa Claus without a way to pay for all of her would-be promised federal programs...and with Donald Trump promising the biggest tax cut in U.S. history that would wipe out federal funding for the existing federal programs....that leaves the taxpayers scratching their heads....because most of us fictional Kapanskis have to live in financial reality....while the likes of Nancy Pelosi said only a few years ago that she is ONLY worth $115 million, and it was reported in the news in mid- to late August 2024 that she made $15 million in 10 days on her investments....because being a career politician is really about money and power....and now I am done with my no paragraphs screed, and I will go back to pounding sand.

Jonathan A. Melle

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October 02, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti and readers, and everyone else out there,

Pat, the underclass population has been increasing in numbers for over the past 50 years now.  Almost all of the income gains have gone to the super wealthy few households, financial powerhouses, corporate elites, and the corrupt ruling elites.

Pat, how can you say that J.D. Vance is correct to point out that due to high housing costs and inflation, the common people and families are unable to achieve the American Dream under Joe Biden & Kamala Harris (& Tim Walz, too)?  It has been getting worse and worse for over the past 50 years now - it is called economic inequality.

From what I understand, someone around my age who is stuck in a working-class life makes about $5 more per work week than my grandparents did in the 1970's.  Meanwhile, the super wealthy have been enriching them and their financial, corporate and ruling elites to the tune of many billions of dollars per year since the 1970's.  

Since the end of WW2, Wall Street has been making trillions of dollars off of war, but at the cost of many millions of innocent human lives over the past a little less than 80 years.  It is called, "Wall Street worships the Almighty....Dollar!

Our nation's post WW2 through present day, 2024, economy is based on the military industrial complex whereby the U.S. Government's number one non-farm exports are arms sales, related technologies, and endless wars.  Our nation's industrial economy has been outsourced to foreign countries, but with large regions of the U.S.A. being called "The Rust Belt".  Many farms in the U.S.A. have been bought out by large corporations, foreign interests, and billionaires such as Bill Gates.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was once a so-called GE town that employed over 10,000 local residents in the post-WW2 era through the 1970's whereby the middle-class actually grew in the U.S.A. for a little less than 30 years from the mid-1940's to the early-1970's.  In 2024, Pittsfield has been and still is GE's toxic waste dump with zero GE jobs left.  Pittsfield is a perfect illustration of postindustrial decay in the 21st Century U.S.A.

I was never able to work in a living wage job in my entire life of over 49 years.  If I did not have my service-connection VA benefits, then I would be fortunate to live in public housing myself.  When I lived in my native hometown of Pittsfield many years ago now, I felt that I had better odds of winning the state lottery jackpot - (voluntary) regressive taxation that targets the "Jon Melle's" of distressed places like the "PITTS-field's" - than obtaining and retaining a living wage job in my life.  Those are terrible odds, but I faced them many years ago now - along with Luciforo's a little less than the past 28.5 years of abuses against me (and my dad, Bob, who was a Berkshire County Commissioner from 1997 - mid-2000).

Project 2025 and Donald Trump wants to privatize the VA.  The first thing privatization does is for a would-be greedy insurance company to strip away VA benefits in the name of so-called efficiency.  I would eventually lose everything that I have today.  I never counted in my life when I lived in Pittsfield, and I may not count anymore if the VA is privatized in a would-be future.  I do not win at any cost like the aforementioned super wealthy few and the elites that serve their special interests do.  Instead, I write, blog, and pound sand about it all.

Jon Melle

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October 04, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Mayor Peter Marchetti's quote(s), below, do(es) not address the allegation(s) by Victoria May that when he was a bank manager, he called her "a BITCH".  He is named in Victoria May's federal sex discrimination lawsuit as one of three bank managers who allegedly illegally mistreated her at the bank she worked at whereby they terminated her employment there.

In 2006, when John Forbes Kerry visited Pittsfield at the top floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Peter Marchetti threw me - Jon Melle - his own relative under the bus by telling people that I lived with my elderly grandmother (1909 - 2008), whose maiden name is Marchetti, and that my plan was to live with her in her Pittsfield home back then.  I had moved to Southern New Hampshire 2 years prior in 2004.

As for Sara Hathaway, during the Fall 1997 North Adams Fall Foliage Parade, she was at Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior's side when he broke his parade route and rolled up in my face.  It took my cousin from North Adams and Uncle from Saratoga Springs, NY, to get Nuciforo off of me.  Sara Hathaway did nothing but watched.  Sara Hathaway did not tell Nuciforo to stop his hostile actions.

Dan Valenti, don't you just love how Mayor Peter Marchetti and Sara Hathaway act like they are the epitomy of kindness when their own behavior(s) are anything but?

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

Mayor Peter Marchetti delivered a "comment to maybe an email I haven't yet responded to," explaining that the city doesn't have to tear people down to bring people up.

"I think as a city, we need to take our time to celebrate the successes we have and it doesn't mean that when we're celebrating someone's success, we're taking others down,"

"And so I just think it's important to recognize successes because clearly if we didn't recognize them, then we wouldn't have the desire for others to try to fall in the footsteps and succeed."

https://www.iberkshires.com/printerFriendly.php?story_id=76804

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October 7, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

I love how the news article, below, states that the average home price in the Berkshires is $475,598, and properties below the average home price are difficult to buy due to lower inventory and higher demand than the higher inventory and higher priced homes, without explaining that there are little to no living wage jobs for the working-class residents in Pittsfield to finance a mortgage in the first place.

To illustrate, if the underclass "Jon Melle" resident of Pittsfield (Massachusetts) wanted to purchase a home in my aforementioned native hometown, I would have better odds winning the state lottery jackpot than working in a living wage job.  Those are terrible odds!  Pittsfield is described as a distressed city with an over reliance on social services, along with acute economic inequality (with the likes of former Mayor Linda Tyer and her nearby neighbor Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior living in their respective mansions in the city's elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College), while the city's large underclass population lives in "the Ring of Poverty" inner-city neighborhoods that surrounds North Street's Social Services Alley downtown.

I wish that people understood that Pittsfield is ran on Perverse Incentives because all of the above inequality produces a high level of state administered federal aid dollars for Pittsfield, while the city's public schools are rated Level 5 (the bottom rating), violent crime in the city more than doubles the statewide average since (at least) 1980, GE's capped leaky landfills left the city polluted with PCBs, the annual municipal operating budget costs up to $40 million more than similar small postindustrial cities, and so on.

The state is playing inequitable financial shell games with Pittsfield.  The perfect illustration is the state lottery SCAM, which is really regressive taxation.  The lottery systemically mocks Pittsfield and the underclass residents who live there and places like it because they do NOT understand that almost all of the benefits from the lottery go to the greedy elites in Boston, which use the money to giveaway huge state tax breaks to their wealthy big business campaign donors who do no live in places such as Pittsfield.

So what is my point here?  The answer is that the reason why the average working family cannot own a roof over their heads - a home - in Pittsfield is because the elites see them as a means to their Perverse Incentives ends instead of as taxpayers who matter.  To illustrate, the "Jon Melle" of Pittsfield is unable to find a living wage job, wants to play the lottery, ends up on social services, points out that Linda Tyer and her nearby neighbor Nuciforo live in their respective mansions in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community, writes about the city's inner-city distressed neighborhoods, says that the annual municipal budget costs up to $40 million more than places such as Westfield (Massachusetts), explains that in return, the taxpayers receive....I won't write it because it is all already stated above, the city takes in as much state aid as possible in return for substandard services, the state doles out the aid dollars, but ensures it is as inequitable as possible, and the financial, corporate and ruling elites in Boston enrich themselves at the public trough while mocking people like the "Jon Melle" of Pittsfield.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Driven by lax inventory, the average price of homes in the Berkshires continues to climb"

By Claire O'Callahan, The Berkshire Eagle Claire O'Callahan, October 6, 2024

Demand continues to outstrip supply in the Berkshires, making it challenging for prospective homebuyers to break into the market.

Small shifts this year could point to a softening market as the county continues to slowly retract from its COVID highs, said Sandra J. Carroll, CEO of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors. But historically low inventory persists across property types and the average price of homes continues to climb.

“There is still more demand than there are homes available in the marketplaces in the ranges that drive much of our market, what we call the workforce housing range,” said Carroll.

The average sale price in the Berkshires is continuing its slow march upwards, according to the Berkshire County Board of Realtors’ latest market report. It rose to $475,598 this year, up 3 percent from last year.

Inventory also rose slightly, but remains very low with an absorption rate of 3.44 months.

“We consider anything under 7 months to be a seller’s market and low,” said Carroll. “We did move up this quarter so there are more properties on the market, but it is still historically low.”

Combined, the high prices and low inventory have created a challenging puzzle to crack.

Pending transactions rose slightly last month, particularly for houses listed in the $250,000 to $400,000 price range.

That range captures what Carroll calls the “workforce housing” bracket (roughly between $200,000 and $400,000) and it is where she sees the most demand from prospective homebuyers.

But properties priced in that range, especially the lower end, can be difficult to come by.

In affordable housing terminology, “workforce housing” — also known as middle income housing or the missing middle housing — often refers to housing that is affordable for people earning between 60 and 100 (sometimes 120) percent of the area median income.

In Pittsfield, a “workforce housing” qualifying individual would make a yearly income between $47,280 and $78,750. A family of four would make an annual income between $67,500 and $112,500.

North and Central County have a market that can meet this demand, said Carroll. The average home price in North County is $321,803, well within the “workforce housing” range. In Central County, the average price is slightly outside the range at $430,326.

In South County, the average price, although slightly down from last year, is still far out of range at $846,173.

This mismatch between the average home price and the home prices that are in demand could explain why the properties listed are spending longer on the market — 105 days compared to 95 last year — despite the low inventory.

“Where the inventory is being held right now is in price points where there is not as much buyer demand,” said Carroll.

The highest number of listings this year have been within the $1 to $2 million range, up 23.6 percent from last year. In September alone, 82 residential properties listed in that range. In comparison, 41 are listed in the $400,000 to $499,000 range, which captures the county’s median home price.

Looking into the next quarter, Carroll said the rise in pending transactions could indicate a stronger market and lower mortgage rates may ease the market.

“We’re looking at an interest rate market that might be easing up and might be helping buyers have a bigger opportunity to afford brackets of housing,” said Carroll. “But I do think that, just in general, inventory continues to be a challenge.”

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October 09, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

For all of Sara Hathaway's many flaws in Pittsfield politics, she was right when she warned the city in the early-2000's-decade that Jimmy Ruberto is a snake oil salesman who was part of Pittsfield's Good Old Boys network of incestuous-like, inter-related failed state and local leaders who ran the city into the ditch for generations.  NOTE: I know, even a broken clock is right twice per day, but I still wished that I had listened to her over 2 decades ago.

It is interesting to me that Sara Hathaway wrote a letter to the Dirty Bird (Eagle) last Autumn 2023 endorsing Peter Marchetti for Mayor, who is named in a federal sex discrimination lawsuit versus a local bank whereby Victoria May alleges that Peter Marchetti, who was one of her bank managers, called his employee Victoria May "a BITCH".  NOTE: I know, Governor (misguided) Maura Healey and Tricia Farley Bouvier Country Buffet also endorsed the now Mayor of BITCH-field, Massachusetts.

How did Sara Hathaway go from being a so-called "breath of fresh air" to lining up behind the 2 Pete's Pittsfield politics?  Answer, even a broken clock is wrong other than the aforementioned twice a day time-keeping.

The bedraggled taxpayers have always been the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski working-class family who resides in a corrupt city that charges them up to $40 million per fiscal year more than similar small postindustrial cities, such as Westfield, for the luxury of life in the PITTS.

The Kapanski's are the ruling elites' financial fools who City Hall treats like a doormat on a good day, but a toilet for them to shit on the bad days, but it all goes over most of their heads that they are used for their state and local government's inequitable financial shell games.  I wish I could teach the underclass, working-class, and everyone else out there that the state government in Boston systemically mocks them, and the corrupt career politicians in Boston only does DISSERVICES against them instead of investing in people and communities because it is all a game called PAY to PLAY.

Jon Melle

P.S. Pittsfield politics' mayoral nicknames are the late-bar-stool, aberration the litigious schoolmarm who a little less than one decade ago received an undisclosed settlement from the City of Pittsfield in her discrimination lawsuit for her loss, the (useless) Rolodex with his weak ethics, the part-time Mayor Montello, the former school secretary Mayor who lives in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community along with her litigious nearby Pot King neighbor Luciforo who donated $1,000 in 2023 to Peter Marchetti's mayoral campaign and earlier in 2024, Nuciforo received a $341,000 pot settlement from the City, and the openly gay, 90-day grace period from free speech sitting Mayor (of a would-be City in Russia, or China, or Iran, or North Korea, or Saudi Arabia....) - with Voltron the Pork-chop next in line to the throne.

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October 30, 2024

Once again, WHY?  Pittsfield cost tens of millions of dollars in operating funds per fiscal year more than Westfield and other similar postindustrial small cities.

Pittsfield's excessive operating budget and other municipal finances add up to big numbers as the years go by.  It is the taxpayers who are paying for hundreds of millions of dollars extra per generation to a corrupt city government.  How is any of Pittsfield's troubled municipal financial management excesses sustainable over the long-term?

Matt Kerwood manages Pittsfield's municipal finances.  But for over 40 years now (since Prop. 2.5 in the early-1980's), predictable Pittsfield politics has increased municipal spending by at least 5 percent per fiscal year because it is all an irrational fiscal shell game with the state bureaucrats in Boston - which means it is NOT at all about the fictional Kapanski's.

Most people do not understand the many levels of financial management and all of the fiscal shell games that the financial, corporate and ruling elites play (with each other) at the expense(s) of the common people.  Most people just pay for everything and complain about taxes, inflation, and their (constrained) personal finances.

I will tell you who knows what is going on: PAC Man Richie Neal, Greedy lobbyist Dan Bosley, Openly Gay Peter Marchetti, Kufflinks Matt Kerwood, the elitist and inequitable snobs in Boston, and in the Swamp, and so on.

To be clear: The elites - including the corrupt career politicians, such as Voltron Pork-chop Pete White, who avoid blogger Dan Valenti - are all about enriching themselves at the public trough while we pay for their fiscal shell games with the special interests who donate big buck$ to their campaign coffers.  It is an incestuous-like group of political insiders who hate real journalism, blogs and social media outlets who write critical words about them.

It is no mystery to me because I have a Master of Public Administration degree from U Mass Amherst (May 1999), which means that I studied public policy (for years).  It is all about MONEY and POWER for the elites, while blogger Dan Valenti fights for the little guy whom he calls the fictional Kapanski's.

Jon Melle

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November 01, 2024

My relative Mayor Peter Marchetti should have told my enemy #1 Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior - aka Luciforo - aka Pittsfield's Pot King (of lawsuits) - to GO TO HELL instead of giving into his pot lawsuit versus the City of Pittsfield (Massachusetts) whereby Nuciforo's Berkshire Roots received a city FREE CASH pot settlement of $341,000, which was after Nuciforo gave $1,000 to Peter Marchetti's 2023 mayoral campaign. (Net profit for Nuciforo = $340,000; message from Jon Melle and my native hometown's city taxpayers = "2 middle fingers" to Marchetti and Nuciforo alike!)

My relative Mayor Peter Marchetti is named as one of three bank managers at Pittsfield Cooperative Bank in Victorial May's federal lawsuit who allegedly sexually discriminated and/or sexually harassed bank employee Victoria May prior to her termination from the said bank.  Peter Marchetti allegedly called Victoria May "a BITCH".  Nonetheless, Maura Healey, Tricia Farley Bouvier, Sara Hathaway, former Mayor Linda Tyer, and other state and local women political leaders still endorsed the openly gay Mayor Peter Marchetti (who requested 90 day grace period and who is not a fan of social media and blogs - FREE SPEECH).

Mayor Peter Marchetti increased city spending by the over 40 years in a row (since the early-1980's when Prop. 2.5 became state law in Massachusetts) always predictable Pittsfield politics' 5 percent (or higher) rate in fiscal year 2025 (July 01, 2024 - June 30, 2025).  He has not changed city spending one bit.  His plan is the same old city's unwritten policy of using the city's fixed income Senior Citizens as the city government's ATM.  Moreover, Pittsfield's operating budget is tens of millions more per fiscal year than similar small postindustrial cities, such as Westfield, Mass.

There was no professional (college league) baseball this past Summer 2024, nor will there be next Summer 2025, in Pittsfield.  The Wahconah Park project would be a Big Dig-like boondoggle that would soak the already struggling city taxpayers.  There is also the proposed Springside Park Pump Track project would be another boondoggle.  Meanwhile, Pittsfield is heavily indebted with hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debts, including the city's OPEB unfunded liabilities (public debts), and the polluted PEDA debacle's millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities (public debts).

If Mayor Peter Marchetti were a real leader, he would have a financial management plan to transform Pittsfield from an unsustainable financial system to a sustainable one (and Pigs would have Wings and Fly).  Instead, he relies on his chief bureaucrat Matt Kerwood ("Kufflinks") to allegedly cook the books with his financial shell games and secretive municipal slush funds (that should belong in the pockets of the city's taxpayers).

Mayor Peter Marchetti will serve one or two 4-year terms, and then he will retire with a 6-figure city public pension plus perks, which will be on top of his 35-year bank pension plan, plus his future monthly Social security monthly beneficiary payments.

I cannot support my relative Peter Marchetti for all of the above reasons.  It is unfair that someone such as my relative Mayor Peter Marchetti benefits from Pittsfield politics, while the local taxpayers are not only falling behind, but are stuck paying for this mess due to a long corrupt city government.  That is the exact opposite of what a good Mayor should and would do in elected office.

Jon Melle

P.S. Mayor Peter Marchetti is sadly not even the worst of it.  Politics is so corrupt and inequitable that one would have to study the likes of greedy lobbyist Dan Bosley and his hero, PAC Man Richie Neal (D-K Street corporate lobbyist firms in the Swamp), to see that the taxpayers are being played for financial fools while the financial, corporate and ruling elites live like Kings and Queens off our tax dollars!

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November 02, 2024

I respectfully disagree with you because blogger Dan Valenti's "Planet" (a) gives a different perspective than the group-think leftist news media in the beautiful Berkshires (& beyond), (b) he allows FREE SPEECH, especially in Pittsfield politics whose other name is spelled R-E-T-R-I-B-U-T-I-O-N!, (c) due to my 28.5 years of being conspiratorially persecuted, threatened, blacklisted and bullied by "The Nuciforo Network" in Pittsfield and Boston, the news media in Massachusetts has long blacked out my political emails, letters, op-ed's, and blog postings, except for The Boston Herald who occasionally publishes my letters, and the "Planet Valenti" blog, but I believe that I still live in a FREE COUNTRY (even when it comes to Massachusetts), (d) he does NOT pull any punches when it comes to local, state and federal politics and their failures in leadership (because the government has become an Oligarchy of Corrupt Career Politicians who wrongly believe that they are NOT there to serve the American People), and (e) he defends the voice of the little guy who he calls the fictional Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski hard-working-class family who has to pay taxes to live in the corrupt City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which is both of our native hometown, but Dan Valenti lives in Stockbridge, Mass., and I - Jon Melle - live in Amherst, New Hampshire.

Jonathan A. Melle

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November 11, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

The 2-Pete's Pittsfield politics will charge the median city residential property owner: $4,601.61 in fiscal year 2025.  The fiscal figure does NOT include city fees.

Pittsfield spends tens of millions of dollars more per fiscal year than similar sized postindustrial small cities, such as Westfield, Massachusetts.

There will be a City Council meeting on Tuesday, November 12th, 2024, at 6pm, whereby city taxpayers may speak at the open mic.

If I lived in my native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, I would ask the 2-Pete's and City Council why does Pittsfield's city government and (level 5) public school system cost city taxpayers tens of millions of dollars more per fiscal year than similar small cities?

I would ask them why Pittsfield's financial management policies have been predictably the same for over 40 years now since the early-1980's whereby the city always increases its spending by at least 5 percent (or higher) per fiscal year.

I would ask them why they are not changing any of this because tens of millions of dollars in additional city spending per fiscal year will add up to hundreds of millions of dollars in additional city spending over future generations.  I would tell them that Pittsfield's city spending is unsustainable over the long-term.

I would tell them that Pittsfield's tax and spend policies boil down to the city government taking over $5,000 per fiscal year 2025 from senior citizen city taxpayers who are already financially constrained.

I would tell them that it was WRONG when the Mayor Peter Marchetti administration settled Nuciforo's pot lawsuit earlier this calendar year 2024 whereby "Luciforo: Pittsfield's Pot King (of lawsuits)" ended up with $341,000 in city "FREE CASH", and that Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior is already a millionaire who lives in his $950,000 mansion in Pittsfield's elitist Gated Community west of Berkshire Community College.

In closing, I give the 2-Pete's Pittsfield politics, as well as Nuciforo, 2 middle fingers, in defense of the exploited city taxpayers.  They are all HORRIBLE politicians and a pot king!

Jon Melle

https://www.iberkshires.com/story/77165/Pittsfield-Tax-Rate-May-Drop-But-Bills-Rise.html

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November 12, 2024

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

Here is the proof that the 2-Pete's Pittsfield politics predictably did NOT change the city government's excessive tax and spend municipal financial management.

The fictional Mary Jane & Joe Kapanski are paying 7.17 percent more on their property tax bill than the previous fiscal year.  The average fiscal year 2025 residential property tax bill is close to $5,300.00, which does not include city fees.

Pittsfield's plan is the same old one that now takes over $6,000.00 per fiscal year from senior citizens who live on a fixed income and face severe financial constraints.

Pittsfield's excessive tax and spend municipal finances cost tens of millions of dollars per fiscal year more than similar small postindustrial cities, such as Westfield.  I do not understand how and why this is happening, other than all of the failed mayoral administrations that are sarcastically called: (the late) Bar-stool, Aberration, Rolodex, Montello, Gated Community, and Openly Gay 90-day grace period.

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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"The Pittsfield City Council set a lower property tax rate, but the average bill is going up thanks to increased property value"

By Greg Sukiennik, The Berkshire Eagle, November 12, 2024

PITTSFIELD — The average residential property tax bill for fiscal 2025 will increase 7.17 percent over the previous year under tax rates set by the City Council on Tuesday night. 

That's despite setting a tax rate 51 cents per $1,000 less than last year for most of the city's property owners. 

While the rates went down, the value of city properties, based on real estate sales, increased — eating up whatever savings most taxpayers may have realized from the lower rate.  

Following a public hearing, with questions asked of the city Board of Assessors and finance director, the council unanimously set rates of $17.94 per $1,000 of valuation for residential property and $37.96 per $1,000 for commercial and personal property. 

Those rates are subsidized by $2.5 million in free cash, as voted by the council in setting the fiscal 2025 budget. 

In fiscal 2024, the tax rates were $18.45 per $1,000 for residential property and $39.61 per $1,000 for commercial and personal property. 

According to the Board of Assessors, the average residential home valuation for fiscal 2025 is $295,291 — an increase of 10.21 percent over a year ago. During her presentation to the Council, board chair Laura Catalano offered a photo of a 1,250 square foot ranch home on the city's southeast side as an example of that average residence. 

At the rate approved by the council, the taxes for that average property will be $5,297.52.

In fiscal 2024, the average residential property was worth $267,914, and the average bill was $4,943.01.

According to Catalano, 568 residential properties bills will decrease; 1,467 will increase less than $100; 3,777 will increase less than the average of 7.17 percent; and 5,294 will increase more than that average.

Councilors, while praising the efforts made by Mayor Peter Marchetti's administration to minimize the property tax impact for fiscal 2025 through its municipal budget, said there's more work to do in the year ahead.

Councilor Kathy Amuso, who a year ago led the charge to reduce the city's tax impact, noted that although the city's rate went down, the appraisal values continued to increase, as they have throughout the region. 

"There are still some people that are going to get a significant tax bill," Amuso said. "I do think we worked hard and worked hard with mayor and his team and the school side. ... I just think going forward we have to do the same to be as fiscally responsible as we can."

Councilors posed questions on behalf of constituents, asking what would happen if the city did not set a tax rate by Dec. 31, and what would happen if it set a lower rate than what was presented.

Matthew Kerwood, the city's finance director, said failure to set a tax rate in a timely fashion would lead to cash shortages down the road, and borrowing that would cost the city interest.

Cutting the rate would mean cutting the budget, Marchetti said. "Since it's halfway through the year it would mean double the amount of cuts," he said. 

Councilor Kenneth Warren Jr., while also praising Marchetti's administration, said he could only give city government a "B-minus" for its work in controlling tax growth. "This is not an indictment of the current administration or the City Council. This is where we find ourselves," he said. 

Given the increases in appraised value, Councilor Alisa Costa asked what residents can do if they want to challenge those values. Catalano and Kerwood said that the appeal window starts when bills are sent out, and continues for 30 days. And Catalano noted there are several abatement programs for senior citizens, if they meet certain requirements. 

"When you file an abatement be specific why your house is overvalued to justify the fact value is too high," Kerwood said. "Putting down 'The taxes are too high' is not a justification for an abatement."

The commercial and personal property rate of $37.96 is $1.65 less than it was in fiscal 2024. According to the Board of Assessors, at the median property valuation of $224,250, the bill would be $8,512.53. That’s a 1.61 percent increase over fiscal 2024. 

Every year, the city shifts a percentage of its tax burden onto commercial and personal property. If the city used a single tax rate, it would come out to $21.69 per $1,000 for all taxpayers.  

Overall, the city has a property valuation of $5.27 billion — up from $4.82 billion in fiscal 2024.

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