PITTSFIELD — The Town Council this week decided to move forward with court proceedings against several properties that officials say are chronically in violation of town codes and rules.

Councilors on Tuesday voted to move forward with legal action against properties at 139 Manson St., 231 Somerset Ave. and 140 Leonard St.

The council had previously started proceedings against the Somerset Avenue parcel, but when the pandemic shut down the courts the matter was unable to move forward.

Code enforcement officers also were authorized to find the best way to move forward with land at 153 and 157 Washington St. A building at the site is considered dangerous and officials said there may be a different process to resolve the violations there.

Because the process includes the town attorney, there was extensive discussion about the cost of legal proceedings against the various properties. Councilor Pete Logiodice said he was concerned about the cost of the town attorney’s time on the cases.

The council had previously said it wanted to go to court for only one property, Logiodice said, so that it could evaluate the cost and if the process was worth it. He said he didn’t want to spend the money on four properties now.

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“This is circumventing what we’d already decided previously,” he said.

Councilors eventually agreed to continue proceedings against the properties on Somerset Avenue and Washington Street. They also approved moving forward on the Manson Street and Leonard Street properties, but with a spending cap of $1,000 each for the town attorney’s time to limit the cost.

In other matters, a public hearing will be held next month on the town’s proposed 2022 municipal budget and the Town Council at that meeting is expected to vote on the spending plan.

The council set Dec. 21 as the date for the hearing. Town officials are still working to finalize budget numbers but complete figures will be presented at the hearing, Mayor Heather Donahue said.

The council also heard from Bill Hall, the town auditor, about the 2020 audit. The completion of the audit was delayed because of the pandemic, Hall said, something he has seen with other towns in the state as well.

Hall said the town is in sound fiscal shape and the audit did not find any major discrepancies.

“For a town this size, you’ve got a pretty good sized fund balance, you also have a good pocket of special revenue funds and … your sewer and water are solvent,” Hall said.

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