Letter: The Problem With Yes Vote for Greylock School

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To the Editor:

I'll say it again and again, I think all the yay-sayers are missing the point of priorities in North Adams, why we moved to another town.

The brown water, the water breaks, sewage backing up in the streets, the constant flow of power outages, the huge potholes everywhere, closed roads/bridges, cement barricades left halfway in road passage ways for years, vegetation overgrowth throughout the roadsides, the multiple promises of attractions that never materialized, dilapidated buildings both city owned and privately left to rot, and on and on.

The major problem with your yes vote is no promises to fix any of these issues, just to spend more taxpayers' money, including mine when I support your local businesses with their passing on the tax burdens coming down the pike. This "average" $270 a year tax increase is only the beginning of all your increases yet to come! Because another new school is a tax liability that like the others that won't be kept up. No one will invest until they get this mess cleaned up.

Shawn Collins
Adams, Mass. 

 

 

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Adams Finalizing FY27 Budget Amid Staffing Uncertainty

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — Officials continue to finalize fiscal year 2027's budget ahead of the annual town meeting, navigating numerous unknowns stemming from staff vacancies.
 
During a joint Finance Committee and Select Board meeting on Thursday, a budget of $21,458,601 was presented. 
 
More than half of the budget, not including schools, is for personnel, amounting to $8,721,572, while the remaining $4,075,600.19 is for operational costs.  
 
Education accounts for more than a third of the budget, making up 38.16 percent of the total spending plan at $8,018,218 — a 4.27 percent, or $328,341, increase from FY26.
 
Of that, the Hoosac Valley Regional School District's assessments is $6,814,144 and McCann Technical School is $1,204,074. 
 
The budget can be broken out into several categories, with Finance and Technology, and Public Safety being the second-and-third largest. 
 
Finance and Technology accounts for 15.78 percent of the total budget, allocating to $3,205,469, an increase of 9.32 percent or $273,186. While Public Safety makes up 12.11 percent, amounting to $2,494,514, an increase of 5.23 percent or $124,034. 
 
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