Preservation Panel Orders Abatement Review
Other Committee · Meeting of August 11, 2026
Great Barrington's Community Preservation Committee orders a review of who uses its tax abatement. Chair Karen Smith was reelected and a member identified as Van Alst became vice chair on unanimous votes. Staff told the panel more than $900,000 should be available for fiscal 2027 grant awards, and $267,553.77 is reverting to the fund after a Bridge Street Brownfield project, held up by state DEP testing requirements, stalled.
Member Phil Ornstein raised whether the committee's 3 percent CPA surtax should be periodically reviewed; members agreed changing it requires a town meeting vote and instead voted to ask the assessor how many taxpayers use the panel's income-based abatement. One member called the abatement application "well-intentioned" but "very difficult to actually apply for and understand." The committee set a September 2 public hearing on its updated Community Preservation Plan.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,311 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of August 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 30-day free trial
Subscribe to Great Barrington News to keep reading this post and get 30 days of free access to the full post archives.
Starting a trial requires a payment method. After 30 free days your subscription begins at the price shown at checkout and renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your account. Subscription terms
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news