Another hour, another email.

Good day, just so all  is clear, a Town bylaw on council on the aging and I do not wish to waste anyone's time, but, bylaw states 

§ 9-22Membership; compensation; appointment; terms.

The Council shall consist of five members, who shall serve without pay. Potential Council members shall be nominated by a majority vote of the existing members of the Council, and no member so nominated for Council membership is to serve on the Council until appointed by the Select Board. Such persons shall be appointed on a rotating basis, each for a three-year term. There shall be at least a one-year hiatus prior to re-appointment after the second full term is served.

If there is not a majority or a quorum on the council of aging, how is this bylaw to be followed? Town website currently shows 4 seats open n council of aging, so ya'll appointed people to council on aging without a majority, which means you selectmen violated another town bylaw. This is a bylaw that certainly needs adjustment. This would be strike 2 in bylaw violations. I believe you also did not follow selectmen policy on procedures regarding public hearing last night on culvert. First glance the placement of that item on agenda seems to be out of place, probably should have been first up so as to follow your operating procedures policy.

regards,

Jeff Bennett

 No Mercy and no let up until they get it right, it is what they are paid to do!

my latest email to town administrator and board of selectmen.

To: 

Adam D. Lamontagne;

Toth, Timothy;

Currie, Michael;

Griffis, Terry;

Rivard, Matthew;

Advisory Committee 

Thu 6/29/2023 9:26 AM

Good day, here is another example of town employees, town administrator as well as selectmen failing in their obligation to follow rules, laws and policies.

Templeton town bylaws, as in a vote by town legislative body, as in vote of residents:

§ 47-4Town Counsel.

[Amended 8-31-1978]

A. 

The Board shall annually in June appoint a Town Counsel, who is a member of the bar in good standing, to serve for the term of one year from the first day of July following and until his successor is appointed and enters upon the performance of his duties. It shall likewise fill any vacancies in said office for the unexpired term, and may employ special counsel to assist the Town Counsel whenever, in its judgment, necessity therefor arises.

Another nice job of failure to meet your obligations, as well as doing what you are paid to do. So, no, it is not doing the thing right and waiting until the next or new fiscal year! Doing it right would have been doing it in month of June, before July 1 and the new fiscal year.

regards,

Jeff Bennett

 Way back in 2016: (I copied this off Templeton town facebook page back then)

Message from Town Administrator Bob Markel

The Department of Revenue has always discouraged the use of free cash to balance the budget. Bond rating agencies do the same, and the low bond rating for the Town reflects, in part, the lavish use of free cash to fund the operating budget. However, this is not illegal; it is simply unsound financial policy.

The amount of free cash available changes yearly, and it is not predictable. Free cash is considered one-time revenue, and the Department of Revenues recommends that it used to augment the Stabilization Fund (reserves) or for one-time purchases like capital items.

Audit firms do not do a thorough job of auditing the books (unfortunately). They come and test various areas of the town’s finances to see if there are problems, but some problems are not caught and can persist for years. They tell you up front that they cannot do a thorough audit for the relatively modest amount they charge. The DOR representative at today’s meeting called the standard municipal audit a “hit and run” audit. Still, some firms are more reputable and more competent than others. I cannot name names in this message, but there are several firms that I would never hire.

Recommendation: The Selectboard should create an Audit Committee of knowledgeable citizens who will have two responsibilities: 1) Bid the audit contract every three years, and hire an independent auditor; and 2) Receive the annual audit and do a public review of the findings and the management letter. Municipal auditors are typically hired by the Town Administrator, Town Accountant or Finance Director. This is an inherent conflict of interest since town officials who do the hiring are the ones whose work is being audited. Hiring and receiving the audit should be an arm’s length transaction from the Town’s financial team.

The Department of Revenue oversees 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. They accept data provided by the Town Accountant, the Treasurer/Collector and the Assessors. They often question the data, but they are not always able to verify if data submitted on the Tax Recap or Schedule A are accurate. The DOR does not have access to the town’s accounting system. For example, the DOR was in Templeton today to question whether the Town has properly reported debt obligations on the DE-1 section of Schedule A. Some debt is paid from general revenue within the town budget and some debt is paid through debt exclusion. There is a correct way to report these two types of debt on Schedule A. The DOR representatives checked to see if the Town reported the data correctly, but they are limited in their ability to verify the accuracy of the data.

The long term solution to Templeton’s financial problems is to hire a professional Town Administrator who will put in place a competent financial management team – Accountant, Treasurer, Collector and Assessors. The Selectmen and Advisory Board have the responsibly to oversee the T.A. and the financial team on their management of the Town’s finances. To complement the BoS and Advisory Board, the Audit Committee should retain a reputable accounting firm to conduct an annual audit with the results made public.

Bob Markel
Interim Town Administrator

 This chicken is finally coming home to roost.

Town audit management letter, FY22.

Indirect costs of enterprise funds - water, sewer and light indirect costs are approved at town meeting and transfers are made annually into the general fund. However, they are not reflected as transfers on tax recap, but instead as miscellaneous revenues and expenses. Furthermore, the transfers are not made if sufficient resources do not exist in the enterprise funds and there is no formal process to the calculation of indirect costs from year to year.

This could be another reason for Templeton to pursue a new accountant, as the current one appears to not know how to make proper entries and where to record certain financial transactions, in my opinion.

 

Once again, Templeton did not make the cut.

Many years ago the Massachusetts Municipal Auditors’ and Accountants’ Association (MMAAA) established a Certification Program to provide a measurement of achievement for governmental auditors and accountants. The Program, which is purely voluntary and restricted only to members, is offered by the Association to advance the professionalism of its members.

Members who pass both the Practical (Accounting) and Legal examinations and meet all of the educational and experience requirements are recognized as a Certified Governmental Accountants (CGA) by the Association. The examinations, which are very in-depth, test a member’s knowledge of municipal accounting and law. The examinations are held at the Annual School (usually at U-Mass, Amherst in March), and the certificates are awarded to those newly certified members at our Annual Meeting (usually at Cape Cod in June).

In order to retain CGA status, one must be a continuous member of the Association every year, and attend the Annual School at least once every three years.

EXAMINATION INFORMATION: LEGAL EXAM:

 This 30-minute exam consists of 25 multiple choice questions. Each question is worth 4 points. Minimum passing grade is 72. 

PRACTICAL EXAM: This 2 ½ hour exam consists of 10 problems worth 10 points each. Problems require specific journal entries and calculations. You may be required to prepare financial statements. Questions involving mathematical calculations must have an exact answer. Some problems allow for partial credit. Minimum passing grade is 70. 

The following suggested topics are recommended for your review: 

Recording Town Meeting or City Council Appropriations; Recording Tax Recap Sheet Items; 

Recording current year Cash Receipts and Disbursements; Recording Tax Titles and Tax Possessions; Recording Departmental Committed Bills and associated Cash Receipts, Refunds and Abatements; Recording Loans Authorized and Bond Anticipation Notes; 

 Recording Year End Adjusting and Closing Entries; 

Recording Year End Accruals and Opening Reversal Entries; General Account Classification by title - Asset, Liability, or Fund Balance; Recording Journal Entries for Capital Projects; 

Journal Entries for Receivables; Journal Entries for Transfers Between Funds; 

Calculation of Available Funds (Free Cash); 

 Reconciliation of Cash – by Treasurer and Auditor/Accountant; Calculation of Principal and Interest Payments on Long Term Bond Issues 

IMPORTANT REMINDERS: DURING THE EXAM: Pens/Pencils and non-programmable business calculators will be allowed during the exam. No other materials/books/papers will be allowed on the table. All cell phones and electronic devices, other than calculators, must be turned off during the exam. Please note that smartphones and other similar devices cannot be used as calculators for the exams.

Congratulations to Our Newly Certified Members 2023!

Xinyue (Cheryl) Allen - Town Accountant- Town of Stockbridge

David Andrus - Town Accountant - Town of Tyngsborough

Kelly Beyer - Town Accountant - Town of Carlisle

Morgan Dwinell - Finance & Budget Analyst - Town of Wellesley

Andrew Foster - Town Accountant - Town of Medfield

Shawn McGoldrick - Internal Auditor - Town of Braintree

Tiana Moreau - Assistant Town Accountant - Town of Wellesley

Ellen Petrillo - Town Accountant - Town of Groveland

Allyson Podgurski - Assistant Town Accountant - Town of Canton

Jennifer Reddington - Comptroller/ Finance Director - City of Leominster

Michelle Rota - Assistant Town Accountant - Town of Bridgewater

Amelia (Amy) Tierney - Town Accountant - Town of Edgartown

Teena Tilton - Town Accountant - Town of Eastham

Stela Zaloshnja - Deputy Comptroller - City of Newton

 MGL c. 90 § 17C defines a thickly settled or business district as "the territory contiguous to any way which is built up with structures devoted to business, or the territory contiguous to any way where dwelling houses are situated at such distances as will average less than two hundred feet between them for a distance of a quarter of a mile or over."

In 2016, legislation was passed (Sections 193 and 194 of Chapter 218 of the Acts of 2016) to create two new sections to MGL c.90§17C.

• Section 193 allows a municipality to opt-in to Section 17C of Chapter 90 of the MGL, thereby reducing the statutory speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on any or all city- or town-owned roadways within a thickly settled or business district. The legislation also requires cities and towns to notify MassDOT of these changes.
• Section 194 creates Section 18B of Chapter 90 of the MGL, allowing municipalities to establish regulatory 20 mph safety zones. Since this creates a regulatory speed limit, the MUTCD requires an engineering study prior to the establishment of the safety zone, and it should conform to the guidance found in the MassDOT Procedures for Speed Zoning.

If a municipality opts-in, it will not supersede any existing posted speed limit.  The legislation only affects streets that are currently governed by a statutory speed limit.  If an existing special speed regulation is in place, it will continue to govern.

MassDOT recommends that if a municipality opts-in to MGL c. 90 § 17C, that it does so on a city- or town-wide basis to avoid potential confusion for drivers. However, cities and towns do have the option to opt-in on a street-by-street basis. Once a municipality has opted-in to MGL c. 90 § 17C, it is required to notify MassDOT.

Who is on first base? 

Email sent this morning, June 16, 2023:

Good day, first off, please forward to Matt Rivard as well.

So, on June 14, 2023, ya'll appointed Mike Currie to EDIC for a term of one year, (see packet of 6/14/2023) which is fine, except back on December 14, 2022, we appointed Liz Toth and Mike Currie to EDIC, both to a term expiring on 6/30/2025. So much for paid staff keeping up, never mind board of selectmen tracking stuff.

Point of interest, ya'll listed change order for 10 Pleasant Street in April 26, 2023 meeting minutes but you did not include the two photos (I have all those documents) and you also did not list the TA evaluation paper work that was discussed on April 26, 2023. Now, just in case anyone wishes to try and shovel me some stuff about exemptions, 

(d) Documents and other exhibits, such as photographs, recordings or maps, used by the body at an open or executive session shall, along with the minutes, be part of the official record of the session.

(e) The minutes of any open session, the notes, recordings or other materials used in the preparation of such minutes and all documents and exhibits used at the session, shall be public records in their entirety and not exempt from disclosure pursuant to any of the exemptions under clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the following materials shall be exempt from disclosure to the public as personnel information: (1) materials used in a performance evaluation of an individual bearing on his professional competence, provided they were not created by the members of the body for the purposes of the evaluation;

The evaluation of the TA was complete using paper work created by the board, as in chair, as in I have the email from one chair, Mike Currie and a second chair, Tim Toth, so I do not believe any exemption pertains to this item. Did you all or the TA and chairman intentionally leave the eval off the list? I hope no more money is wasted on town counsel to answer any future OML complaints, I mean you all did not list the documents per OML, a mistake made often, not the end of the world, but it does matter. Please fix this stuff and ensure paid staff follow the rules when putting minutes in front of you for a vote and make sure you actually do what that form you all should have signed says to do. Thank You.

regards,

Jeff Bennett

 Templeton selectmen receive a couple open meeting law violation complaints, they try to cover their ass by amending the minutes, but on one set of minutes, they neglect to include all documents used at meeting (I happened to have been at the "table" at that meeting. The board amended minutes to include a change order document for May 10, 2023 meeting, they failed to also list 2 photographs that were also used at meeting. The law states "all documents used at a meeting to be listed on meeting minutes." I guess they like complaints!

All people elected or appointed to positions on public bodies required to sign a document stating you received a copy of open meeting law, you understand it, will follow it and keep up with any changes, apparently, they follow that about as good as they follow their own policy on procedures. They also fail to ensure town employees do their job and keep the town web site updated, even as residents provide money to do just that.

 Morning email to Town Administrator and a couple selectmen.

Good day, I believe at the last meeting of Templeton select board, Mr. Tim Toth was voted as select board rep to capital improvement committee. If one checks the boards and committee posting of town web site, Mr. Michael Currie is listed as select board rep. This was voted on May 24, 2023, which seems like plenty of time to get this updated. I believe this is one of the reasons we have paid people in town hall for, per town meeting vote, Templeton town website is an official place for posting of town information and it should be up to date. Thank You.

regards,

Jeff Bennett

 Templeton, MA, selectmen meeting of October 11, 2016. Meeting minutes reflect the following.

d) Action RE: Audit Status Report~ Mr. Terenzini explained that we need to find out if Clifton Larson will release us from the engagement letter for FY13. He has been in touch

with them and we should know within the next few days. Town Accountant, Kelli Pontbriand, explained the firms that she has spoken to and gotten quotes from and her preferences regarding the best option for Templeton to hire. Ms. Haley Brooks made a

motion for the Chairman of the Board to make the final decision so long as it is option 1, 2 or 3 from the Audit Options Update memo from Carter Terenzini dated 10/11/16. Mr. Morrison seconded the motion. The vote was 4 yes.

Note: Clifton Larson Allen

Interestingly, MA in 2023, Governor Maura Healey said Friday she is hoping Massachusetts can avoid having to reimburse the national government for $2.5 billion in federal money the state wrongly used to fund jobless benefits under her predecessor, a mistake she called “avoidable.” The situation has spurred a host of questions that, so far, remain unanswered, including how the mixup of state and federal funds occurred or why multiple audits failed to catch it until recently. The mishap was flagged by an outside firm, CliftonLarsonAllen, that the state comptroller hired to review the state’s annual financial report.

I firmly believe some things would have gone differently (in a better way financially for the town) if the Town had stayed with CLA audit firm.

 Watch the June 1, 2023 meeting of Templeton advisory committee and see them violate the open meeting law.

CERTIFICATE OF RECEIPT OF OPEN MEETING LAW MATERIALS

I, ____________________________________, who qualified as a member of the

(Name)

______________________________________, on ________________, certify pursuant

(Public Body) (Date)

to G.L. c. 30A, § 20(h) and 940 CMR 29.04, that I have received and reviewed copies of the following Open Meeting Law materials:

1) the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18-25;

2) the Attorney General’s Regulations, 940 CMR 29.00–29.11;

3) the Attorney General’s Open Meeting Law Guide, explaining the Open Meeting Law and its application; and

4) if applicable, a copy of each Open Meeting Law determination issued by the Attorney General within the last five (5) years to the public body of which I am a member and in which the Attorney General found a violation of the Open Meeting Law.

I have read and understand the requirements of the Open Meeting Law and the consequences of violating it. I further understand that the materials I have received may be revised or updated from time to time, and that I have a continuing obligation to implement any

changes to the Open Meeting Law during my term of office.

All persons who are elected or appointed to public office are supposed to sign the above certificate and turn it into the town ethics liaison. In Templeton, that is the town administrator. Ethics liaison is the keeper of the paperwork and is supposed to ensure the schedule is followed, as when people are supposed to do ethics training, get a copy of summary of ethics laws in MA, etc. It is my understanding, the select board in Templeton already have 2 pending open meeting law complaints to deal with. They are simple easy to avoid / fix issues, that is if you do what the certificate of receipt states to do, which seems to be the issue, it is not being followed.