What Templeton is doing by way of it's financial management policy:
The Technical Assistance Bureau (TAB) of the Division of Local Service, recommends that communities understand the role free cash plays in sustaining a strong credit rating and encourages them to adopt policies on its use. Under sound financial policies, a community strives to generate free cash in an amount equal to three to five percent of its annual budget. This goal helps deter free cash from being depleted in any particular year, which enables the following year's calculation to begin with a positive balance. To do this, the community would orchestrate conservative revenue projections and departmental appropriations to produce excess income and departmental turn backs.
So perhaps, pad the appropriations a bit less and strive for 3% rather than 5%. If you consistently have 2 - 3 hundred thousand left over in one particular fund, perhaps pad that one a little bit less and pay for that police officer.
Town Administrator tells me, no no no, then your free cash goes and then, then ,then. So, what about the taxpayer, that you tell "we have to pad expenses so we can so this, this and this and then selectmen vote to spend more of your money so another town can get there accounting done for 37, 42 and then 45 thousand dollars per year and they get to spend less on insurance and benefits while you have to pay more. Just sayin.
What Templeton has not been doing:
Overall, TAB recommends that communities adopt a free cash policy that avoids supplementing current year departmental operations. By eliminating the expectation of additional resources later in the fiscal year to backfill budgets, department heads will produce more accurate and realistic annual appropriation requests.
Monthly expense reports that show appropriations versus what has been spent are available so departments can watch what they have spent. Perhaps do what TAB suggests and stop the backfill - if you think someone is always gonna fix your boo boos, no incentive for you to do otherwise.
A quick check of recent end of year financial for Templeton show:
Fiscal Year 2018 - Insurance & Benefits $320,948.00 left over
Fiscal Year 2019 - Insurance & Benefits $238,867.00 left over
What will Fiscal Year 2020 bring?
Give me a budget that is honest in May. Fund Snow and Ice so there is enough money to run the department. What the Town Administrator has done is like a man, or woman, who gives their partner a few dollars every week, to feed and cloth their kids for years. When the man dies the partner finds that they have a small fortune in the bank. It is too late to undo the years of starvation and embarrassment from wearing rags. Jeff is right. Free cash is important but so is funding our departments. It makes no sense to pad some accounts but then do deals with other towns that cost Templeton residents money ? In my opinion it is time to get a Town Administrator that has the best interests of Templeton taxpayers first and foremost.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking personnel should be placed under Adam now. Carter as consult for adam, part time help if needed but place the show under Adam
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me !
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