NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Finance Committee began its review of the proposed $52 million fiscal 2026 budget on Wednesday. 

 

The committee endorsed the budgets of the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District, the public schools, compensation and classification, and two sections of General Government. 

 

Upcoming meetings will be held in Council Chambers or the second-floor conference room and will also be hybrid over Zoom and livestreamed on YouTube: 

"This is a working draft for both items, the compensation and classification plan as well as the budget," Mayor Jennifer Macksey said in presenting the budget on Tuesday at City Council. "My team is still really scraping through, but there are some really hard costs in there that we can't control. I mean health insurance, the Hoosac Water Quality District. We need to give our people a good wage. So there's a lot of things in the budget that look a little off, plus we've invested in our staff ..

 

"We have some great things to announce in the Community Development Office, so I look forward to having a lively discussion with the Finance Committee."

 

The budget presented Tuesday is up $3.4 million, or 6.79 percent, over this year, largely driven by material expenses, wages and insurance. 

 

Medical insurance, for example, is up $1 million and Medex $170,000, or 18 and 25 percent respectively. 

 

The Fire Department is up $174,094 to $2,362,906, largely driven by salaries and overtime; and the Police Department is up $389,139 to $3,282,154, also mainly in $370,000 in salaries and overtime. Capital costs are up $20,000 and the mayor's office is up $62,000 at $286,725.

 

Information technology is up significantly by $266,861 to $952,519, with largest increase in the data processing line of $191,370. Public Safety administration is up $101,645, with the addition of a mechanic at $64,000.

 

"We've been streamlining a lot of the IT expenses to hit Mark's budget," said the mayor. "If you remember over the last several years, Mark's budget was always overspent because there were items that hit his budget that hadn't been allocated ... this has been a systemic issue for years."

 

The equipment and software budget is $40,000, up $10,000 over this year. Information Technology Director Mark Pierson said this will be used to upgrade systems including council chambers, diversifying equipment, move some data and processes to the cloud, and updating infrastructure at the Fire Department. 

 

The mayor said $30,000 in upgrades to Council Chambers will include addressing the audio, which is difficult for some audience members, getting rid of cable trip hazards, and integrating with Northern Berkshire Commuity Television Corp. 

 

The budget also includes $120,000 in services, up by $55,000 to update MicroSoft Office, plus network infrastructure and server upgrades. 

 

Pierson said he had applied for two grants, one for the council upgrades and one for storage, but did not get them. 

 

"The one for the Council Chambers was for a much larger dollar amount so we're going to try to do this on a budget but do it effectively," he said, but added that the television hookup will be "challenging" because of the age of its equipment. 

 

Council President Bryan Sapienza, who had advocated for ways to improve the audio, said, "I think an audio system is a great thing and I'm glad to see it in the budget."

 

In response to questions, the mayor and Pierson said they believed he and his assistant IT director was enough staff and Pierson confirmed that the city website would be upgraded. 

 

"Every five years we get a free refresh we're going down through that process now," he said. 

 

The city clerk's office is up a nominal $12,136 for a $187,152 budget. The mayor said the salaries include the assistant, senior and a temporary part-time clerk, and "we will decide at the start of the new fiscal year where that position should go."

 

The biggest expense this coming year is the General Code, as the city is going through a complete review. 

 

City Clerk Tina Lenesio said the committee was seeing a portion of the payment, which will be over three fiscal years. The $17,930 line also includes the regular use of General Code, which can be found online as eCode. 

 

Committee Chair Ashley Shade questioned if enough the $6,375 budget for postage and ballots would be enough, as nearly $14,000 was used in fiscal 2024. 

 

"In 2024, we had four elections," said Leonesio. "We had a lot of mail-out ballots and things like that. With this, we have potentially two [elections] but definitely one this year."

 

She did note that the use of mail-out ballots has been increasing but they are not as high in municipal elections. 

 

Marie T. Harpin, former councilor, said she was glad to see the code was being updated because it had been problem for years.

 

"The last time that our code was really looked at was 1964, like going through all the code," the clerk said. "That's why we're going through the codification process. ... This is the first one in a very long time."

 

The mayor went through the compensation and classification plan, pointing out where changes were made. Wages are up 3 percent plus any step increases.

 

The assessor was changed from an S-22A to an S-25. The city is now looking for a new assessor as Jessica Lincourt will take over the treasurer's office on the retirement of Beverly Cooper. 

 

"We want to offer an attractive wage," said the mayor. The assessor salary is budged at $63,583, up $11,684 from this year.

 

Committee member Lisa Blackmer said there had been a move some years ago to get all departments heads — treasurer, assessor, city clerk and auditor — all on the same grade. 

 

"Now I'm looking and they're all different again," she said.

 

Macksey responded that they all have different responsibilities. 

 

"We're trying to be comparable to the market," she said. "We're trending low to comps ... we really looked at our analysis of the study and other communities."

 

Blackmer said the treasurer's office actually has to have two certifications and asked if that wage will be raised. Macksey said hopefully, but they had to get someone in as assessor. 

 

The council has never seen the wage study, said Blackmer. "Maybe after the budget's done the Finance Committee can get a chance to look at it."

 

The budget adds a community planner in the Office of Community Development, something Councilor Andrew Fitch had strongly advocated for last year. The post is an S-25, starting at $63,583, and part-time special projects coordinator at PT-40. Marya Kozik, the current administrative officer, will be taking over as community development director on the retirement of Michael Nuvallie. 

 

"What we're going to do through the transition is keep mine on board a bit to finish off his big projects — the Ashland Street corridor, the brownsfields project ... the bike path and the transition to get Marya up to speed," said the mayor. 

 

Special assistant to the mayor was added at S-21A, or $52,661, starting, which will be filled by Katherine Eade. This salary had come out of the procurement and grants line. 

 

The comp plan also upgrades the police chief, the lieutenant, the assistant public services commissioner, a number of part-time positions and adds a public safety mechanic at S-25.

 

The mayor said it has been difficult to find someone to work on the fire trucks. "We really think if we had a certified technician in police and fire we could really cut done one vehicle maintenance costs," she said. "There is a second mechanic bay [at the City Yard]. That's something we're really interested in doing ... we won't fill it out of the gate."  

 

Superintendent James Brosnan presented the McCann Technical School budget which has a $1,083,448 assessment to North Adams, based on enrollment.

 

He also informed the committee about the school's upcoming roof and window replacement project planned for next summer. He anticipated coming before the council in late August for authorization on the borrowing; all nine members will have to approve the total amount, but will be responsible for a proportional amount. 

 

Superintendent Barbara Malkas presented the school budget for fiscal 2026, which has already been approved by the School Committee.