Contact City Officials

Pittsfield Police Department Budget

The City Council meeting to review and vote on the police department's budget is this Tuesday, June 1 at 6 PM. We encourage everyone to call in to make a public comment to all councilors and officials regarding this budget. Click here to learn how to make a public comment.

We are also directing comments about the budget to city councilors and the mayor.

If you live, work, shop, or attend school in Pittsfield, contact all members of the City Council and Mayor Tyer. It is important that all members of the council know that Pittsfield residents and stakeholders do not want their money invested in policing.

There is a sample message template below. We are not providing a full template because it is easy to filter or not pay attention to messages that all say the exact same thing. Make sure to add your own perspective and values into your message.

SAMPLE POLICE BUDGET MESSAGE TEMPLATE

Hi <<their name>>,

<<Who you are in Pittsfield>>.

<<explanation of why you want action item done -- safety of communities of color, disagree with the allocation of money in this budget, don't agree a specific line item should be allocated as such, etc.>> I'm asking that you make a motion or vote to make the following cuts to the Pittsfield Police Department budget:

Ammunition: cut $25,000 to make it $15,000
Student Officer Expenses: cut $55,000 to make it $60,600
Shotspotter: cut $240,000 to make it $0
Scheduled Overtime: cut $275,000 to make it $1,000,000

I also ask that you reject the funding for the design of the new police station. <<why you think we do not need a new police station>>

I hope that you will ask tough questions and vote in the best interest of all residents of the City of Pittsfield, and not just those who have typically had a seat at the table.

Thank you,

<<your name>>