By Marcia Parnell
About 40 Becket residents attended a legislative update by State Senator Paul Mark and outgoing 3rd District State Representative Smitty Pignatelli on Monday, September 9th at Town Hall. The event was also an opportunity to thank Pignatelli—known throughout Berkshire County as simply “Smitty”—for his 23 years of elected service. The two legislators took questions from the audience and Smitty spoke about his thoughts on what’s still needed to ensure a growing and thriving Berkshire economy well into the future.
Some highlights:
- The $57.8 billion FY 2025 balanced budget was signed into law by the Governor on July 27, 2024, and includes investment in education, infrastructure and housing. Smitty explained that over the last several years the State enjoyed a period in which revenues exceeded expenses. But increased costs means thinking will have to switch from “nice to have” to “need to have” going forward.
- Both Mark and Pignatelli believe the five members of the Berkshire delegation work well together in building support in the legislature for funding that matters to the Berkshires. Getting attention paid to issues outside of Boston can be difficult, Mark explained, but because Governor Healey is not from Boston, she tends to consider ways to have an economic impact throughout the State, which helps.
- Housing affordability is a problem throughout the county. Smitty would like to see more subsidies for first-time home buyers and believes new housing projects should be developed on a town-by-town basis based on what makes sense for each community. He pointed to Lenox’s approval of the 63-unit Brushwood Farm project as a good example. He stressed that towns need to cover the upfront project costs (e.g. permitting, engineering) because the question posed by the State will not be “what do you need” but rather “when can you start?”
- Uninterrupted cell service and universal broadband are must-haves to keep and attract young workers and new residents who will be our next generation to grow a vibrant economy.
- Road costs have grown astronomically. The legislature’s Rural Roadway Funding Program, established last year, continues with an additional $45 million in FY 2025 Chapter 90 funds available for towns like Becket that qualify based on a formula that captures their “rurality” (i.e. a population of less than 10,000 and population density under 500 people per square mile).
- In response to one resident’s question about why energy costs continue to increase, Smitty shared the frustration that utility deregulation hasn’t worked because utilities never pass through savings to their customers. He would prefer to see more subsidies that shorten the payback for alternative energy projects like solar, making them more attractive to homeowners and putting the savings back in their pockets.
- Public transportation, according to Smitty, has failed to serve the needs of the community. Running large buses up and down the Route 7 corridor doesn’t work because people without a car can’t get to the bus stops. The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) needs to think more creatively about how to move more people to more locations, perhaps by using a larger number of smaller buses. Towns contribute to BRTA’s budget and Smitty doesn’t believe they’re getting their money’s worth.
