Lanesborough Finance Committee to Model Split Tax Rate Scenarios Ahead of November Hearing

LANESBOROUGH -- September 2, 2025, Lanesborough Finance Committee opens split tax rate study and raises questions about mall redevelopment costs. The committee heard a presentation from Town Assessor Ross at its September 2 meeting explaining that Lanesborough's allowable tax shift range runs from 1.0 to 1.5, covering 68 commercial parcels with a combined assessed value of $36,947,800 and 24 industrial parcels, with Pittsfield's commercial rate cited as a comparison point at $37.96 per thousand. Chair Lyndon Moore said he wanted "no split, moderate split, and aggressive split" scenarios with concrete dollar figures, and two members will meet privately with the assessor in late September to build them before the October 6 meeting. Separately, member Kristen Toole read into the record a State Ethics Commission letter confirming she faces no conflict of interest in participating in Finance Committee matters related to the former Baker Hill Road District or Police Station Building Committee, disclosing that the mall's ownership group had attempted to have her removed from a recent joint meeting despite having already received that same confirmation. On the proposed 410-unit JMJ senior housing development at the former mall site, Toole raised cost concerns including the town's lack of a ladder-truck-capable fire station, previously estimated at $20 million to replace, and the frequency of ambulance runs to the existing Kimball Farms facility as a benchmark.