Thursday, July 26, 2018

TO:        Board of Selectmen
FROM: Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator
RE:       Administrator’s Weekly Report
DATE: July 26, 2018
CC: All Departments


Town Accountant: Lynn continues to work through the audit of the Sick, Personal and Vacation. She will be out of the office next week, so we plan to wrap that up by the end of the following week. I am still working on finalizing the year end financials. The hope was to present the final quarter & yearend reports at the selectman’s meeting on August 8, but that needs to be pushed off to August 22nd. Luanne will be out of the office that week and I have some appointments that day that can’t be changed and I won’t be back to town in time for the meeting. The auditors are scheduled to come the week of August 27th to do the field work

Public Works
Highway Department: The Interim DPW Director had a long-planned family vacation next week so will begin on 08/07. We expect to kick-off the snow and ice study that week as well. I met with the Pavement Managements System study engineer. He has competed his ride-over on all of the streets. He expects to circulate a mapping of the Town next week (private vs accepted vs state, etc) for vetting. Our hope is to have a Draft for review and comment by 09/01 and then be before you on 09/26

We now have to have a study to get the roads plowed, cannot wait.

The expenditure report for June will not be ready until the third week of August. Excellent!











Could have been Templeton:

Town of Warren to join Rutland dispatch center, with Hubbardston to save about $18,000.00 per year with Warren coming on board. Currently Hubbardston spends about $134,241.00 on dispatch, which will go down to about $116,502.00 per year. Lets head to the bank skipper, we have taxpayer cash saved to deposit. Instead, Templeton builds a jail cell and now locks up people in Athol State police barracks.

Maybe Templeton will not have to lock any one up, I mean if the roads are not plowed, the police will not be able to get there anyways.
Capital Plan - what was presented to Town Meeting; what was presented to board of selectmen and what did they vote to present to the Town Meeting?

Where does that appropriated but not used money go to / for?

Does the light department get the unspent money back?

Does this give anyone confidence in any plan going forward?

I move to appropriate the sum of Fifty Eight Thousand Five Hundred Dollars and No Cents ($58,500.00) toward a program of capital purchases and improvements, as generally illustrated below:
Infield Groomer                                        $10,000
Cemetery Garage Roof - 39 Bridge St.    $10,000
T.C. Fire Training Room AC                     $ 3,500
Fire Chief's Vehicle F150 Interceptor     $35,000



and to meet said appropriation by a transfer of Forty Five Thousand Dollars and No Cents ($45,000.00) from certified free cash and a transfer of Thirteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars and No Cents ($13,500.00) from overlay surplus



Why ask for $10,000.00 if you do not need it?


Capital Planning By-Law:

Section 2: Committee duties: To facilitate the reasonable acquisition and replacement of capital items (defined as assets and projects with a useful life of five or more years and a cost of more 41 than $10,000.00 but including items with an individual cost of less than $10,000.00 when purchased in bulk at a cost of more than $10,000.00), the Committee shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

• Annually collect all proposed capital improvements for the coming six years from all departments, on forms designed for that purpose.

• Consider all requests and the relative need and impact of
these requests on the Town’s financial position.

• Establish and annually update a five-year Capital Improvement Plan, based on this information.
• Annually, prepare a report prioritizing capital needs for the coming fiscal year, and recommend a Capital Improvement Budget for that fiscal year.
• Submit this annual report and their recommendations for purchases or improvements, to the Board of Selectmen for its consideration and approval as part of the annual budget planning process by January 1 of each year. A copy of said report shall also be filed with the Town Clerk and Advisory Committee.


If Town Meeting is given bad information, why should they appropriate anything that is "extra"? Assessors Vision software, infield groomer and I wonder how many other items are going to surface over the year? Remember the items to be paid for by meals tax are already $4,000.00 over what was presented to town meeting (it is on video)

Just another reason why no other town wishes to do business with Templeton.

On top of this, look at the financial policy of the Town (selectmen) and you will see a goal of certain amount of dollars to be not spent in order to generate a certain amount of "certified free cash" and perhaps to ensure there is enough to back fill fiscal year 2019 and do some other things, the selectmen will do anything to make that happen, including lies or misrepresentation to Town Meeting, the same people who elect them to look out for them.

Can the board of selectmen be trusted?