Tuesday, January 29, 2019


From: Terenzini, Carter <cterenzini@TempletonMA.gov>
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2019 5:54 PM
To: Caplis, John; Morrison, Doug; Diane Haleybrooks; Richard, Julie
Cc: Jeff Bennett (j_bennett506@hotmail.com)
Subject: Credit Rating Call
 
Good Day:

Kelli, Cheryl, Adam, Tony R., Mary C. of Hilltop Securities and I had our rating call with Moody’s mid-day and I think it went very well.  They seemed impressed with the turnaround of the Town’s finances and the adoption of formal financial management policies which put in place – together with a coherent and knowledgeable staff- a solid infrastructure which should keep the Town on a solid footing going forward. 

I don’t want to get too hopeful but… I am thinking we may exceed my original prediction of a Baa rating.  Please light a candle and keep your fingers crossed. ðŸ˜Š

We expect to receive a press release from them early next week that we will have an opportunity to review for errors of fact and then – possibly by mid week – our rating will go public.  The formal packet of how they got to the rating will probably lag by a few weeks. 

We will keep you and the AC posted.

Excellent, the Town will now have a decent bond rating, just in time for new school borrowing to hit tax rte at same time the probable tax override to fund school operating budget comes on. Now if the interest rates hold, Templeton residents will have that elusive tax rate of $20.00 per thousand that John Caplis likes to talk about. Perhaps the tax rate will even be larger?

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Watching a selectmen meeting of November 28, 2016, yes, 2016, in which then chaiman of the Board, John Caplis stated the advisory committee put out some inaccurate and unauthorized information to town meeting (special Town Meeting of October 20, 2016). John Caplis further stated that all information for Town Meeting has to be approved by Town Moderator per Town by-laws. So I went and checked; no surprise, no such by-law nor section of any town by-law states that.

Article II - Town Meeting of Templeton by-laws states:
Section 17. The most current issue of TOWN MEETING TIME is to be considered the general guideline for all procedures of town meetings, except those procedures already provided for by the by-laws. Amended 10-15-82

No where in Town Meeting times could I find any such wording that gives Town Moderator control over what materials people may bring into town meeting, other than tobacco and concealed alcohol.

At a selectmen workshop, former BOS member John Columbus made a similar statement concerning Advisory Committee putting out unauthorized information. John Columbus should have woke up enough to read town by-laws and state law: Advisory Committee is directed to give a report to Town Meeting regarding any recommendations they may have on articles of the warrant for town meeting.

This means rather than putting out unauthorized information or not getting permission, the Advisory Committee was actually doing it's job, per state law and Town by-laws, which come from a vote of Town Meeting. Advisory Committee did what is was directed to do!

This was the beginning of the "assault" on the Advisory Committee by the Board of Selectmen, in my opinion. That assault has not ended yet, again, in my opinion. But you can watch the movie and decide.

Saturday, January 26, 2019

District: Narragansett Regional School District School
Names: Narragansett Middle School
Phillipston Memorial School

Recommended Category: Project Funding Agreement Green Repair Program
Date: March 30, 2011
Recommendation That the Executive Director be authorized to enter into a Project Funding Agreement with the Narragansett Regional School District to replace the boilers at the Phillipston Memorial School and to replace the roof at Narragansett Middle School.

Discussion The OPM and Designer conducted a feasibility analysis and schematic design of the facility and developed a proposed scope of work, schedule and estimated budget. The District’s Designer, DiMarinisi & Wolfe Architects, recommends removing the existing roof at the Narragansett Middle School and replacing it with an EPDM roof system and replacing the boiler at the Phillipston Memorial School. The District has confirmed that the roof and boilers will be in compliance with the Green Repair Program sustainability requirements. MSBA staff have reviewed the schematic drawings and specifications provided by the District and have discussed scope and budget with the District and its consultants. The District has provided a total project budget of $1,294,266 with a total construction cost of $1,087,451. Construction costs include a construction cost of $1,006,020 for the Narragansett Middle School roof ($14.27/sf) and a construction cost of $81,431 for the Phillipston Memorial School boiler. The basis of the Total Facilities Grant would be $1,294,266.


School Name:                               Phillipston                        Narragansett                         DISTRICT TOTAL
                                                      Memorial School             Middle School Project
Scope:                                           Boiler system repair        Roof replacement
                                                                                                    (70,500 sf)
Total Project Budget:                     $143,235                        $1,151,031                               $1,294,266
Total Construction Budget:            $81,431                          $1,006,020                                $1,087,451
Basis of Total Facilities Grant:       $143,235                         $1,151,031                               $1,294,266
Reimbursement Rate:                    59.84%                              59.84%                                      59.84%
Maximum Total Facilities Grant:    $85,712                            $688,777                                   $774,489
School nameMSBAIDProject TypeProject PhaseTotal Project BudgetReimbursement RateEstimated Building Completion DateMSBA Amt Paid(to Date)Estimated MSBA Payment Amt Remaining
Narragansett Middle201107200305GGreen RepairFinal Audit Approved$1,144,51159.84 %$663,544 
Phillipston Memorial201107200003GGreen RepairFinal Audit Approved$161,23259.84 %$78,095 
Templeton Center School200807200020Core ProgramConstruction$45,058,03363.11 %$12,051,895$10,708,884
Templeton residents: Pay attention:

By SARAH ROBERTSON
Staff Writer
PHILLIPSTON — What started as a project to replace the old roof of the Phillipston Memorial Elementary School building turned into a laundry list of necessary upgrades to meet fire safety, handicap accessibility, and other essential building regulations.
Officials from the town and school district discussed renovation plans at a meeting of the Phillipston Memorial Elementary School Building Committee Tuesday night. According to Kevin Flynn, Phillipston Select Board’s chief administrative officer, the cost of the roof replacement triggered other mandatory upgrades to the school building.
“The way the codes are written, if you spend a certain percent of the value of the building you have to address other problems,” Flynn said. “It’s a lot of things here and there that need to be taken care of.”
Upgrades on the horizon include the expansion and reconfiguration of the whole school building, moving the cafeteria and kitchen out of the basement, installing a new pitched roof, and meeting fire safety and handicap accessibility regulations. A new pitched roof will fix persistent leaks, while other upgrades are long overdue as well.
Acting fire chief Donald Smith noted sections of the school building that are not in compliance with current fire safety regulations. He said sprinklers and clearly visible smoke detectors must be installed to bring the school to code. However, because the state School Building Authority will not fund fire suppression upgrades to a wood-framed building, the town will have to finance the upgrades themselves. 
The fact that Phillipston does not have town water complicates the installation of a sprinkler system, Smith said. To build a fire sprinkler system with adequate water pressure, the school would have to install cisterns to hold additional water reserves. 
Replacing Phillipston Memorial Elementary School’s heating system is another challenge that came up for the first time at Tuesday night’s meeting. According to the elementary school’s principal Chante Jillson, keeping the heat on in the school has been a challenge for years and requires frequent maintenance. 
“Every year there is a significant issue with one or two of the units,” Jillson said. 
The school runs seven different heating units on three different kinds of systems: forced hot air, steam and HVAC, each one relic of the year the wing of the school building was built. Most heating units are long overdue for upgrades, Jillson said, and right now, it’s the heat in the gymnasium that isn’t working properly.
Phillipston Memorial Elementary School was built in 1948, with additions added in 1974 and 1996. During the 1996 expansion, the school should have been required to upgrade the school to meet fire and ADA requirements, but for some reason those didn’t happen, Planning Board chair Bernie Malouin said. 
“At that time they probably should have done the sprinklers. Somehow that fell through the cracks,” Malouin said. “Our primary concern as a committee is the safety of the kids in this school.”
The existing handicap elevator, accessible through a classroom on one floor and the cafeteria kitchen in the basement, must open into a common space in order to meet Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements. All bathrooms and entrances into the building must be made handicap accessible, too, by installing ramps and widening some doorways. 
At a prior meeting on the school upgrades, an architect estimated the renovations would cost over $500 per square foot. The School Building Committee is considering asking for $2.5 million debt exclusion to cover the costs, according to Finance Committee co-chair Tom Specht, but will first order an engineering study to better assess the costs. The committee may request the money for an engineering study at the spring Town Meeting. 
In June, the Select Board signed the $8,250 contract with Nault Architect to conduct the feasibility study for elementary school. It was noted that four firms were interviewed, and Nault was recommended by the Renovation Committee.
According to Jillson, after moving the cafeteria and kitchen upstairs, the basement would ideally be used for storage only. One potential solution discussed involves building a kitchen off the gymnasium and use the gym for both lunches and athletics. However, this creates scheduling conflicts for educators who need to teach and serve lunch to different student groups simultaneously. 
According to Specht, money for the upgrades can come from either the school’s finances or the town’s building replacement fund. He said that fixing the school’s heating system was a top priority and could potentially come from emergency reserve funds. 
Recently, the town also bought a new generator for the school building for about $53,000, according to Flynn, which will allow Phillipston Memorial Elementary School to serve as an emergency shelter during a winter power outage. 
No one from the town has yet discussed the prospects of building a new school in Phillipston, Flynn said. Last year, a deal that would have sent Phillipston elementary school students to Templeton Center Elementary School while using the Phillipston building for a regional preschool and kindergarten a fell flat following public pushback.

Friday, January 25, 2019

School funding; Narragansett is a work in progress:

Early numbers for FY 2020 show 4 scenarios:

One with a 16.75% increase equal to      $2,408,785.00

One with a 10.16% increase equal to      $1,177,782.00

One with a 9.92% increase equal to        $1,133,312.00

One with a 8.26% increase equal to        $822,566.00

There is a meeting on February 11, 2019 to talk about things like this. There is scheduled to be members of Templeton board of selectmen, Advisory Committee, Phillipston selectmen and finance committee and maybe two town administrators. It will be interesting.

Monday, January 21, 2019


TO: Board of Selectmen
 FROM: Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator
RE: Administrator’s Weekly Report
DATE: January 17, 2019
CC: All Departments



5. e. As laid out in the attached memo from Adam, and after discussions with the TA in Phillipston, he and I would like to propose an application to the Community Compact Program to explore what elements of the Fire/EMS service -if any - might be shared between us. By viewing the service area as a larger entity, we may be able to provide a more robust and costefficient service to both communities. In addition, this study would look at the current practices of our two departments to identify opportunity for improvements and best practices we should adopt. We anticipate the grant request to be $27,500+/- with a consultant to be chosen jointly between the two towns. If you approve this application, we will forward your approval to the Phillipston BoS for their formal approval.

from a report by Fox 25 NewsFacebook
In the small Worcester County town of Phillipston, tensions between the town and the fire department have simmered below the surface for years.
But, a recent claim of sexual harassment against the captain ignited old animosities and factions and led nearly a third of the department’s force to resign in a matter of weeks. 
Since early December seven of the town’s fire department personnel, including six firefighters and EMTs, turned in resignation letters, citing concerns that range from lack of leadership to fearing for their safety.
A review of those letters reveals a work environment that some characterized as “unprofessional” and “hostile,” particularly toward the female members of the department. 
25 Investigates sat down for on-camera interviews with five of the individuals who resigned. A woman who asked not to be identified spoke to us by phone. All described a toxic situation inside the department and they point the finger at captain John Seamon Jr.,
Perhaps rather than looking to Phillipston, Templeton Selectmen should be looking within and consider if this could happen in Templeton; who and how would they handle it? 

Saturday, January 19, 2019

from the most recent copy of the Board of Selectmen Handbook, put together and published by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Selectmen should read this!

The town meeting can have a great deal of control over department heads. The town meeting can, for example, investigate town problems or administration through its finance committee, other standing committees or special ad hoc committees. On the basis of findings and recommendations by such committees, or on the petition of ten or more local voters, the town meeting may adopt resolutions and bylaws establishing new town policies or initiating new programs [G.L. c. 39, §10]. The town meeting can also, within certain limits, reorganize town agencies and control development in the town. The most important power of town meeting is the power of the purse. By appropriating or withholding funds, the town meeting can force, prevent or influence actions by town officials and departments.

Unhappy with Town Administrator - with hold the cash! Unhappy with a department, withhold the cash. Want to see the spending of your money in more detail, demand and vote for a line item budget for the next fiscal year. It is the power of the purse.

Remember, in Templeton, the Advisory Committee (Finance Committee) belongs to you, not the selectmen or the Town Administrator. It states that in the handbook of the Board of Selectmen!
As a follow up, I looked at the by-laws involved and the response of the Town Administrator concerning a possible conflict.

So, as a recap, Templeton Town General By-laws state:

Article II - Town Meeting, section 14: All committees shall report as directed by the Town. If no report is made within a year after its appointment, a committee shall be discharged unless, in the meantime, the town shall have granted an extension of time.

The above requires a report to Town Meeting.

Article VIII - Records and Reports, section 2: All officers, boards, standing committees, and special committees of the town having charge of the expenditure of town money shall annually report thereon in writing in such manner as to give the citizens a fair and full understanding of the objects and methods of such expenditures, referring, however, to the report of the Town Accountant for statements in detail of receipts and payments, and may make therein such recommendations as they deem proper. Such reports shall be submitted to the Selectmen for inclusion in the Annual Town Report on or before the thirty-first (31) day of January of each year.

The above references an accounting of business to be included in the Annual Report of the Town.


Article LVI Veterans Advisory Board

Section 4 Reports  The Committee shall annually file a report on its work, to include such recommendations as it deems worthy of consideration, with the Board of Selectmen in December of each year. Passed 5/19/18, Approve by A/G 8/3/18

The above references a report of a board to the Board of Selectmen.

So where does the response of the Town Administrator come in to play?
What conflict? There are three separate items and I inquired about one of them, a report to the Board of Selectmen. The report has not been made in the required time frame, will there be any accountability? What is the solution?

Good Day Jeff:

We haven’t received the report as of yet and Sheila is out today so we’ll get this to you over the next few days. 

Interestingly your request brings out some conflict/issue  within the by-laws that I’m asking Town Counsel to follow-up on in the codification process as you can see below.

Tom/Carol:

Article LVI, Section 4. Says that “The Committee shall annually file a report on its work, to include such recommendations as it deems worthy of consideration, with the Board of Selectmen in December of each year.”

Article VIII, Section 2. Says that “All officers, boards, standing committees, and special committees of the town having charge of the expenditure of town money shall annually report thereon in writing… and may make therein such recommendations as they deem proper.  Such reports shall be submitted to the Selectmen for inclusion in the Annual Town Report on or before the thirty-first (31) day of January of each year. 

Friday, January 18, 2019

I requested a copy of a report that is suppose to be generated as a result of direction from Town Meeting (see Templeton Veterans Advisory Board by-law on Town web site)

Below is my emailed request and response received, followed by my rebuttal.
You make the call as to what you feel is the right approach to the operation of your Town.

jeff bennett
Fri 1/18/2019, 3:14 AM
Carter Terenzini;
Tom Harrington;
Town Clerk
Templeton general Town by-laws, Article II - Town Meeting, 
Section 14. All committees shall report as directed by the Town. If no report is made within a year after its appointment, a committee shall be discharged unless, in the meantime, the town shall have granted an extension of time. 

So, there is a directive from the Town; ie, Town Meeting per by-law, for the Veterans Advisory Board to report. The Veterans Advisory Board by-law directs said group to report. Why is there no report? Is there even a quorum or a board in existence to report? I can find no postings of any meetings of this board since July 1, 2018. Rather than change a by-law every time they are not followed, how about we hold people accountable and we start following the by-laws; the guiding policies of the Town? 

respectfully submitted;
Jeffrey Bennett

From: Carter Terenzini <townadministrator@templeton1.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2019 8:37 AM
To: Tom Harrington; Town Clerk
Cc: Jeff Bennett
Subject: RE: report request
 
Good Day Jeff:

We haven’t received the report as of yet and Sheila is out today so we’ll get this to you over the next few days. 

Interestingly your request brings out some conflict/issue  within the by-laws that I’m asking Town Counsel to follow-up on in the codification process as you can see below.

Tom/Carol:

Article LVI, Section 4. Says that “The Committee shall annually file a report on its work, to include such recommendations as it deems worthy of consideration, with the Board of Selectmen in December of each year.”

Article VIII, Section 2. Says that “All officers, boards, standing committees, and special committees of the town having charge of the expenditure of town money shall annually report thereon in writing… and may make therein such recommendations as they deem proper.  Such reports shall be submitted to the Selectmen for inclusion in the Annual Town Report on or before the thirty-first (31) day of January of each year.  

I note that the latter refers to only Boards spending “…town money…” and nowhere in the by-laws (excepting the Veterans Advisory Board) does it appear to require reports from bodies which do not spend “… town money…”.  I think it might be best to eliminate the issue of only money and simply require reports form any standing or ad-hoc entity and then eliminate S. 4 of the Veterans By-Laws

Many Thanks

Carter Terenzini
Town Administrator
Town of Templeton
160 Patriots Road
East Templeton, MA 01438
1.978.894.2755

Thursday, January 17, 2019

What is in a name??

Today, on Templeton town web site, under meetings, there is a scheduled meeting of the Baldwinville Elementary School disposition advisory committee. Om mytowngovernment.org, there are meeting minutes (approved) that are titled;
Town of Templeton
 Baldwinville Elementary school re-use committee, and then right below that is;

Baldwinville Elementart school re-use advisory committee.

So, does anyone have a guess at what the official name of this committee created by the selectmen is suppose to be? I mean a selectmen serves on it, one would think it would be easy to pick a name and stick with it. How do they plan to address request for proposals? This committee, no this committee, well, we mean this one, is looking for . . . . .

I think netflix is showing an episode of key stone cops, episode is titled "you sit on a throne of unstable banana peels"
Baldwinville Elementary school re-use committee;

A committee created by the Board of Selectmen has met 9 times since June 7, 2018.
One member, from the board of selectmen, Cameron Fortes, resigned from the board as of December, 2018. He was absent from five meetings. Hopefully the new representative from the board of selectmen, Diane Brooks, shows up for more meetings. Why does someone volunteer for a position, then does not show up for any meetings?

The first meeting, June 7, 2018, according to minutes available, shows 6 people present with 2 absent. The minutes of July 11, 2018 show:
Review of minutes: There were no minutes generated for the first meeting as there was no quorum and the meeting disbanded with no votes taken.

Under minutes for the above committee show a chairman and clerk were voted on June 7, 2018. So there seems to be a mix up of sorts when it comes to minutes of this committee. A department head, a member of the board of selectmen, Planning Board chairman present, perhaps it was just oversight of some kind. That said, since the minutes state members were given a copy of the most recent open meeting guide, residents should expect things to be done correctly. Unlike the Veterans Advisory Board and the economic development corporation, at least this committee actually meets.

Note: Templeton general Town By-laws state, under article II, section 14;

All committees shall report as directed by the Town. If no report is made within a year after its appointment, a committee shall be discharged unless, in the meantime, the town shall have granted an extension of time.

Although the Templeton veterans advisory board is not labeled as a committee (perhaps that is spitting hairs) I find no record of any meetings this year, should the town actually follow it's by-laws and this entity be disbanded? Perhaps a question for ole town counsel?

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Selectmen, Town Administrator and Sewer Department:

from the 2009 financial review from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue:

Centralize the Collection of Taxes, Fees and Other Charges As a matter of sound financial management practice, those responsible for determining payments due the town should not also be charged with collecting those payments. Therefore, we recommend that officials separate responsibility for creating the commitment that authorizes the collection of taxes, fees or other charges due the municipality from the collection function. Presently, the light & water plant and sewer department create a commitment, and, at the same time, are responsible for receiving payments. This approach may require that personnel currently operating elsewhere be reallocated to the collector’s office in order to process the additional customer volume.

Note: No mention of billing, only collecting!


from 2010 Independent Audit report from Melanson Heath & Company:

Improve segregation of duties in Sewer department

The Sewer Dept. is now responsible for collecting customer receipts. Because of the small size of the dept., one clerk is responsible for performing all aspects of customer billing, collections, receipt postings, abatement/adjustment postings, and reconciliations to the Town's general ledger. This results in a lack of segregation of duties and increases the risk of errors or irregularities occurring and going undetected.

We recommend the Town segregate duties by transferring collection responsibilities to the Tax Collector's office. We also recommend the Sewer Dept.'s detail sewer receivables continue to be reconciled with the Town Accountant's general ledger, and that this reconciliation be documented on a form signed by both the Sewer clerk and Town accountant. This will result in an improved segregation of duties and improved documented oversight.

Note: No mention of billing.

Board of Selectmen meeting of April 2, 2018:

Selectmen Brooks asks if the sewer dept. quarterly bill collections were moved to the town collectors office, can the sewer department enterprise fund be billed for that work and could those dollars help the town's general fund budget. Could the current town hall staff handle the additional work?

Selectmen Caplis stated yes to charging sewer dept. enterprise fund for work, yes to those dollars helping town general fund and no to could the current staff handle the extra work.

Town Administrator Terenzini stated he disagreed with selectmen Caplis on staff levels.

Note: This was about moving collections to the collectors office. One other question was regarding to any possible savings to sewer users. Nothing about billing.


On first look, this seems to point out that selectmen do not have control of Sewer dept. and neither does the Town Administrator. If they did, this move would surely have already been completed. There is an elected entity of Sewer Commissioners. Since one of the impasses seem to be concerning pay raises for non-union sewer dept. employees, that do not come from taxation, but rather an enterprise fund, where all costs are paid for from fees, it seems like selectmen should instruct the Town Administrator and town accountant to process and allow these raises to be made and then some progress could be made on the collection front.

The only item involved is moving of collections of quarterly sewer billing to the Town Treasurer/Collector office. There appears no need for any employee reductions at the Sewer dept., nor any other control over sewer issues by the selectmen or town administrator. The retained earnings of the Sewer dept. and Sewer betterment are not funds to be raided by the selectmen to bolster the Town general fund expenditure items. But as selectmen Brooks stated, or asked, can these monies help the general fund budget? It is the money the selectmen are after, not efficiency, not a financial report, not an audit report, just more money.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

from a time long long ago: oops

from minutes of 10/11/2016 - board of selectmen
Present: John Caplis, Diane Brooks, Doug Morrison, John Columbus as well as Carter Terenzini/town administrator


h) Action RE: Codification of Ordinances~ Ms. Haley Brooks made a motion to move forward with the codification of the bylaws with Unicode and authorize the Chairman of the Board to sign the contract. Mr. Morrison seconded the motion. The vote was 4 yes.



from minutes of  11/14/2016 - board of selectmen

Present: John Caplis, Diane Brooks, Doug Morrison, John Columbus , Julie Richard as well as Carter Terenzini/town administrator.

3. Minutes ~ Ms. Haley Brooks made a motion to approve the minutes of 10.11.16. Ms. Richard seconded the motion. The vote was 5 yes. Ms. Haley Brooks made a motion to approve the minutes of 10.24.16. Ms. Richard seconded the motion. The vote was 5 yes.


When questioned, Town Administrator Carter Terenzini responded as:
  1. Yes; In error, Ms. Haley Brooks motioned for Unicode and no-one caught it at the time.  However, the paperwork forming the submission was for General Code;

So, the selectmen voted to have a contract signed by the chairman of the board of selectmen with unicode, but the chair signed a contract with a different firm. Since that is not what the board voted on, is that contract valid? Town Administrator is the chief procurement officer for Templeton.

Well, who knows, the selectmen still maintain they were correct in asking for money to buy a dump body for a 1984 Mack ten wheeler and then said they thought it best to buy a new dump truck with, ignoring a town meeting vote. Again, stop trying to manage the Advisory Committee and the Sewer department and get your house in order. Read and discuss, check what you are voting on and more importantly, do the right thing.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Watched the January 9, 2019 board of selectmen meeting. 
Online documents show a transfer from intergovernmental to various departments.

shown sub-fund number for intergovernmental as 120-000-51-5600-0000. However, if you checked the expenditure report, you would find the sub-fund number is 120-000-56-5600-0000. You would also find that the town meeting article giving  authority or the funds to do this transfer is listed as article 18 of the May 2018 annual town meeting. That article created the stabilization fund within the sewer department. It was actually article 21 where these funds were appropriated. In stating you are being transparent, the information needs to be correct. Perhaps less time spent trying to manage the Advisory Committee and more time spent, discussing, checking facts and ensuring the information put forth is correct and honest would be time well spent.
from the town administrator weekly report:

*protective services = full time ambulance employees.

Assessor: This week brings us back to a full work week and somewhat back to “normal”. Office traffic and phone calls have been steady with inquiries regarding the tax rate and property valuations on the recent 3rd & 4th quarter tax bill mailings. Residents are being reminded that the 3rd & 4th quarter bills not only show this increase, but they also make up for what was not assessed on the 1st & 2nd quarters. The reason for the tax increase was for the override funding protective services. Valuation increases are due to sales in town beyond asking prices during the calendar year 2017. This has been the trend for the last two years and you will most likely see this continue with increasing sale prices and the new school and police debt to be coming on the tax roll when the town goes out to borrow. Residents who have not filed for an exemption for FY19 still have time to file before March 31st and when approved, will be reflected on the 4th quarter tax bills. Applications must be filed yearly. Any residents applying for an abatement will need to get an application from the Assessor office and return it with proper documentation no later than February 4th. I have been sketching and adding information on property record cards for new construction with supplemental bills going out shortly for these. Field work done late last summer, and fall is also being recorded to property cards. Board of Assessors held their monthly meeting on Tuesday and follow-up work was done. FY2020 budget was discussed and the Board expressed concerns that will be addressed with the Town Administrator. I have been working with Vision to closeout values for FY2019. I attended the department head meeting Thursday morning and met with Carter to review FY2020 budget requests.

Your property increased in value and so your tax bill might also increase.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

FITCHBURG – Lamenting their districts’ inability to keep up with mounting financial obligations, representatives from nearly a dozen school districts in the region at a public forum Tuesday night called on the state to finally overhaul its public education funding formula for the first time in 25 years.
About 100 people were in the audience for the event, which was one of three such public forums the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents organized across the state Tuesday night in an effort to bring attention to school systems’ campaign for more education aid. School officials at the Fitchburg forum said a couple more events will be held during this budget season as well.
Hosted at Fitchburg State University, Tuesday’s Central Massachusetts forum drew school administrators and school committee members from the Worcester, Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, Clinton, Framingham, Lunenberg, Winchendon, Ayer-Shirley, and Ashburnham-Westminster school systems.
Part of the novelty of the event, some officials pointed out, is that it’s not often such a disparate collection of towns and cities come together united on a single issue.
“It takes a while for everybody to get on the same page,” said Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. But in the case of public school funding, he added, “if your community isn’t impacted yet, it will be.”
In the case of the assembled communities at the Fitchburg forum, the inadequacy of the state’s current foundation formula – the system that determines what each district should be spending to operate – has already led to hard choices, officials said. Gardner Superintendent Mark Pellegrino, for instance, said it was only the mayor’s dive into the city’s stabilization funds this year that allowed the district to avoid a major deficit – a move that only “put off the inevitable,” he added, once that $600,000 shortfall re-emerges in the district’s next fiscal budget.
“We’re moving money around to do the best we can with the little that we have,” he said.
But many school systems “are now at a breaking point,” said Leominster Superintendent Paula Deacon, who described her district’s current predicament as “reverse Robin Hood syndrome ... who are we going to take from this year” in one part of the budget to fund one of the other parts?
Tuesday’s forum focused specifically on the foundation formula’s under-calculation of the cost districts currently incur to provide health insurance and offer special education services – two of the four key areas in the foundation formula a special state commission recommended updating in 2015. According to a presentation put together by Brian Allen, the Worcester schools’ chief financial and operations officer, the districts represented in Fitchburg – subtracting Ashburnham-Westminster and replacing it with Webster – combined spent $174 million above what the foundation formula says they should have spent in fiscal 2017 on those two categories.
That gap existed even after many of those districts changed their employees’ health benefits, putting more of the cost burden on the plan-holders, as well as created new special education programming to cut down on the number of students having to be placed in expensive out-of-district programs.
“There’s really nowhere to go from here,” Worcester Superintendent Maureen Binienda said.
By fully implementing the 2015 recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission, however, Mr. Allen said the 10 districts together would receive $117 million in additional annual state aid.
The problem in recent years, however, has been organizing the political will to commit to that much additional spending, which statewide would amount to more than $1 billion in new aid for public schools. But while the Legislature’s latest effort to come up with a comprehensive bill fell short at the session deadline this past summer, lawmakers at Tuesday’s forum said they are hopeful they can finally reach an agreement this year.
“I’m optimistic this time around we’ll have enough time to pass something ... and I’m hoping that something is 100 percent funded,” said state Sen. Dean Tran, R-Fitchburg, who mentioned lawmakers plan to unveil their newest legislation on the foundation formula, called the Promise Act, Wednesday.
In the meantime, school officials called on the audience, which included other elected officials, teachers and parents, to continue to put pressure on their local lawmakers to support the effort to revamp the school aid formula.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Two local communities that have turned to accounting services rather than a town employee.
This demonstrates a move (s) to save tax dollars, provide same service and cut down on future taxpayer funding obligations; retirement and health insurance - OPEB. It may have impact on other future costs such as unemployment insurance rates and workers comp. costs.

Ashburnham, MA - current tax rate of $22.55 per thousand (from tax recap sheet - fy2019)

Accounting service costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$54,000.00
Audit costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $18,000.00
MA municipal accounting dues . . . . . . . . . . . .  .  $     200.00
Office supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$     500.00
Business travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  ..  .  . $     750.00


Hubbardston, MA - current tax rate of $15.22 per thousand (from tax recap sheet - fy2019)

Accounting service costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$42,000.00
Audit costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $19,000.00
Office supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$     200.00

Templeton has a town employee as an accountant.

Templeton, MA - current tax rate of $17.24 per thousand (from tax recap sheet - fy2019)

Accountant salary costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $68,414.00
assistant accountant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17,813.00
employee support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..  $  2,500.00
Audit costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  $28,000.00
Office supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$     500.00

*employee support includes MA municipal accounting dues, business travel, etc.

While this only demonstrates one department, it does show that doing business in a different way or taking another approach, it may be possible to provide same service without a tax increase and without cutting service. This differs from the current philosophy or commentary currently coming from the Templeton selectmen office, which has been so far "either we increase taxes or we cut services." It really comes down to how high do taxes have to get before towns people ask the question; is there a different way to do things?


The above information takes some time to find, but it can be checked out.




There are other options other than raise taxes or cut services;
Do business in a different way.
from town website of Ashburnham, MA:
procurement - bid
FY18-04- Accounting Services
Available date: Tuesday, February 20, 2018 @ 11am
Opening date: NEW DUE DATE - Monday, March 12th @ 4pm--- due to inclement weather on 8th
Thursday, March 8, 2018 @ 4pm

Friday, January 4, 2019

Posted on the website of the Division of Local Services (DLS) is the December report of meals tax distribution. Templeton is listed as receiving 13,370.00. Report from town accountant shows amount to be $13,369.91. That amount plus the previous $4,384.31 = $17,754.22 in meals tax dollars to Templeton.

The magic number is $42,000.00 for the year (fiscal year)

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Year in review [looking in the rear view mirror]

Annual Town Meeting of May, 2018:

article 30:

On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted 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                               $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.
Passed/May 19th @ 1:20 pm

Problem is, the groomer was not bought, a substitute item was bought under the pretext that it was capable of doing the same job and could do a few other things.

So, what about the department head who made the original request? What about the capital improvement committee and the whole capital plan? Is that plan being followed or is it used to deceive voters/taxpayers?

People go to town meeting and are asked to support various items, yet, when they do, they find out selectmen have ignored their vote by doing something else.

Annual Town Meeting of May 2017

article 20:

On a motion duly made and seconded the town voted to appropriate the sum of One Hundred Seventy Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars and no cents ($172,500.00) for a program of capital purchases and improvements and to meet said appropriation with a transfer of One Hundred Fifty Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars and no cents ($152,500.00) of unissued bond proceeds originally borrowed for 252 Baldwinville Road and the balance from taxation with the pricing for each item being generally illustrated as follows:

                Item                                                         Amount
TH Mini-Split; Conf/Accounting, Misc.                   $ 17,500
Temp Center Fire/EMS - Roof Replacement         $ 35,000
Senior Center Siding $100,000
A&E Assistance, Advertising, Printing                   $   2,500
Dump Body - 1984 Mack 10 Wheel                       $ 17,500

Passed/May 13th @ 12:37pm

There is also the issue with using the above funds for a stand alone dump body for the purchase of a brand new 6-wheeler dump truck.

How is it possible or allowable for something like that to be approved within the weekly town warrant, [listing/submittal of invoices & bills to the town that first gets looked at by town accountant and ultimately signed off on by the selectmen.

Chapter 41: Section 56. Warrants for payment of bills
[ Text of section as amended by 2016, 218, Sec. 58 effective November 7, 2016. For text effective until November 7, 2016, see above.]
  Section 56. The selectmen and all boards, committees, heads of departments and officers authorized to expend money shall approve and transmit to the town accountant as often as once each month all bills, drafts, orders and pay rolls chargeable to the respective appropriations of which they have the expenditure. For purposes of this section, the board of selectmen and any other board, committee or head of department consisting of more than 1 member authorized to expend money, may designate any 1 of its members to approve all bills, drafts, orders and payrolls; provided, however, that the member shall make available to the board, committee or other department head, at the first meeting following such action, a record of such actions. This provision shall not limit the responsibility of each member of the board in the event of a noncompliance with this section. Such approval shall be given only after an examination to determine that the charges are correct and that the goods, materials or services charged for were ordered and that such goods and materials were delivered and that the services were actually rendered to or for the town as the case may be; provided, however, that such approval may be given to any bill received from a state agency for the town's share of the costs of a federal urban planning assistance program, established under the provisions of section 701 of Public Law 83-560, as amended, before any goods, materials or services ordered or to be ordered under such a program have been delivered or actually rendered, as the case may be. The town accountant shall examine all such bills, drafts, orders and pay rolls, and, if found correct and approved as herein provided, shall draw a warrant upon the treasury for the payment of the same, and the treasurer shall pay no money from the treasury except upon such warrant approved by the selectmen. If there is a failure to elect or a vacancy occurs in the office of selectman, the remaining selectman or selectmen, together with the town clerk, may approve such warrant. The town accountant may disallow and refuse to approve for payment, in whole or in part, any claim as fraudulent, unlawful or excessive, and in such case he shall file with the town treasurer a written statement of the reasons for such refusal. The treasurer shall not pay any claim or bill so disallowed by the town accountant. So far as apt this section shall apply to cities.

Another item where there are potential problems is the act of procurement; specifically, the procurement of new payroll services. According the job description of the Town Administrator, he is the chief procurement officer of the town of Templeton. MGL chapter 30b is the state law outlining how these things are to be done; it is an outlined process of how to do these things. The Town of Templeton has already had to have training from the State Office of the Inspector General because of recent mistakes made regarding chapter 30B. [splitting of contracts or requests for services]

With all the talk about transparency and policies for the town, how do these issues keep arising in Templeton? Getting very hard to trust selectmen and their governance. 

As a concerned resident, I do not think I will be supporting any more capital items until some needed changes are made; perhaps more time spent at selectmen meetings actually discussing and questioning policies and procedures. Of course, selectmen have to actually show up for meetings and be competent in ability to understand things.