Budget versus actual;
On the financial front, according to information out of the town accountant's office; the highway improvement fund or the chapter 90 monies, there was $338,351.00 allocated for FY 2016 which began July 1, 2015, there has been expended to date ( received this on December 8, 2015) $282,471.00 and that leaves $55,879.07. It does not note what the money was spent on.
Jeff Bennett
Monday, December 21, 2015
At tonight's selectmen meeting;
It seems a secretary may be running the office and making decisions as the chairman of the board said at one point, "what is your pleasure Holly?". The subject was business licenses and what to do about some who have not turned in certain paper work or paid fees required. The secretary seems to have a problem with one business owner who went to a meeting and spoke up on his behalf and his lively hood. This is the same secretary that some members of the selectboard wish to make an assistant town administrator. Why the board will not do what the voters said to do and that is get a full time Town administrator!
There was also discussion about the original debt exclusion of $550,000.00 which apparently never went out to bond, it was simply handled by a BAN or bond anticipation note, government speak for short term borrowing, usually year to year. It was paid off by using available funds which equals to cutting into free cash, as in the big number often referred to by the town administrator. There also seems to be some question as to the payoff date for debt in regard with 252 Baldwinville Road. It has to be determined if the payoff date is in 2017 or 2019.
The police department wants to get a K-9 dog and no action on the tree growing out of the top of a building. The board does not seem to have the will or the moxy to put some pressure on the housing authority. So when you are in the area of the Tucker building, be sure to look up to watch for falling something or other. Once again, the same member was absent so we only have a 4 member board at the meeting.
Jeff Bennett
It seems a secretary may be running the office and making decisions as the chairman of the board said at one point, "what is your pleasure Holly?". The subject was business licenses and what to do about some who have not turned in certain paper work or paid fees required. The secretary seems to have a problem with one business owner who went to a meeting and spoke up on his behalf and his lively hood. This is the same secretary that some members of the selectboard wish to make an assistant town administrator. Why the board will not do what the voters said to do and that is get a full time Town administrator!
There was also discussion about the original debt exclusion of $550,000.00 which apparently never went out to bond, it was simply handled by a BAN or bond anticipation note, government speak for short term borrowing, usually year to year. It was paid off by using available funds which equals to cutting into free cash, as in the big number often referred to by the town administrator. There also seems to be some question as to the payoff date for debt in regard with 252 Baldwinville Road. It has to be determined if the payoff date is in 2017 or 2019.
The police department wants to get a K-9 dog and no action on the tree growing out of the top of a building. The board does not seem to have the will or the moxy to put some pressure on the housing authority. So when you are in the area of the Tucker building, be sure to look up to watch for falling something or other. Once again, the same member was absent so we only have a 4 member board at the meeting.
Jeff Bennett
Sunday, December 20, 2015
While I am looking back.........to think of the future. . . .
Looking at another old Gardner news article, I have a question for you; how does 62% of 47 million dollars add up to 22.9 million? Reading a story in TGN by Andres Caamano addressing the new Athol school at a cost of $43,931,361.00 with 62.94 % coming from MSBA or $27,651,620.00 with the Town of Athol on the hook for $16,279,743.00. So board of selectmen, how come Templeton only gets 22.9 million? Any one, anyone at all?
Jeff Bennett
Looking at another old Gardner news article, I have a question for you; how does 62% of 47 million dollars add up to 22.9 million? Reading a story in TGN by Andres Caamano addressing the new Athol school at a cost of $43,931,361.00 with 62.94 % coming from MSBA or $27,651,620.00 with the Town of Athol on the hook for $16,279,743.00. So board of selectmen, how come Templeton only gets 22.9 million? Any one, anyone at all?
Jeff Bennett
A check of history. . . . . . .
In looking through some old stuff, I came across an interesting item, a story from the Gardner news. At the end of it, there was a couple of lines that read; Light commissioner Dana Blais also stated that the department (Templeton Light dept.) would cover the electricity bills for municipal buildings and street lighting expenses for the next fiscal year. The story is dated July 15, 2014 and that would be fiscal year 2015 so the next fiscal year should be FY 2016, which we are in now. This means that when the annual Town report comes out, we should be able to check on the electric expenses for Templeton Municipal buildings and street lighting expense for the Town.
Of course the thing about this is the electricity for these things comes from some where and has to be paid for. If there is no budget item within the Town budget, where will this money come from? In my opinion, it is safe to say that everyone in Templeton will see an increase in their bill. You may also wish to check your water bill for any increases in the water service charge. Templeton water website says it is $237.16 per year! Rather than those costs coming from revenue from property taxes, you will be paying for it in other ways, which is just another tax! seems like more of the same stuff that has been going on for a long time in Templeton and it is policy that is the decision of the selectmen.
I wonder what the cost of wood chips are for the furnace at NRHS?
Jeff Bennett
In looking through some old stuff, I came across an interesting item, a story from the Gardner news. At the end of it, there was a couple of lines that read; Light commissioner Dana Blais also stated that the department (Templeton Light dept.) would cover the electricity bills for municipal buildings and street lighting expenses for the next fiscal year. The story is dated July 15, 2014 and that would be fiscal year 2015 so the next fiscal year should be FY 2016, which we are in now. This means that when the annual Town report comes out, we should be able to check on the electric expenses for Templeton Municipal buildings and street lighting expense for the Town.
Of course the thing about this is the electricity for these things comes from some where and has to be paid for. If there is no budget item within the Town budget, where will this money come from? In my opinion, it is safe to say that everyone in Templeton will see an increase in their bill. You may also wish to check your water bill for any increases in the water service charge. Templeton water website says it is $237.16 per year! Rather than those costs coming from revenue from property taxes, you will be paying for it in other ways, which is just another tax! seems like more of the same stuff that has been going on for a long time in Templeton and it is policy that is the decision of the selectmen.
I wonder what the cost of wood chips are for the furnace at NRHS?
Jeff Bennett
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Templeton Tax Rate set!
Yesterday, Tuesday, December 15, I spoke to the deputy assessor and was informed that the tax rate has been approved and set by the MA DOR. It was set at $16.47 per thousand. And here I thought the Town administrator stated at the last selectmen meeting on December 7, 2015 that the tax rate was set then?? You can check the Gardner news or the minutes of the meeting or the video.
The simple truth is, the selectmen do not set the tax rate, the elected members of the board of Assessors with approval from the department of revenue set the tax rate. As for it going down, that may not be a good thing either. As for the increase in taxes from the recently voted debt exclusion for the police station, that will not appear on your tax bill until January of 2017.
If you have any questions or concerns, call or visit the office of the Board of Assessors. One thing that you won't find out is how much your taxes will be when the police station or school debt tax increase will be because the assessors do not know that because they do not know what the tax rate will be then. Remember that this was a reval year and there was some new growth which is one time money and there was about 145 thousand in money from MSBA which is also one time money. I seem to remember most people in agreement that one time money should not be counted on in figuring out a budget. So why does it seem like the selectmen are again doing the same things that got the Town in trouble to begin with. Why use one time money from the planning board for highway dept. expenses? Oh, just for laughs, the Planning Board is now looking for additional money for the Town master plan which makes it look like a bad idea to give certain funds away to the highway when you need them for something else! Seems like the dog is still chasing it's tail.
Jeff Bennett
Yesterday, Tuesday, December 15, I spoke to the deputy assessor and was informed that the tax rate has been approved and set by the MA DOR. It was set at $16.47 per thousand. And here I thought the Town administrator stated at the last selectmen meeting on December 7, 2015 that the tax rate was set then?? You can check the Gardner news or the minutes of the meeting or the video.
The simple truth is, the selectmen do not set the tax rate, the elected members of the board of Assessors with approval from the department of revenue set the tax rate. As for it going down, that may not be a good thing either. As for the increase in taxes from the recently voted debt exclusion for the police station, that will not appear on your tax bill until January of 2017.
If you have any questions or concerns, call or visit the office of the Board of Assessors. One thing that you won't find out is how much your taxes will be when the police station or school debt tax increase will be because the assessors do not know that because they do not know what the tax rate will be then. Remember that this was a reval year and there was some new growth which is one time money and there was about 145 thousand in money from MSBA which is also one time money. I seem to remember most people in agreement that one time money should not be counted on in figuring out a budget. So why does it seem like the selectmen are again doing the same things that got the Town in trouble to begin with. Why use one time money from the planning board for highway dept. expenses? Oh, just for laughs, the Planning Board is now looking for additional money for the Town master plan which makes it look like a bad idea to give certain funds away to the highway when you need them for something else! Seems like the dog is still chasing it's tail.
Jeff Bennett
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
December 7, 2015 selectmen meeting
Town Administrator made the error by stating the Board of Selectmen would be setting the tax rate tonight. That is wrong, wrong, wrong! The selectmen do not do that! Selectmen do not set the tax rate! They do get to decide if there is a single rate for everyone, as in residents and business or if business gets to pay a larger share of the taxes.
I think if anyone checks, by calling the Assessors office, you will find the Board of Assessors come up with a proposed tax rate, as in so many dollars per thousand, then this information is given to the Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue and they ultimately either approve the rate or tell the Assessors to try again. So if anyone reads in the Gardner News or anywhere else that the BOS set the tax rate, that would be in error, misinformation, or bluntly put, a lie.
Another interesting tid bit was the Planning Board is now looking for additional funds to use for the new Town Master Plan. Seems not to long ago, the Planning Board had a sum of money that they said they did not need so they were going to give it to the highway dept. so they could pay for the excavator. Seems like they should have used that money to pay for the master plan, but hey, I am just a simple guy from Templeton.
One other interesting item was possible new job descriptions and job titles for people in the office of the selectmen. Sounds like growing government just to be bigger. Now it seems we may need an assistant town administrator. Seems like there is alot of work to do so maybe it is time to try something new. The posted hours for the office of selectmen stands at 31 hours. Maybe they should work a full 40 hour week or go back to five days a week. Either way, we do not need more supervisors, we need workers. Remember, this is essentially a 3 person office and perhaps it is time for the selectmen to begin to look for a full time Town Administrator so that position can pick up some of the load. Seems like the Town government is doing all the same things now that were done in the past that got the Town in a mess to begin with.
Jeff Bennett
Town Administrator made the error by stating the Board of Selectmen would be setting the tax rate tonight. That is wrong, wrong, wrong! The selectmen do not do that! Selectmen do not set the tax rate! They do get to decide if there is a single rate for everyone, as in residents and business or if business gets to pay a larger share of the taxes.
I think if anyone checks, by calling the Assessors office, you will find the Board of Assessors come up with a proposed tax rate, as in so many dollars per thousand, then this information is given to the Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue and they ultimately either approve the rate or tell the Assessors to try again. So if anyone reads in the Gardner News or anywhere else that the BOS set the tax rate, that would be in error, misinformation, or bluntly put, a lie.
Another interesting tid bit was the Planning Board is now looking for additional funds to use for the new Town Master Plan. Seems not to long ago, the Planning Board had a sum of money that they said they did not need so they were going to give it to the highway dept. so they could pay for the excavator. Seems like they should have used that money to pay for the master plan, but hey, I am just a simple guy from Templeton.
One other interesting item was possible new job descriptions and job titles for people in the office of the selectmen. Sounds like growing government just to be bigger. Now it seems we may need an assistant town administrator. Seems like there is alot of work to do so maybe it is time to try something new. The posted hours for the office of selectmen stands at 31 hours. Maybe they should work a full 40 hour week or go back to five days a week. Either way, we do not need more supervisors, we need workers. Remember, this is essentially a 3 person office and perhaps it is time for the selectmen to begin to look for a full time Town Administrator so that position can pick up some of the load. Seems like the Town government is doing all the same things now that were done in the past that got the Town in a mess to begin with.
Jeff Bennett
Monday, December 7, 2015
Templeton Tax rate and associated costs.
Some people may think the timing of this announcement is tied to the school vote but in my opinion, that does not really matter. What matters is the details, which you can find out for yourself and in my opinion, you should contact the Assessors office and ask.
We all know inflation can have an effect on things costing us more and so can the tri annual reval conducted by the Board of assessors. The tax rate can drop but if the assessed value of your home goes up enough, this can actually equal an increase the cost of your property taxes. Again, the best thing you can do is to contact the Assessors office and ask about the assessed value of your home and you do not have to wait for your tax bill to come to do this.
Some people say and write that because of low electric rates in Templeton by way of a Town owned electric department, the same person, by the way, writes about voters getting to vote for high electric rates in Town, which you actually get to do, by way of electing Light & Water commissioners. So my question is, do we have high or low electric rates in Templeton? You may wish to contact Dave Smart and ask him that. Of course he is the same person who wrote on how the Town Administrator, the selectmen and the financial team were doing such a good job and remember, the selectmen and the Town Administrator are the same ones who voted to buy a loader and an excavator for the highway department of Templeton, where Mr. Smart works. They also approved a labor contract giving free boots and other items to those very workers of the highway department.
Dave Smart seems to have a problem with contractors and business people and appears to want the big bad business entities to pay more for simply being in business to make money. I think for the most part, if anyone takes the time to look, the majority of business in Templeton is on the small business scale and if you are a student of history, not to far back, there was talk of a big box retailer coming to Templeton, but then came the facts, such as the amount it would cost to get all the permits and such just to get started. If my memory has not faded too much, it was in the 10 thousand dollar range, while surrounding towns had the amount in the 25 to 85 dollar range. Did any big box retailer come to Templeton?
So, on one day, Templeton has very high water and electric rates and on the next, Templeton has low electric rates because of a Town owned electric department. I am no economic professor, but it seems to me that you do not build a business base, especially small business, by taxing them more. They do not want their taxes higher any more than the residents, which is why most overrides fail at the ballot box.
On another front, I spoke to my mother who is 82 and pays property taxes in Templeton. I asked her about the new school and she asked me if a new school is needed. I told her what I thought, which was that the new school is probably wanted more by the teachers and administration, shown by the questions from a principle that the teachers wanted to know about what areas would have A/C and where bathrooms would be located. Her response was the fith graders needed to be out of NRHS and if the schools had been better taken care of, they might not need to be replaced. She asked how much it will cost and I told her and I told her what I thought the total tax increase would be to pay for it, my thought is about $3.74 per thousand. She thought for a bit and told me to vote for it, so I will be voting yes for the new school. My mom is on SS, less than a thousand per month.
Jeff Bennett
Some people may think the timing of this announcement is tied to the school vote but in my opinion, that does not really matter. What matters is the details, which you can find out for yourself and in my opinion, you should contact the Assessors office and ask.
We all know inflation can have an effect on things costing us more and so can the tri annual reval conducted by the Board of assessors. The tax rate can drop but if the assessed value of your home goes up enough, this can actually equal an increase the cost of your property taxes. Again, the best thing you can do is to contact the Assessors office and ask about the assessed value of your home and you do not have to wait for your tax bill to come to do this.
Some people say and write that because of low electric rates in Templeton by way of a Town owned electric department, the same person, by the way, writes about voters getting to vote for high electric rates in Town, which you actually get to do, by way of electing Light & Water commissioners. So my question is, do we have high or low electric rates in Templeton? You may wish to contact Dave Smart and ask him that. Of course he is the same person who wrote on how the Town Administrator, the selectmen and the financial team were doing such a good job and remember, the selectmen and the Town Administrator are the same ones who voted to buy a loader and an excavator for the highway department of Templeton, where Mr. Smart works. They also approved a labor contract giving free boots and other items to those very workers of the highway department.
Dave Smart seems to have a problem with contractors and business people and appears to want the big bad business entities to pay more for simply being in business to make money. I think for the most part, if anyone takes the time to look, the majority of business in Templeton is on the small business scale and if you are a student of history, not to far back, there was talk of a big box retailer coming to Templeton, but then came the facts, such as the amount it would cost to get all the permits and such just to get started. If my memory has not faded too much, it was in the 10 thousand dollar range, while surrounding towns had the amount in the 25 to 85 dollar range. Did any big box retailer come to Templeton?
So, on one day, Templeton has very high water and electric rates and on the next, Templeton has low electric rates because of a Town owned electric department. I am no economic professor, but it seems to me that you do not build a business base, especially small business, by taxing them more. They do not want their taxes higher any more than the residents, which is why most overrides fail at the ballot box.
On another front, I spoke to my mother who is 82 and pays property taxes in Templeton. I asked her about the new school and she asked me if a new school is needed. I told her what I thought, which was that the new school is probably wanted more by the teachers and administration, shown by the questions from a principle that the teachers wanted to know about what areas would have A/C and where bathrooms would be located. Her response was the fith graders needed to be out of NRHS and if the schools had been better taken care of, they might not need to be replaced. She asked how much it will cost and I told her and I told her what I thought the total tax increase would be to pay for it, my thought is about $3.74 per thousand. She thought for a bit and told me to vote for it, so I will be voting yes for the new school. My mom is on SS, less than a thousand per month.
Jeff Bennett
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