from Massachusetts General Law, chapter 41;

Section 61: Annual report

Section 61. The town accountant shall make an annual report, to be published as a town document, giving a statement of all receipts and expenditures of the town for the past financial year, including those of funds managed by trustees or commissioners for the town and showing also the amount of each specific appropriation, the expenditures therefrom, and the purpose for which money has been spent; and said statement shall be arranged in accordance with the classifications prescribed by the director of accounts. Such report shall contain a statement of any change in the amount of the town debt during the year and a list of indebtedness incurred and unpaid at the end of the financial year.

from the Ledger History - expenditure Ledger - allocated summary

Some accounts/funds on this budget versus actual (so-called) show a % variation of more than 100%.

Solid waste disposal expenses:    113.24% var. shown as               -$842.01

Recycling revolving expenses:      218.11% var. shown as              - $983.67

COA revolving MART expenses:   148.68% var.  shown as         -$25,649.27

Elementary School:                      1,308.86% var.  shown as  -$1,287,015.44

Snow & Ice shows a deficit and that is allowed by law.

I can already hear the grumblings from Town Hall but this information is on a report from the Town Accountant and if those numbers are not negative or in deficit then perhaps it should be noted on the document as in an explanation. This was also on the agenda and discussed at the last meeting of the Advisory (finance) Committee.

posted by Jeff Bennett

from Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 41;

Section 52: Approval of bills

[ Text of section effective until November 7, 2016. For text effective November 7, 2016, see below.]

  Section 52. All accounts rendered to or kept in the departments of any city shall be subject to the inspection of the city auditor or officer having similar duties, and in towns they shall be subject to the inspection of the selectmen. The auditor or officer having similar duties, or the selectmen, may require any person presenting for settlement an account or claim against the city or town to make oath before him or them, in such form as he or they may prescribe, as to the accuracy of such account or claim. The wilful making of a false oath shall be punishable as perjury. The auditor or officer having similar duties in cities, and the selectmen in towns, shall approve the payment of all bills or pay rolls of all departments before they are paid by the treasurer, and may disallow and refuse to approve for payment, in whole or in part, any claim as fraudulent, unlawful or excessive; and in that case the auditor or officer having similar duties, or the selectmen, shall file with the city or town treasurer a written statement of the reasons for the refusal; and the treasurer shall not pay any claim or bill so disallowed. This section shall not abridge the powers conferred on town accountants by sections fifty-five to sixty-one, inclusive.

Chapter 41: Section 52. Approval of bills

[ Text of section as amended by 2016, 218, Sec. 57 effective November 7, 2016. For text effective until November 7, 2016, see above.]

  Section 52. All accounts rendered to or kept in the departments of any city shall be subject to the inspection of the city auditor or officer having similar duties, and in towns they shall be subject to the inspection of the selectmen. The auditor or officer having similar duties, or the selectmen, may require any person presenting for settlement an account or claim against the city or town to make oath before him or them, in such form as he or they may prescribe, as to the accuracy of such account or claim. The willful making of a false oath shall be punishable as perjury. The auditor or officer having similar duties in cities, and the selectmen in towns, shall approve the payment of all bills or pay rolls of all departments before they are paid by the treasurer, and may disallow and refuse to approve for payment, in whole or in part, any claim as fraudulent, unlawful or excessive; and in that case the auditor or officer having similar duties, or the selectmen, shall file with the city or town treasurer a written statement of the reasons for the refusal; and the treasurer shall not pay any claim or bill so disallowed. The board of selectmen may designate any 1 of its members for the purpose of approving bills or payrolls under this section; provided, however, that the member shall make available to the board, 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 of selectmen in the event of a noncompliance with this section. This section shall not abridge the powers conferred on town accountants by sections fifty-five to sixty-one, inclusive.

Section 58: Duties; notice of condition of appropriations; record of appropriations

Section 58. Whenever any appropriation shall have been expended or whenever, in the judgment of the town accountant, it appears that the liabilities incurred against any appropriation may be in excess of the unexpended balance thereof, he shall immediately notify the selectmen and the board, committee, head of department or officer authorized to make expenditures therefrom, and no claim against such appropriation shall be allowed nor any further liability incurred until the town makes provision for its payment. The town accountant shall, at regular intervals and as often at least as once each month, send to the selectmen and to each board, committee, head of department or officer having the disbursement of an appropriation a statement of the amount of orders approved and warrants drawn on behalf of said board, department or officer during the preceding month, and a statement of the balance of such appropriation remaining subject to draft. Each head of a department, board or committee authorized to expend money shall furnish the town accountant, at the close of the financial year, a list of bills remaining unpaid, showing to whom and for what due, and their amounts; and the town accountant shall incorporate the same in his annual report covering the financial transactions of the town, as provided by section sixty-one.

posted by Jeff Bennett

from the Templeton Town Moderator:

Derek Hall <dhall@templeton1.org>

 

|

Sun 5/21, 8:17 PM

You;

Templeton, MA Advisory Board (templetonadvisoryboard@gmail.com);

Inbox

Darlene Buelow was appointed and advised to see Carol to be sworn in. I will also appoint Robert May as they were the only people that applied for the position. If you would like to let the both know to see Carol to be sworn in that would be great.

Thanks
Derek

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 21, 2017, at 19:05, Templeton, MA Advisory Board <templetonadvisoryboard@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Derek
>
> At the Advisory Committee's last meeting on May 17th Gordon Moore resigned effective that day. As per the By-law he also informed the Town Clerk (Carol Harris)..  This now leaves 2 vacancies on the committee. that need to be filled.  The question I have is when will you be filling them.  The committee's next scheduled meeting is June 7th. Please let us know when these positions are filled and whom you have appointed and their terms so we can welcome them to the committee.
>
> Wilfred Spring
> Advisory Committee Chairman

posted by Jeff Bennett

Could this be Templeton??

Finance Committee Policy on One‐Time Revenues: 
It is the primary goal of the Dartmouth Finance Committee to ensure that budgets are fiscally responsible and sustainable; unfortunately, the recent trend has been toward a growing budget gap.  A 2007Massachusetts Department of Revenue audit of the town’s finances pointed to a number of root causes which we seek to address in order to move toward a sustainable long‐term financial outlook for the community. The largest problem area has been the trend of increasing reliance on one‐time revenues to pay for recurrent operating budgets.  These onetime revenues have included transfers from the stabilization fund, transfers from enterprise funds, sales of assets, special state “pothole” appropriations and department turn‐backs (unexpended money) from prior operating budgets.   When these one‐time sources of revenue were applied to recurring operating budgets, budgets increased beyond the amount of recurring revenue.  This required that leaner budgets be adopted, which in turn reduced the size of the turn backs.  The effect snowballed until the gap was critical.    The practice has also placed Dartmouth in a situation where our cash reserves are dangerously low.  Any unexpected expense could not be absorbed without borrowing.  A responsible cash reserve in the stabilization fund also improves the town’s ability to borrow money at favorable rates and allows it to self‐insure for a number of unexpected occurrences—allowing it to carry higher insurance deductibles and consequently lower insurance premiums. To stabilize the budget, the Finance Committee unanimously recommends the following policies: 1. One‐time revenues should only be applied to: Capital improvements, property acquisitions, contributions to the stabilization fund and single year casualties. 2. Budgets established in the spring town meeting should be considered to be “fully funded.”  As a general rule, there should be no supplemental appropriations to departmental operating budgets in the fall town meeting. 3. Departmental turn‐backs available in the fall town meeting should be deposited in the stabilization fund or applied to single year payments of capital improvements.  These purchases should not take on debt schedules that require future appropriations beyond what can be funded from the recurring revenue stream.   It is in nobody’s interest to grow budgets at an unsustainable rate—as we have seen, failure to maintain this financial discipline will quickly lead to painful decisions.  Even by adhering to these recommendations, the rate of increase in some expense categories will place strains on future budgets; but Dartmouth will be in a better position to meet these challenges if it maintains a disciplined approach to the budget process.


posted by Jeff Bennett

As excerpted from the Accountant’s Manual:
 Published by the Massachusetts Municipal Auditor’ and Accountants’ Association.
Below is a summary of the duties of the accountant/auditor:
 Verify that every expense payment is lawful and justified and that funding exists under the appropriate budget line item (MGL c. 41, §52).
 Maintain municipal books, including a general journal, general ledger, and subsidiary ledgers (MGL c. 41 §57).  Maintain detailed records of all debt (MGL c. 41 §57).
 Retain custody of all contracts and surety bonds (MGL c. 41 §57).
 At the close of the fiscal year, receive from each department, board, or committee a list of bills remaining unpaid (MGL c. 41 §58).
 Certify in advance the availability of an appropriation for any construction contract in excess of $2,000 (MGL c. 44 §31C).
 Certify to the assessor’s expenditures, approved in advance, expenses in excess of available appropriations for snow and ice removal (MGL c. 44 §31D).
 At least monthly, prepare reports for officers and department heads that show total appropriations, expenditures, and balances in each appropriation (MGL c. 41 §58).
 Provide notification when an appropriation has been expended or appears likely to become overdrawn (MGL c. 41 §58).
 Furnish the assessors with a written report detailing money received for the preceding fiscal year from sources other than taxes, loans, and trust funds (MGL c. 41 §54A).
 By May 1 each year, notify the assessor in writing of the amount of debt falling due in the next fiscal year and the provisions made to meet debt requirements (MGL c. 44 §16).
 Immediately upon the close of the calendar year, prepare statements detailing the preceding year’s appropriations and expenditures; appropriations for the current fiscal year; expenditures incurred during the first six months; estimated expenditures for the second six months; and estimates for the ensuing fiscal year (MGL c. 41 §60).
 Make an annual report that provides the receipts and expenditures for the past fiscal year from all funds; shows the specific appropriation amounts, expenditures and purposes; states any change in municipal debt; and lists indebtedness incurred and unpaid at the end of the fiscal year (MGL c. 41 §61).
 Annually prepare and furnish to the DLS Director of Accounts a 1) Schedule A, 2) statement of public debt, and 3) Balance Sheet (MGL c. 44, §43)


posted by Jeff Bennett

From the labor 39 contract – Highway;

L.O.T. = Laborer/Operator/Truck driver.

July 1, 2016	Class	Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4
Foreman	H8			$20.24	$21.86
Mechanic	H6		$20.45	$21.48	$22.49
Asst., Mechanic	H4	$14.54	$16.28	$18.03	$20.35
L.O.T	H2	$14.09	$15.74	$17.39	$19.70

July 1, 2017	Class	Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4
Foreman	H8			$20.64	$22.30
Mechanic	H6		$20.85	$21.91	$22.94
Asst., Mechanic	H4	$14.84	$16.61	$18.39	$20.76
L.O.T	H2	$14.37	$16.06	$17.73	$20.09

July 1, 2018	Class	Step 1	Step 2	Step 3
Foreman	H8		$21.06	$23.21
Mechanic	H6	$21.27	$22.35	$23.87
Asst., Mechanic	H4	$16.95	$18.76	$21.61
L.O.T	H2	$16.39	$18.09	$20.91

Beginning July 1, 2018, step 4 will be eliminated and a new step 3 established. Step 3 will require 130 pay periods and all licenses for steps 1 & 2 plus a 4G (specialty roadside mower) endorsement.

The above is from the labor contract between the Town of Templeton and highway labor. Why this would be important to know; it affects the fiscal year 2019 budget/expense plan that will ultimately be brought forward. This contract along with others that will be highlighted later, have an effect on expenses as it represents monies already spoken for and not available for other things. Pretty much the same effect as long term debt, as contracts do represent debt of the Town in the form of a promissory note, so to speak. (This is my opinion on that subject) The contract can be found on Templeton town website, under boards and committees - selectmen - contracts/agreements. You have to look for them.

posted by Jeff Bennett

From Templeton Selectmen Policies and Procedures;

The Chairman of the Board shall:
1. Preside at all meetings of the Board. In doing so, he/she shall maintain order in the meeting room, recognize speakers, call for votes and preside over the discussion of agenda items.
2. Sign official documents that require the signature of the Chairman. A vote may be taken for the Chairman to sign when needed.
3. Call special meetings in accordance with the Open Meeting Law.
4. Prepare agenda with the Town Administrator.
5. Arrange orientation for new members.
6. Represent the Board at meetings, conferences and other gatherings unless otherwise determined by the Board or delegated by the Chairman.

The Chairman shall have the same rights as other members to discuss questions and to vote thereon. In the Absence of other offerings he/she may introduce motions, seconds to motions and resolutions.

AGENDA PROCEDURES: The responsibility for coordinating and planning the meeting agenda is that of the Town Administrator. Each of the Board members and the Town Administrator may place items on the agenda. The Town Administrator, in consultation with the Chairman, will schedule a realistic time period for each appointment, interview, conference or other schedule of business. All items for the agenda will be submitted to the Town Administrator by Wednesday preceding the next scheduled meeting to allow time to arrange, produce and post the agenda while giving all Board members time to prepare for the meeting. Items of emergency or strictly routine that develop after closing the agenda may be considered under “topics not anticipated by the Chairman 48 hours in advance” Agenda items normally include:
1. Reading of the Agenda
2. Public Comment
3. Town Administrator Report
4. Scheduled Business
5. Topics not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chairman 48 Hours in Advance
6. Selectman Reports/Future Agenda Items
7. Adjournment

Members of the Board, staff, Town Administrator or others who prepare background material for the meeting should make an effort to have such material available for the Tuesday afternoon preceding the meeting. If background information is not provided or is insufficient or complicated or if complex memos or motions are presented at the meeting which were not in the Board’s meeting packet, any member should feel free to request the tabling of the item to allow careful study of the material presented or the motion proposed. The agenda will be available to the public and the press at the Selectmen’s Office 48 hours in advance of the meeting date, as per the Open Meeting Law, and will be posted on the Town website before the meeting.

At one selectmen meeting, a question was asked about the agenda and a meeting topic, Administrative assistant Holly Young stated "I just changed it" and this was during the meeting and after the item in question had already been part of the discussion.



posted by Jeff Bennett