Massachusetts General Law, chapter 121C
section3:

Economic development and industrial corporation; authority to organize; consolidations; members of board of directors; surety bonds; compensation and reimbursements

First, below is a partial reading of how the law use to read: it was changed and I think this was caught after there was going to be a STM warrant article for the Town EDC.

Question is, if you want transparency and good governance, why not run it by the Town's legislative body, Town Meeting, and explain it, rather than having meetings at 9:00 A.M

or with the approval of the mayor in any other city, or a town at an annual town meeting or a special town meeting called for the purpose, shall by vote declare a need for such a corporation because unemployment or the threat thereof exists in the city or town or that security against future unemployment and lack of business opportunity is required and that attracting new industry into the municipality and substantially expanding existing industry through an economic development project or projects financed under this chapter and implemented by such a corporation would alleviate the unemployment and lack of business opportunity problems.

[ First paragraph as amended by 2016, 218, Sec. 219 effective November 7, 2016. For text effective until November 7, 2016, see above.]

  There is hereby authorized in each municipality in the commonwealth the organization of an economic development and industrial corporation, a public body politic and corporate, hereinafter referred to as the corporation. No such corporation, however, shall be organized, transact any business, employ any personnel or exercise any powers until the city council with the approval of the city manager, in a city having a Plan D or Plan E form of charter, or with the approval of the mayor in any other city, or by the board of selectmen in a town, shall by vote declare a need for such a corporation because unemployment or the threat thereof exists in the city or town or that security against future unemployment and lack of business opportunity is required and that attracting new industry into the municipality and substantially expanding existing industry through an economic development project or projects financed under this chapter and implemented by such a corporation would alleviate the unemployment and lack of business opportunity problems.

  In the event that two or more municipalities wish to consolidate their economic development and industrial corporations, each such municipality desirous of such a consolidation shall so vote as a city or town in the manner hereinbefore described. Such a vote may be made at the same time as the vote to organize the corporation or may be made at a time subsequent thereto.

  There shall be seven members of the board of directors of the corporation who shall be appointed by the municipality. At least one member shall be experienced in industrial development, one in financial matters, one in real estate matters, one in municipal government, at least one member representative of low income people who shall be chosen from a list of three submitted by the regional or local community action agency or, where there is no such agency, from a list of three submitted by the department of housing and community development. The appointing municipality shall designate one of the seven members as chairman and another as vice-chairman. Each of the seven members shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his official duties as a director of the corporation. A majority of the seven directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, but the action of a majority of the entire board shall be necessary for any transaction. For the purposes of section eleven A of chapter thirty A of the General Laws, the corporation shall be deemed to be an authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose in the commonwealth. Of the members of the corporation first appointed, two shall be appointed to serve for one year from the first day of July in the current year, two for two years from said date, and three for three years from said date. Upon the expiration of the term of office of any such member, or of any subsequent member, his successor shall be appointed in like manner for a term of three years. In the event of a vacancy in the office of a member, his successor shall be appointed in like manner to serve for the unexpired term. Unless reappointed, no member of the corporation shall hold office after the expiration of his term; and the appointment of a successor to any person whose term has expired shall be for the remainder of the term which would have begun at such expiration if the successor had then been appointed.

  Any member may be removed by the municipality for malfeasance, misfeasance, or wilful neglect of duty, but only after reasonable notice and a public hearing, unless the same are in writing expressly waived, and after approval by MOBD. For purposes of chapter two hundred sixty-eight A of the General Laws, the members of the corporation shall be deemed to be special municipal employees.

  Before the issuance of any bonds under the provisions of this act, each member of the corporation shall execute a surety bond with a surety company authorized to transact business in this commonwealth as surety, in the penal sum of fifty thousand dollars conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of his office, each such surety bond to be approved by the legal counsel of the municipality and filed in the office of the state secretary. The members of the corporation shall receive no compensation for the performance of their duties hereunder, but each member shall be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in the performance of his duties. Every such reimbursement shall be open to public inspection from and after the requisition therefor.

Watching the selectmen meeting of January 8, 2018, Brooks and Richards were again absent.

There was a vote to give Reno's pizza a license to sell booze. Morrison - yes, Fortes - yes, Caplis  - abstain. (Caplis owns a home next to the pizza shop) One odd question came from selectmen Fortes to the owner of Renos pizza, "naturalization/citizenship papers in order?" Strange question from a selectmen to a man who already has a business in town, has a business license and pays taxes, sales tax, state tax, income taxes etc. I wonder if the board of health asked the same question? Perhaps master Fortes should contact the feds! What a joke.

One item of interest was discussion on Templeton ambulance receipts; seems like there may be a problem with revenue projections. Fiscal year 2017 showed ambulance generating $282,000.00 according the the fire chief. Seems there were over 100 non transport calls for the ambulance, which means there was no billing, as in no collection of dollars, only expense for sending the ambulance out.

So far, for fiscal 2018, 315 ambulance calls with 253 transports. As of December 31, 2017, there has been $155,765.00 collected. It is guesstimated that if the other six months follow the first six months, there will be $311,531.00 in collections. Again, that is only a guess as there could be fewer calls in the next six months. Of course, there could be more.

Some ambulance issues; more calls for "I have fallen and I can't get up" (my words) but these apparently are calls for assistance where there is only expense for the ambulance going out, as there is no transport and no dollars collected. Also, there are more elderly calls which involve medicare and medicaid billing. No matter what Templeton has for ambulance billing rates, medicare/medicaid only pays so much and that is that. As of April of 2018, Templeton must go to 24 hours for ALS service. The three year income projections for ambulance service was based on 700 calls per year. Templeton is averaging 500 calls per year, oops! Selectmen Caplis stated there are some tough calls coming. Perhaps selectmen should have used a lower (conservative) number for those estimates, but I guess they needed to paint a real rosy picture. Do not worry, the meals tax will fix it! Maybe Tempeton can start charging people when they get locked up in the new cell at the police station, or we can charge for tours of the new school.

TO:               Board of Selectmen
FROM:        Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator
RE:              Administrator's Weekly Report
DATE:         January 11, 2018
CC:              All Departments


A few highlights of this weeks report;

All material for the Annual Town report need to be submitted by January 22, 2018.
 Town Offices closed on Monday, January 15, 2018 for Martin King day observance.

Four (4) vendors (business') met for the local meals tax proposal. They expressed concern that the stated purpose of this proposed tax increase (rolling stock capital program) would change once it gets moving.

Four proposals for legal services were received and reference checks are in progress.

Town retirement assessment increased by $70,000.00. (10.5% increase)

Think about that when you realize Templeton is headed towards a full time fire department!

Highway Department: Between strong winds and extreme cold made clean up very difficult. The equipment that runs on diesel fuel struggled because the cold was causing it (diesel fuel) to gel and shut down.  We had an additive put in on the next diesel fuel delivery on Tuesday.

Once again, this shows reactive rather than a proactive approach. I wonder what happened to the "professionals" over there? Diesel fuel gelling is always a concern and is nothing new, which is why fuel additive is sold by the quart,  gallon, case and even 55 gallon drum. If you run diesel fuel, you have this on hand and you add it every time you fill up. It is called preventative maintenance. There are some diesel fuels better than others but it comes down to knowing the equipment and taking the precautions. Once the cold set in, it was all but impossible to find the additive on store shelves, which is why there are 14 cases sitting in a garage - with six diesel engine trucks to keep running, being proactive is a requirement, not an after thought. Public safety is involved here!

The sidewalk plow does not go out during the storm. When the plow does go out, it first clears snow from sidewalks for the school children that walk to school and local business. There is only one sidewalk plow, an additional plow and driver would enable us to get the job done faster.

Highway department looking to expand and hire more personnel? Got to grow the government workforce and keep the pressure on the taxpayers.

The town administrator's report can be found on the town website, under heading; departments, town administrator report - 2018. It is suppose to be given at the selectmen meeting, according to their own policy, but hey, what are policies for? Certainly not to follow. See you at the all boards meeting.

Sewer Rate Relief Fund - FY2018

The Division of Local Services has released Bulletin 2018-1, Sewer Rate Relief Fund - FY2018. It can be found by clicking here.

The Sewer Rate Relief Fund operates under the provisions of Chapter 29 Section 2Z of the General Laws. The Fund was created in 1993 to mitigate escalating costs of sewer service in the Commonwealth. Awards were based on "eligible debt service" and were calculated at up to 20% of debt service. For FY2018, $1.1 million has been appropriated. Applications must be returned by Friday, January 26, 2018 to the address noted in the Bulletin