Selectmen minutes not on the website, that would be a question for them. Perhaps they are too busy trying to spend money they do not have on someone to do their job.
As for the grant, it is similar to the one used by the city of Gardner back in 2013 to study the idea of Templeton, Phillipston and Gardner moving together to create a regional emergency communications center, which showed Templeton could save about $90,000.00 per year by doing so. Selectmen Brooks used it as an election thing with signs saying "save dispatch" rather than lets save Templeton financially. Very short sighted in my opinion.
posted by Jeff Bennett
According to the TA and Caplis (what they told Phillipston) Winchendon was not interested in regionalization.
ReplyDeleteI remember those signs. Templeton does not exist in order to "save dispatch", it is here to serve the taxpayers. The folks who pay for their homes, pay their taxes and do not get foreclosed. A resident who gets foreclosed is a tragedy. Some folks don't appear to realize this, in spite of personal experience. They couldn't pay for their home, their taxes. They lost their house. Now they advocate for more than they ever paid. And they failed. Anyone who would follow them is nutz.
ReplyDeleteI had a interesting conversation last week with a resident of Victoria Lane. We actually talked for about two hours. What I have said on this blog about some of the people new to this town, not understanding how town government works is true. I explained why some of us do not think building a new school now, until our financial problems are resolved, and the reasons why. I told him there was no excuse for Baldwinville Elementary being a pit, that part of the plan to a new school was to make these buildings as bad as they could look, to force things along. I asked him how he liked his tax bill. He was not very happy ! I told him things were going to get a lot worse. He did not understand where his tax money goes. I told him the truth, the schools get a big piece of it. I told him that for years the "school people" would vote what they wanted, only to walk out of the door, leaving the rest of us to figure out how to make things work. He told me that there are four empty houses on Victoria Lane. I told him that I am afraid there will be a lot more. I do believe we will have a new school, way bigger than we need, with not enough kids to fill it, and not enough people to pay for it. Bev.
DeleteWe ended our conversation with a hand shake. I hope he has a better understanding of where his money goes. I wish more people who depend on just what some people tell them, would come to our Advisory Board meeting tonight. Ask anything you want. That is how you learn.
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