Saturday, April 15, 2017

Town of Templeton General by-laws

Article VI - Contracts by Town officers

section 1.   Unless otherwise provided by the general laws or a vote of town meeting, the board of selectmen is authorized to enter into any contract for the exercise of the Town's corporate powers on such terms and conditions as are deemed appropriate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no board, committee, commission or town officer shall contract for any purpose, on any terms or under any conditions inconsistent with any applicable provision of any general law or special law. (G.L. c. 40, section 4, Town meeting designation of contracting authority).

Town Meeting vote in 2013 ATM:

On a motion duly made and seconded the town voted that Article III of the Revised General By-laws be amended, by adding the following new section 4, as follows: Section 4: Town Administrator- “The Board of Selectmen is authorized and empowered to appoint a town administrator who may be appointed for a term of one or three years, and to remove the town administrator at their discretion. The town administrator appointed under the provisions of this section shall be sworn to the faithful performance of the duties of the office. During the time that the town administrator holds office the town administrator shall hold no elective town office, but may be appointed by the Board of Selectmen or, with their approval, by any other town officer, board, committee or commission, to any other town office or position consistent with the town administrator’s office. The Town Administrator shall receive such aggregate compensation, not exceeding the amount appropriated therefore, as the Board of Selectmen may determine. The Town Administrator shall act by and for the Board of Selectmen in any matter which the Board may assign to the town administrator relating to the administration of the affairs of the town or of any town office or department under their supervision and control, or, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, may perform such other duties as may be requested by any other town officer, board, committee or commission.” And, further, to reflect the above-mentioned amendment to Article III of the Templeton Revised General By-Laws, the following Templeton Revised General ByLaw sections will also be amended by replacing the title of “Town Coordinator” with the title of “Town Administrator” in Article XLII-Capital Planning By-Law- Section 1: And in: Article XLVII-Personnel By-Law –Section 3(b) and Section 3 (c) Passed/May 16th @ 8:37

Town Meeting vote in 2014 ATM:
On a substitute motion duly made and seconded the Town voted that Article III “Town Officers“ of the Town By-laws be herby amended:

4. “It shall be duty of the Town Administrator in conjunction with the BOS to consider expenditures and develop a budget for the ensuing fiscal year of the several boards, officers and committees of the town, as prepared by them in such form and detail as prescribed by the Town Administrator.”

Passed Unanimously/May 19th @ 8:38pm

Seems like one year, town meeting gave authority to selectmen to have someone else authority for contracts then changed that in 2014, interesting situation. Check the existing Templeton General by-laws not online and then contact the Town clerk.

Seems like there were a few executive session meetings around the time the contract between the Town of Templeton and Local 39, so unless the selectmen held some bogus meetings, it would seem they, the selectmen met to discuss and vote to accept said contract. The selectmen may have instructed the town administrator, Robert Markel to sign on their behalf, or more correctly, on the Town's behalf, the selectmen are ultimately responsible for the contract and approving the budget or spending plan that has to fund it, such as freebies for little davey.

Article VII - Legal affairs

section 1. The selectmen shall be agents of the town to institute, prosecute and defend any and all claims, actions and proceedings to which the town is a party or in which the interests of the town are or may be involved.

If anyone takes the time to check, you will find first, that it is not debt of the Templeton municipal light & water department, it is debt of the Town of Templeton. The votes are in the reports of Town meeting. There is also a letter from the DOR to the light & Water commissioners and selectmen, dated January 9, 2014 that said among other things, with regards to borrowing, Templeton light is NOT a legal separate entity and with regards to borrowing, must go before the legislative body. That is why the people had to vote on the borrowing for a new water tank, so when anyone voted to borrow for a new water tank, they essentially voted to add more debt to the town. If anyone wishes to place blame on the light & water department for increased debt, they would be wrong, it was town meeting, the same way the 47 million dollar appropriation for a new school was voted on. Again it was the selectmen who placed that question before town meeting, so it would have been the selectmen's responsibility to explain both to town meeting, in an honest way, and what might be the consequences of each vote. I think the selectmen failed, especially Johnny Columbus.

So stop blaming the light commissioners for the added debt, they just asked for it, town meeting said do it and the selectmen supported it!


posted by Jeff Bennett


Never said it is against the law to use chapter 90 grant funds to buy equipment. I said the money should be used by the town to repair it's roads, as in Templeton town infrastructure, as in Town assets.

I said that chapter 90 money was used to buy an excavator that was and is not needed. I do not know how towns such as Ashburnham, Winchendon, Athol, Westminster and on and on, get their roads repaired and repaved without an excavator.

No tax override until Templeton's finances are in order for three years in a row and that includes no 30 plus financial transfers to "fix" stuff, because if you have to move money around to cover other so called budget items, then the original plan is bad to begin with, as Templeton has recently seen with regards to the fiscal year 2018 spending plan.




The Chapter 90 Program was enacted on March 23, 1973, by vote of the Public Works Commission to entitle Municipalities to reimbursement of documented expenditures under the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 90, Section 34, Clause 2(a) on approved Projects. The Funds provided from Transportation Bond Issues authorizes such Capital Improvement Projects for Highway Construction, Preservation and Improvement Projects that create or extend the life of Capital Facilities as follows:

Chapter 90 is a 100% Reimbursable Program

Grants are made in accordance with Section 34 Chapter 90 MGL. These funds shall be used in compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations, including but not limited to, Chapter 30, Section 39M; Chapter 149, Section 44J; Chapter 149, Section 26-27F; as applicable for maintaining, repairing, improving and constructing town and county ways and bridges which qualify under the State Aid Highway Guidelines adopted by the Public Works Commission.

Project Guidelines Included in the Chapter 90 Law

Funds must be allocated to roadway projects, such as resurfacing and related work (the minimum for resurfacing shall be 3/4" course with a continuous length of 500') and other work incidental to the above such as preliminary engineering including State Aid/Consultant Design Agreements, right-of-way acquisition, shoulders, side road approaches, landscaping and tree planting, roadside drainage, structures (including bridges), sidewalks, traffic control and service facilities, street lighting (excluding operating costs), and for such other purposes as the Department may specifically authorize. The municipality shall provide documentation of compliance with Chapter 149, Sections 44J and 26-27F; as applicable.

Additional Project Guidelines for Chapter 90 Work Voted and Approved by the Board of Commissioners on September 28, 1994


Highway Construction, Preservation and Improvement Projects that Create or Extend the Life of Capital Facilities

Resurfacing, Graveling, Microsurfacing, Pug Mill Mix (cold mix), Chip Stone Seal, Oil and Stone, Infrared Repairs (in connection with surface treatments), Recycled Aggregate Pavement, Rip Rap, Fabric, Crack Sealing, Drainage, Intersections, Shoulders, Guardrails, Sidewalks, Footbridges, Berms and Curbs, Traffic Controls and Related Facilities, Right of Way Acquisition, Street Lighting (excluding operating costs and decorative enhancements), Construction, Direction and Warning Signs (must comply with MUTCD), Bridges, and Tree Planting/Landscaping in association with a project.

Projects and Uses

Bikeways, Salt Sheds, Garages (construction and additions) for storage of road building equipment. Bikeways and Public use of off-street parking facilities related to mass transportation, a facility with bus or rail services. Engineering services and expenses related to highway and mass transportation purposes. Pavement management systems, development and maintenance.

Road Building Machinery, Equipment and Tools

Care, repair and storage must be project related and submitted on the same project request form. Purchase, replacement and long-term lease of road building machinery, equipment and tools that must remain the property of the municipality. Long-term lease will be reimbursed once annually for the construction season.

Road Building Equipment

Air Compressor, Asphalt Hot Box, Back Hoe, Berm Machine, Catch Basin Cleaner, Chipper, Wood & Brush, Chain Saw, Clam or Dragline, Compactor, Concrete, Floor Trowel, Concrete Mixer, Crack Sealer, Crane, Excavator, Generator, Grader, Gradall, Infrared Machine, Jackhammer, Lab Testing Equipment, Loader, Pavement Breaker, Paver, Pump, Roller, Spreader for Chip Seal Project, Striper, Survey Equipment, Sweeper, Tools, Tractor, Trailer, Trencher, Truck, Minimum 27,000 Pounds, Welder

So, again, if there is or was a problem with salt storage, stop buying un-needed equipment such as excavators, which sit a good portion of the year and build a proper salt storage facility and preserve an expensive item, road salt.

posted by Jeff Bennett