FY2020 GENERAL FUND BUDGET TO BE

SUBMITTED AT ANNUAL TOWN MEETING

Department code	Name	FY2020 Budget
120	Selectmen (1)	$ 358,250.00
130	Advisory Committee (2)	$   49,395.00
135	Town Accountant	$  193,470.00
141	Assessor	$    92,000.00
147	Treasurer/Collector	$  133,750.00
155	IT & Communication	$  100,000.00
161	Town Clerk	$   107,250.00
200	Police & Dispatch	$1,340,500.00
220	Fire & EMS	$    732,750.00
230	Emergency Management	$        1,750.00
250	Development Services	$    162,000.00
400	Highway	$    605,001.00
410	Building & Grounds	$    305,000.00
420	Snow & Ice	$    147,500.00
500	Veterans Service	$    104,122.00
600	Senior Services	$    152,999.00
610	Library	$      79,640.00
620	Recreation & Culture	$        9,750.00
700	Debt Service	$ 2,590,147.00
900	Insurance & Benefits	$ 2,425,000.00
Total		$9,690,274.00

(1) Contains reserve transferable by select board for CBAs and merit & equity raises for non-union personnel

(2) Contains reserve fund transferable by Advisory Committee [MGL chapter 40, section 6] for emergency and unforeseen expenditures.

Above is a document sent out via email from the board of selectmen office.

The date it was emailed out was April 11, 2019. Templeton general Town By-Laws state this information is to be in the hands of the advisory Committee by April 10. Another by-law over looked / ignored by the selectmen. Their own beginning of the year schedule showed "a drop dead date to submit budget and Town meeting warrant as April 8. 

Perhaps it is time to revisit the ambulance receipts reserved for appropriation Town Meeting vote and actually get the intent into the language so that fund will actually be used as it was presented; to pay for capital expenses involving ambulance service. Another move would be to create an enterprise fund where all ambulance receipts would go and the actual revenue and expenses of the ambulance service would be accounted for separate from the general fund. This would be a very visible and verifiable way to ensure residents of Templeton see the true cost of their town operating an ambulance service. Templeton simply has to look at conducting business in a different way. Making another deal that does not benefit Templeton is not the way to go, in my opinion. Depending on the movement of the next board of selectmen, it might require a citizens petition to make that happen. Probably the simplest move is to have another town meeting vote on ambulance receipts and have the motion worded so there can be manipulation by administration.

On Wednesday, April 10, 2019, board of selectmen approved the warrant for the upcoming Annual Town Meeting; they did not read each article, the town administrator skimmed through it, but the warrant nor the budget that will be presented to Town Meeting was not gone over. Perhaps the selectmen did not wish to high-lite the fact that they are asking voters for a $500.00 per selectmen stipend, per year. I would think that a board that has over the last several years pointed out that they are the leaders of the Town, that they would enthusiastically point out the product of the work they intend to present to Town Meeting.

To me, this is another example of a board looking to complete a meeting sooner rather than later, in my opinion. So, perhaps a question should be, why did none of the sitting selectmen as for a clear presentation of the warrant; the article number and subject of it. It would have been very clear that evening that the Town by-law concerning the Templeton Advisory Committee, submitted by that committee, was absent from the warrant in a separate article, which would have been in line with other by-law change articles contained in the warrant. It seems apparent that the selectmen did not wish to put that out at that meeting, they planned on it coming to light after the fact, after they signed it. My conclusion is any change to the Town by-law concerning Advisory Committee is now buried in the codification draft that has many changes as well as classification or organization of the Town's by-laws. In my opinion, this should bring pause and concern to all Town residents, as the Advisory Committee is a committee that represents town meeting when there is no town meeting in session. Advisory is a committee that Town Meeting can direct to investigate town governance with further direction to report back to the body at the next Annual Town Meeting. Again, it is my opinion that this action is a result of the current chairman of the board of selectmen and the town administrator to manage the Advisory Committee, thus taking from Town Meeting, the ability to have an independent watch over town affairs for them, Town Meeting, otherwise known as the legislative body of the town; a check on the selectmen and town administrator as well as town counsel.

This is another subject that will have my attention if elected to the board of selectmen in the upcoming election. Town Meeting has to be respected, Advisory Committee has to be respected and the board of selectmen and town administrator need to be reminded of their duties and obligations to residents! True discussion at open meetings such as a selectmen's meeting. There is no good reason that a selectmen meeting cannot be both orderly and productive, yet very open and transparent.

In case the town administrator tries to spin this; the draft town meeting warrant provided to the advisory committee is different than what was voted on by selectmen; in true open governance and a true working together attitude, it would have been a joint meeting of selectmen and advisory to go over the warrant, the election ballot and the town budget, as it will be presented to Town Meeting. This did not happen, if elected to the board of selectmen, this will be one of my personal goals to work towards, as I feel it would be a benefit to residents, as well as selectmen and Advisory Committee. After all, this effort would only require some time and if one runs for elective office or seeks appointive office, you should be willing and able to give up some of that commodity. I am both willing and able to do just that and I volunteer to do so without pay; none is desired nor expected.

Recently, a town resident, Kevin Bird, asked a question on face book, a very simple and direct question; what would I do about a partially burned out building on a road that is an entrance to the back bay area of Templeton? I responded that a single selectmen cannot really do much, however, a single selectmen can communicate these situations and suggest options, such as using the existing town by-laws to try and solve those issues.

I would like to speak to what a single selectmen can do; that is when a motion is made during a public meeting of the board of selectmen, it is not made in generic fashion, such as I make a motion to appoint members to various committees as presented. A single selectmen sitting at a meeting such as that can bring discussion that would make it clear who is being appointed to what, for how long and also bring forward things such as are there still openings on the entities before the board at that time, how long have any of the appointees already served, etc. In short, a sitting single selectmen can bring things like this forward to ensure more transparency to selectmen meetings. I believe that the purpose of having open public meetings are not to see how fast one can get through a meeting, rather that all things are discussed thoroughly and that everyone in attendance gets a chance to speak if they wish; in essence, participate in the process. I would also, if elected, correct some erroneous recent statements, such as "all towns that border Templeton have a $20.00 per thousand tax rate" which was not true then and is not true now.

The above is just one of the things a single sitting selectmen can do and that is one thing I will do if elected to the position of Templeton selectmen.

from the Town Administrator.
Weekly Report We got some good news from Monty Tech in that they certified their FY ’19 budget at a new figure below the appropriation by roughly $8k. We have received the grant from the state for $30k to purchase the software for Hubbardston accounting and are beginning the negotiation of the 3 year IMA for shared accounting services. 

The Fire/EMS RFP is in final draft and should be on track to be issued on 04/18.

 We finalized the budget and warrant and are setting up a hearing with Town Counsel present to discuss the many by-law proposals and 34 warrant articles.

Templeton Selectmen get grant to pay for accounting software for another town! While you were out, selectmen created another benefits covered employee in the Templeton Town Accountant office; so now the Templeton Town Accountant can go to Hubbardston and do their books too!

The assistant pay went from $18,903.00 (19.5 hrs.) to $49,780.00 (38 hrs.) plus benefits. Town accountant now gets a $7,500.00 increase listed as 2nd town & equity. The pay for assistant does not include health insurance costs and retirement. Retirement cost increase for the next 15 years will be high due to the actuarial requirement for Worcester regional Retirement system to be fully funded in 15 years . Town Administrator stated this is an expense neutral move  through an inter-municipal agreement, Hubbardston will pay Templeton an amount to cover the salary of the assistant. So, do you see this as a good move for Templeton? Your full time Town Accountant will now be available less because she will be busy with other Towns. Now, hand over some more money to pay for increased schools and your roads are still crap. This works well for Hubbardston but not Templeton, again. Thank You selectmen Brooks, selectmen Richards, selectmen Caplis and selectmen Morrison! Good job???

HOUSE W&M COMMITTEE OFFERS $42.7B FY 2020 BUDGET WITH KEY INVESTMENTS IN MUNICIPAL & SCHOOL AID

• INCLUDES THE FULL $29.7M INCREASE IN UNRESTRICTED MUNICIPAL AID (UGGA)

• INCREASES CHAPTER 70 BY $218M TO FUND MINIMUM AID AT $30 PER STUDENT

• INCREASES CHARTER SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENTS BY $23M

• ADDS $16.5M RESERVE FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS

• ADDS $5M TO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CIRCUIT BREAKER

• ADDS $5M MORE FOR REGIONAL SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION

• ADDS $1M TO McKINNEY-VENTO REIMBURSEMENTS

• LEVEL-FUNDS MOST OTHER MUNICIPAL AND SCHOOL ACCOUNTS

HOUSE W&M COMMITTEE OFFERS $42.7B FY 2020 BUDGET WITH KEY INVESTMENTS IN MUNICIPAL & SCHOOL AID • INCLUDES THE FULL $29.7M INCREASE IN UNRESTRICTED MUNICIPAL AID (UGGA) • INCREASES CHAPTER 70 BY $218M TO FUND MINIMUM AID AT $30 PER STUDENT • INCREASES CHARTER SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENTS BY $23M • ADDS $16.5M RESERVE FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS • ADDS $5M TO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CIRCUIT BREAKER • ADDS $5M MORE FOR REGIONAL SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION • ADDS $1M TO McKINNEY-VENTO REIMBURSEMENTS • LEVEL-FUNDS MOST OTHER MUNICIPAL AND SCHOOL ACCOUNTS   April 10, 2019 Dear Jeffrey Bennett, Earlier today, the House Ways & Means Committee reported out a $42.7 billion fiscal 2020 state budget plan to increase overall state expenditures by 3 percent. The House Ways & Means budget’s bottom line closely matches the budget filed by the Governor in January, yet allocates significantly more for school aid programs. The Chapter 70 aid increase is $17.7 million higher than the amount recommended by the Governor, by increasing minimum aid from $20 per student to $30 per student, and adopting a slightly different method of implementing the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission. The full House will debate the fiscal 2020 state budget during the week of April 22. House members must file all budget amendments by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12. (Usually, the House considers over 1000 amendments during budget debate week.) H. 3800, the House Ways & Means budget, provides progress on many important local aid priorities, including the full $29.7 million increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid that the Governor proposed and communities are counting on. The House W&M Committee would increase funding for other major aid programs, by adding $5 million to the Special Education Circuit Breaker, adding $5 million to Regional School Transportation, $1 million to McKinney-Vento reimbursements, and increasing Chapter 70 aid by $218 million more than fiscal 2019 levels.

Question of the day:
How does a selectmen serve on elementary school building committee, tours the school during construction and argues strongly for a clock to be placed in because there is a cutout for it to go and then make a statement of not knowing where the clock was going to go inside the building.

I think that goes to credibility on many other issues.
(my opinion)