Templeton town owned cemeteries regulations plainly state "Maintenance of monument/stone is responsibility of lot owner." So, if lot owner puts something on top of the monument/stone, it should not be touched by any other persons, maintenance, landscaping, etc., personnel. Apparently, that is not the case in Templeton. Another bylaw, regulation not followed in Templeton by town employees! Oh, town government wants increase in taxes (override) for more employees, under the guise of service? First, get house in order. Try to find all the other fees (taxes) for different things on town website, you think they are all listed in one convenient place? You would be off just a bit.

 TOWN OF TEMPLETON

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS: PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF TAX VALUATIONS

In accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 40, Section 56, the Board of Assessors has completed a comprehensive reassessment for all classes of real property and personal property for the town of Templeton for Fiscal Year 2025 in compliance with the recertification. Templeton has received preliminary certification on the values from the Department of Revenue. The Public Disclosure period will be available to the public from Tuesday, 09/24/2024, to Tuesday, 10/01/2024.

Real estate sales in the town of Templeton from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, were used for the analysis. Assessments are at full and fair cash value in accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 59, Section 38. On average, single-family homes, class 101, increased in value by 6.2%, condominiums, class 10, increased by approximately 14%, apartments, classes 111-125, increased by 31% on average. The commercial class increased by approximately 9.6% and the industrial class by 11.3%. Individual parcel valuations may vary from the average class increase due to typical differences, data updates and corrections, new construction, and the effect of market trends for specific characteristics. Questions may be addressed to Justice Graves, Deputy Assessor at 978-894-2760.

The proposed Fiscal Year 2025 valuations will be available for taxpayers’ review on the homepage of the town website at Templetonma.gov and in the Assessor’s Office, 160 Patriots Road, East Templeton during the following days and times:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, September 24-26, 2024                 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday, September 30, 2024                                                           7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 1, 2024                                                               7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

 Montachusett Regional Transit Authority or MART. You know what MART does?

Council-On-Aging (COA) Transportation ‘MART’ provides Council-On-Aging transportation services throughout our ‘MART’ member communities for elderly. That is correct, in Templeton, MART provides reimbursement to the town for MART van drivers, dispatch etc. MART does not pay the salary of a Senior Service Director.

You know what old wiring at Library has to do with highway dept. getting additional trucks/ Absolutely nothing, in fact, there are ARPA funds for 2 highway trucks at $194,000.00 each. Library wiring and highway trucks in same sentence, not hardly. In fact, if anyone talking about those subjects took the time to look, July 2024 finance report shows there is Library gift expense of $260,000.00 sitting there. Any "guard rails" on gift would need to be checked, but, that is potential money for library improvements. Two different funding sources so why would anyone try to mix the two. That would indicate they have no clue on what they might be talking about.

Templeton Senior Center is not underutilized, it is underfunded!

 As a selectman in Templeton, one can get paid $3,750.00 per year, attend a couple of regularly scheduled meetings, have at least three people to prepare stuff for meetings. Parks & Rec commissioners have to do it all and get paid zero and not even a real budget, yet according to law, Park commission has same authority (power) as alderman, selectmen, tree warden on areas where they have control/oversight. Something needs to give on this.

 To make your day; you pay taxes, and yes, that money from community preservation act, overseen by community preservation committee (CPC) are tax dollars. So you pay taxes to build playing fields/parks and you pay taxes to maintain them and you pay taxes to repair them. You should not have to pay to use them. Another thing, you pay taxes for a fire dept. and there is a fire dept. union contract, as in full time employees, they are paid to do a job and part of that job is to inspect certain things, again, residents should not be paying twice for same service, the fire dept. does not send you a bill for responding to a fire at your home/business, so why send you a bill or charge you for their inspection, that would be called service to residents. You do not get a bill from police if you call them. Residents need and deserve answers BEFORE any override is talked about or asked for. If any nonprofit or so-called charity or private group wishes to use town fields/parks, they pay, if anyone wants to set up on town property to sell anything, they pay, does not matter what or who. Remember, the nonprofit friends of Templeton Elders, collecting money to help pay for senior center kitchen, well I donated 3500 dollars to friends of elders, and I have yet to see that money handed over for the kitchen, so I say, any private entity that wants to use town property, you pay a fee, no exceptions. Kids do not pay to use the fields; parents pay taxes for that!

There is a thing called a budget, a dept. comes up with an estimate of what funds they might need to do certain things, put it in dollars and cents and submit it and you work off of that. It is not that hard, but it is work and effort.

MGL chapter 45, Section 5: Powers and duties of boards of park commissioners

Section 5. Such boards may lay out and improve public parks, make rules for their use and government, appoint all necessary engineers, surveyors, clerks and other officers, including a police force to act in such parks, define their powers and duties and fix their compensation and do all acts needful for the proper execution of their powers and duties. They shall have the authority given to the mayor, aldermen, selectmen, road commissioners and tree warden respectively by section seven of chapter eighty-four and by chapter eighty-seven, in places under their jurisdiction. Subject to appropriation, such boards shall also have the power to conduct park programs and recreation activities at places other than such public parks. There has to be a budget item for this entity to function properly.

 Templeton capital planning committee report/recommendation to selectmen for fiscal year 2020.

scout hall equipment and furnishings from cable fund @ $10,000.00. That was a recommendation forwarded to selectmen per the bylaw according to the report on town website.

Mike Currie is listed as vice chair of the capital improvement committee. Fiscal year 2020 is from July 1 2019 until June 30, 2020.

Records show members of the board of selectmen for that period:

Michael Currie, Jeffrey Bennett, Julie Richard, Theresa Griffis 2022 Diane Haley Brooks.

If one looks at meeting minutes of the Templeton community preservation committee, many meeting agendas had scout hall and tctv was in the mix. If the building was intended for scouts, why was that not in the original town meeting article back in 2016? Original vote took place May 2016, which is fiscal year 2016 and annual town report shows selectmen at that time - Kenneth Robinson

John Columbus

Julie Richard

Doug Morrison

Diane Haley Brooks.

Seems to be a planning issue, as in lack of one from beginning, no end game, no plain statement the building will be used for this: This morning at 7:30 A.M., there are two signs about scouts planted in grass at so called scout hall, I do not know who planted them there, but, I hope they are in line with town sign bylaw.

Templeton capital planning committee report of fiscal year 2021, shows in part $20,000.00 from cable fund for scout hall furnishings. Report states all tax and non tax impacting requests are recommended to selectmen. Members listed in report: Julie Richard - chairman, Bob May vice chair, Cheryl Richardson/ town treasurer collector, Amanda Murray / member at large and Adam Lamontagne, assistant town administrator ex-officio member.

So with all money coming from tctv/cable fund, what exactly was the thought of selectmen and capital and anyone else/ Did anyone think tctv was not going into the building? All this information is on town website so you can check it out. Any donations from cub master, former selectmen John Capis, owner of caplis medical consulting service? My personal opinion was use tctv to get building funded as tctv has alot of support and keeps community informed by way of recorded meetings, etc. and once the building was finished, toss tctv back into the closet and scouts in and that is that. Again, that is my personal opinion, based in part of my time watching town politics.

 How does one try to do a job when financial reports are bad.

Templeton, MA May budget versus actual, under community preservation funding, from special town meeting November 2019, article 11 has 34 thousand dollars for scout hall. Fast forward to finance report for May 2024, shows $30,923.84 available and $29,920.04 spent. Looking at June 2024 and July 2024 finance reports, same line, same article, same account, they both show $34,000.00 available for spending. I cannot in good conscience vote in favor of any override or debt exclusion while I see this. While there are some good reasons for an override, as in a special override, I cannot go for that now, as a resident who tries to be informed and participate at town meeting, I cannot do it. It would be a fiduciary irresponsible thing to do at this time. Finance and administration are two of the most important things in a business/corporation.