Thursday, May 6, 2021

 Town Meeting, article 15, disability commission. Misinformation again and against recommendation from DOR in Templeton financial management review. The article, in part states: .

Said commission shall consist of 5 members which shall be appointed by the Select Board. A majority of said commission members shall consist of people with disabilities, one member shall be a member of the immediate family of a person with a disability and one member of said commission shall be a current Select Board member.

The law states, in part, A majority of said commission members shall consist of people with disabilities, one member shall be a member of the immediate family of a person with a disability and one member of said commission shall be either an elected or appointed official of that city or town.

from DOR review: Prohibit Elected Officials from Holding any Other Position.
Templeton has not drafted a standalone bylaw prohibiting elected officials from holding any other elected or appointed town positions.
Currently, select board members can and do hold appointed positions within the town.

Sunday, May 2, 2021

 Your money, your government, you should know about it. You can find this information under MA division local service, then gateway application, login, then free cash, then cities & towns free cash.

Templeton Net free cash:
July 1, 2018 = $1,572,732.00
July 1, 2019 = $1,455,158.00
July 1, 2020 = $1,327,538.00
Templeton real estate receivables:
July 1, 2018 = $281,406.00
July 1, 2019 = $275,150.00
July 1, 2020 = 369,953.00
Templeton gross free cash:
July 1, 2018 = $1,848,843.00
July 1, 2019 = $1,735,289.00
July 1, 2020 = $1,653,989.00

So, gross free cash has been going down, which means net free cash drops while uncollected real estate taxes are on increase. Why keep budgeting off dollars you have financial history showing you will not have all of those dollars to spend. Perhaps change policy of letting one years unspent free cash roll into the next year and hang onto it for reserve. Doing this would give a clearer picture, dollar wise, on how the town is really doing. Which would be better for the residents so they could see clearer hoy they are doing, moneywise.

Saturday, May 1, 2021

 After some comments made at April 7, 2021 selectmen meeting, I came to conclusion there is an issue at hand; some selectmen may not be aware of or do not understand the procedures process for addressing issues with employees, members of advisory committee, members of board of selectmen. The beginning comment, which led to a group discussion revolved around mask wearing (or not) in town hall.

One would think that after a member of BOS has been on for 6 years, they would know and understand the process. It is all on the internet and most can be found on town website. First place to look is Town Administrator job description, which selectmen voted on. Within that document, it states "responsible for proper operation of all town affairs on day to day basis." T/A is personnel director and "administers the town's personnel policies."
Board of Selectmen procedures state "Role of Town Administrator: the Board appoints an administrator to be its chief administrative, financial, Personnel and procurement officer." ". . . to not hold the staff culpable for action based upon a disagreement with the underling statute, by-law or policy. Recognize and support administrative chain of command by not admonishing the staff, directly or indirectly, and refuse to act on complaints as an individual outside chain of command. Give Administrator full responsibility for discharging his or her disposition of and solution to such complaints."
Select Board procedures:
The Chair, Vice-Chair, Clerk, or any Member appointed as a Liaison from the Board to another entity may be removed from such position with or without cause, by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the Board. However, such a removal should generally be used in matters in which said Officer has acted inappropriately in a manner which would bring the Town into disrepute or exceeded their authority or upon a request by the Officer to be replaced.

Then there is the MA Open Meeting Law, which has as the first reason a BOS may go into closed session:
To discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual. The individual to be discussed in such executive session shall be notified in writing by the public body at least 48 hours prior to the proposed executive session; provided, however, that notification may be waived upon written agreement of the parties.
This purpose is designed to protect the rights and reputation of individuals. Nevertheless, where a public body is discussing an employee evaluation, considering applicants for a position, or discussing the qualifications of any individual, these discussions should be held in open session to the extent that the discussion deals with issues other than the reputation, character, health, or any complaints or charges against the individual. An executive session called for this purpose triggers certain rights for the individual who is the subject of the discussion. The individual has the right to be present, though he or she may choose not to attend. The individual who is the subject of the discussion may also choose to have the discussion in an open meeting, and that choice takes precedence over the right of the public body to go into executive session.

Then, there is the item for the comment and following discussion on April 7, 2021. This seems to bring to light that the reason for the comment is not understood or is ignored.

November 2020, MA governor updated / issued a new requirement, advisory, recommendation (depending on which news conference you may have watched or listened to):
The November 6, 2020 updated stated, in part, "all persons are strongly discouraged from using medical-grade masks to meet the requirements of this order.
Exceptions: Where a person is unable to wear a mask or cloth face covering due to a medical or disabling condition, provided that a person who declines to wear a mask or cloth face covering because of a medical or disabling condition shall not be required to produce documentation verifying the condition, except as provided in section 3.
Section 3, places of employment and schools: If a student is unable to wear a mask or cloth face covering because of medical or disabling condition in in-person learning, the school may require documentation. Where an employee or other worker who is required to wear a face covering pursuant to this order or any other applicable rule, employer may request documentation.

In answer to a question from a resident, the TA answered as follows: Hi, "I wanted to get back to you in regards to the details of our current operating procedures with our town offices. We still are currently closed to the public and our desks are more than 6’ apart. Additionally, we have barriers between them and when we leave our desks, we wear face coverings. We have confirmed these practices with the state. As I’ve stated before, Town Hall is closed to the public and any services that are required are set up by appointment where one of our staff (with a mask, face covering) go outside to help our citizens."
Adam.

Anyone who has been in Templeton Town Hall could see there are no physical barriers between desks in town clerk, assessors, town clerk or development services office, town accountant same thing. The only place where there is a barrier (a wall) is in BOS office between T/A office and main BOS space. From all of the above, it should be apparent that if an employee, selectman or others see what they perceive is an issue, first move is to let the town administrator know and let him do his job and if need, he can inform parties concerned on the procedure. From my seat, if you are going to state you serve the town, please know the rules, guidance and the procedures and use and follow them, to avoid possible legal or other action. Following process as well as knowing process seems to continue to be a challenge in Templeton.

 FY21 Templeton Meals tax receipts.

1st quarter - $13,317.00
2nd quarter - $16,339.00
3rd quarter - $11,962.00

 One selectman states that some selectmen work hard behind scenes for town. Okay, here you go; from BOS meeting May 8, 2019.

Present: Board of Selectmen: John Caplis, Julie Richard, and Diane Haley Brooks; and Town Administrator, Carter Terenzini. Absent: Doug Morrison.
i. Action RE: Hubbardston IMA~ Carter explained what led to this agreement being formed with Hubbardston looking for reliable accounting services. Richard moved to approve the Hubbardston IMA, as presented; as seconded by Haley Brooks. Motion carries
3-0.
This is the agreement that led to a lowering of costs to taxpayers of Hubbardston for accounting service, while increasing costs to taxpayers of Templeton for accounting services. Would this be an example of Templeton board of selectmen working for the benefit of Templeton? Only one of those board members still serve on the Templeton BOS. You can find the meeting minutes under mytowngovernment.org or you can watch the movie on tctv youtube, look for selectmen meeting May 8, 2019.