By GREG VINE

For Athol Daily News

Published: 2/28/2020 9:36:35 PM

PHILLIPSTON – Parents and other residents attending Wednesday’s Selectboard meeting were given a handout detailing the fiscal 2021 budget proposal by the Narragansett Regional School Committee. A narrative accompanying the numbers claimed both communities — Phillipston and Templeton — had expressed opposition to significant increases in the district budget, but those in attendance were having none of it.

They were upset the spending plan calls for the closure of Phillipston Memorial Elementary School, which serves students in grades kindergarten through four.

Parent Jim Buzzell, who has a child at Phillipston Memorial Elementary School, acted as spokesman for the group.

“The first sentence that ‘the towns have spoken, and both agree they will not support increases to the school budget’ is patently false,” he said. “We know that. Phillipston has voted on all overrides to increase the budget, without fail. It’s not true that both agree.

“Then it goes to say ‘this would benefit us and allow for the much-needed addition of key social/emotional staff.’ So, we’re going to hire more staff while we fire teachers.”

Buzzell disputed the School Committee’s contention that the proposed moves would “foster a positive classroom environment.”

“Thirty students per classroom is fostering a positive classroom environment?” he asked rhetorically. “Students in Phillipston right now are in classrooms of between, I believe, 17 and 21. Twenty-two might be the highest number; and they’re going to go up to 30 kids in a classroom. That is not a positive classroom environment change for our students in this town.”

He also took issue with plans to reassign fifth-grade students to Narragansett Regional Middle School. Buzzell said the young students were moved into the middle school last year, then transferred again this year to the new Templeton Elementary School.

“It doesn’t seem like the School Committee and the superintendent really have a plan,” said Buzzell. “They’re just jumping from solution to solution — that aren’t really solutions.”

Buzzell went on to state that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is threatening to withhold a $1.6 million payment toward the construction of the new elementary school because the district, in order secure state funding for the $47 million facility, had assured the state that Phillipston Memorial Elementary School would remain open.

“The MSBA has now said that them now trying to move the students all around again and reconfiguring the district is, quote, ‘problematic to grant funding,’” said Buzzell. “If they withhold the funding, who is that bill going to go to? Us? Because our kids are going to be in that school now?”

In an initial response to the parents’ concerns, the Selectboard voted to send a letter to the regional school committee asking how much it would cost for the town to operate Phillipston Memorial Elementary School on its own.

In addition to finding funds to operate the school, both towns — Phillipston and Templeton — would have to agree to re-open the district agreement, and both would have to consent to Phillipston operating the school independently. The town would continue, if the plan comes to fruition, to pay for Phillipston students in grades five through 12 to attend the regional middle and high schools.

The town of Petersham has a similar arrangement with the Mahar Regional School District.

FY2021 School Funding using Town, State & School Numbers:

Doing some old fashioned math:

FY2020 school budget total $19,500,000.00.

Templeton Total - $6,682,836.00

Phillipston Total - $1,601,834,00

Templeton $6,682,836.00 + 21/2%/ $167,070.00

Phillipston $1,601,834,00 + 21/2%/ $40,045.85

Total 21/2% increase for FY2021 + $207,116.75

FY2020 total $19,500,000.00 + $207,116.75 =

FY2021 Total $19,707,116.75 and that is figured off dollars when Phillipston school was open, what happens when school is closed, what expenses drop?

So, did school district use common core math to arrive at their already stated number of $19,997,728.00?

FY2021 Templeton - $6,849,906.00

FY2021 Phillipston - $1,641,879.75

FY2021 NRSD NET

state aid from DESE: $11,067,748.00

NRSD E&D funds $ 500,000.00

NRSD Medicaid $ 200,000.00

Total NRSD $11,767,748.00

Towns Total $ 8,491,785.75

Total ALL $20,259,533.75

To me, that is a realistic budget based on 2 1/2 % increase on towns, using state (DESE) numbers, NRSD numbers and Town Numbers, please check my math and numbers.

Right now, I see the school district using town numbers, state numbers and their numbers, E&D + medicaid, showing a total of $19,997,728.00. Trust who you wish, use numbers you want, but that is my view from my seat, so since I think and I believe if you check records of school committee meeting (s) via youtube, $19,500,000.00 was a bit more than required, I believe you can conclude that $19,707,116.75 is fair, equitable and will again show the state it is time to stop giving us BS and show us the money, cause 19.7 is where I stand. Non negotiable.

So, does anyone question whether Templeton has a real OPEB Trust Fund? 

Town Meeting of May 14, 2016, voted to accept MGL c.32B, section 20: article 2. On a motion duly made and seconded the town voted to accept provisions of Section 20 of
Chapter 32B of the Massachusetts General Laws and to direct the Town Treasurer to establish an Other Post- Employment Benefits Trust Fund in the Treasury of the Town;
and further, to charge the Town Administration with developing an OPEB funding schedule and obtaining approval of said schedule by the Public Employee Retirement
Administration Commission of the Commonwealth; and further, to transfer Sixty Four Thousand Six Hundred and Eight Dollars ($64,608) from the FY’16 Selectmen’s Expense
Account (1000-122-100-54-5420-0000) to the OPEB Liability Trust Fund.

If you look on one of the monthly expenditure reports (available on town website within the quarterly reports) you will fine Town OPEB / account # 7500-000-000-59-5961-0000 and under that account # it states Town OPEB - transfer to general fund. Does not say . . . OPEB trust fund. Also, if we have a true trust fund, where or who are the trustees? Other towns I have looked at that do have Trust fund, have documentation and have trustees listed. (Town of Ayer, MA) 

On Friday last, I phoned Public AGency Retirement Systems / PARS and spoke with a lady, who after checking out Templeton town website, stated it does not look like Templeton has taken the final steps to create the Trust Fund. I am betting there are many people in Templeton that would be of the opinion we have a trust fund, we voted for it and we have been putting money into OPEB. What it looks like has been happening is money has been put aside, but not in a true trust, which I was told by PARS that money could be used for other purposes, it is not "locked away" as it would be with a true trust fund. This is important, as it would cover what is now a liability of the town. I have emailed all selectmen, advisory committee and town administrator on this important issue.

This is important to taxpayers and Town employees, retired already and those to be; getting a trust fund and fully funding it would be one more important step in getting the town of good financial ground.

By Doneen Durling
Reporter

Posted at 6:00 AM

 

ASHBURNHAM — Though 2018 was a financially chaotic time for the town, the main focus of local officials is in getting the town’s financial house in order and pivoting to concentrate all available energies on economic development.

During a recent Board of Selectmen meeting, new Town Administrator Brian Doheny reported that the draft audit for fiscal 2019 was sent to the state Department of Revenue on Feb. 13. Doheny said they had a few comments and concerns with regard to some of the balances.

“We are trying to work through those right now,” he told the board. “Once they are resolved, we are hoping we will get free cash certified right after that. It’s a good thing if we get free cash certified sooner rather than later.”

Doheny added that his draft fiscal 2021 budget will be ready for selectmen this week, then on to the Advisory Board later in the week.

There have been a few people expressing interest in marijuana cultivation in town. A marijuana review team has been formed with Doheny as chairman and a non-voting member. He commended all who have participated in the recent meetings to produce an application and policy for all those seeking to grow and sell marijuana in Ashburnham. The marijuana application review team has met twice so far, Feb. 4 and Feb. 13.

Doheny said that soon there will be an application that interested parties can access online with drop-down menus. He explained that after an application is complete, the marijuana review team will pull the application from online, meet with the applicant and go over a lot of the questions. Once the applicant is ready, the review team will decide whether the applicant should move forward with the process and work on a host agreement with selectmen.

The school district has also presented a draft 2021 budget, and Selectman Leo Janssens attended their budget meeting to see what it would mean for the Ashburnham side of the district. Janssens reported that he took away two conclusions from the recent School Committee budget presentation.

“I am jealous of them because they are audited like our town does, and they use Melanson Heath (same auditing firm as the town),” he said. “What I took away from her report was their books are always in order. Their budget is tight but managed well.”

Janssens said the school district’s draft operating budget is going to increase by 3.3 percent — it will reflect a 2.5 percent increase for Ashburnham.

“This was the proposed budget,” Janssens said. “It still has work to go.”

The budget can be found at https://www.awrsd.org/.

Ashburnham Economic Development Commission Chairman Kirby Lecy gave the selectmen an update on where the commission is presently and where it is going.

Lecy explained that there has been massive amounts of work since the group’s inception, compiling data on properties and what makes them appealing for business and what is holding them back from being utilized, whether it is zoning or something else. Lecy said the information is both on private and town-owned properties. She said planned activities for 2020 will be to analyze data amassed and prioritize.

“We understand that economic development takes time and strategy,” said Lecy. “Economic development takes a village in some ways, and we see our role as helping convene that village by acting as a clearinghouse for information and strategy.”

She said connecting with local chambers of commerce and state and federal agencies will be imperative to development moving forward. They are beginning to focus on property inventory and what is available along with what restrictions might be tied to that property.

When asked to prioritize what she felt was needed from selectmen, Lecy said, “I think that just a focus across the town on economic development is going to be imperative, whether that means asking every committee that sits within the selectmen’s auspices or the town’s auspices: What do you envision your role in economic development as, or what steps are you taking on your committee or commission around economic development?”

By ZACK DeLUCA

Staff Writer

Published: 2/11/2020 8:58:55 PM

WARWICK — Residents will consider leaving the Pioneer Valley Regional School District and appropriating money to assume the operating costs for Warwick Community School during an upcoming Special Town Meeting.

Town Coordinator David Young said the Selectboard has approved two articles to send to Special Town Meeting. A meeting date has not yet been scheduled, but the plan is to hold it before Warwick officials meet with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley on March 9 to discuss options for keeping the school open.

One article, if approved, would ask whether Warwick wants to keep the local elementary school program going. A “no” vote would mean the town is “OK bussing children to Northfield,” Young said. A second article would seek to exit the Pioneer school district, either at the elementary level or fully from kindergarten through 12th grade. This article would be conditional, based on the commissioner’s pending decision to close the school.

The town will also ask voters to appropriate $40,000 to $80,000 to cover operating costs for Warwick Community School, for which the town hopes to assume responsibility. Supplemental funding would be used to offset per pupil costs instead of closing the school, or provide funding needed to support the building if it is closed.

“Some see this as a contingency, based upon the DESE commissioner electing to close our Community School, which is funded next year in the Pioneer budget,” Young said. “Others are so tired of the tone, unfair process, shortsightedness and underhanded dealing that they want to depart (the school district). Some feel we should stay in for grades seven to 12 and quit on (kindergarten to sixth grade). This might be a multiple-choice question.”

The interest in exploring options outside of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District comes following the recent 7-5 School Committee vote to recommend DESE close the Warwick Community School at the end of this school year. Young said a large percentage of enrolled elementary school parents from Warwick say they will not send their young children out of town to Northfield, which would be the district’s plan should Warwick Community School close.

Young also said members of the Selectboard and Education Advisory Committee will discuss the school’s situation with Riley on March 9. He said Riley expressed interest in moving the meeting to an earlier date, but Warwick town officials wanted to keep the original date.

“The Selectboard wants to keep to the plan, as residents have been preparing, and the board wants the STM (Special Town Meeting) results to be available to inform the DESE meeting about the future of WCS,” Young said.

In addition to the scheduled meeting with Riley, Warwick Selectboard and Education Advisory Committee members have met with officials from Petersham and Orange, and will meet with Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School and Ralph C. Mahar School District representatives this week

By ZACK DeLUCA

Staff Writer

Published: 2/21/2020 5:26:32 PM

Modified: 2/21/2020 5:26:19 PM

WARWICK — As the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s decision on whether to close Warwick Community School looms, parents and town officials are continuing to explore options for educating their children, including having them attend school online.

Instructor Greg Runyan with the Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School outlined his school’s curriculum during the Warwick Education Committee’s Tuesday meeting.

Scoping out possibilities

Education Committee Chair Adam Holloway said Warwick is exploring educational options outside of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s suggestion to merge with Northfield Elementary School, mainly because many parents, including himself, view bussing children to Northfield as a safety issue.

“That’s the big thing,” he said.

Holloway said parents had a lot of questions, and the meeting with Runyan helped provide information.

“We need to digest it and then see if it would work,” Holloway said of the online schooling model.

He added that if the school were to be closed following the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley’s decision, the town can “use the building to do whatever they want.” Holloway said townspeople could even set up a home-school collaborative, and use the building as a base learning location.

With the virtual school’s curriculum, there wouldn’t be a need for an actual school location, as nearly all work is designed to be done at home. However, Runyan acknowledged that Warwick’s position is unique. Warwick is interested in using its elementary school building as an on-site learning location for students to login on computers at the elementary school building while being supervised by learning coaches.

For the virtual school to accept the entire Warwick elementary population of 45 students, Runyan said it would need to enter a memorandum of understanding with the district. However, Warwick officials and residents expressed concern with the Pioneer school district’s cooperation.

As of now, to attend the Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School, students need to sign up for a wait list and lottery system. The School Choice cost to attend the virtual school is roughly $8,500 per student. Once accepted, Runyan noted there is a preference given to siblings. The virtual school has a cap of 750 students, which it reached for the first time this year.

“That shows there is a need and demand for this kind of model out there,” he said.

A typical day with GCVS

The school’s typical schedule begins with a morning meeting, where the teacher video chats with students about the plans for the day. Runyan said, for privacy purposes, students have a choice of using their camera to be seen by the teacher or not. Classes are a combination of “live” activities and work that can be completed online at the students’ leisure. Some classes, such as art, music or physical education, require “live” instruction time.

Students sign up for a Blackboard Collaborate Ultra or Canvas student account to access various resources or class activities and to submit assignments. The service can be used to schedule one-on-one sessions with a class instructor, and a learning coach is assigned to work with two or three students. With a Canvas account, students also have access to Storia, an online library. Lexia is another literacy resource available.

“As an online school, we don’t have a library, so this is what we’ve got,” Runyan said.

While students are generally in standard grade levels, he said the model makes it easy to adjust classes depending on the personal needs of a student to move up or down in class levels. For example, Runyan said his son is in third-grade morning meetings and literacy courses, but takes part in higher levels of math.

“With just a couple of clicks he’s switched into the middle school class,” Runyan said. “In just a couple of clicks I can have a kid from one part of the state collaborating with a student on the other end of the state.”

According to Runyan, many students who attend the Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School go on to attend two- or four-year colleges. He said most of these students have found the online program to benefit their college preparedness.

“More than 90 percent of the work is online,” Runyan said. “It helps a lot with their independence.”

According to Warwick Education Committee Vice Chair Tom Wyatt, the committee has not yet met to discuss Tuesday’s presentation as a group. He said he suspects there will need to be discussions within the community about whether the model meets the needs of students. The role the person at the school has, whether it’s as a coach or a teacher, makes a big difference, Wyatt noted. He also said aspects of the virtual school model could be incorporated into a new model that is specific to Warwick.

Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.

By GREG VINE

For Athol Daily News

Published: 2/20/2020 10:34:28 PM

Modified: 2/20/2020 10:34:17 PM

ATHOL – At its meeting Tuesday, the Selectboard took a series of votes necessary to move ahead with a Community Development Block Grant application for funds to improve Walnut Street between Church and Union streets. The town is seeking the maximum $800,000 available through the block grant program, which is administered by the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

“The project we’re proposing is Phase One for Walnut Street,” said grant consultant Linda Overing of Breezeway Farm Consulting, based in New Salem. “The public hearing ad also mentions doing improvements to Union Street and that pre-dated when we got our final budget numbers. So, I want to be clear that the project we’re proposing only is going from Church Street to the intersection with Union, but we’re not proposing any improvements to Union Street itself.”

“Much in the same manner as what you saw on Marble Street,” said Assistant Public Works Superintendent Dick Kilart, “you’ll see subsurface work for water and sewer replacement, some drainage replacement. We did (look at) the drainage structure that’s there, so some of that can be saved.

“You will see that section of road be resurfaced, similar to what you see out here at Marble Street, as part of that first phase. Subsequently, in the following year — it will actually be two construction seasons down the road — Phase Two will be the lower end of Walnut Street, that will turn onto Canal and, depending upon funding, may include part of Union Street.”

“One of the things, when we were looking at the design,” Overing continued, “we wanted to address the fact that the town is now a Complete Streets Community with the goal of making bicycle-safe passageways connecting the different parks. Fish Park is a prominent destination. So, we looked at the possibility of creating a separate bike lane.

“But, looking at the practicality, we’re recommending that we do not do that. Listening to the residents, there is a lot of on-street parking, especially on the north side of Walnut Street. We still want to encourage safe bike use. We would do that through signage and ‘share’ symbols, which remind you to watch out for bicyclists.”

Overing added that to make Walnut Street safer for pedestrian and bicycle traffic the road will be widened slightly. To accommodate the widening, she said, an existing green strip between the street and the sidewalk on the north side of the street will be eliminated.

The board ultimately voted unanimously to apply for the block grant and to allow Town Manager Shaun Suhoski to sign the application on the town’s behalf.

Members also voted without dissent to commit nearly $46,000 in so-called program income to the project. Other town funds which will be used include just under $31,000 to help cover construction costs, and $16,200 from the grant match account to help pay for engineering fees.

The town’s Shade Tree Commission is also recommending funding for trees that can be planted the private property of homeowners on the north side of the street.

Where is Templeton?

Telegram & Gazette Staff@CraigSemon

Posted Dec 10, 2019 at 5:25 PMUpdated Dec 10, 2019 at 5:25 PM

Worcester received nearly $20,000 for fire safety gear and gear cleaning machines from the state.

In all, $920,000 in grant money was awarded to 174 Massachusetts fire departments for gear and equipment that will reduce firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals on the job, Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announced Tuesday in Marlboro.

Worcester received $19,223.

Other area fire departments that received grants for turnout gear include: Ashburnham, $2,520; Ashby, $2,850; Athol, $2,490; Barre, $5,915; Berlin, $2,610; Bolton, $1,260; Boylston, $2,465; Brookfield, $2,540; Gardner, $2,465; Hudson, $2,447; Leicester, $5,355; Leominster, $3,184; Lunenburg, $2,500; Marlboro, $3,840; Mendon, $4,758; Northboro, $2,500; Northbridge, $3,135; Princeton, $4,340; Southboro, $2,415; Spencer, $2,280; Sterling, $1,860; Sturbridge, $850; Upton, $3,400; West Boylston, $2,064; Westboro, $2,484; and Westminster, $2,535.

A proposed bond bill would authorize $25 million for similar grants for equipment including turnout gear and washers/extractors.

Department heads are salaried employees, they need to be relentless in grant approaches; to easy to just go for taxation money.

My opinion, going after every grant out there, which has potential to free up some tax dollars, for infrastructure investment, can show perspective business, Templeton is serious and active in improving things that could affect our business if we decide to locate to Templeton.

The hits keep coming; latest in Templeton, Town of, the ole Ethics Commission come a calling; where are your required by law Town employee/volunteer committee members/elected reps paper work? Required once elected/appointed/hired to take online ethics training and print out or submit certificate of completion, signed receipt of conflict of interest law summary and signed receipt of Open Meeting Law material. Elected/appointed peeps suppose to complete this within two weeks of that. Apparently, the required material has not been collected and forwarded as required by law. I have copies of my certificate and receipts, signed of open meeting law and conflict of interest. I turned them into town clerk, but it is the town Ethics Liaison who is responsible to forward these items to the big state agencies. Gots to do the job, as no job is finished without the paperwork!

Consider this a public service announcement on the operation of the government you pay for. I try very hard to always be on the job, but if I am not on point, I let you know, as the saying sometimes goes; "the cover-up is usually worse than the crime/deed." In this case, it would be lack of carrying out the job/deed.

Latest news in MA: shortage of trades people, carpenter, plumber, electrician, furniture makers, even people who make musical instruments, think violin and the wonderful sounds that come from those. Still schools push college, college college and more student debt and now, free college for all. News flash, ya'll go be doctors, lawyers, scientists, teachers, etc; there ain't gonna be no one to build your home, the environment, think plumbing, that toilet flush has to go somewhere. With the shortage comes longer time to get somethings done, which means time and as time passes by, costs go up. Think that big pine tree comes down on your house, it is winter, it is cold out and you need roof repaired, electric and maybe even the porta john fixed; sorry, will be 3 months before we can get someone out there, we only got 10 people. Trades means you can often apprentice, get paid while you learn, schooling is through public vocational schools. Check what a plumber makes, want to upgrade your home, who you gonna call? You build or help build a home, you get to stand there and see what you did. stay with carpentry, become finish carpenter/cabinet maker and your earning power goes up; get a reputation of quality work, you will be writing your own ticket. Yup, you get dirty, you make work off hours, but these are options to be considered

From Templeton Town Administrator.

Templeton, MA. - $1.00 per thousand = $710,733.00 /Tax Rate of $16.82

Override at .20 cents raises $145,700.00 while .25 cents raises $181,236.00

Below table shows costs of police officer while assuming the hire is at step 1, with a bachelor’s degree and progresses 1 step each year. Future collective bargaining agreements grow at 2% each year and beni’s (health insurance) is at family plan and cost increase of 6% per year. Pension is at FY2021 with rate growing 1-2 points per year. (That is a lot of assuming)

	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Salary	$47,674.00	$ 52,146.00	$  54,780.00	$  57,563.00	$  60,480.00
Education	$  4,767.00	$    5,215.00	$    5,478.00	$    5,756.00	$    6,048.00
Shift Stipend	$  2,080.00	$    2,080.00	$    2,080.00	$    2,080.00	$    2,080.00
OT/HOL/Etc,	$11,918.00	$    7,822.00	$    8,217.00	$    8,634.00	$    9,072.00
Uniform	$  1,250.00	$    1,250.00	$    1,250.00	$    1.250.00	$    1,250.00
Beni’s	$20,250.00	$  21,465.00	$  22,753.00	$  24,118.00	$  25,565.00
M’care/UC	$  1,263.00	$    1,275.00	$    1,323.00	$    1,373.00	$    1,426.00
WRRS	$          0.00	$  15,122.00	$  16,434.00	$  17,845.00	$  19,354.00
Total	$89,203.00	$106,375.00	$112,314.00	$118,620.00	$125,276.00

Override dollars would go as follows for first year:

                                     .20 cents                                        .25 cents

Police officer -           $90,000.00                                 $100,000.00

Insurance & Beni’s -  $50,000.00                                 $  50,000.00

Highway -                           $0.00                                 $  15,000.00           

Snow & Ice -                  5,700.00                                 $  16,236.00

Total -                       $145,700.00                                 $181,236.00

Seems like they do things right over in Sterling, MA:

from Annual Town Report 2018 -Town Meeting.

ARTICLE 3. Set Salary of Municipal Light Board

MOTION MADE by Rich Lane that the Town vote to set the salary of the Sterling Municipal Light Board members as follows:

Chairman $1,500; Clerk $1,500; Third member $1,500; said sum to be an expense of the Sterling Municipal Light Department.

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY AS DECLARED BY THE MODERATOR

ARTICLE 15. Water Dept. Operation Enterprise Fund 

MOTION MADE by Bill Tuttle that the Town vote

to appropriate the sum of $912,586 from water department revenue, and further to appropriate $40,000 from 40 Water Enterprise Retained Earnings, for extraordinary or unforeseen expense as determined by the DPW Board and approved by the Finance Committee, for a total appropriation of $952,586 to operate the Water Department Enterprise Fund for Fiscal Year 2019 under the provisions of 

Chapter 44, Section 53F1/2,

Maybe Templeton needs to undue some special legislation and create a real DPW and have Water with Sewer?

Sterling, Ma Light Department - 2018 Annual Town Report.

Other community activities/contributions sanctioned by the SMLD Light Board:

 Our Annual Open House normally held the 3rd Thursday in April.

 Installed new LED holiday lights on the town common.

 Install pole, cable and lighting needed to power the Sterling Fair.

 Provide funds for annual inspection and maintenance for all town owned generators.

 Offer the round-up program to our customers to benefit the Sterling Neighbor-toNeighbor (N-2-N) Program. Since the program began in June 2014, your generous contributions have raised over $12,000 for the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Fund.

 Working with the Energy Committee the SMLD provided funding to complete the replacement of lighting with LED at the Fire Department, Senior Center and Police Department. The new lighting uses up to 67% less energy to operate.

 Installed a new generator and power cables at the Senior Center.

from the web site of Templeton, MA
Part-Time Police Officers & Dispatchers

Part-Time Police Officer: Successful candidates should hold, or be able to obtain certificate(s) in CPR/Basic First Aid, Firearms Class “A” License, valid Driver’s License, and a High school diploma or GED. Preference will be given to candidates with an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice or a related field holding required certifications.
Part-Time Public Safety Dispatchers: Successful candidates should have or be able to obtain, certification as a 9-1-1 Telecommunicator and Emergency Medical Dispatcher, and a High School diploma or GED. Preference will be given to candidates with knowledge of criminal justice and medical terms and who currently hold required certifications.
Submit application letter, resume, and standard Town application form available at www.templetonma.gov (click on Paid, Volunteer and Contract Opportunities)

or Town Hall to
Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator,
160 Patriots Rd, PO Box 620,
East Templeton, MA 01438.
The position(s) will be open until filled.
The Town of Templeton is an EOE. Posted:
Town Bulletin Boards (7) Town Hall 2, Light & Water, Police, Fire, Library, Public Works, Council on Aging, Sewer E-Mailed: Town Hall E-Mail List

Advertised: The Gardner News 2/14/2020

Web: Templetonma.gov, JobQuest

 Time for some trade offs? 

Phillipston gets the same dispatch service as Templeton residents get, except Phillipston residents have no insurance and benefit costs, no dispatch building expenses, no loan payments, no labor contracts; Templeton residents bear those costs and Phillipston gets that for less than 70 thousand per year. Hubbardston gets their accounting work done for 37, then 42 and then 45 thousand, with no insurance and benefits, while Templeton pays $127,470.00 just in salary for it's accounting work. (it was 90 thousand before agreement) Thank You to the selectmen / former selectmen who signed that agreement: Selectmen Brooks, Richards and former selectmen Caplis. Now, we need an override for a police officer, so the Templeton force can get back to the number of officers it once had, before you guessed it, budget cuts. It is not about just revenue, or how much Hubbardston is paying to Templeton, it is about what Templeton has to pay and what is being leftover in insurance & benefits and now being asked for an override; I do not require a fast talking explanation, as the numbers speak for themselves.