Pittsfield — Berkshire County’s State House delegation remains optimistic about relief from the federal government, but maintains some level of frustration that not enough assistance was provided in the budget passed during the recently concluded legislative session in Boston. (Oh, and there was more hand-wringing over the state of broadband internet providers in Berkshire County. More on that later.)
That much was clear from a virtual town hall meeting last week, sponsored by county nonprofits including the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, the United Way and other partners behind the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Berkshire County. The event was moderated by Candace Winkler, CEO of Berkshire United Way, and Peter Taylor, who heads the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
See video below of a Jan. 11 town hall meeting with the Berkshire legislative delegation, sponsored by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Berkshire United Way, Northern Berkshire United Way, the Williamstown Community Chest, and the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires:
State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, said he recently spoke with Richard Neal, D-Springfield, who represents Berkshire County in Washington and chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
“I had a conversation with Neal this morning about the next rounds and I’m very optimistic, especially in light of the Georgia senate races,” Pignatelli told the approximately 100 representatives of the county’s nonprofit sector. “Clearly the Democrats have control of the House and Senate and we will have a Democrat in the White House who is somewhat stable.”
President-elect Joe Biden has proposed another stimulus program. Biden proposes a $1.9 trillion economic and health-care relief package. A larger recovery proposal is likely to follow.
Matt Russett, one of Neal’s aides, gave an overview of the second stimulus package and omnibus appropriations bill, both signed by President Trump on Dec. 27.
Russett confirmed details, including $600 payments to individuals earning less than $75,000 per year. In addition, there was a $300 federal unemployment supplemental benefit — in addition to existing state benefits — as well as an extension of the federal eviction moratorium for an additional month and $25 billion for emergency rental assistance.
There is also a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program coming. The hardest hit businesses and nonprofits are eligible for loans from the $284 billion program. The first round was released in July as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
That first $660 billion stimulus package helped small businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 310 Berkshire County businesses and nonprofit organizations received loans, with an estimated 14,903 jobs saved. Click here for an Edge analysis.
Russett also explained that, for sectors of the economy such as hospitality and tourism — both enormous parts of the Berkshires economy — the PPP in the new package, capped at $2 million per business, would expand to cover 250 percent of a business’s average monthly payroll.
“The PPP loans are pretty successful and popular through the CARES Act,” Russett said.
One audience member asked if there was any money in the program to provide relief for “performance venues.” Russett said $15 billion was set aside in the Save Our Stages Act for independent venues and small theaters, though it is not yet clear whether it will be allocated directly from the federal government or through block grants to the states.
Most of the county’s cultural attractions, large and small, either canceled their 2020 seasons, or moved to virtual formats that brought in a fraction of typical revenues and still resulted in significant job losses.
State Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, said it was difficult for the Berkshires to “have such a blow during the summer.” He noted that the state budget recently passed on Beacon Hill contained an additional $10 million for relief for cultural organizations, though he regretted that it wasn’t more generous. In addition, an economic development bill included more money for tourist destinations.
“You can always do more, but we tried to plug some of the gaps there in a meaningful way,” said Hinds.
Hinds also said more than $600 million was allocated through the Mass Growth Capital Corporation. Hinds was also able to secure a $250,000 grant in a supplemental budget that will be managed by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The demand for these grants is typically double what is available, Hinds explained.
On mental health, housing, and childcare, Hinds said he was disappointed that the legislature wasn’t able to do more. There was a “modest increase” in the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), a tenant and landlord relief program.
“I don’t think we did what we needed to do in any of those,” Hinds said.
The $45.9 billion state budget was only signed by Gov. Charlie Baker last month. The budget, which was “more than five months overdue, relies heavily on one-time revenue to balance spending growth of 4.5%, including more than $2.76 billion in federal COVID-19 funds and a draw of up to $1.7 billion from the state’s ‘rainy day’ fund,” according to a report from WBUR.
“We had a delayed state budget that was intentional,” Pignatelli explained, noting ambiguous revenue projections during the pandemic. “We got criticized for that, going with one-twelfth budgets until the end of the year. I think that is going to pay huge dividends for us going forward.”
State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, who chairs the House Committee on Redistricting, gave an update on the 2020 federal census. Fast forward to 35:40 in the video above for his analysis.
State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier spoke passionately about the need for a budgetary focus on childcare and early education. She said women are disproportionately impacted by lack of childcare during the pandemic.
“Why? Because they’re staying home to take care of their children,” Farley-Bouvier said. “We can’t get people back to work if we don’t address the child care system.”
Ilana Steinhauer, who heads Volunteers in Medicine, asked whether the surge of second-homeowners transitioning to full-time residents during the pandemic has helped to make up for the volunteerism and charitable giving that were lost to the economic recession. All replied that the influx had made a difference, even if the phenomenon had not entirely bridged the gap.
State Rep. John Barrett, D-North Adams, had joined Farley-Bouvier and Pignatelli on a conference call, earlier in the day, with Berkshire Health Systems, which owns both Berkshire Medical Center and Fairview Hospital, about administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We do not believe that the state has adequately provided a plan to get it in people’s arms,” Barrett said. “There is no reason why we shouldn’t be fully vaccinated by the middle of April. We have seniors that are calling our office … teachers, grocery workers … We need strong leadership. If not, we will not recover from this pandemic for more than 18 months, possibly longer.”
Barrett also emphasized that it was important to blanket the county with high-speed internet. He had some sharp words for Charter-Spectrum, the cable provider that, for many Berkshire County residents, is the only option available for broadband.
Barrett complained about the lack of public Wi-Fi hotspots closer to home during the pandemic, when school children needed them during periods of remote learning.
“It is a big issue when you see people or kids, at night, having to go down to the local Cumberland Farms and they would put up a hotspot there, instead of going up their road a little bit or trying to be as helpful as possible,” Barrett said of Spectrum, adding that the company’s stock price had more than doubled since the onset of the pandemic 11 months ago.
“Every community should be demanding — whether you’re a mayor, a selectman, a manager — demanding that Spectrum make available hotspots in the community, make laptops available for the kids there,” Barrett continued. “Instead, they’ll put on Showtime for a month for people. As far as I’m concerned, as far as the pandemic goes, they have been an absolute failure in this entire thing.”
Barrett, a former mayor of North Adams, urged communities to explore building out their own broadband networks, as has been done, for example, in Otis, Becket, Alford and Mount Washington.
“I would echo everything Rep. Barrett just said,” Pignatelli added. “If you get on their website right now or you see the commercials, you can pay for faster speeds and they never have to go to your house to do it.”
“So they clearly have the capabilities of doing it,” Pignatelli continued. “I have encouraged the governor, and it fell on deaf ears, to issue an executive order to Verizon, Spectrum, whatever your provider is, to give you the fastest speeds possible [during the pandemic].”
Because of the criticism from lawmakers, The Edge forwarded the video of this event to Spectrum and asked for a reaction. Spectrum spokesperson Heidi Vandenbrouck responded.
Vandenbrouck said Charter has connected 450,000 students, teachers, and their families — who did not have broadband service — with speeds up to 200 Mbps for 60 days, free of charge.
“The company has also protected from disconnection 700,000 customers due to COVID-19 economic hardship; and forgave $85 million in customers’ overdue balances,” Vandenbrouck said. “We reintroduced the 60-day free remote education offer in September, and it remains available today. We also continue to provide Spectrum Internet Assist, a low-cost broadband option available to eligible families and seniors throughout our 41-state service area.”
Vandenbrouck also pointed to ongoing efforts to bring service to Berkshire County towns that are underserved or not currently served at all, including Hinsdale, Lanesborough, West Stockbridge, Peru, Tyringham, Hancock, New Marlborough, and Sandisfield. Click here to read the entire statement.
“I’m still very bullish on the Berkshires,” Pignatelli said. “2021 is going to be a challenging year.”
