According to the association of town finance committee handbook, there is no emergency reserve fund, only a reserve fund for extraordinary and unforeseen expenditures, Other uses of the fund require budgetary transfers by town meeting. Massachusetts General Law, chapter 40, section 6 also notes it is a reserve fund, no mention of emergency in name or for use.

Templeton advisory committee has posted on their webpage that unforeseen is unexpected, unanticipated, not able to be predicted at the time the budget was set, which is at town meeting.

Also posted there is extraordinary as beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established; a cost not arising from normal activities. No where is the word emergency used.

 Line Item budget you say; Town Meeting spoke back in 2014 and again in May, 2021 by way of article 22,  On a motion duly made and seconded the town voted to recommend that the Town Administrator, pursuant to the discretion as to form and detail afforded by Art. II, § 28-7 of the Bylaws, continue to present the annual budget in an omnibus form, rather than in a line item or any other form.

 Passed/May 12th @ 9:51 pm

Think the town should go back to a line item budget, present a citizens petition to ask town meeting that question.

Statutory authority of a finance committee (advisory) does not change from town to town - they control the reserve fund, they are involved in end of year transfers, changing spending limits on revolving funds, making recommendations to town meeting. Their role in town governance does change from town to town. I do not say that, it is stated in the handbook of town finance (advisory) committees.

page 12 in the handbook - Finance Committee: The finance committee is a town’s official fiscal watchdog. Its primary responsibility is to advise and make recommendations to town meeting on the budget and other areas of finance, although in many towns they prepare and submit the budget as well as comment on it. The state statutory authority of the finance committee does not vary from community to community, but the role and process does. (See “The Role of the Finance Committee” at the beginning of the Handbook.) 

 The fund that was part of a reserve fund transfer request to Advisory Committee, had only $54.69 left in it at the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2021.

Advisory Committee own policy states:

Extraordinary: A) Beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established; a cost not arising from normal activities in the course of business. B) Exceptional in character, amount, extent, degree, etc.; noteworthy, remarkable.
• Unforeseen: unexpected, unanticipated; not able to be predicted at the time the budget was set.

Can anyone predict a culvert will fail? Is culvert failure usual, ordinary or regular?

Snow & Ice funding has nothing to do with this request, why was it part of discussion on part of Advisory? If you reduce snow & Ice funding below previous year, you cannot deficit spend.

 download (mass.gov)

https://www.mass.gov/doc/order-to-show-cause-in-the-matter-of-john-caplis/download

 YOUR MONEY: First contract for clear gov is $6,250.00 is it worth it?

Fiscal Year	cost	3% increase	Total
2021	$6,250.00	N/A	$6,250.00
2022	$6,250.00	$187.50	$6,438.00
2023	$6,438.00	$193.00	$6,631.00
2024	$6,631.00	$197.00	$6,828.00
2025	$6,828.00	$205.00	$7.033.00
2026	$7,033.00	$211.00	$7,244.00

 

Website and domain name costs: directed by town by-law chapter 22-section 19

Fiscal Year	website	Domain	Increase	Total
2018	$2,500.00	$450.00	zero	$2,950.00
2019	$2,500.00	$450.00		$2,950.00
2020	$2,500.00	$450.00		$2,950.00
2021	$2,500.00	$450.00		$2,950.00
2022	$2,625.00	$450.00	$125.00	$3,075.00

 

 

*Information on Clear Gov already available on division local services website & DESE site for no additional direct cost impact. Already supported by way of state taxes.

*Recent budget presentations and justifications for staff raises, to take care of town website. As quick as link for clear gov was put in place (after it was pointed out it was not) link for DLS data analytics should be able to be linked to town web site.

*DLS data analytics contains same information as clear gov.

VADAR service, which town already has and pays for, except water dept.??? Has cloud service for secure data access anywhere (computer) finance reports, 5 clicks (schedule A).

 The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has updated its Chapter 90 program web portal and released several informational resources related to the program for municipalities.

A new Municipal Guidance Document reviews eligible expenses under the program and details project planning and implementation processes that are considered best practices.

The document provides instructions for municipalities to use MaPIT, a GIS-driven project initiation and screening tool developed by MassDOT that will now support Chapter 90 project requests. MaPIT replaces paper-based Chapter 90 request forms, which have been transferred to this online system.

Another new resource is a toolkit designed to support local planning efforts. An Excel spreadsheet provides templates of the following documents:
• Annual Chapter 90 Checklist
• Asset Condition List
• Bridge Inventory List
• Infrastructure Budget
• Project Planning
• Project Prioritization Matrix (unweighted and weighted)

The MassDOT also developed a two-page Quick-Start Guide that briefly describes how the Chapter 90 funding allocation is calculated, what counts as eligible expenses, and how the program works.

The department notes that these new resources do not change any rules or regulations set forth for the Chapter 90 program and do not impact the funding authorizations established by the governor and the Legislature.

The Chapter 90 program (authorized through M.G.L. Ch. 90, Sec. 34) provides reimbursement funding to municipalities for the implementation of capital improvements on local public ways.

 Feds erase, Templeton makes it up; 

Town Meeting Times is a book/guide put together by the moderators association, it is for Town Meeting, not for, say, an advisory committee meeting. Speaking of moderators and advisory committee, do you know Templeton has a by-law (local governance allowed by commonwealth constitution) that spells out who and how members get appointed to Advisory committee; there is a time frame that allows moderator to appoint a member and after that time frame, the advisory committee can appoint a member to serve until the next annual town meeting. On appointments, there is a state law requirement that elected or appointed members must, within 30 days of being elected or appointed, complete online training on conflict of interest law, there is also a requirement of receiving and signing a form / certificate of receipt of open meeting law materials; it states you have OML, attorney general regulations, open meeting law guide, a copy of each OML determination by AG within last 5 years to the public body of which you may become a member to and in which the AG found a violation of the OML. This form further states, I have read, understand the requirements of OML and consequences of violating it. The is no Templeton by-law, no voted on formal policy overriding this state law on the 30 days after being appointed, again, Newly elected or appointed public employees must complete this training within 30 days of beginning public service, and every 2 years thereafter. In addition, every year all state, county and municipal employees must be provided with the summary of the conflict of interest law. If you wish to volunteer for your community, know the procedures.