Money articles;
There is usually an article at Town Meeting that generally says "to allow the Town Treasurer to borrow money, with approval from selectmen, from time to time in anticipation of the revenue from the next financial year beginning July 1 in accordance with MGL c. 44, section 4 and to issue note or notes as may be given for a period of less than one year in accordance with general laws chapter 44, section 17 or to take any action thereto.
You, Town meeting vote, give selectmen permission to borrow short term, (for a year or less) for any reason and no concern for those borrowing costs. If the Town had an adequate rainy day fun, would there be a need for short term borrowing.
The town does not have a real rainy day fund because there is currently no selectmen who will insist on this, just look at the record of spending for the past few years. Can you say over 300 thousand gone in 30 minutes or less? And now they want to get paid again. Probably watch for some back peddling on that and other things because there is one thing that I think scares them and that is a selectmen who has and will speak on those very things.
So there is not only a problem with the wording for the money, there also seems to be a problem with the way it was handled as it was not done as a debt exclusion long term so that has to be fixed. The thing that should really have people mad is not that there are or may be problems, but rather that no selectmen seems to be willing to speak on it, rather they seem to wish to portray a tight ship where everything is fine and working well and there is a million dollars in free cash out there waiting on you.
More transfers time and time again, just like before which in my opinion, shows there was and still is not enough money to pay for things the selectmen want or dept. heads want. Perhaps it is time to say so and address it in what ever way it takes such as sharing whatever services possible to save taxpayer dollars, as one former selectmen brought to the table on more than one occasion but the rest of the selectmen and many dept. heads did not like or support and you have to ask yourself why is that? Wait, they want to make government bigger and more expensive because they have no problem spending your money.
And the hell with the one pain in their butt there is, the Advisory Board.
Jeff Bennett
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The article that has the problem;
ARTICLE 6
To see if the Town will vote to appropriate, borrow or transfer from available funds, an amount of money to be expended under the direction of Templeton Elementary School Building Committee for the Schematic Design portion of the Feasibility Study for the Templeton Elementary School, located off Route 202, King Philips Trail in Templeton, MA, known as Crow's Hill, identified as Town Assessor identification no. 2-7-40 and described in the deed recorded at the Worcester County Registry of Deeds in Book 1600, Page 313, for which feasibility study the Town may be eligible for a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The MSBA’s grant program is a nonentitlement, discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and any costs the Town incurs in connection with the feasibility study in excess of any grant approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the Town. Submitted by the Selectboard at the request of the School Committee A motion was duly made and seconded to move the question. Passed/March 29th @ 12:51
On a motion duly made and seconded; the town voted that five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) be hereby appropriated for the purpose of paying costs of the Feasibility Study/Schematic Design work ahead for the Templeton Center Elementary School, located at 17 South Road, in Templeton MA, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto, and for which the Town may be eligible for a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), said amount to be expended under the direction of the Templeton Elementary School Building Committee. To meet this appropriation the Narragansett Regional School District, with the approval of the Templeton Board of Selectmen, is authorized to borrow said amount under and pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 44, or pursuant to any other enabling authority. The Town acknowledges that the MSBA’s grant program is a non-entitlement, discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and any costs the Town incurs in excess of any grant approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the Town, and further provided that the appropriation hereunder shall be subject to and contingent upon an affirmative vote of the Town to exempt the amounts required for the payment of interest and principal on said borrowing from the limitations on taxes imposed by M.G.L. 59, Section 21C (Proposition 2 ½), and that the amount borrowing authorized pursuant to this vote shall be reduced by any grant amount set forth in the Feasibility Study Agreement that may be executed between the Town and the MSBA.
Passed/March 29th @ 12:52
This involves Town money so only the Town can borrow funds. If you take the time to look over past minutes of selectmen meetings, you will see that, as a selectmen, I constantly pushed for selectmen to take charge of this project. Only one name belongs on all the papers, contracts and agreements for this, and that is the Town of Templeton.
Just like reported in annual Town report of 2003, page 28, light commissioners accepted low bid of 1.5 million for construction of 12,000 square foot building. The commissioners took $400,000.00 from MMWEC working capital fund to pay for the increase above the 1.5 million approved at Town Meeting. So the commissioners at that time, Dana Blais, Gregg Edwards and Sean Hamilton said it would need 1.5 million for a new building but they then went to bid and were off by $400,000.00 and they had a place to raid for the extra money. Where will the money com from if these fellas are off again? See who the current commissioners are today. If you look at the warrant article for that 1.5 million, you will that it was Templeton taxpayers on the hook if anything went wrong and it is still that way today, be it a water tank or a school.
Jeff Bennett
ARTICLE 6
To see if the Town will vote to appropriate, borrow or transfer from available funds, an amount of money to be expended under the direction of Templeton Elementary School Building Committee for the Schematic Design portion of the Feasibility Study for the Templeton Elementary School, located off Route 202, King Philips Trail in Templeton, MA, known as Crow's Hill, identified as Town Assessor identification no. 2-7-40 and described in the deed recorded at the Worcester County Registry of Deeds in Book 1600, Page 313, for which feasibility study the Town may be eligible for a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The MSBA’s grant program is a nonentitlement, discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and any costs the Town incurs in connection with the feasibility study in excess of any grant approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the Town. Submitted by the Selectboard at the request of the School Committee A motion was duly made and seconded to move the question. Passed/March 29th @ 12:51
On a motion duly made and seconded; the town voted that five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) be hereby appropriated for the purpose of paying costs of the Feasibility Study/Schematic Design work ahead for the Templeton Center Elementary School, located at 17 South Road, in Templeton MA, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto, and for which the Town may be eligible for a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), said amount to be expended under the direction of the Templeton Elementary School Building Committee. To meet this appropriation the Narragansett Regional School District, with the approval of the Templeton Board of Selectmen, is authorized to borrow said amount under and pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 44, or pursuant to any other enabling authority. The Town acknowledges that the MSBA’s grant program is a non-entitlement, discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and any costs the Town incurs in excess of any grant approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the Town, and further provided that the appropriation hereunder shall be subject to and contingent upon an affirmative vote of the Town to exempt the amounts required for the payment of interest and principal on said borrowing from the limitations on taxes imposed by M.G.L. 59, Section 21C (Proposition 2 ½), and that the amount borrowing authorized pursuant to this vote shall be reduced by any grant amount set forth in the Feasibility Study Agreement that may be executed between the Town and the MSBA.
Passed/March 29th @ 12:52
This involves Town money so only the Town can borrow funds. If you take the time to look over past minutes of selectmen meetings, you will see that, as a selectmen, I constantly pushed for selectmen to take charge of this project. Only one name belongs on all the papers, contracts and agreements for this, and that is the Town of Templeton.
Just like reported in annual Town report of 2003, page 28, light commissioners accepted low bid of 1.5 million for construction of 12,000 square foot building. The commissioners took $400,000.00 from MMWEC working capital fund to pay for the increase above the 1.5 million approved at Town Meeting. So the commissioners at that time, Dana Blais, Gregg Edwards and Sean Hamilton said it would need 1.5 million for a new building but they then went to bid and were off by $400,000.00 and they had a place to raid for the extra money. Where will the money com from if these fellas are off again? See who the current commissioners are today. If you look at the warrant article for that 1.5 million, you will that it was Templeton taxpayers on the hook if anything went wrong and it is still that way today, be it a water tank or a school.
Jeff Bennett
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