Why does Templeton keep missing the boat?

Updated Jul 25, 2018 at 10:30 PM

 

HUBBARDSTON — Town officials have ap­­proved the Rutland Reg­ional Emergency Com­munication Center’s plan to add the town of Warren to the center, which will save Hubbard­ston thousands of dollars.

Currently, the Com­munication Center serves Barre, Oakham, Rutland and Hubbardston.

However, it will expand to include Warren starting in January, which will save Hubbardston roughly $18,000 a year. Currently, the town spends $134,241 on dispatch, but after the savings begin the town will spend $116,502.

“There are no known drawbacks to adding Warren,” Director of Communications Michael Moriarty said. “There won’t be any change in service to any of the towns, and Hubbardston will have the same service.”

In order to address the additional calls, the Communication Center is hiring additional dispatchers in order to assure no change in service with the addition of Warren.

“We are happy to be realizing long-term savings due to the addition of Warren into RECC,” Board of Selectmen Chairman Dan Galante said. “We feel as though we vetted it thoroughly and asked all of the necessary questions to make sure the citizens of Hubbardston are unaffected by this merger.”

Hubbardston was the last town to approve Warren into the center.

With Warren added, the current capacity of the facility will be maxed out, but the center is still looking at options to allow future expansions that could save the towns even more money.

“We are looking at new locations to continue to grow,” Moriarty said. “The building next door to us actually, if we move into that we will be able to hold even more towns.”

With each town that is added to the center, there will be more overall savings for the towns already participating.

The Communications Center has also found additional savings in switching to Swift 911, swapping out Code Red, for recorded mass emergency calls. Swift 911 offers the same townwide calling services that CodeRed does, for about $7,000 less to the cost of each town using the center.

With Swift 911, the town is able to make wide-ranging calls for a number of scenarios, notably emergencies like floods or serious crime, but Swift 911 will also allow people to sign up for specific call lists, so they can be notified about non-emergencies like town meetings as well.

from the Templeton Town website - Selectmen operating procedures policy:

h, Accept the office of selectmen as a means of unselfish service, not benefit personally or politically from the office or outside activities.

So, by being elected to the board of selectmen, and then ask for pay, is that benefiting from being a selectmen? Seems like if you are a selectmen and are asking for pay, you are trying to benefit from the office and thus going against the policy you voted for? Very interesting.

As a candidate for Templeton Board of Selectmen; 
NO stipends / pay for selectmen

This year, there are multiple openings on the Templeton Advisory Committee;

Please consider volunteering for this most important committee.

It can be interesting and educational as well.

You may email Holly Young in the Board of Selectmen's office at hyoung@Templetonma.gov

You may visit the selectmen's office in Town Hall and ask for a committee interest form.

You can find the interest form online at Templetonma.gov

You may contact the Moderator Derek Hall via email at dhall@templetonma.gov

The committee presently meets on Thursday evenings beginning at 6:30 P.M. at Town Hall.

There can be a few more meetings beginning in January.

This is an opportunity to be part of the process and the committee needs new people with open and varied view points.

Please consider volunteering for this important and interesting committee.

Lucas McDiarmid, the District Director for Senator Anne M. Gobi is holding monthly office hours at the Town Hall to meet with area residents.  He will be in Room 1 at Town Hall.  His next office hours will be held on:

Wednesday, May 22, 2019, from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at Templeton Town Hall, 160 Patriots Road, East Templeton, MA 

Lucas is available to meet with constituents who cannot make office hours, by scheduling separate appointments. Please contact him by phone at 413-324-3082, or via email Lucas.McDiarmid@MAsenate.gov

TOWN COUNSEL REQUEST FOR WRITTEN ARGUMENTS

 IN FAVOR OF AND IN OPPOSITION TO 

PROPOSITION 2 ½ OVERRIDE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020 OPERATING BUDGET 

On March 29, 2019 the Board of Selectmen voted to accept Section 18B of Chapter 53 of the Massachusetts General Laws, which authorizes the Board of Selectmen to print information relating to local ballot questions (the “Printed information”). On April 10, 2019, the Board of Selectmen voted to include the following question on the ballot for the May 20, 2019 Annual Town Election:

 “Shall the Town of Templeton be allowed to assess an additional $988,336 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of opening and operating the new Templeton Center Elementary School and paying for additional operating costs of the Narragansett Regional School District, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019? 

Yes____ No____” 

In addition to the full text wording of the question, Section 18B provides that the Printed Information must include: 1) a fair and concise summary of the question, which shall be prepared by the Town Counsel, including a one sentence statement describing the effect of a yes or no vote; and 2) arguments, of not more than 150 words, both for and against the question.

Town Counsel is required to “seek written arguments from the principal proponents and opponents of the question” and to “contact each ballot question committee, if any.” Town Counsel is authorized to determine, based on the arguments received, the person or group best able to present arguments for and against the question. If no argument is submitted for a particular position, Town Counsel is required by law to prepare the argument.

Therefore, this request is being issued by Town Counsel, Miyares and Harrington LLP, through the office of the Town Clerk, for written arguments “for” and “against” the Proposition 2 ½ override question. Arguments must be submitted to the Town Clerk for delivery to the Town Counsel, no later than April 25, 2019. The arguments determined to appear on the ballot will be included in the Printed Information that will be mailed to each voter household at least seven days before the Annual Town Election. All arguments filed or prepared will also be available in the office of the Town Clerk and at the polling places on the day of the election.

If you are interested in participating in this process, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 978- 894-2758 (phone), 978-894-2790 (fax), or by email to charris@templetonma.gov.

House to Start FY20 State Budget Debate Today

Representatives to Decide on All Municipal and School Amendments

Please Call Your Representatives TODAY, and Ask them to Support Higher Chapter 70 Minimum Aid, Charter School Reimbursements, School Transportation Reimbursements, PILOT Funding, and Other Key Priorities

State Senator Anne Gobbi - 617-722-1540

Anne Gobbi: Templeton Town Hall on April 24, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. - 12:00 noon.

State Representative Susannah Whipps - 617-722-2090

School Aid

Ask Your Representatives to Support the Following Amendments:

• Chapter 70 Minimum Aid at $50 per Student (#992), instead of the $30 in H. 3800

• Full Funding of Charter School Impact Payments (#615)

• Retaining a 6-Year Charter School Reimbursement Schedule (#340)

• Full Funding for Regional School Transportation Reimbursements (#44)

• Full Funding for McKinney-Vento Student Transportation Reimbursements (#244)

• Funding for Out-of-District Vocational Student Transportation (#480 and #482)

• Funding for Summer Jobs for At-Risk Youth (#1285 and #1011)

Ask Your Representatives to Oppose the following Harmful Amendments:

• Increasing the Charter School Facilities Formula Component, which would Reduce Funds that could be Used to Offset Losses to Charter Schools (#615 and #1340)

Municipal Aid

Ask Your Representatives to Support the Following Amendments:

• Increased Funding for PILOT – the Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes Program (#878)

• Increased Funding for Shannon Anti-Gang Grants (#127)

• Increased Funding for Local Planning Grants (#836, #233, and #391)

• Increased Funding for Public Libraries (#337, #863, and #339)

• Increased Funding for the Housing Choice Initiative Program (#1215)

• Increased Funding for Labor Relations Staffing (#864, #77, and #798)

• Increased Funding for Complete Count Census Grants (#1354)

General Budget Amendments

Ask Your Representatives to Support the Following Amendments:

• Fixing Problems in the Tax Title Law (#100)

• Updating the Outdated Statute Governing Solar Property Tax Exemptions (#803)

• Creating an Extractor Bulk Purchasing Trust Fund (#286)