Luciforo failed on regional economic development!

- - ---------- Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr. was Berkshire County's Massachusetts State Senator from January 1997 through January 2007 -- for 10 consecutive years or one decade. At the end of his political tenure "respresenting" Berkshire County, the following is his terrible public record on Economic Development. ---------- "Bump looks to address job losses in Berkshires" 2/19/2007 By: Karen Honikel (Capital News 9 out of Albany, NY covering the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts) Governor Deval Patrick's new Executive Director of Workforce Development isn't wasting any time getting down to business. Former State Representative Suzanne Bump is working to introduce herself to the local business communities and let them know she will make sure the Berkshires are not forgotten on Beacon Hill. She says a major concern right now is addressing the loss of jobs in the Berkshires. Currently the Berkshires have the highest rate of job loss in Massachusetts. Bump says this can be changed with the right policies in place. She says she will be meeting with the Governor once a week to work on bringing skilled workers and higher paying jobs into the area. Bump says a key part to local job growth and development will be finding a way to keep the younger workers in the Berkshires. ---------- - - Anointed Middle Berkshire Registrar of Deeds Andrea F. Nuciforo, II, swears in Good Old Boy Jimmy Ruberto for his third term as Pittsfield's Mayor in Early-January 2008. - ---------- "Berkshire County unemployment rate soars" By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Wednesday, January 28, 2009 PITTSFIELD — Berkshire County's unemployment rate reached its highest level in 13 years in December, jumping to 6.7 percent from 5.2 percent in one month. The county is now outpacing the state, whose jobless rate was 6.5 percent last month, according to data released on Tuesday by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The state's seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in November. Last month's unemployment rate is the county's highest since it hit 6.3 percent in 1995, said Heather P. Boulger, executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board. Rate is significant Boulger referred to the increase in the county's December unemployment rate as significant, but said it wasn't unexpected considering the current economic climate. "We're not immune to what's happening in the nation," she said. Nor is the rest of Massachusetts. The unemployment rates were higher in 21 of the state's 22 metropolitan areas, including Pittsfield, in December. Only Amherst experienced a slight drop. Unemployment in the Pittsfield metropolitan area jumped from 5.1 percent in November to 6.6 percent last month. In the North Adams area, it rose from 6.4 percent to 8 percent. In Great Barrington, the jobless rate increased from 4.3 percent to 5.9 percent. The numbers represent a sharp spike from a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.8 percent in Pittsfield, 5.3 percent in North Adams and 3.2 percent in Great Barrington. Losses in leisure In the leisure and hospitality industry, the number of employed in the Pittsfield metropolitan area dropped half a percentage point, from 4.8 percent to 4.3 percent from November to December as people appeared to cut back on social activities. "People are tightening their belts," Boulger said. "They're not going out as much as they used to, or they're not visiting friends." In the goods producing sector — which includes all non-manufactured items — the number of employed dropped from 5 percent in November to 4.9 percent in December. Sector-by-sector numbers for the North Adams and Great Barrington areas were not available. Boulger said the goods producing sector was affected by the layoffs at KB Toys, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December with the intention of liquidating the entire 86-year-old toy company, which maintains its corporate headquarters in Pittsfield. "That's going to continue to go up unless local companies hire more people," Boulger said. As of last week, slightly less than 100 of the 225 full-time employees at KB's headquarters were still on the job. KB is expected to have 90 employees remaining at its headquarters at the beginning of February, 30 by the start of March, and just 12 by April. The number of employed in Pittsfield's manufacturing sector was 3.4 percent in December, which is the same level it has been since September. According to Boulger, employment manufacturing levels are down in most regions of the state. "There's a steady flow of products underway," Boulger said, referring to the steadiness in the Berkshire manufacturing figures. "They've also invested in training," she said. "Other than that, I don't know (why). I'm surprised to see that it wasn't down." - To reach Tony Dobrowolski: TDobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com (413) 496-6224 - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T6SAATGTF86QV2624 - - Historical rates Here's a look at Berkshire County's unemployment rates in the early 1990s, when General Electric was shutting down, and the latest monthly statistic from January: 1991: 10.7 percent. 1992: 10.9 percent 1993: 8.6 percent January 2009: 8.3 percent - ---------- - - "On December 8, 2008, Sabic Innovative Plastics laid off 40 of its 300 local employees. On December 11, 2008, KB Toys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in four years with the intention of liquidating the entire company. The 225 full-time employees at KB's Pittsfield headquarters will all be laid off by May 2009, company officials have said." Source: "Crane lets go of 22" (By Tony Dobrowolski, Staff Writer with The Berkshire Eagle, New England Newspapers, www.thetranscript.com, Wednesday, January 14, 2009). & "Berkshire Health Systems, facing a decline in patient visits, told employees on Wednesday it will cut the equivalent of 65 full-time positions." Source: "Berkshire Health Systems shedding jobs" (By Jack Dew, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Thursday, June 18, 2009) ---------- "65 jobs to be slashed at Berkshire Health Systems: The layoffs at BHS mark the second time in three months that it will cut its workforce, which affects union and non-union workers." By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 PITTSFIELD -- Berkshire Health Systems, the parent company of Berkshire Medical Center, will cut the equivalent of 65 full-time positions next month as it continues to contend with the economy and deepening, significant cuts in federal and state health care reimbursements. Monday's announcement was the second time in three months that Berkshire Health Systems, one of the county's largest employers, said it would cut its workforce: It also shed the equivalent of 65 full-time positions in June. That cut, which took effect July 3, included 46 employees at Berkshire Medical Center and 19 management positions. The latest workforce reduction will include union and non-union positions within Berkshire Health Systems and Berkshire Medical Center, but a more thorough breakdown of the affected employees was not given in the company's statement released Monday afternoon. The nonprofit company declined to comment beyond what was included in its statement, said spokesman Michael Leary. The unionized employees will be officially notified under the terms of their collective bargaining agreements. All of the affected employees will receive notifications this month, and the reductions will take place in early October. After that, Berkshire Health Systems will have the equivalent of more than 2,600 full-time equivalent workers. Combined, the two rounds of staff cuts represent less than 5 percent of the company's workforce. The affected employees will receive severance pay, benefit continuation, career counseling, resume preparation, interviewing skills and job networking. The latest cuts "will in no way" affect BMC's commitment or ability to deliver the highest quality of care and patient safety, according to the statement. Citing a comprehensive range of services and dedicated providers, BMC "remains well-positioned to weather the deteriorating economic climate of health care," the statement said. At the time of the employee reduction earlier this summer, Berkshire Health Systems had hoped that financial challenges facing all hospitals across the country would begin to stabilize. "That stabilization has not materialized," according to the statement. Despite numerous successful programs that have helped BHS and BMC reduce costs in many areas, the hospital is experiencing a continuing decline in revenue and, as is the case with most hospitals, severe financial uncertainty in the future, according to the statement. Medicare and Medicaid account for more than 70 percent of the patient volume for BMC and BHS, and those reimbursement ratios do not cover the cost of care, according to BHS. Dramatic shortfalls in state revenue in 2008-2009 required Gov. Deval L. Patrick to make emergency cuts in state payments for health care services, including the elimination of $3 million in payments to BMC. In 2010, the reduction in federal and state reimbursements to BMC and BHS physician practices could exceed $15 million, according to BHS. Besides the significant government shortfalls, BHS said many patients that face challenging economic circumstances have postponed or decided against elective non-emergency care, which has lowered the patient volume at BMC. - To reach Tony Dobrowolski: TDobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com - (413) 496-6224 - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TSPB37483DKP8LN7R - ---------- "Berkshire County jobless rate rises" By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 PITTSFIELD -- Following two months of small declines over the summer, Berkshire County's unemployment rate rose by just over half a percentage point in September. The jump from 7.8 percent in August to 8.4 percent last month is the biggest increase in the local jobless rate since June, when unemployment rose three-tenths of a percentage point to 8.1 percent, according to figures released Tuesday by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Local unemployment this year is at its highest level since March, when it was 8.6 percent. But the county rate did remain under the state average for the fifth straight month. State unemployment rose from 8.9 percent to 9.3 percent in September. Tuesday's figures are not seasonally adjusted, which means they take into account short-term employment, such as seasonal construction jobs, or positions in the travel and tourism industry. In September, the county's labor force dropped by 3,049 workers to 71,746, while the number of employed experienced an almost identical decline, falling by 3,190 employees to 65,751. The number of unemployed, however, increased last month by 141 workers to 5,995, which is the exact same number as July. Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire Regional Employment Board, said there is always a slight increase in the county's unemployment rate in September. Boulger said last month's increase is due more to national and statewide economic factors than they are to any local issues. "We're talking a 0.6 [percentage-point] jump," she said. "There's always a little bit of a jump [following the summer months] but not that much. I think that Berkshire County is feeling some of the impacts from around the state and the nation." "I don't think there will be too many dips when the numbers are seasonally adjusted," Boulger said. Berkshire Health Systems, the county's largest employer, announced in September that it would cut the equivalent of 65 full-time positions, the nonprofit company's second significant work force reduction in three months. Those job cuts weren't expected to take effect until the beginning of this month. But Boulger said they may have been a factor in Pittsfield's unemployment rate jumping half a percentage point to 9.2 percent last month, the city's highest level of the year. "The numbers might be a reflection of that," Boulger said. "People laid off from other companies who had temporary positions may have lost those jobs as well." On the plus side, Boulger said the employment rate in the county's travel and tourism industry has increased by two-tenths of a percentage point from September 2008, while the level of employment in the education and health care, financial services, information technology and transportation/personal care sectors has remained stable over the last 12 months. The county's unemployment rate was 5 percent in September 2008. In the county's three labor markets, unemployment in the Pittsfield area, which includes 14 mostly Central Berkshire municipalities, increased seven-tenths of a percentage point to 8.7 percent in September. The jobless rate in the North Adams labor market increased from 9.1 to 9.5 percent, while unemployment in Great Barrington rose from 6 percent to 6.4 percent. "They seem to be pretty consistent with the other labor markets [around the state] as well," Boulger said, referring to those increases. Unemployment in the city of North Adams increased by six-tenths of a percentage point to 9.7 percent last month. - To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6224. - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TIKS6JGGMD3MDJ4SR - ---------- "Berkshire County jobless rate falls to 7.7%" By Tony Dobrowolski, New England Newspapers: The Berkshire Eagle & The North Adams Transcript, 11/25/2009 PITTSFIELD -- Berkshire County’s unemployment rate fell by more than half a percentage point to 7.7 percent in October, following a similar increase the month before. The drop from 8.3 percent in September represents the biggest decrease in the local jobless rate since before the recession hit last fall, and it is the county’s lowest rate since May when it was also 7.7 percent. The local unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in August before it jumped by half a percentage point last month. The county rate, however, remained under the state unemployment rate for the sixth straight month. Unemployment in Massachusetts dropped from 9.3 percent to 8.4 percent in October, the first monthly decline since June 2007. The national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent. The figures that were released on Tuesday by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development are not seasonally adjusted, which means they take into account short term employment such as seasonal construction jobs, or positions in the travel and tourism industry. "It’s good news," said Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, referring to the decrease in October’s unemployment rate. "But it’s still a little high." She compared last month’s figure to October 2008 when the county’s unemployment rate was 4.9 percent. Because the state figures include seasonal employment, Boulger said the spike in September could be attributed to students leaving summer jobs to go back to school, and second-home owners leaving the county. "I think spiking is part of the natural cycle of the economy," she said. "There are peaks and valleys, highs and lows. Because the numbers are comparable to what’s going on in the state, I wouldn’t say it’s due to anything out of the ordinary. "I’m not an economist," Boulger said. "But based on the training that we have with the numbers, it’s normal." Berkshire County’s labor force declined for the third straight month in October, although the decrease of 635 workers to 71,267 was the smallest during that time span. The number of employed dropped by 44 workers to 65,782, while the number of unemployed decreased by 491 to 5,485 workers. Boulger attributed the decrease in the number of unemployed workers to people who have either found work, or have stopped receiving unemployment benefits. "I know people like to say that the recession is ending, but there’s still 5,500 people looking for work in this region," she said. Unemployment also declined in 20 of the state’s 22 labor market areas, including the North Adams area, where unemployment fell from 9.5 to 8.8 percent. In Pittsfield, which represents central Berkshire, unemployment dropped from 8.6 to 8 percent, while the jobless rate in the Great Barrington labor market dropped from 6.4 to 5.8 percent. The labor force in both North Adams and Great Barrington has increased slightly since October 2008, while it has decreased by 20 workers in Pittsfield. In the city of North Adams, where unemployment was above 10 percent between January and March, the jobless rate dropped slightly from 9.8 to 9.6 percent in October. In the city of Pittsfield, unemployment dropped from 9.1 to 8.6 percent in October. September’s unemployment rate was Pittsfield’s highest of the year. - www.topix.net/forum/source/north-adams-transcript/TNBK6GSO2TUQQ2VIP - ---------- "More still seek work: Unemployment numbers rise slightly in the area as people struggle to find jobs." By David Pepose, Berkshire Eagle Staff, December 23, 2009 PITTSFIELD -- Pounding the pavement looking for work is never easy -- but imagine hitting the streets with a busted knee. That's the reality for Bobby Jones of Pittsfield. After slipping on ice and re-injuring a knee fracture earlier this year, the 42-year-old former waitperson has spent the past nine months living at the Barton's Crossing homeless shelter in Pittsfield. Tuesday, Jones pushed through arthritis and joint swelling to walk from Tyler Street all the way to Merrill Road, filling out 15 applications for work. It took bumping into a friend in the middle of his frigid journey to convince Jones to finally try meeting with a counselor at the local branch of the Department of Transitional Assistance. "It's really hard to find a job -- believe me, I'm not lazy," Jones said. "As a man, it's so important for me to work -- who wants to collect money for free? I'd rather just work ... all my life, I've worked." As Berkshire County's unemployment rate increased slightly in November -- moving from 7.7 to 7.9 percent over the last month -- Jones could easily be seen as a statistic. But his story, his frustrations, and his anxiety are not unique, and are shared by 5,657 unemployed workers throughout Berkshire County. "I'm not surprised that [unemployment rates] went up slightly," said Heather P. Boulger, executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board. "There's going to be fluctuation in the employment rate as people come off the unemployment insurance rolls, and the seasonality of the holiday shopping season brings some employment opportunities as well." According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, unemployment in-creased by four-tenths of a percentage point in Pittsfield and Great Barrington, and by half a percentage point in North Adams. Researcher Rena Kottcamp of the Division of Unemployment Assistance explained that while the county's leisure and hospitality industry lost 200 jobs, the county's total labor force grew by 386 people, tied into slight gains within the trade, transportation, and utilities industry, as well as education and health care. "There really is a growth in opportunities right now," Boulger said, noting some slight growth in the education and health care industries. "With the green jobs sector, the creative economy sector, and retail, there's always openings because people are retiring." That said, Boulger warned against putting the job search on hold during the holidays. "This time of the year is a good opportunity to be networking and to get résumés cleaned up and out there," Boulger said. "There are a lot of companies who start their fiscal year in January, and who are looking to ramp up their work force." Yet many looking for those opportunities have felt more discouraged than ever. Nick Daniels, 21, of Pittsfield, spent Tuesday trying to help his girlfriend, Heather Martin, 18, find work. With Martin having no method of transportation to leave the county, she has found her options even more limited. "We've been looking two or three months ... there's no help, we fill out applications, nothing ever happens," said Daniels, who currently works as a server at a restaurant, after "calling every mechanic's shop in Berkshire County" in vain for work. "There's just nothing -- nothing out there." Victoria Vaughn, 54, of Pittsfield, said that her troubles were twofold, as both she and her 19-year-old son had been looking for work for months without success. "My son, he's been looking, and he's just totally discouraged," Vaughn said. "I am trying to see if he wants to enlist in the military, to give him some training and education." Vaughn, who has worked as a medical assistant, in retail, and as a machine operator for a family-owned plastics company, said that the sheer number of candidates was overwhelming to the point where she was hospitalized for diverticulitis, an inflammatory disease of the large intestine. "Job hunting and acquiring [a job] has always been competitive," she said. "Now it's way beyond that -- I don't know what to do. Even if you have the best clothes, or the best presentation ... it's impossible. Just absolutely impossible." For Bobby Jones, he said that the real issues of the recession have been obscured by the charts and figures. "I've just been thinking -- this really is the story here. Isn't every person not just a number, not just worth attention and love, but consideration?" Jones said, just before his interview with DTA. "I mean, morally, this is just degrading. I can't even believe I'm here. ... I'm just trying to keep my head above water." - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TP2R0PAUT4L0R8NKP - ---------- "Jobless at Christmas" The Berkshire Eagle, Editorials, December 24, 2009 Being unemployed is obviously a financial hardship, but it can be psychologically devastating as well, gnawing away at a person's self-worth even if their employment status is no fault of their own. All of the hardships of joblessness are magnified during the holiday season, and this is what 5,657 Berkshire residents confront on this day before Christmas. The Berkshire County unemployment rate crept from 7.7 percent to 7.9 percent in November as the local economy, mirroring that of the state and national economies, remained sluggish. There are signs that hiring may begin to increase as businesses gain confidence that the worst of the recession is over, but America didn't get into this dilemma overnight and getting out will not be easy. The Wall Street collapse of a year ago brought on by greedy and irresponsible business tactics and a federal government that utterly failed in its oversight responsibilities set off shock waves that are still reverberating across America. President Obama's bailout and stimulus package, for all of its structural faults, prevented a slide into another Great Depression, and bailed out businesses have been repaying taxpayers. Without regulatory reform, however -- and the same corporations that triggered this collapse are fighting it along with their allies in a staggeringly irresponsible Republican Party -- another collapse is as inevitable as another winter. Unemployment always lags when a nation struggles out of a recession, and this one is no exception. Congress will fight over a second stimulus package in the new year, but there are limits to what can be accomplished in a country that has sent much of its manufacturing bases overseas in pursuit of cheap wages and benefits. An America that doesn't build enough anymore must move aggressively into the promising green jobs market ahead of its international competitors. Locally, the Department of Transitional Assistance is among the agencies available to help the unemployed. The Berkshires' two public colleges have been fine-tuning programs to prepare students young and old for the job market and public and private efforts are underway to draw new businesses and help current businesses expand. Building a job market is a difficult process, and one that in the Berkshires never really ends. - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T6M9KBO69402VHASF - ---------- Berkshire jobs 2010 "Berkshire County Unemployment: Job outlook uncertain" By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, January 3, 2010 PITTSFIELD -- Berkshire County's unemployment rate hit a 16-year high in 2009. Several major employers instituted layoffs. National retailer KB Toys went out of business. It wasn't a great year for the local job market. Will 2010 be any different? The economic recession that began in the fall of 2008 has lingered longer than expected, but there are some encouraging signs nationally. In its 2010 Job Forecast, CareerBuilder.com, the country's largest online job site, states that 20 percent of employers nationwide plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees this year. That's an increase from 14 percent last year. Heather Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Em-ployment Board, said she's optimistic about the local employment situation, but expects 2010 to be another difficult year. "I think it's going to a tough year, a tight year," Boulger said. "But I'm cautiously optimistic, as many employers are." It takes longer for Berkshire County to get into a recession then other areas of the state, and longer to come out of it, she said. "I don't know how long it will take to come out of the total unemployment cycle," Boulger said. "I hope we stay under a double-digit unemployment rate. "As long as consumer confidence will increase, Berkshire County should be OK in 2010," she said. Fueled by the initial layoffs at KB Toys, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2008, the county's unemployment rate jumped from 6.6 to 8.3 percent last January, the county's highest mark since 1993. It topped out at 8.6 percent in February, then dropped gradually to 7.7 percent in May. But the unemployment rate rose again, hitting 8.3 percent in September, before it dropped to 7.9 percent in November. The local figures for December won't be released until late January. Boulger said she expects there will be spikes in the local unemployment rate again in 2010. But how the local unemployment rate fares between December and January could determine the direction it takes for the rest of the year, she added. The fiscal year for most companies ends during this time period, Boulger said, which is also when the holiday season comes to an end. A lot of temporary workers get laid off in January. "If the jump is not as high as it was last year," Boulger said, referring to the 11 2 percent increase in the county's unemployment rate between Decem-ber 2008 and January 2009, "the economic outlook may be more optimistic." "Most of the national surveys that I've read say that many companies are going to hire during the first quarter," she added. According to CareerBuilder's 2010 forecast, 21 percent of the employers surveyed in the Northeast said that they plan to add full-time workers this year. The only region with a higher percentage is the West with 24 percent. The online site surveyed more than 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals across the country. "I'm sure it will have an impact on Berkshire County," Boulger said, referring to CareerBuilder's findings. "Usually, when you do surveys like that you don't do it by communities, you do it by the state." However, Boulger said local companies tend to be affected by the national numbers. "It's definitely encouraging," she said. When asked to assess the prospects for different sectors of the local job market this year, Boulger said, "manufacturing has been taking a beating for the last one or two years. Even if a small company opened [here], it would be huge in Berkshire County." She said the retail and travel and tourism sectors will improve when consumer confidence goes up. "When people feel better, they tend to spend more," Boulger said. Berkshire Health Systems, the county's largest employer, cut the equivalent of 130 full-time positions last year in two separate job actions. But Boulger said there is still room for growth in the local health care field. "Even though Berkshire Health Systems laid off people, long-term care has openings, and it continues to expand," she said. Boulger said she tells people looking for work in the health care field to keep their options open. If someone believes they are ideally suited for one position, such as a registered nurse, there are several related occupations they can choose from, she said. Will there be major layoffs in the county again in 2010? Boul-ger said that's hard to predict. "It's a difficult question to answer," she said. "The reason is a lot of companies don't release their forecasts until February. I haven't seen any signs that it's happening. Usually, you hear rumors that companies are going to downsize or close." - To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 496-6224. - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T23FJROAI3LFEDTUL - ---------- "Berkshire County jobless rate rises: County unemployment rate of 8.8 percent is the highest since 1992, when it reached 10.9." By Tony Dobrowolski, The Berkshire Eagle, January 27, 2010 PITTSFIELD -- Berkshire County's unemployment rate jumped a full percentage point in December to 8.8 percent -- the county's highest level since the early 1990s, according to the executive director of the Regional Employment Board. It is the biggest increase in the local jobless rate since unemployment jumped from 6.6 percent to 8.3 percent in January 2009, the month after national toy retailer KB Toys of Pittsfield announced that it was going out of business. Last month's unemployment rate is also the county's highest since it reached 8.6 percent last February and March. Unemployment in the Berkshires reached 10.7 percent in 1991 when General Electric completed the five-year shutdown of its transformer plant, and 10.9 percent in 1992 when the industrial giant sold its aerospace division to Martin Marietta. It also hit 8.6 percent in 1993. The increase in the county's unemployment rate in December corresponds to a similar jump in the state rate, which went from 8.3 percent to 9.1 percent last month. The numbers released on Tuesday by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development are not seasonally adjusted, which means they take into account short term employment, such as seasonal construction jobs, or positions in the travel and tourism industry. The national unemployment rate increased slightly in December from 9.4 percent to 9.7 percent. Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, said the increase in the local rate mirrors the jump in the state rate. "I'm not surprised when it keeps going up," she said. "Until employers feel more comfortable about the economy to hire more people, the rate will continue to go up. "We're still below the state, which is a good thing," she added. The local labor force dropped by 218 workers in December to 71,686, following an increase of 664 workers in November. The number of employed dropped by 776 workers to 65,395, while the number of unemployed increased by 658 workers to 6,291. Fluctuations in the number of employed, and unemployed from month-to-month are normal, Boulger said. There is nothing significant in the numbers that points to such a large increase in the local unemployment rate, she added. "It's just the ripples of the economy that we're in," Boulger said. Despite the significant jump in the local rate, the Pittsfield labor market area was one of only three of the 22 such entities across the state where the number of jobs increased in December. The labor force increased by 51 workers, but the unemployment rate for the Pittsfield area jumped from 8.0 to 8.9 percent in December. Unemployment in the Great Barrington labor market area increased from 6.2 percent to 7.1 percent last month, while the rate in the North Adams area went from 9.2 percent to 10.1 percent. - To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6224. - A look at the numbers The unemployment rates for Berkshire County's three labor market areas for December 2009, and the state's performance during the same time. The other rates reflect the previous month and the year prior. Dec. ‘09 Nov. ‘09 Dec. ‘09 Pittsfield 8.9% 8.0% 6.5% Great Barrington 7.1 6.2 5.8 North Adams 10.2 9.1 7.8 Massachusetts 9.1 8.3 6.5 Source: Massachusetts Office of Labor and Workforce Development - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TPPMUCFQV0RCEHORO - ---------- "Jobless rate now at 10.4%: Unemployment in Berkshire County is at its highest level since the early 1990s." By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, March 11, 2010 PITTSFIELD -- Not since General Electric was downsizing its Pittsfield operation in the early 1990s has Berkshire County's unemployment rate been this high. The county's jobless rate soared to 10.4 percent in January -- the first time it has hit double figures in 17 years. The highest local jobless rate in the last 20 years was 12.8 percent in February 1992. Berkshire County's annual unemployment rate reached 10.9 percent in 1991 when General Electric completed the five-year shutdown of its transformer plant, and 10.7 percent in 1992 when the corporate giant sold its aerospace division to Martin Marietta. This most recent increase comes after Berkshire unemployment jumped a full percentage point in December to 8.8 percent, and it marks the peak level of joblessness since the recession began to affect the county's jobless rate in late 2008. The county's rate is the same as the state's in January. The national unemployment rate is 9.7 percent. ‘It's not good news' January's numbers, released Thursday by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, are not seasonally adjusted, which means they take into account short-term employment, such as seasonal construction jobs, or positions in the travel and tourism industry. The figures tend to drop when the state releases the seasonally adjusted numbers, but those decreases are normally less than a percentage point, according to Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board. "It's not good news," Boulger said, referring to the January increase. A challenging market The number of unemployed in the Berkshires increased by 1,300 workers to 7,514 in January. Boulger said there are six unemployed people in the Berkshires for each job opening. Fluctuations in the local employment rate typically occur between December and January as seasonal employment ends, and the first quarter of the financial year begins, Boulger said. As an example, the state's unadjusted unemployment rate jumped from 6.4 percent to 9.1 percent between December 2008 and January 2009. But Boulger characterized this year's local increase as "par for the course in this economy." "I really just think it's part of the economic cycle that we're in," she said. "I'm hoping that it will improve and go below the 10 percent rate" in February, Boulger said. "It depends on the confidence level of the consumer and the confidence level of the companies." The county's labor force rose by 366 workers to 72,555 in January. The increase in the labor force means that people are either returning to this area from elsewhere, or may be re-entering the work force after raising a family, Boulger said. She said 1,140 more people began collecting unemployment benefits in Berkshire County between December and January, which brought the total number to 1,600 in the 12-month period that ended two months ago. "We don't look at the rate as much as we look at the number of unemployed people," she said. "For me, it's real-life bodies." Across the state, January's unemployment rates were higher both over the month and during 2009 in all 22 labor market areas, which include Pittsfield, North Adams and Great Barrington. In the Pittsfield area, the unemployment rate jumped from 8.9 to 10.3 percent in January, while the rate in North Adams increased from 10.3 to 11.7 percent. But the greatest increase came in Great Barrington where unemployment jumped almost two percentage points, from 7.2 to 9 percent. ---------- "Berkshire County jobless rate dips slightly" By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, March 31, 2010 PITTSFIELD -- Berkshire County's unemployment rate dropped slightly in February, but remained in double-digit territory for the second straight month. Local unemployment dipped to 10.1 percent last month, a drop of three-tenths of a percentage point from January's rate of 10.4 percent, according to figures released Tuesday by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. January's jobless rate was the county's highest in 17 years. This is the first time that Berkshire unemployment has remained in double figures over consecutive months since January, February and March of 1993. "We're glad that it's going down," said Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board. "But it's still nowhere near where we want it to be." The county's unemployment rate is also slightly higher than February's state jobless rate of 10 percent. It's the first time Berkshire unemployment has been higher than the state's since March 2009. February's national unemployment rate is 10.4 percent. The local numbers that the state released on Tuesday are not seasonally adjusted, which means they take into account short-term employment such as seasonal construction and retail jobs, or positions in the travel and tourism industry. Boulger said February's unemployment rate was still subject to some of the seasonal fluctuations that normally create a spike in the percentage of jobless every January. But she said there are still six job-seekers in Berkshire County for every available position, which is "pretty consistent across the state as well." "I personally was expecting a large increase in January," Boulger said. "I'm glad to see it came down slightly in February." She continued, "Next month if it drops we're in a good trend. February is a good sign, but we'll just have to keep on monitoring this." The number of unemployed in Berkshire County dropped by 161 workers in February to 7,351. "It could be that they're not collecting unemployment insurance, or that they've found employment, or that they've given up completely trying to find a job," she said. However, the local labor force increased by 290 workers to 72,773 employees, while the number of employed rose by 589 workers to 65,422. "It's always a good sign when the labor force increases because it means more people are coming back to the area, or people who have had families are coming back to the workforce, like college students or stay-at-home moms," Boulger said. "The number of employed is a good trend for the first quarter of the financial year because some companies begin their fiscal year in January." Statewide, unemployment decreased in 20 of the 22 labor market areas, including Pittsfield, North Adams, and Great Barrington. The rate dropped by a tenth of a percentage point in Pittsfield and Great Barrington, and by more than half a percentage point in North Adams -- from 11.8 percent to 11.1 percent. "I think it's pretty consistent with the rest of the numbers," said Boulger, comparing the drop in unemployment in the county's three labor market areas to the decreases in the rest of the state. "Great Barrington and North Adams get hit pretty hard when a company closes, but that hasn't been the case yet." ---------- "Berkshire County shows jobs growth: The unemployment rate in the Berkshires dips below 10% for the first time since December." By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, April 21, 2010 PITTSFIELD -- After two months in double-digit territory, Berkshire County's unemployment rate dropped to 9.6 percent in March, a half-percentage point lower than the month before. Still, the county's jobless rate remains higher than all of 2009, which peaked at 8.8 percent in December, and above the state's rate for the second straight month. State unemployment dropped from 10 to 9.3 percent in March. The figures, issued Tuesday by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, are not seasonally adjusted. That means they take into account short-term employment, such as seasonal construction or retail jobs, and positions in the travel and tourism industry. Heather P. Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, said she hopes the local rate will continue to drop. But she also pointed out that March's rate is still a full percentage point higher than the 8.6 percent registered in March 2009. "I hope that it continues to go down," she said. "In January and February, the rate usually bumps up a little bit." Berkshire unemployment hit a 17-year high at 10.4 percent in January, then dropped slightly to 10 percent in February. Boulger attributed March's decrease to a drop in the number of county residents who are collecting unemployment insurance, which fell by 345 workers to 6,998. It's the second straight month that number has declined, following three consecutive months of growth. The number of employed in the Berkshires increased by 298 workers in March to 65,998. The county's labor force, the number of people who are eligible to work, dropped by 47 workers to 72,604. "I think the career fair that we hosted a couple of weeks ago might have started to gear a couple of companies up and given them the confidence to hire people," Boulger said. "I think there is a greater confidence in the economy than existed six or seven weeks ago. It seems like employers are beginning to fill those positions that they held off on in October or November." As an example, Boulger pointed to an increase in the number of employed people in the Pittsfield labor market, which jumped by 337 workers to 35,086 in March. Typically, one sees an increase of 50 to 70 a month, she said. "Either a company is hiring or Pittsfield residents really hit the pavement in a strong job search and found employment," Boulger said. " It's a good sign that the Pittsfield job market is getting stronger." As a result, unemployment in the Pittsfield market, which consists of Central Berkshire County, dropped from 10.2 to 9.8 percent in March. Monthly job gains in Berkshire County were recorded in the retail and wholesale trade categories of the transportation and utilities sector; in financial activities; and in leisure and hospitality, mostly in the accommodations, food and recreation categories, she said. At the BerkshireWorks Career Center, executive director Michael Herrick said job postings increased about 10 percent in March. Visits to BerkshireWorks' career centers in North Adams and Pittsfield have also dropped to about 160 per day, he said. "We were seeing about 1,000 people a week," Herrick said. "Now we're seeing 800 to 850 a week. It began to drop in March." Unemployment statewide dropped in all 22 of the state's labor markets, including Pittsfield, North Adams, and Great Barrington. However, unemployment in the North Adams area remained in double digits, as it dropped from 11.2 percent in February to 10.4 percent in March. "I think there may have been some companies that downsized or closed and that might have had an impact," Boulger said, referring to the North Adams numbers. "But there were still 79 more people employed in March than in February." - To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6224. - www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T619PBCVF68H3D6MH - ---------- "Berkshire Health Systems announces layoffs" By Dick Lindsay, Berkshire Eagle Staff, August 5, 2010 PITTSFIELD -- Berkshire Health Systems, the parent company of Berkshire Medical Center, announced today that 124 full- and part-time employees -- or 3.7 percent of the workforce -- have received layoff notices. The across-the-board staff reductions will begin Sept. 10 and include 20 registered nurses nursing with the rest affecting technical, administrative and support services, said BHS officials. The reduction represents 94 full-time equivalent positions. Berkshire Health Systems employs approximately 2,700 people, and it is Berkshire County's largest employer. The company offered severance packages and says it will help those people launch job searches. In a statement, the hospital said the reasons for this year's layoffs remain the same as last year's: Declining patient volume and a continued drop in health insurance reimbursements. "Since October of 2009, BMC has experienced a loss of $11 million in patient revenue that is directly related to the reduction in patient volume," the company's statement said. "Inpatient discharges alone have declined by over 7 percent in the past two years." BMC is part of a national trend in which fewer people are seeking hospital care. Company officials cited a March 2009 survey by The American Hospital Association which found that between 55 and 60 percent of the nation's 1,100 community hospitals had a moderate or significant decrease in elective surgeries and admissions. Berkshire Health Systems says people are delaying or simply avoiding health care due to increased health insurance deductibles and co-payments. The health care company has found many employers have switched from commercial insurance plans to much cheaper state-sponsored programs. While the business owners are saving money, government backed health insurance typically reimburse hospitals and physicians at a lower rate than private plans for the same medical services. ---------- "Census shows decline in county population" By Dick Lindsay, Berkshire Eagle Staff, December 16, 2010 PITTSFIELD -- The local population has continued to decline, but those who live in the Berkshires are better educated then they were a decade ago, according to information released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Berkshire County's population dropped by more than 5,600 to 129,288 residents between 2000 and 2009, according to the American Community Survey. Pittsfield accounted for almost 2,800 of those departures: There were 45,793 city residents in 2000 compared with 43,000 last year. If the local population figures from the 2010 U.S. Census mirror the numbers in the American Community Survey, it could prove costly for the Berkshires, said Mark Maloy, demographics specialist for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. "We're probably going to get a smaller piece of the pie as most government programs dole out money based on population," Maloy said. Federal officials are scheduled to release national and individual state information gathered from the official 2010 Census on Tuesday. The county, city and town data will be released in February. While the numbers in the American Community Survey indicate that the county's population has declined, they also show that it hasn't aged. The number of county and Pittsfield residents age 65 and older remained at 18 percent, according to the survey data. Meanwhile, those age 18 and younger held steady at roughly 20 percent. The American Community Survey data is based on information that was compiled from about 1 of every 10 U.S. citizens between 2005 and 2009. The U.S. Census counts everyone living in the United States every 10 years. The survey did provide good news for local education and the future of the county's work force because the percentage of high school and college graduates has increased in the past decade. Nearly 90 percent of county and city residents age 25 and older has earned a high school diploma, an increase of 4.5 percentage points in the county and 5 percentage points in Pittsfield since 2000. The number of county residents in that age group with a bachelor's degree increased by 4 percentage points to 30 percent. In Pittsfield, 26 percent of city residents in that age group has a bachelor's degree, an increase of 5.5 percentage points. The city figures coincide with the Pittsfield School Department's effort to keep school-age children in the classroom, according to Superintendent Howard "Jake" Eberwein III. "We began our improved dropout prevention in 2005-06, so it's good to see we've moved the needle," Eberwein said. "We've also worked hard to recapture those who leave and let them know the importance of getting a high school diploma." - To reach Dick Lindsay: rlindsay@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6233. - http://disqus.com/forums/theberkshireeagle/thread_906/trackback/ - ---------- From big businesses like Pittsfield Public Schools to one-person operations like Lenox artist Scott Harrington county businesses are finding ways to survive. (Ben Garver) "County's largest employers part of a diverse economy" By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, March 27, 2011 PITTSFIELD -- The large manufacturing companies that used to employ the majority of the Berkshires' workforce have faded away. These days, the county's major employers include hospitals, a public school system, a defense contractor, nonprofits and a health resort, according to a list compiled by The Eagle from Berkshire Chamber of Commerce figures and company statements. The Berkshires also are home to a variety of small businesses -- several with five or fewer employees. In this year's Berkshire Business Outlook -- inside today's newspaper and at www.berkshireeagle.com/business -- The Eagle profiles the county's 10 largest employers, plus five smaller businesses from a variety of fields. Many of the employers have different needs and challenges, but those who follow the local economy say this economic diversification has put the county on the right track. "It's a very interesting mix," said Williams College economics professor Stephen C. Sheppard, referring to the top 10 list, which starts with Berkshire Health Systems (BHS). "That's a good thing and a promising sign for us. There's always a danger when a community has all of its eggs in one basket." The transition from a handful of major employers to a more diverse base isn't unique to a largely rural area such as the Berkshires, Sheppard said. "You do see that in other places, not just here," he said. "It's more successful in other places. But the fact that we're developing a diverse economy is a sign that we are recovering, that we're making progress. I think we want to continue to move in that direction." An economist outside of the Berkshires, however, said there are pros and cons to economic diversity. "It says that there are a lot of boats instead of one big ship," said Robert Nakosteen from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "But it also means that there's no one big boat driving the region forward." The county's two largest employers are Pittsfield-based BHS, with 3,400 employees, and Williamstown's Williams College, with 2,300. One of the country's premier liberal arts colleges, Williams is North County's largest employer. Representatives of both organizations say they take their responsibility as the county's top employers seriously. BHS has been No. 1 since General Electric began downsizing its power transformer division some 20 years ago. (GE decreased its workforce further when it sold its plastics division to Sabic Innovative Plastics in 2007, but the company still maintains a presence in Pittsfield. A GE spokeswoman said that for security reasons the company doesn't reveal the number of employees it has at any single location.) "We know that we are the largest employer in Berkshire County, and we're careful how we deal with our employees," said Arthur Milano, BHS' vice president of human resources. "We've done an enormous amount of training over the years. We partner with local educational institutions because they are our future workforce." Williams' role as an employer has grown as the county's economic landscape has changed. "Historically, we were a much smaller player in terms of employment because we were much smaller and there were larger entities located here," college spokesman James Kolesar said. "The larger employers have gotten smaller while we have grown. We are aware of that responsibility." The switch to a more diverse economy doesn't mean that large and small Berkshires employers don't face challenges, however. The local unemployment rate jumped more than a percentage point in January, to 9.2 percent, and the shortage of a skilled workforce in this area means employers often have to look elsewhere when they have positions to fill. "It just seems like there's always a gap between people looking for jobs and the job openings that people have," said Heather P. Boulger, executive director of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board. With the Berkshires so rural, transportation also is an issue for major employers, although Sheppard said he believes increased access to broadband technology should help alleviate that problem. Transportation and technology aren't problems in Pittsfield, where the public school system is the county's third-largest employer. But Nakosteen said public schools are especially susceptible to the current economic conditions because they rely heavily on state and federal aid. "The only large sectors of the economy that are shedding jobs are state and local governments," he said. Also susceptible to economic changes are the travel and leisure sector, a major component of a Berkshires economy that relies heavily on culture and tourism. Canyon Ranch in Lenox and Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock are two of the county's 10 largest employers, but Canyon had to lay off 42 employees after the recession hit three years ago. Businesses in that field rely heavily on consumer spending, and things can change rapidly when economic conditions shift. "It's mixed bag for those companies who depend on discretionary spending from households," Nakosteen said. Faring well amid the tough times is General Dynamics, one of four Berkshire entities with more than 1,000 employees. GD announced in December that it had received a new contract from the U.S. Navy to build 10 Littoral Combat Ships and planned to add 500 new workers over the next five years. "This is an unabashed good thing for the Berkshires," Nakosteen said. "Not only will it provide 500 pretty strong jobs in the Berkshires; there's the multiplier effect. It will benefit everything up there: retail, entertainment, restaurants, Jiminy Peak -- everything that households spend money on." The multiplier effect also helps small businesses because more spending means more money in circulation. Steve Fogel, program director for Berkshire Enterprises, which develops and assists small businesses, said difficulties in obtaining credit in the current economy have made life problematic for those who own smaller firms. But he said conditions now are conducive to growing small businesses. "A lot of companies have gone out of business, and their customers need to be served," Fogel said. Keith E. Girouard, the regional senior business adviser of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center in Pittsfield, said the down economy has left a lot of people unemployed and willing to start small businesses. Like Sheppard, Girouard said he's confident that financial diversity is the right path for the Berkshires. "It's going to become more diversified," he said. "That really plays to Berkshire County's strengths. We're known for innovation and opportunity." To reach Tony Dobrowolski: tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com (413) 496-6224 The Big 10 Companies with the greatest number of employees in Berkshire County: 1. Berkshire Health Systems 2. Williams College 3. Pittsfield Public Schools 4. General Dynamics 5. Jiminy Peak 6. Crane & Co. 7. Northern Berkshire Healthcare 8. Berkshire County Arc 9. Brien Center 10. Canyon Ranch Sources: Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and company statements ----------

Hello blogger Dan Valenti,

The news article today (Veterans Day, Friday, 11/11/2022):

https://businesswest.com/blog/pittsfield-is-transforming-its-economy/ 

.... is the very definition of Orwellian!

Site 9 under PEDA has had no takers since its inception during the Summer of 1998, which was a little over 24 years ago and counting, including the nearly 7 years since Linda Tyer has been Mayor of Pittsfield.  A few weeks ago, outgoing Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker hand-delivered a $3 million check from state taxpayers to transform Site 9 from a postindustrial wasteland to an economically developed brownfield.

Pittsfield's postindustrial economy is diversified with a hospital and healthcare, defense, manufacturing, IT, tourism, hospitality and the arts jobs.  They say that Pittsfield is a destination for people of all ages.  Municipal and business leaders claim that it has led to a rebirth of North Street.  Mayor Linda Tyer says that she has diversified and strengthened Pittsfield's economy during her tenure.  Mayor Linda Tyer says that Pittsfield is in a housing boom.  She has started a red-carpet team, but there is an acute shortage of affordable housing for the workforce that she is still working to solve.

My thoughts on this news story are that PEDA is still a very polluted and heavily indebted debacle that should end as soon as possible.  The federal government should take it over as a Superfund site.  Every year that passes by since PEDA began during the Summer of 1998, PEDA's debts and other liabilities have increased by millions upon millions of dollars.  PEDA is totally financially unsustainable.  If PEDA continues into the future and goes bankrupt, who will pay for its multimillion-dollar debts and other liabilities?  Mayor Linda Tyer should be denouncing PEDA as the debacle it is instead of saying that she is going to put millions of dollars into its economic development as a brownfield.  This part of the news story alone is Orwellian!

Pittsfield's postindustrial economy has scarce living wage jobs with a lot of low to moderate wage jobs.  On top of it all, the low to moderate wage workers do not have access to affordable housing in Pittsfield.  The housing boom that Mayor Linda Tyer speaks of is the result of private equity firms buying up homes throughout the nation to rent to working class families.  What will happen when the predicted 2023 economic recession hits?  The private equity firms will sell their investments, or the city/banks will foreclose on them, and Pittsfield's housing boom will become a housing bust.  Just like the PEDA debacle, Pittsfield's so-called housing boom is unsustainable.

North Street is full of dozens of empty storefronts.  The tourism economy in downtown Pittsfield is seasonal, which means that for most of the year, there is no economy at all.  Pittsfield's inner-city is full of violent crime, over 1,000 gang members who live there, and poverty.  Pittsfield's inner-city public schools are rated Level 5, which is the worst rating by the state.  In return for Mayor Linda Tyer's over $200 million Pickleball budget, the taxpayers of Pittsfield receive substandard municipal services.

In closing, I don't think even the late-George Orwell would not pass by this propaganda news story about our native hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts!

Best wishes,

Jonathan A. Melle

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Letter: "North Adams' issues underscore struggles of small communities"

The Berkshire Eagle, April 4, 2023

To the editor: A third city clerk in a year has resigned in North Adams ("North Adams City Clerk Joshua Vallieres resigns," Eagle, March 31).

Our police chief is out ("Mayor Jennifer Macksey says 'domestic incident' involving former Police Chief Jason Wood was not the reason Wood was relieved of duty," Eagle, March 27). Our City Council meetings are "testy," and the Massachusetts Supreme Court says people have a legal right to be rude in meetings, so here we are.

As I've said before, I think North Adams city government, and most other Berkshire governments, are trying to do too much for too few people. These municipalities all over the Berkshires are best thought of as neighborhoods for purposes of most services. A county with fewer than 150,000 people needs lots and lots of consolidation of services.

The notion that there need to be all of these separate police and fire and road and water services, just for a start, is a prescription for overwork and overspending. Generations of "public servants" grow up with the notion that they are entitled to a town job. Tax burdens grow and grow.

The notion that every one of these services needs a fancy facility within its own micro-local area rather than, for example, a precinct house and central dispatch, is wildly off-base. I know "Bill Weld eliminated counties." He was wrong. It is time to take another look.

Barbara Alexander, North Adams

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December 27, 2023

My dad, Bob Melle, was the last Chairman of the Berkshire County Commission, which was abolished and taken over the the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on July 1st, 2000.  He served as a Berkshire County Commissioner for 3.5 years from 1997 - mid-2000.  He served with Smitty Pignatelli for 2 years, and with Ron Kitterman for 3.5 years, and with Tom Stokes for 1.5 years.  He opposed the state takeover of Berkshire County Government and the other 7 abolished county governments in Massachusetts, and he still comments that 6 county governments still operate all in the eastern half of the state.

Bill Weld was the Governor of Massachusetts in the 1990's and he pushed supply side economics that favor the wealthy and efficiency in state and local government.  The irony of Bill Weld's tenure as Governor in the 1990's is that he mismanaged Boston's "Big Dig" public works project, which was the single most expensive public works project in U.S. history at the time.  Bill Weld criticized county governments over millions of dollars in public spending, but it was Governor Bill Weld who was overseeing recurring billion dollar "Big Dig" cost overruns.  In fact, the "Big Dig" went from over $5 billion at the beginning of his administration to doubling in cost to almost $12 billion.  When one compared the inefficiencies of county governments to Governor Bill Weld's mismanagement of the "Big Dig", it became clear that Bill Weld was the biggest failure of all.

In Berkshire County, then Pittsfield State Senator Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior and then North Adams State Representative Daniel Bosley attached a secretive rider to the fiscal year 1999 state budget to abolish Berkshire County Government.  Then Governor, the late Paul Cellucci, signed the state budget into law, and the people of Berkshire County no longer had regional representation in government.  Ironically, Nuciforo anointed himself to a sinecure as the Middle Berkshire (County) Registrar of Deeds in 2006.  Ironically, Bosley ran an unsuccessful campaign for Berkshire (County) Sheriff in 2010.  Nuciforo and Bosley both abolished Berkshire County Government in the middle of 1998, but then years later, they both ran for county government elected positions that the state had taken over.

I still lived in the beautiful Berkshires when Governor Mitt Romney made the deepest cuts in state aid in 2003 to local government and public school districts.  As I followed my dad's political activism in Berkshire County, I saw how the promise of the state's so-called efficiency in government was a lie even bigger than the "Big Dig" being "on schedule and on time".  The municipalities and public school districts throughout Massachusetts did NOT receive more state funding, but, in fact, they received significantly less in only a few years time.

In recent years up to the end of 2023, I have read that the Massachusetts State Budget has increased by billions upon billions of dollars, while taxpayers are asking the do-nothing Beacon Hill lawmakers to please limit state spending.  Compared to other states such as the much larger Pennsylvania, Massachusetts spends far more money.  Furthermore, I receive political advocacy emails that Massachusetts is the least transparent, least accessible and least productive state government in the entire nation.  Career politicians such as Lenox State Representative Smitty Pignatelli has been going to Boston's State House for 21 years now, and he has always voted against Sunshine laws and rules reforms.  He is the norm in Boston's cadre of bureaucratic rubber stamp career politicians.

When I think about my dad's time as a community and political activist in Pittsfield politics, I believe that he was too idealistic for the likes of Nuciforo, Bosley and Pignatelli.  Bill Weld is a Boston Brahmin blue blood who was born with an $80 million trust fund, his family's legacy at Harvard University goes back over 20 generations, and he was a Governor for the financial, corporate and ruling elites' Good Old Boys' club.  Bill Weld was a snob who didn't care about social policies so long as the elites had all of the money and power.  Bill Weld's idea of abolishing Berkshire County Government, along with the other 7 abolished county governments in Massachusetts, are a perfect illustration of Bill Weld's vision of Boston having all of the money and power, while the rest of the state could have been pushed off a cliff for all that he cared.

Jonathan A. Melle

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"Why did half of Massachusetts’s counties abolish their governments in the ’90s?"

"And what do the remaining counties do?"

By Chloe Courtney Bohl, Boston Globe, December 12, 2023

Twenty-five years ago, Gov. Bill Weld made history when he abolished Middlesex County. 

Middlesex was established in 1643 as one of Massachusetts Bay Colony’s original three counties. It survived the Revolutionary War and bore witness to the entirety of American history. But by 1997, Middlesex was failing. 

The county had been financially mismanaged, having wracked up $24 million of debt and recently defaulted on a $4.5 million bond. It had been forced to sell the insolvent Middlesex Hospital to a private buyer. Oh, and the county sheriff had just been imprisoned on racketeering charges.

Even before this spate of high-profile fumbles, the county had been in steady decline for decades. The state had taken over the county court system in 1978, relieving all 14 counties of one of their most important functions. Their district attorneys, too, had been moved onto the state’s payroll. In the 1980s, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to abolish Middlesex County’s highway department after learning that it had no highways of its own to maintain, yet employed upwards of 60 people.

To Weld (and many others in Massachusetts), Middlesex’s spectacular failure was a testament to the wastefulness of county governments in general, a useless extra layer between the municipalities and the state. 

“Counties have become obsolete, inward-looking bureaucracies with dozens of departments and department heads that serve themselves and not the taxpayer,” Weld declared in 1997 as he signed the legislation formally dissolving Middlesex County. 

The three-person County Commission was disbanded and its handful of employees let go. The county treasurer stayed on as a state employee, and the state absorbed the few departments that remained. 

Public opinion of county government was so low and Weld’s abolition of Middlesex County seen as so successful that over the next few years, the House passed legislation eliminating Worcester, Hampden, Essex, Suffolk, and Barnstable counties, while Franklin County’s residents voted of their own accord to dissolve that county government. The state took control of their roads, hospitals, and registries of deeds. Their governments gone, the countries became no more than geographic boundaries on a map.

That left six functioning counties, clustered in the state’s southeast quadrant: Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, and Plymouth.

What do the remaining county governments do?

The surviving Massachusetts county governments are less powerful than their counterparts in other states. They don’t operate the county jails (the state does), and they can’t directly tax their constituents. Instead, the towns and cities in their jurisdictions pay them a small assessment in exchange for their services. 

Each county makes money from these assessments, from fees collected by their registries of deeds (which document real estate transactions), and from miscellaneous sources like parking fees. 

All told, the counties’ operating budgets for Fiscal Year 2024 ranged from about $9 million to about $36 million. (That’s excluding Nantucket County, which contains only the Town of Nantucket and whose operating budget is just $1 million.) Those figures look puny compared to Boston’s annual budget of $4.28 billion, or even Cambridge’s $833 million. 

Despite their small stature, the counties serve their communities in important ways. And they’ve learned from the embarrassments of the late ’90s, evolving to do more with less and stay accountable to the municipalities beneath them. 

They know, in the words of Plymouth County Chairman Jared Valanzola, that “if we screw up, we will be on the chopping block.”

In 2020, Plymouth was awarded $91 million in federal COVID relief funding through the CARES Act. 

Valanzola believes no one was better situated to distribute that money to the people who needed it than the county. It sent more than 90% of the $91 million to Plymouth’s 27 cities and towns, spending less than $1 million, or about 1%, to administer the program. 

After setting aside some of the CARES money to buy COVID tests and support the county’s nonprofit hospitals, Plymouth County distributed the rest to its municipalities in proportion to their populations. Brockton used its $19 million to buy a Chromebook for every public school student as they transitioned to remote learning. Pembroke used some of its $3 million to add a walk-in cooler to the town food pantry. 

Plymouth was the only county in Massachusetts to apply for CARES Act funding directly from the federal government and distribute it to the towns and cities in its jurisdiction. Other municipalities around the state still received CARES money, but Valanzola argues that because of its exceptionally low administrative costs, the county-level distribution was the most effective way to get communities the most money possible.

“We like to remind folks that if we didn’t exist, those communities would have received significantly less dollars,” he said.

Public health crisis response aside, the Plymouth County government does a myriad of seemingly mundane yet important things. Many of them have to do with saving its cities and towns time and money — by updating their antiquated parking ticket systems, by managing a regional retirement fund for government employees, by operating a dredge that it leases out to towns for cheap. Plymouth has a 4-H program and a county entomologist, who travels from town to town educating people about tick-borne diseases. These are the kinds of services that many towns need, but can’t afford to run themselves.

“Parking tickets, that’s not fun,” Valanzola admitted. “But it’s important, and it’s a revenue generator for a lot of communities. And we’re saving them money while administering that program for them.”

Like Valanzola, Barnstable County Administrator Beth Albert is proud to be providing useful regional programs that “transcend town boundaries.” 

This year, Barnstable County’s operating budget was about $22 million. On top of that, the county received around $56 million in federal and state grants. So what did they do with the money?

Water quality is a major concern on the Cape, so the county government operates a dredge, runs a water quality lab, monitors beaches and ponds, and administers a program that helps residents get low-interest loans to replace their aging septic systems.

The county’s laundry list of regional services also includes broadband expansion, affordable housing partnerships with towns, Narcan distribution, education for seniors on their Medicare options, landfill monitoring, emergency planning, food safety training for restaurants, the AmeriCorps Cape Cod program, child sexual abuse services, regional IT services for town governments, and flood-plain planning. 

Three county commissioners and a 15-member Assembly of Delegates decide how the county spends its money. These are elected positions; the entire county votes on the commissioners, and each of its 15 towns sends one delegate to the assembly with a weighted vote proportional to that town’s population.

“I’m really very proud of the work that we do,” Albert said, stressing that the county is efficient, accountable, and adaptive to its community’s needs. 

Do people in Barnstable County realize all the cool stuff their government is doing? 

Maybe not, Albert conceded. Some of the programs that are less hands-on might go unnoticed by the average resident.

In neighboring Norfolk County, Commissioner Richard Staiti agrees that the counties’ big issue isn’t performance, it’s visibility.

When he was running for commissioner, “half the battle” was explaining to people what the job entails, Staiti said. Public engagement was low because few people understood why they should care about county government.

Staiti is trying to change that. ARPA helped raise the county’s profile, he said. (After Plymouth County’s success with the CARES Act in 2020, other counties — Norfolk included — followed its lead and applied for American Rescue Plan Act funding in 2021.) Staiti travels within the county as much as he can — attending events, meeting with town officials, and talking about county-run programs. 

“Every time I talk to people, it’s exciting,” he said. “People go, ‘Wow, we didn’t know that.’”

Like the other counties, Norfolk’s programs aren’t terribly flashy. Its modest budget goes toward programs like veterans’ services, an opt-in weights and measures program for towns, and the Norfolk County Agricultural High School.

Staiti remembers the wave of county abolitions in the ’90s, though he wasn’t a county commissioner at the time. He also remembers how the now-defunct counties were overspending and couldn’t sustain themselves.

“I don’t see that happening in Norfolk County,” he said.

Norfolk County Director John Cronin added that in 2021, the county hired a consultant to do a full audit of its operations. The recommendations helped them save money on capital planning, IT, and human resources. 

Again, not flashy. But the point is, “we don’t want to sit and watch time go by,” Cronin said. “We want to look at how we operate to make sure that we’re giving all of the residents of Norfolk County the best bang for their buck.”

What’s going on in the inactive counties? 

It’s hard to measure the exact impact of the abolition of eight of Massachusetts’s 14 county governments, because the state and the municipalities took over many of the former counties’ responsibilities after they were eliminated. Still, in some of these communities, new structures have popped up in place of traditional county governments that suggest a widespread desire for some form of regional collaboration.

You’ll remember that Franklin County voted to dissolve its government in the ’90s. In its place, they established the Franklin County Regional Council of Governments, or FRCOG (pronounced FER-cog) for short. 

Like a traditional county government, the FRCOG provides needed services to towns. Unlike a traditional county government, membership in the FRCOG is voluntary.

“That means that we say to the towns of Franklin County, the municipal governments, ‘We believe we can provide you with strong services, will you be a member of our council of governments?’” explained FRCOG Executive Director Linda Dunlavy. “What that difference means is that we can’t rest on our laurels. We have to always provide valuable services to our member communities, so they stay members.”

To do this, the FRCOG offers what its communications manager Mark Maloni calls an “à la carte menu of municipal services” that towns can choose to pay for, or not. 

Franklin is one of the commonwealth’s most rural counties, filled with small towns that don’t have the budget to hire full-time staff. That’s where the FRCOG comes in.

“We are the town accountant,” Dunlavy said. “We are the building inspector, plumbing inspector, health inspector for towns. Those municipal service programs are voluntary opt-in. Only the towns that want them get them, and they pay to be a member of that program.”

On top of these shared municipal services, the FRCOG runs programs targeting the county’s big-picture needs. In a region crisscrossed by rivers and dirt roads, flood-proofing and climate resiliency are top concerns. And with a rapidly-aging population, attracting newcomers to the county has become a priority.

All 26 towns in Franklin County elected to join the FRCOG in 1997 and have stayed for the 26 years since.

“We have made transformational change in Franklin County,” Dunlavy said. “Over the years, we’ve brought passenger rail back, we’ve realigned Route 2 to make it easier and safer, we’ve built [a] transit center, we’ve done a huge amount of watershed planning so that we know what’s going to happen when our rivers flood. We just do a lot of good.”

In Worcester County, where the government was abolished in 1998, the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission has stepped in to cover some of those regional services.

The CMRPC is one of 13 regional planning agencies in the state. At its inception in 1963, it had just two departments: Transportation and Land Use Planning. But since the county was abolished, it’s expanded significantly, adding a Regional Services branch with seven full-time staff. 

“We are the only regional connective tissue between very small towns,” explained Connor Robichaud, the CMRPC’s director of regional services. “So we have expanded to provide many more services, from economic development to … community planning.”

Even in the absence of any kind of county government or overarching regional entity, municipalities still share resources informally, because it’s the time- and money-saving thing to do. 

Windsor is a town of 851 people in the state’s northwest corner, part of the erstwhile Berkshire County.

“For the most part, Windsor is a very, very independent town,” said Windsor Town Administrator Madeline Scully. “Very self-sufficient.”

Scully hardly remembers the Berkshire County government from before it was abolished.

“I don’t know what they did for us,” she admitted. Regardless, she said, the town runs well on its own.  

But even independent-spirited Windsor is a member of a 14-town regional recycling program, shares a public health nurse with neighboring municipalities, and allows nearby Peru and Savoy to use its new emergency shelter.

‘Regionalization is the future’

Back in the ’90s, Massachusetts’s counties earned their reputation as cumbersome and wasteful. But today, Valanzola in Plymouth County argues they’re the most efficient form of government we have. 

“I love the small town feel that New England has and Massachusetts has, but a lot of our town budgets have grown by leaps and bounds, exponentially,” he said. “Part and parcel, I think, because we’re not regionalizing certain things. When we talk about services, regionalization is the future.”

That doesn’t mean the eliminated counties are coming back any time soon. “Regionalization” is a flexible idea that can take many forms — like an opt-in council of governments, an expanded regional planning agency, or an informal multi-town partnership, to name just a few.

As for the surviving county governments, their leaders maintain that they’re not going anywhere.

“We’re not what we were,” Valanzola said. “We’re here to stay.”

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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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