Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer says she plans to boost the city’s police budget by more than $900,000, about a 10% increase. This comes after 30 incidents with shots fired this year so far, as many as all of last year. One Pittsfield resident, Mary Talmi says the mayor has the right idea.

“You can’t fight an extreme situation unless you have extreme response,” Talmi says. “She (Tyer) has to do it.”

Another Pittsfield resident, Robin Chambers, says she agrees with the mayor’s proposal to hire more officers, but would like to see more emphasis on one particular strategy.

“If she spends more on police officers, I would like to see them trained specifically for community policing,” Chambers says. “Right now we are losing this battle and we need to do something quickly.”

Tyer’s proposal, which would be included in the next budget, would also include more equipment for the department.