One idea to fund a cop. . . .
This may not be a popular idea but I believe it is one way to fund an officer if there is a real safety issue involving police officers and citizens. It was stated at the most recent selectmen meeting that there is a sum of money, $47,000.00 unallocated at this time. On line 77 on the budget draft for FY17, there is a $49,000.00 figure for salary adjustment for the selectmen office, most of that figure to make Holly Young assistant town administrator. There is also a raise being sought by the chief of police in an amount of $9500.00. There is a figure of $50,000.00 for the Town emergency fund under control of the Advisory Board. There is a combination of money to make funds available to hire another police officer. Take 40 thousand from unallocated funds, take the 95 hundred dollars from police chief raise, take the 49 thousand from salary adjustment/upgrades and if needed, take some from the emergency fund and you quickly have a dollar figure available to hire a police officer.
I do not believe current members of the board of selectmen have the will to do these things needed to bring funds forward so as to be able to pay for another police officer. My opinion is if they do not have the will to do this, then they are against the safety of the officers and the public of the Town of Templeton. In the future, Phillipston must pay more than 57 thousand dollars for dispatch. When you consume or use half of the pie, you must pay for half the pie. The selectmen should do what is necessary for the benefit of the whole ship rather than popular or personal small compartments. What is best for the financial welfare of the entire Town and yes, you will make some unhappy, but that is democracy in work. as anyone can see from the examples above, the money is there, it just needs to be applied in a way so as to be able to fund what is truly needed, a police officer, rather than what is wanted, an assistant Town administrator.
Jeff Bennett
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Funding the Operation of Templeton, Town of.
It is apparent that there is not enough money to operate the Town of Templeton, at least that is the impression I left the selectmen meeting with.
Examples; Police Chief stated there is not enough money to give me what I want/need so I will pass on what funds are available.
Fire Chief stated he had people working ambulance shifts for free so the shifts would be covered.
So my take from that is the Ambulance receipts account really does not fully fund the ambulance service. There is no money to buy replacement Scott air packs which are the "tanks" fire fighters wear when inside a building engulfed in smoke, they are an emergency fresh air source.
Remember too, that Templeton Police Chief wants to start a canine program so we will have expense of at least one dog with all the expense, and veterinarian service is as expensive as a people doctor.
Selectmen need to make some calls and give directives on Town spending, not popular or nice but it appears to be needed. If we are going to create a position of assistant Town Administrator then we should be able to fund a police officer, in my opinion.
Jeff Bennett
It is apparent that there is not enough money to operate the Town of Templeton, at least that is the impression I left the selectmen meeting with.
Examples; Police Chief stated there is not enough money to give me what I want/need so I will pass on what funds are available.
Fire Chief stated he had people working ambulance shifts for free so the shifts would be covered.
So my take from that is the Ambulance receipts account really does not fully fund the ambulance service. There is no money to buy replacement Scott air packs which are the "tanks" fire fighters wear when inside a building engulfed in smoke, they are an emergency fresh air source.
Remember too, that Templeton Police Chief wants to start a canine program so we will have expense of at least one dog with all the expense, and veterinarian service is as expensive as a people doctor.
Selectmen need to make some calls and give directives on Town spending, not popular or nice but it appears to be needed. If we are going to create a position of assistant Town Administrator then we should be able to fund a police officer, in my opinion.
Jeff Bennett
Monday, March 28, 2016
The Town of Templeton may try to use the Dover amendment, or MGL chapter 40A, section 3 to get around the height restrictions in the Templeton zoning by-laws. There is already or coming, a legal opinion that says or will say, the Dover amendment applies in this case. When or if there is a meeting of the Board of Appeals on this subject, it should be interesting.
This was put out by the Town Administrator at tonight's meeting of the selectmen.
Jeff Bennett
This was put out by the Town Administrator at tonight's meeting of the selectmen.
Jeff Bennett
Good news people. . . .
I believe I have already posted this, but in case I did not, Templeton assessment for Monty Tech is going up $97,000.00 from last year and health insurance costs will increase 7.9% or $78,000.00, leaving un-allocated funds for fiscal 2017 at $47,000.00.
The Town Administrator stated that the fiscal 2013 books are almost complete and an audit on them should begin next week. It is hoped that fiscal 2014 will follow when complete. Fiscal 2015 books are in good shape so that year should go quickly. The old certified free cash was mentioned again.
The T/A also mentioned that the school district just received word that they have $335,000.00 in surplus funds, as in the E&D fund, (sort of like certified free cash for a town or city).
Jeff Bennett
I believe I have already posted this, but in case I did not, Templeton assessment for Monty Tech is going up $97,000.00 from last year and health insurance costs will increase 7.9% or $78,000.00, leaving un-allocated funds for fiscal 2017 at $47,000.00.
The Town Administrator stated that the fiscal 2013 books are almost complete and an audit on them should begin next week. It is hoped that fiscal 2014 will follow when complete. Fiscal 2015 books are in good shape so that year should go quickly. The old certified free cash was mentioned again.
The T/A also mentioned that the school district just received word that they have $335,000.00 in surplus funds, as in the E&D fund, (sort of like certified free cash for a town or city).
Jeff Bennett
Sunday, March 27, 2016
In case it has slipped anyone's mind. . . . .
from the 2009 Department of Revenue Financial management review of Templeton:
2. Prohibit Elected Officials from Holding Any Other Position
Article IV of the town bylaws already prohibits an elective or appointive town officer or town employee from serving on the town advisory board. In its personnel policy, with the exception of two selectmen and an advisory committee member, no elected or appointed official may serve as a personnel board member. With these precedents in place, we recommend that the town approve a bylaw precluding all elected officials from serving in any other elected or appointed positions. This will allow them to focus on their primary responsibilities. Two current selectmen, one of whom also serves on the personnel board and the other as an elected light & water commissioner, are continually at odds. It is our impression that their adversarial relationship arises as well when the board of selectmen addresses issues that involve the personnel board, the light & water commission, or the sewer commission. The extent to which their differences impact the progress of town business is reason enough to enact a bylaw that makes elected or appointed officials ineligible to serve on other boards and committees. If a bylaw were to pass, each selectman would fill out the remainder of his or her term on other boards and commissions.
from Templeton Town by-laws:
Article III – Town Officers Section 1. The Selectmen shall have the general direction and management of the property and affairs of the town in all matters not otherwise provided for by laws or these ByLaws. (a) Selectmen shall not serve in any other elected capacity within the Town or Municipal Light Department as recommended in 2009 DOR Financial Management Review.
Passed 5-16-13
The above causes me to have a head scratching moment while reading an article from The Gardner News recently. In the article, which appeared in the Saturday, March 26, 2016 edition, there was mention of one person going for an elected position on Board of Selectmen and an elected spot on the Board of Health. Personally, if someone wants to go for two elected positions, I say go for it. From my experience, being a selectmen required a great amount of my time, to do what I thought was needed to do the job at hand. Also, if one is trying to get a seat on the Board of Selectmen and to represent the people of Templeton, is it a good thing to flip the people off, with regards to their by-laws. You know, the rules selectmen expect them to follow. To be sure, running for something and getting elected are two different things, but if asked, how does one answer the question of, are you aware of the Town by-law prohibiting you from doing what you appear to be trying to do? Of course, if you pay the $20.00 fine for violating a by-law, what else do you face, from a punishment factor?
Perhaps one can go before the Board of Appeals and get a waiver?
Jeff Bennett
from the 2009 Department of Revenue Financial management review of Templeton:
2. Prohibit Elected Officials from Holding Any Other Position
Article IV of the town bylaws already prohibits an elective or appointive town officer or town employee from serving on the town advisory board. In its personnel policy, with the exception of two selectmen and an advisory committee member, no elected or appointed official may serve as a personnel board member. With these precedents in place, we recommend that the town approve a bylaw precluding all elected officials from serving in any other elected or appointed positions. This will allow them to focus on their primary responsibilities. Two current selectmen, one of whom also serves on the personnel board and the other as an elected light & water commissioner, are continually at odds. It is our impression that their adversarial relationship arises as well when the board of selectmen addresses issues that involve the personnel board, the light & water commission, or the sewer commission. The extent to which their differences impact the progress of town business is reason enough to enact a bylaw that makes elected or appointed officials ineligible to serve on other boards and committees. If a bylaw were to pass, each selectman would fill out the remainder of his or her term on other boards and commissions.
from Templeton Town by-laws:
Article III – Town Officers Section 1. The Selectmen shall have the general direction and management of the property and affairs of the town in all matters not otherwise provided for by laws or these ByLaws. (a) Selectmen shall not serve in any other elected capacity within the Town or Municipal Light Department as recommended in 2009 DOR Financial Management Review.
Passed 5-16-13
The above causes me to have a head scratching moment while reading an article from The Gardner News recently. In the article, which appeared in the Saturday, March 26, 2016 edition, there was mention of one person going for an elected position on Board of Selectmen and an elected spot on the Board of Health. Personally, if someone wants to go for two elected positions, I say go for it. From my experience, being a selectmen required a great amount of my time, to do what I thought was needed to do the job at hand. Also, if one is trying to get a seat on the Board of Selectmen and to represent the people of Templeton, is it a good thing to flip the people off, with regards to their by-laws. You know, the rules selectmen expect them to follow. To be sure, running for something and getting elected are two different things, but if asked, how does one answer the question of, are you aware of the Town by-law prohibiting you from doing what you appear to be trying to do? Of course, if you pay the $20.00 fine for violating a by-law, what else do you face, from a punishment factor?
Perhaps one can go before the Board of Appeals and get a waiver?
Jeff Bennett
Sunday, March 20, 2016
A piece of interesting news from Hubbardston, MA;
Police Chief Dennis Perron could be the Chief that other Towns need to look to. In an article in The Gardner News, page one & four, weekend edition March 19-20, 2016, the Chief states "he doesn't see the need for a secure lock-up. With the advent of the regular lock-up being built in West Boylston, I don't see the need for a secure lock-up in this station." "That one meets the standards that we need to meet, Detainees can also be brought to Rutland." Chief Perron also went on to say "officers would have to watch detainees 24-7 in the station, adding to costs. He added that a temporary booking pocess will do, moving detainees somewhere else immediately after." Could Chief Perron be the one who is being honest and practical when talking about taxpayer dollars? To be sure, Chief Perron and Fire Chief Hayes are trying to get a police/fire complex funded and built in Hubbardston, but Chief Perron seem to be doing what most chiefs and department heads do, embellish their importance and their need for big spacious buildings that require this and that.
This is a Chief I would like to talk to and find out what is really involved in taking a prisoner to say the West Boylston lock-up, as in who watches them after they arrive there and who is responsible for transport to say Gardner district court. I think we can look at the schools for ideas, regionalized school districts because it does not make sense for Templeton to have a high school and Phillipston to have a high school with all the associated costs involved in two buildings versus one. Just like it is a good business decision to close three old school buildings and go to one, you only have one furnace to operate and maintain, one parking lot to plow, etc, etc. The money pie is only so big and with everyone going after pie, the slices are getting thinner/smaller and smaller and perhaps not to far off, their is simply not going to be enough pie to go around.
Speaking of pie, the Templeton dispatch pie is getting expensive, especially for Templeton pie bakers (taxpayers) with them providing the pie dish, the oven and the gas to cook the pie. My opinion is this; divide the pie and the costs associated with it in half and then send half the costs to Phillipston in the form of a bill. It is time for Templeton residents/taxpayers to get an even break and it is time for Phillipston residents/taxpayers to pay their fair share. That needs to come via the Templeton Board of Selectmen, time for them to stand up for Templeton and negotiate a tough but fair contract with Phillipston concerning dispatch. It is time for selectmen to stick up for the people who elect them, Templeton residents. It is simply business, nothing personal.
Jeff Bennett
Police Chief Dennis Perron could be the Chief that other Towns need to look to. In an article in The Gardner News, page one & four, weekend edition March 19-20, 2016, the Chief states "he doesn't see the need for a secure lock-up. With the advent of the regular lock-up being built in West Boylston, I don't see the need for a secure lock-up in this station." "That one meets the standards that we need to meet, Detainees can also be brought to Rutland." Chief Perron also went on to say "officers would have to watch detainees 24-7 in the station, adding to costs. He added that a temporary booking pocess will do, moving detainees somewhere else immediately after." Could Chief Perron be the one who is being honest and practical when talking about taxpayer dollars? To be sure, Chief Perron and Fire Chief Hayes are trying to get a police/fire complex funded and built in Hubbardston, but Chief Perron seem to be doing what most chiefs and department heads do, embellish their importance and their need for big spacious buildings that require this and that.
This is a Chief I would like to talk to and find out what is really involved in taking a prisoner to say the West Boylston lock-up, as in who watches them after they arrive there and who is responsible for transport to say Gardner district court. I think we can look at the schools for ideas, regionalized school districts because it does not make sense for Templeton to have a high school and Phillipston to have a high school with all the associated costs involved in two buildings versus one. Just like it is a good business decision to close three old school buildings and go to one, you only have one furnace to operate and maintain, one parking lot to plow, etc, etc. The money pie is only so big and with everyone going after pie, the slices are getting thinner/smaller and smaller and perhaps not to far off, their is simply not going to be enough pie to go around.
Speaking of pie, the Templeton dispatch pie is getting expensive, especially for Templeton pie bakers (taxpayers) with them providing the pie dish, the oven and the gas to cook the pie. My opinion is this; divide the pie and the costs associated with it in half and then send half the costs to Phillipston in the form of a bill. It is time for Templeton residents/taxpayers to get an even break and it is time for Phillipston residents/taxpayers to pay their fair share. That needs to come via the Templeton Board of Selectmen, time for them to stand up for Templeton and negotiate a tough but fair contract with Phillipston concerning dispatch. It is time for selectmen to stick up for the people who elect them, Templeton residents. It is simply business, nothing personal.
Jeff Bennett
Saturday, March 19, 2016
I did not realize that the version of the Warrant used by the TAB to add in votes and recommendations was the version with erroneous account numbers. So we printed that version and took copies to the STM. In the meantime, I created the PowerPoint presentation and gave a copy of the final, accurate version of the Warrant to the Town Clerk. At the Town Meeting, the motion for Article 4 was read from the PowerPoint slide --- it had the correct account numbers. The certified copy from the Town Clerk also has the correct account numbers.
Because both the Warrant and the Operating Budget change and evolve during the process, I decided to prevent any confusion with differing versions by posting the official copy in the cloud and giving Selectmen and TAB members access.
N.B. The FY'17 budget continued to evolve this week when our assessment from Monty Tech and when our health insurance cost for FY'17 came in.
Bob
Robert T. Markel
Interim Town Administrator
Town of Templeton
160 Patriots Road
East Templeton, MA 01438
(978)894-2753
The above is from an email concerning issues with the last special Town meeting of November 9, 2015. The issue is that within some transfers, account numbers do not match, specifically, the account number shown for general insurance as 1000-945-900-57-5743-0000 which is the exact same account number given twice as the account number for Town accountant expenses. If you look at the town meeting report on the Templeton Town web site, under town meeting, you can find the copy of the meeting results which at the end says,
A true copy, ATTEST: with the name of the Templeton Town Clerk. Meeting attendance is listed at 356 voters.
In my opinion, the most bothersome part of this is the apparent spin put out to answer questions and concerns posed by members of the Templeton Advisory Board. It is through a process of checks and balances that is needed and is a good thing, that this and many other concerns of a financial nature that have been raised on more than one occasion. Why else are we being asked to put money back into fire/ems after we were just asked to take money from there to pay snow & Ice? I believe all these transfers in the past year demonstrates that there is either not enough money to cover everything or money is not being applied correctly, or both. My opinion is we still have a shell game going on and not one selectmen from Templeton is asking one question about it publicly, as at a meeting of the BOS.
Jeff Bennett
Robert T. Markel
Interim Town Administrator
Town of Templeton
160 Patriots Road
East Templeton, MA 01438
(978)894-2753
The above is from an email concerning issues with the last special Town meeting of November 9, 2015. The issue is that within some transfers, account numbers do not match, specifically, the account number shown for general insurance as 1000-945-900-57-5743-0000 which is the exact same account number given twice as the account number for Town accountant expenses. If you look at the town meeting report on the Templeton Town web site, under town meeting, you can find the copy of the meeting results which at the end says,
A true copy, ATTEST: with the name of the Templeton Town Clerk. Meeting attendance is listed at 356 voters.
In my opinion, the most bothersome part of this is the apparent spin put out to answer questions and concerns posed by members of the Templeton Advisory Board. It is through a process of checks and balances that is needed and is a good thing, that this and many other concerns of a financial nature that have been raised on more than one occasion. Why else are we being asked to put money back into fire/ems after we were just asked to take money from there to pay snow & Ice? I believe all these transfers in the past year demonstrates that there is either not enough money to cover everything or money is not being applied correctly, or both. My opinion is we still have a shell game going on and not one selectmen from Templeton is asking one question about it publicly, as at a meeting of the BOS.
Jeff Bennett
On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to transfer funds within the Fiscal 2016 annual Operating Budget as follows: notice the numbers in bold, that is how it looks at the Town website on STM November 9, 2015 and that is how it looks on email to Advisory Board dated November 10, 2015. You decide if something is fishy;
|
Name
|
Acct. Name
|
Amount
|
To
|
Acct. name
|
|
1000-951-900-53-5305-0000
|
Triennial Revaluation
|
$5,000.00
|
1000-141-100-51-5110-0000
|
Deputy Assessors’ office salary
|
|
9010-200-000-00-2300-0020
|
Planning Board-detention ponds
|
$16,000.00
|
1000-421-400-54-5420-0000
|
Highway dept. - expenses
|
|
9010-200-000-00-2300-0020
|
Planning Board – detention ponds
|
$32,000.00
|
1000-945-900-57-5743-0000
|
Town Accountant -expenses
|
|
1000-945-900-57-5743-0000
|
General Insurance
|
$19,000.00
|
1000-945-900-57-5743-0000
|
Town Accountant -expenses
|
|
1000-123-100-51-5110-0000
|
Town Administrator
|
$14,000.00
|
1000-135-100-54-5420-0000
|
Town Accountant -expenses
|
|
1000-220-200-51-5117-0000
|
Fire/EMS Salary
|
$111,608.50
|
No acct. number
|
2015 snow & Ice deficit
|
Passed/November 9th @ 9:10pm
posted by Jeff Bennett
Why is it suddenly important to clean up language from an article passed in 2014?
Right now, I am just supposing, but there could be a few reasons for this.
1. Simple house keeping to get all paper work to agree.
2. The district is "transferring" the building to the Town of Templeton, because the Town has always owned the building, it has been under control of the district per the regional school district agreement.
3. Perhaps Phillipston finally questioned the legality of the district being the one doing the borrowing and therefore, the district would be considered responsible for the loan and
since Phillipston is the second school of the district, they want to stay clear of this issue.
4. Might be the waters have to be clear so short term borrowing can take place for demolition
work and since the district is scheduled to transfer the building officially back to the Town,
Kind of hard to explain why or how the district is on the hook for a loan for a building
they now have nothing to do with.
Probably would have been better, both in the past and moving forward, if the selectmen had taken the point on this from the beginning, as soon as Phillipston opted to not take part in the finances, so there would be one central place for taxpayers to look to in trying to follow this project. This is all just my opinion and this project will just keep rolling along, as a new school building to replace three aged buildings makes sense business wise and financially.
Jeff Bennett
M.G.L. chapter 44, section one; definitions.
''Director'', director of accounts in the department of revenue.
''Majority vote'' and ''two thirds vote'', as applied to towns or districts, the vote of a majority or two thirds, respectively, of the voters present and voting at a meeting duly called, and, as applied to cities, the vote taken by yeas and nays of a majority or of two thirds, as the case may require, of all the members of each branch of the city government where there are two branches, or of all the members where there is a single branch of the city government, or of a majority or two thirds of the commissioners where the city government consists of a commission; and in every case subject to the approval of the mayor, where such approval is required by the charter of the city.
''Municipal finance oversight board'', a board composed of the attorney general, the state treasurer, the state auditor, and the director of accounts in the department of revenue, or their designees.
''Town'' shall not include city.
''District'' shall mean a fire, water, sewer, water pollution abatement, refuse disposal, light, or improvement district, or any other district, howsoever named, formed for the purpose of carrying out any of the aforementioned functions, whether established under general law or special act.
posted by Jeff Bennett
M.G.L., chapter 44; municipal finance
section 16 - issuance of bonds, notes & certificates of indebtedness; procedure; form; contracts with banking or financial institutions.
Section 16. A city, town or district which has authorized a debt to be incurred within the limitations, as to amount and time of payment, prescribed by this chapter may issue therefor bonds or notes, or, in the case of a city, certificates of indebtedness, all of which shall be properly denominated on the face thereof, signed by its treasurer, and, if issued by a city, countersigned by its mayor, unless its charter otherwise provides, or, if issued by a town, by a majority of its selectmen,
this is the first part of a long worded section that you may look up and read in its entirety if you wish.
Again, a project is not the problem or issue, it is the details. Why would a board of selectmen and or a town administrator try to hand over control to the general manager of a water department and/or it's commissioners to sign all paper work involved in Town debt, as in borrowing money and being ultimately responsible for repayment of such, when the law states it is their responsibility. With all the transferring going on and with the financial issues still unchanged or completed, why would they wish to further complicate that process by allowing that work to become further convoluted and again cause Templeton residents/taxpayers to have to chase multiple locations, boards, etc. to find out details or status of said debt, that belongs to them.
posted by Jeff Bennett
section 16 - issuance of bonds, notes & certificates of indebtedness; procedure; form; contracts with banking or financial institutions.
Section 16. A city, town or district which has authorized a debt to be incurred within the limitations, as to amount and time of payment, prescribed by this chapter may issue therefor bonds or notes, or, in the case of a city, certificates of indebtedness, all of which shall be properly denominated on the face thereof, signed by its treasurer, and, if issued by a city, countersigned by its mayor, unless its charter otherwise provides, or, if issued by a town, by a majority of its selectmen,
this is the first part of a long worded section that you may look up and read in its entirety if you wish.
Again, a project is not the problem or issue, it is the details. Why would a board of selectmen and or a town administrator try to hand over control to the general manager of a water department and/or it's commissioners to sign all paper work involved in Town debt, as in borrowing money and being ultimately responsible for repayment of such, when the law states it is their responsibility. With all the transferring going on and with the financial issues still unchanged or completed, why would they wish to further complicate that process by allowing that work to become further convoluted and again cause Templeton residents/taxpayers to have to chase multiple locations, boards, etc. to find out details or status of said debt, that belongs to them.
posted by Jeff Bennett
M.G.L., chapter 44;
Section 59. The supreme judicial or superior court, by mandamus or other appropriate remedy, at law or in equity, upon the suit or petition of the attorney general or of the mayor, or of one or more taxable inhabitants of a city, town or district authorized by law to incur debt, or of any creditor to whom it is indebted to an amount not less than one thousand dollars, may compel such city, town or district, and its assessors, collectors, treasurers, commissioners of sinking funds and other proper officers, to conform to this chapter.
posted by Jeff Bennett
Section 59. The supreme judicial or superior court, by mandamus or other appropriate remedy, at law or in equity, upon the suit or petition of the attorney general or of the mayor, or of one or more taxable inhabitants of a city, town or district authorized by law to incur debt, or of any creditor to whom it is indebted to an amount not less than one thousand dollars, may compel such city, town or district, and its assessors, collectors, treasurers, commissioners of sinking funds and other proper officers, to conform to this chapter.
posted by Jeff Bennett
MGL chapter 44, municipal finance:
A long read but the important part is highlighted in bold.
Section 53A. An officer or department of any city or town, or of any regional school or other district, may accept grants or gifts of funds from the federal government and from a charitable foundation, a private corporation, or an individual, or from the commonwealth, a county or municipality or an agency thereof, and in the case of any grant or gift given for educational purposes may expend said funds for the purposes of such grant or gift with the approval of the school committee, and in the case of any other grant or gift may expend such funds for the purposes of such grant or gift in cities having a Plan D or Plan E form of government with the approval of the city manager and city council, in all other cities with the approval of the mayor and city council, in towns with the approval of the board of selectmen, and in districts with the approval of the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three, any amounts so received by an officer or department of a city, town or district shall be deposited with the treasurer of such city, town or district and held as a separate account and may be expended as aforesaid by such officer or department receiving the grant or gift without further appropriation. If the express written terms or conditions of the grant agreement so stipulate, interest on the grant funds may remain with and become a part of the grant account and may be expended as part of the grant by such officer or department receiving the grant or gift without further appropriation. Any grant, subvention or subsidy for educational purposes received by an officer or department of a city, town or school district from the federal government may be expended by the school committee of such city, town or district without including the purpose of such expenditure in, or applying such amount to, the annual or any supplemental budget or appropriation request of such committee; provided, however, that this sentence shall not apply to amounts so received to which section twenty-six C of chapter seventy-one of the General Laws, and chapter six hundred and twenty-one of the acts of nineteen hundred and fifty-three, as amended, and chapter six hundred and sixty-four of the acts of nineteen hundred and fifty-eight, as amended, apply; and, provided further, that notwithstanding the foregoing provision, this sentence shall apply to amounts so received as grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, (Public Law 89?10). After receipt of a written commitment from the federal government approving a grant for educational purposes and in anticipation of receipt of such funds from the federal government, the treasurer, upon the request of the school committee, shall pay from the General Fund of such municipality compensation for services rendered and goods supplied to such federal grant programs, such payments to be made no later than ten days after the rendition of such services or the supplying of such goods; provided, however, that the provisions of such federal grant would allow the treasurer to reimburse the General Fund for the amounts so advanced.
posted by Jeff Bennett
A long read but the important part is highlighted in bold.
Section 53A. An officer or department of any city or town, or of any regional school or other district, may accept grants or gifts of funds from the federal government and from a charitable foundation, a private corporation, or an individual, or from the commonwealth, a county or municipality or an agency thereof, and in the case of any grant or gift given for educational purposes may expend said funds for the purposes of such grant or gift with the approval of the school committee, and in the case of any other grant or gift may expend such funds for the purposes of such grant or gift in cities having a Plan D or Plan E form of government with the approval of the city manager and city council, in all other cities with the approval of the mayor and city council, in towns with the approval of the board of selectmen, and in districts with the approval of the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three, any amounts so received by an officer or department of a city, town or district shall be deposited with the treasurer of such city, town or district and held as a separate account and may be expended as aforesaid by such officer or department receiving the grant or gift without further appropriation. If the express written terms or conditions of the grant agreement so stipulate, interest on the grant funds may remain with and become a part of the grant account and may be expended as part of the grant by such officer or department receiving the grant or gift without further appropriation. Any grant, subvention or subsidy for educational purposes received by an officer or department of a city, town or school district from the federal government may be expended by the school committee of such city, town or district without including the purpose of such expenditure in, or applying such amount to, the annual or any supplemental budget or appropriation request of such committee; provided, however, that this sentence shall not apply to amounts so received to which section twenty-six C of chapter seventy-one of the General Laws, and chapter six hundred and twenty-one of the acts of nineteen hundred and fifty-three, as amended, and chapter six hundred and sixty-four of the acts of nineteen hundred and fifty-eight, as amended, apply; and, provided further, that notwithstanding the foregoing provision, this sentence shall apply to amounts so received as grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, (Public Law 89?10). After receipt of a written commitment from the federal government approving a grant for educational purposes and in anticipation of receipt of such funds from the federal government, the treasurer, upon the request of the school committee, shall pay from the General Fund of such municipality compensation for services rendered and goods supplied to such federal grant programs, such payments to be made no later than ten days after the rendition of such services or the supplying of such goods; provided, however, that the provisions of such federal grant would allow the treasurer to reimburse the General Fund for the amounts so advanced.
posted by Jeff Bennett
an excerpt from Massachusetts General Law, chapter 29C, section one;
''Cost'', as applied to any water pollution abatement project, any or all costs, whenever incurred, approved by the department in accordance with section twenty-seven A of chapter twenty-one, of carrying out a project including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, costs for planning, preparation of studies and surveys, design, construction, expansion, facilities, improvement and rehabilitation, acquisition of real property, personal property, materials, machinery or equipment, start-up costs, demolitions and relocations, reasonable reserves and working capital, interest on loans, local governmental obligations and notes in anticipation thereof prior to and during construction of such project or prior to the date of such loan, if later, administrative, legal and financing expenses, and other expenses necessary or incidental to the aforesaid.
Massachusetts General law, chapter 29 deals with state finance
Massachusetts general Law, chapter 29C deals with Mass, Clean water trust
Massachusetts General law chapter 44 deals with municipal finance posted by Jeff Bennett
''Cost'', as applied to any water pollution abatement project, any or all costs, whenever incurred, approved by the department in accordance with section twenty-seven A of chapter twenty-one, of carrying out a project including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, costs for planning, preparation of studies and surveys, design, construction, expansion, facilities, improvement and rehabilitation, acquisition of real property, personal property, materials, machinery or equipment, start-up costs, demolitions and relocations, reasonable reserves and working capital, interest on loans, local governmental obligations and notes in anticipation thereof prior to and during construction of such project or prior to the date of such loan, if later, administrative, legal and financing expenses, and other expenses necessary or incidental to the aforesaid.
Massachusetts General law, chapter 29 deals with state finance
Massachusetts general Law, chapter 29C deals with Mass, Clean water trust
Massachusetts General law chapter 44 deals with municipal finance posted by Jeff Bennett
How it was done in the past, and why the change? Why now? Is it selectmen being lazy? Is it politics by Town Administrator? Politics of Light & Water commissioners? Who knows and for the issue at hand, it does not really matter, in my opinion.
Now I do not wish to confuse anyone with the facts but. . . ,
It is a good decision, business wise to replace a tank that will cost $500 thousand to paint and have to do it again in fifteen years (if that is all true) with one that will last at least 50 years with a cost of 1 million, 250 thousand dollars. This same idea or case is made all the time; as in Templeton highway, we spend so much on maintenance costs on old trucks that it would be cheaper to buy new truck. That same case was made at a public meeting by the Town Administrator, although it was discovered to be a bit convoluted because the dollar figure given for maintenance costs was not just spent on highway equipment but for all Town vehicles with exception of fire trucks.
I believe the problem lies in the wording of the article (same as the school article that has to be re-voted because of wording issues) with regards to who is responsible for signing, who does the borrowing and all the details with regards to funds, borrowed and grants. So, I look to history for guidance:
Templeton annual Town report of 2003, pages 138-139, article 24;
"On a motion duly made and seconded, the Town voted to appropriate the sum of One million, eight hundred thousand dollars ($1,800,000.00) for the purpose of financing the design and construction of a 0.5 million gallons per day green sand pressure filtration plant at the Sawyer Street well site, including, without limitation, all costs thereof as defined in section 1 of chapter 29C of the general laws, as most recently amended by St. 1998, c78; that to meet this appropriation, the Treasurer, with approval of the board of selectmen, is authorized to borrow one million eight hundred thousand dollars ($1,800,000.00) and issue bonds or notes thereof under chapter 44 or chapter 29 of the general laws as most recently amended; that such bonds or notes are expected to be paid from the Water enterprise fund revenues, but nevertheless shall be general obligations of the Town and that any federal or state grants awarded prior to issuance of bonds will be used to reduce the amount by the Town.
2/3 vote passed May 13, 2003, annual Town meeting.
What has changed to suddenly give authority to borrow on behalf of Town to Water commissions and to give signing authority to General Manager of Templeton Light & Water.
My personal opinion is this is another case of this board of selectmen can not or will not be bothered by this matter, but it is time to check the facts.
posted by Jeff Bennett
Now I do not wish to confuse anyone with the facts but. . . ,
It is a good decision, business wise to replace a tank that will cost $500 thousand to paint and have to do it again in fifteen years (if that is all true) with one that will last at least 50 years with a cost of 1 million, 250 thousand dollars. This same idea or case is made all the time; as in Templeton highway, we spend so much on maintenance costs on old trucks that it would be cheaper to buy new truck. That same case was made at a public meeting by the Town Administrator, although it was discovered to be a bit convoluted because the dollar figure given for maintenance costs was not just spent on highway equipment but for all Town vehicles with exception of fire trucks.
I believe the problem lies in the wording of the article (same as the school article that has to be re-voted because of wording issues) with regards to who is responsible for signing, who does the borrowing and all the details with regards to funds, borrowed and grants. So, I look to history for guidance:
Templeton annual Town report of 2003, pages 138-139, article 24;
"On a motion duly made and seconded, the Town voted to appropriate the sum of One million, eight hundred thousand dollars ($1,800,000.00) for the purpose of financing the design and construction of a 0.5 million gallons per day green sand pressure filtration plant at the Sawyer Street well site, including, without limitation, all costs thereof as defined in section 1 of chapter 29C of the general laws, as most recently amended by St. 1998, c78; that to meet this appropriation, the Treasurer, with approval of the board of selectmen, is authorized to borrow one million eight hundred thousand dollars ($1,800,000.00) and issue bonds or notes thereof under chapter 44 or chapter 29 of the general laws as most recently amended; that such bonds or notes are expected to be paid from the Water enterprise fund revenues, but nevertheless shall be general obligations of the Town and that any federal or state grants awarded prior to issuance of bonds will be used to reduce the amount by the Town.
2/3 vote passed May 13, 2003, annual Town meeting.
What has changed to suddenly give authority to borrow on behalf of Town to Water commissions and to give signing authority to General Manager of Templeton Light & Water.
My personal opinion is this is another case of this board of selectmen can not or will not be bothered by this matter, but it is time to check the facts.
posted by Jeff Bennett
That Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000) be hereby appropriated for the purpose of
paying costs of the Feasibility Study/Schematic Design work ahead for the Templeton Center
Elementary School, located at 17 South Road, in Templeton MA, including the payment of all
costs incidental or related thereto, and for which the Town may be eligible for a grant from the
Massachusetts School Building Authority ("MSBA"), said amount to be expended under the
direction of the Templeton Elementary School Building Committee. To meet this appropriation
the Treasurer, with the approval of the Templeton Board of Selectmen, is authorized to borrow
said amount under and pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 44, or pursuant to any other enabling
authority. The Town acknowledges that the MSBA's grant program is a non-entitlement,
discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and any costs the Town
incurs in excess of any grant approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole
responsibility of the Town, and further provided that the appropriation hereunder shall be
subject to and contingent upon an affirmative vote of the Town to exempt the amounts
required for the payment of interest and principal on said borrowing from the limitations on
taxes imposed by M.G.L. 59, Section 21C (Proposition 2½), and that the amount borrowing
authorized pursuant to this vote shall be reduced by any grant amount set forth in the
Feasibility Study Agreement that may be executed between the Town and the MSBA.
What you will be asked to vote on at the next special Town meeting on March 21, 2016.
Again, it is the responsibility of the Town, not the school district, to borrow and repay all money for this project. Most, if not all, has already been spent. You have to re-vote this because the original article was worded wrong. I hope the proper people, as in Templeton Bond Counsel has looked over the water article to be presented on March 21, 2016 special Town meeting.
Jeff Bennett
What you will be asked to vote on at the next special Town meeting on March 21, 2016.
Again, it is the responsibility of the Town, not the school district, to borrow and repay all money for this project. Most, if not all, has already been spent. You have to re-vote this because the original article was worded wrong. I hope the proper people, as in Templeton Bond Counsel has looked over the water article to be presented on March 21, 2016 special Town meeting.
Jeff Bennett
Templeton Elementary School is definitely a Town Project being paid for by Templeton taxpayers.
If anyone wishes to dispute that, just pay attention to your tax bills and you can always contact the Town of Phillipston's Treasurer or office of the Phillipston board of selectmen.
This project really began on May 13, during the annual Town meeting which started on May 12, 2009, per the Templeton annual Town report, pages 156 - 157, article 33.
On page 132 of the same 2009 Templeton annual Town report, the returns for Templeton annual elections, and continuing/ending on page 134, question 2, feasibility study for elementary school, 481 yes, 456 no.
Templeton 2009 annual Town report, page 157;
"On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to appropriate the sum of five hundred fifty thousand dollars ($550,000.00) for the purpose of funding a feasibility study for the purpose of replacing, building an addition onto or renovating the Templeton Center school located at 17 South Road, Templeton, Massachusetts, said sum to be expended under the direction of the school building committee, and to meet said appropriation, Treasurer, with the approval of the selectmen is authorized to borrow said sum under MGL, chapter 44, or any other enabling authority; that the Town of Templeton acknowledges that the Massachusetts School building authority's grant program is a non-entitlement, discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and any costs the Town incurs, on behalf of the district, in excess of any grant approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the Town, and that the amount of borrowing authorized pursuant to this vote shall be reduced by any amounts received from the MSBA prior to the issuance of bonds or notes under this vote. In addition, no sums shall be borrowed or expended here under, unless and until the Town shall have voted to exclude the amounts required to be raised to repay any borrowing here under from the limitations of chapter 59, section 21c of the general laws (proposition 2 1/2)"
So it seems pretty clear this is was and is a town project that should be under the complete direction of the Templeton Board of selectmen. Templeton residents should not have to watch multiple different meetings (some held on the same night and same time) to watch how their money is spent. This is why it is important for residents to attend Town meeting, to vote and to attend selectmen's meetings.
Jeff Bennett
If anyone wishes to dispute that, just pay attention to your tax bills and you can always contact the Town of Phillipston's Treasurer or office of the Phillipston board of selectmen.
This project really began on May 13, during the annual Town meeting which started on May 12, 2009, per the Templeton annual Town report, pages 156 - 157, article 33.
On page 132 of the same 2009 Templeton annual Town report, the returns for Templeton annual elections, and continuing/ending on page 134, question 2, feasibility study for elementary school, 481 yes, 456 no.
Templeton 2009 annual Town report, page 157;
"On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to appropriate the sum of five hundred fifty thousand dollars ($550,000.00) for the purpose of funding a feasibility study for the purpose of replacing, building an addition onto or renovating the Templeton Center school located at 17 South Road, Templeton, Massachusetts, said sum to be expended under the direction of the school building committee, and to meet said appropriation, Treasurer, with the approval of the selectmen is authorized to borrow said sum under MGL, chapter 44, or any other enabling authority; that the Town of Templeton acknowledges that the Massachusetts School building authority's grant program is a non-entitlement, discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and any costs the Town incurs, on behalf of the district, in excess of any grant approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the Town, and that the amount of borrowing authorized pursuant to this vote shall be reduced by any amounts received from the MSBA prior to the issuance of bonds or notes under this vote. In addition, no sums shall be borrowed or expended here under, unless and until the Town shall have voted to exclude the amounts required to be raised to repay any borrowing here under from the limitations of chapter 59, section 21c of the general laws (proposition 2 1/2)"
So it seems pretty clear this is was and is a town project that should be under the complete direction of the Templeton Board of selectmen. Templeton residents should not have to watch multiple different meetings (some held on the same night and same time) to watch how their money is spent. This is why it is important for residents to attend Town meeting, to vote and to attend selectmen's meetings.
Jeff Bennett
Friday, March 18, 2016
Oddity in Templeton, Looking at the warrant for the Special Town Meeting on March 21, 2016, the first article bothers me in technicality so I emailed the entire warrant to Templeton Town counsel. I stated I had concerns with the first article concerning the water dept. I was informed that he had not seen any of this. So apparently, Templeton Town counsel was not consulted on these matters. The answer Town Counsel received from the Town Administrator was he was trying to save money and since bond counsel had already looked at these, he (T/A) saw no reason to involve two attorneys. The question is what bond counsel was the town administrator talking about, Templeton Bond Counsel or the one hired by the water dept. to write an article to allow them to borrow money or rather the taxpayers borrow and the water customers paying back. To be sure, I have no authority to ask legal counsel for the Town of Templeton to do anything and I did not, I merely asked if he had seen the warrant articles. I have been told that now the Templeton town administrator has "invited" Templeton Town Counsel to attend this meeting. Since Templeton municipal water dept. is paying for this meeting, send them the entire bill to include cost of Templeton Town Counsel. We are talking about over a million dollars here. Again, this is not about the project, it is about the details. Templeton is already being asked to re-vote one article because of failure of Town officials to do diligence on behalf of the taxpayers. One would think they have learned the lesson?
Jeff Bennett
Jeff Bennett
Thursday, March 17, 2016
I did not realize that the version of the Warrant used by the TAB to add in votes and recommendations was the version with erroneous account numbers. So we printed that version and took copies to the STM. In the meantime, I created the PowerPoint presentation and gave a copy of the final, accurate version of the Warrant to the Town Clerk. At the Town Meeting, the motion for Article 4 was read from the PowerPoint slide --- it had the correct account numbers. The certified copy from the Town Clerk also has the correct account numbers.
Because both the Warrant and the Operating Budget change and evolve during the process, I decided to prevent any confusion with differing versions by posting the official copy in the cloud and giving Selectmen and TAB members access.
N.B. The FY'17 budget continued to evolve this week when our assessment from Monty Tech and when our health insurance cost for FY'17 came in.
Bob
Robert T. Markel
Interim Town Administrator
Town of Templeton
160 Patriots Road
East Templeton, MA 01438
(978)894-2753
The above is from an email concerning issues with the last special Town meeting of November 9, 2015. The issue is that within some transfers, account numbers do not match, specifically, the account number shown for general insurance as 1000-945-900-57-5743-0000 which is the exact same account number given twice as the account number for Town accountant expenses. If you look at the town meeting report on the Templeton Town web site, under town meeting, you can find the copy of the meeting results which at the end says,
A true copy, ATTEST: with the name of the Templeton Town Clerk. Meeting attendance is listed at 356 voters.
In my opinion, the most bothersome part of this is the apparent spin put out to answer questions and concerns posed by members of the Templeton Advisory Board. It is through a process of checks and balances that is needed and is a good thing, that this and many other concerns of a financial nature that have been raised on more than one occasion. Why else are we being asked to put money back into fire/ems after we were just asked to take money from there to pay snow & Ice? I believe all these transfers in the past year demonstrates that there is either not enough money to cover everything or money is not being applied correctly, or both. My opinion is we still have a shell game going on and not one selectmen from Templeton is asking one question about it publicly, as at a meeting of the BOS.
Jeff Bennett
Robert T. Markel
Interim Town Administrator
Town of Templeton
160 Patriots Road
East Templeton, MA 01438
(978)894-2753
The above is from an email concerning issues with the last special Town meeting of November 9, 2015. The issue is that within some transfers, account numbers do not match, specifically, the account number shown for general insurance as 1000-945-900-57-5743-0000 which is the exact same account number given twice as the account number for Town accountant expenses. If you look at the town meeting report on the Templeton Town web site, under town meeting, you can find the copy of the meeting results which at the end says,
A true copy, ATTEST: with the name of the Templeton Town Clerk. Meeting attendance is listed at 356 voters.
In my opinion, the most bothersome part of this is the apparent spin put out to answer questions and concerns posed by members of the Templeton Advisory Board. It is through a process of checks and balances that is needed and is a good thing, that this and many other concerns of a financial nature that have been raised on more than one occasion. Why else are we being asked to put money back into fire/ems after we were just asked to take money from there to pay snow & Ice? I believe all these transfers in the past year demonstrates that there is either not enough money to cover everything or money is not being applied correctly, or both. My opinion is we still have a shell game going on and not one selectmen from Templeton is asking one question about it publicly, as at a meeting of the BOS.
Jeff Bennett
Monday, March 14, 2016
Bad news for Templeton Town budget, the assessment for Monty Tech is up by $97,000.00.
Hopefully this will come up at the next Advisory Board meeting this wednesday.
According to the latest budget versus actual, last year's assessment for Monty Tech was $611,480.00, so that is a fair amount of money no longer available.
posted by Jeff Bennett
Hopefully this will come up at the next Advisory Board meeting this wednesday.
According to the latest budget versus actual, last year's assessment for Monty Tech was $611,480.00, so that is a fair amount of money no longer available.
posted by Jeff Bennett
Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 115, Veterans Benefits
section 8; Payments and reimbursement of burial expense; certificate.
Section 8. Amounts expended by the burial agent under the provisions of section 7 shall not exceed $2,000 for the funeral and burial of a person under this chapter, provided that the cost of funeral and burial does not exceed $3,000 and there are insufficient resources in the estate of such person to pay for the cost of such funeral and burial. Any resources of such person shall be deducted from the maximum cost of the funeral and burial allowance hereunder and the difference, subject to the limitation set forth in this paragraph, shall be paid by the burial agent. No city or town shall be reimbursed under this section for any amount so expended for a single burial if the total expense of such burial, exclusive of the purchase price of the grave, the cost of the grave opening and the cost of a cement vault liner if one is required by the cemetery regulations, by whomsoever incurred, exceeded $500 for a child under the age of seven or $900 for any other person. The burial shall not be made in a cemetery or burial ground used exclusively for the burial of persons under the provisions of chapter 117 or in any part of a cemetery or burial ground so used. Relatives of the deceased who are unable to bear the expense of burial may be allowed to conduct the funeral. The full amount so expended, the name of the deceased and, if the deceased was a veteran, the regiment, company, station, organization or vessel in which such veteran served, the date of death, place of interment and, if the deceased was a spouse or widow or widower, the name of such veteran's spouse and date of marriage and, if the deceased was a dependent child, the name of the veteran and such other details as the commissioner may require, shall be certified on oath to said commissioner in such manner as said commissioner may approve, by the burial agent and the treasurer of the city or town expending the amount, within three months after the burial. The commissioner shall endorse upon the certificate the allowance of such amounts as have been paid and reported according to the foregoing provisions and shall transmit the certificate to the comptroller. Seventy-five per cent of the amounts so paid and allowed for burial expenses of veterans or dependents by the cities and towns wherein they reside shall be paid by the commonwealth to the several cities and towns on or before November 10 in the year after the expenditures have been made. Notwithstanding the requirements as to residence as set forth in section 5, the commissioner may authorize the burial agent of a city or town to arrange for the proper interment of the body of an indigent veteran who dies within the commonwealth. The definitions contained in section 1 of chapter 114 shall be applicable to this section and section 9.
posted by Jeff Bennett
section 8; Payments and reimbursement of burial expense; certificate.
Section 8. Amounts expended by the burial agent under the provisions of section 7 shall not exceed $2,000 for the funeral and burial of a person under this chapter, provided that the cost of funeral and burial does not exceed $3,000 and there are insufficient resources in the estate of such person to pay for the cost of such funeral and burial. Any resources of such person shall be deducted from the maximum cost of the funeral and burial allowance hereunder and the difference, subject to the limitation set forth in this paragraph, shall be paid by the burial agent. No city or town shall be reimbursed under this section for any amount so expended for a single burial if the total expense of such burial, exclusive of the purchase price of the grave, the cost of the grave opening and the cost of a cement vault liner if one is required by the cemetery regulations, by whomsoever incurred, exceeded $500 for a child under the age of seven or $900 for any other person. The burial shall not be made in a cemetery or burial ground used exclusively for the burial of persons under the provisions of chapter 117 or in any part of a cemetery or burial ground so used. Relatives of the deceased who are unable to bear the expense of burial may be allowed to conduct the funeral. The full amount so expended, the name of the deceased and, if the deceased was a veteran, the regiment, company, station, organization or vessel in which such veteran served, the date of death, place of interment and, if the deceased was a spouse or widow or widower, the name of such veteran's spouse and date of marriage and, if the deceased was a dependent child, the name of the veteran and such other details as the commissioner may require, shall be certified on oath to said commissioner in such manner as said commissioner may approve, by the burial agent and the treasurer of the city or town expending the amount, within three months after the burial. The commissioner shall endorse upon the certificate the allowance of such amounts as have been paid and reported according to the foregoing provisions and shall transmit the certificate to the comptroller. Seventy-five per cent of the amounts so paid and allowed for burial expenses of veterans or dependents by the cities and towns wherein they reside shall be paid by the commonwealth to the several cities and towns on or before November 10 in the year after the expenditures have been made. Notwithstanding the requirements as to residence as set forth in section 5, the commissioner may authorize the burial agent of a city or town to arrange for the proper interment of the body of an indigent veteran who dies within the commonwealth. The definitions contained in section 1 of chapter 114 shall be applicable to this section and section 9.
posted by Jeff Bennett
A long read but important information for Town meeting as I believe we should have a basic understanding of what we vote on.
Section 53E1/2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three, a city or town may annually authorize the use of one or more revolving funds by one or more municipal agency, board, department or office which shall be accounted for separately from all other monies in such city or town and to which shall be credited only the departmental receipts received in connection with the programs supported by such revolving fund. Expenditures may be made from such revolving fund without further appropriation, subject to the provisions of this section; provided, however, that expenditures shall not be made or liabilities incurred from any such revolving fund in excess of the balance of the fund nor in excess of the total authorized expenditures from such fund, nor shall any expenditures be made unless approved in accordance with sections forty-one, forty-two, fifty-two and fifty-six of chapter forty-one.
Interest earned on any revolving fund balance shall be treated as general fund revenue of the city or town. No revolving fund may be established pursuant to this section for receipts of a municipal water or sewer department or of a municipal hospital. No such revolving fund may be established if the aggregate limit of all revolving funds authorized under this section exceeds ten percent of the amount raised by taxation by the city or town in the most recent fiscal year for which a tax rate has been certified under section twenty-three of chapter fifty-nine. No revolving fund expenditures shall be made for the purpose of paying any wages or salaries for full time employees unless such revolving fund is also charged for the costs of fringe benefits associated with the wages or salaries so paid; provided, however, that such prohibition shall not apply to wages or salaries paid to full or part-time employees who are employed as drivers providing transportation for public school students; provided further, that only that portion of a revolving fund which is attributable to transportation fees may be used to pay such wages or salaries and provided, further, that any such wages or salaries so paid shall be reported in the budget submitted for the next fiscal year.
A revolving fund established under the provisions of this section shall be by vote of the annual town meeting in a town, upon recommendation of the board of selectmen, and by vote of the city council in a city, upon recommendation of the mayor or city manager, in Plan E cities, and in any other city or town by vote of the legislative body upon the recommendation of the chief administrative or executive officer. Such authorization shall be made annually prior to each respective fiscal year; provided, however, that each authorization for a revolving fund shall specify: (1) the programs and purposes for which the revolving fund may be expended; (2) the departmental receipts which shall be credited to the revolving fund; (3) the board, department or officer authorized to expend from such fund; (4) a limit on the total amount which may be expended from such fund in the ensuing fiscal year; and, provided, further, that no board, department or officer shall be authorized to expend in any one fiscal year from all revolving funds under its direct control more than one percent of the amount raised by taxation by the city or town in the most recent fiscal year for which a tax rate has been certified under section twenty-three of chapter fifty-nine. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, whenever, during the course of any fiscal year, any new revenue source becomes available for the establishment of a revolving fund under this section, such a fund may be established in accordance with this section upon certification by the city auditor, town accountant, or other officer having similar duties, that the revenue source was not used in computing the most recent tax levy.
In any fiscal year the limit on the amount that may be spent from a revolving fund may be increased with the approval of the city council and mayor in a city, or with the approval of the selectmen and finance committee, if any, in a town; provided, however, that the one percent limit established by clause (4) of the third paragraph is not exceeded.
The board, department or officer having charge of such revolving fund shall report to the annual town meeting or to the city council and the board of selectmen, the mayor of a city or city manager in a Plan E city or in any other city or town to the legislative body and the chief administrative or executive officer, the total amount of receipts and expenditures for each revolving fund under its control for the prior fiscal year and for the current fiscal year through December thirty-first, or such later date as the town meeting or city council may, by vote determine, and the amount of any increases in spending authority granted during the prior and current fiscal years, together with such other information as the town meeting or city council may by vote require.
At the close of a fiscal year in which a revolving fund is not reauthorized for the following year, or in which a city or town changes the purposes for which money in a revolving fund may be spent in the following year, the balance in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall revert to surplus revenue unless the annual town meeting or the city council and mayor or city manager in a Plan E city and in any other city or town the legislative body vote to transfer such balance to another revolving fund established under this section.
The director of accounts may issue guidelines further regulating revolving funds established under this section.
from MA general law, chapter 44.
posted by Jeff Bennett
posted by Jeff Bennett
Sunday, March 13, 2016
- Changes to school aid and school funding????
At a hearing on municipal and school aid accounts in Everett today, a panel of city and town officials led by North Adams Councillor and MMA President Lisa Blackmer expressed strong support for the governor’s revenue-sharing proposal to increase unrestricted municipal aid at a rate equal to the rate of growth in state tax collections.
The “consensus” tax growth forecast for next year is 4.3 percent, even after accounting for the scheduled drop in the state income tax rate. The governor proposed to increase the Cherry Sheet Unrestricted General Government Aid item at the “consensus” revenue growth rate, for an increase of $42 million.
Councillor Blackmer told the committee that the proposed increase was a top priority for cities and towns and would help pay for much-needed municipal services and help avoid over reliance on the property tax.
In written testimony submitted at the hearing, the MMA asked the Legislature to expand the governor’s Chapter 70 education aid recommendation by increasing the minimum aid amount. Under the governor’s recommendation, 249 school districts (77 percent of all operating districts) would receive an increase of only $20 per student. For many districts, this would represent another in a series of years of receiving only minimum aid, which has forced a growing reliance on the property tax to fund schools, a situation that the MMA maintains is not sustainable.
The MMA also asked the Legislature to take a look at the new method developed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to account for economically disadvantaged students in the local foundation budget spending standard and in school aid amounts. A number of school districts have reported that the new method understates the number of disadvantaged students in need of supplemental education programs.
MMA testimony also strongly supported implementation of the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission to update the Chapter 70 “foundation budget” minimum spending standards for special education and health insurance costs for school employees, and to add to the spending standard a measure of recognition for the cost of services for low-income, English Language Learner (ELL) and other students who would benefit from more intensive services.
The MMA also asked the Legislature to fully fund other state mandates and legislative commitments, including special education “circuit breaker” reimbursements, charter school impact transition payments, school transportation reimbursements, and other municipal and school programs.
the above is from the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
posted by Jeff Bennett
Cities, towns reminded to provide copies of all CBAs to state
- March 8, 2016
Public employers that are not currently in compliance with this statutory requirement (Ch. 150E, Sec. 7) are asked to file with the DLR an electronic copy of all collective bargaining agreements currently in effect no later than March 31.
A short description of each bargaining unit should accompany each filing.
The DLR’s E-file email address is efile.dlr@state.ma.us. Collective bargaining agreements that exceed email attachment size limits may be filed using the DLR’s large file transfer system. (For assistance using the system, call the DLR at (617) 626-7158.)
Public employers that post copies of collective bargaining agreements on a publicly accessible website may comply with the filing requirement by forwarding a short description of the bargaining unit with a link to the online CBA posting (in lieu of filing an electronic copy of the CBA).
For more information, visit www.mass.gov/dlr.
The above comes from the Massachusetts Municipal Association web page.
posted by Jeff Bennett
Friday, March 11, 2016
CDBG for East Templeton and TDC reuse committee
At the last meeting of select board in Templeton, a question was asked about TDC, response from one selectmen was that an attempt to contact the state and have a meeting was met with no response and it is hard to have a meeting or do anything when one side will not talk. That came from John Columbus.
I have wondered about the CDBG grant for the eastern part of Templeton, so I contacted Community opportunity group, which is the entity that has done the paper work on that grant for a number of years in Temleton. They have not heard from anyone on the board of selectmen or the town administrator. There is a need for about 30 thousand dollars to do the grant application and survey and then hire an engineer to draw up bid ready plans and that cost is an eligible chapter 90 (road funds) expense and has been used in the past. Question is, does Templeton have those funds available to do this. One thing is for sure, one group is ready to proceed and one group, selectmen have not acted so far. Applications would be submitted around February 2017 which is not that far off.
The was suppose to be an economic development committee led by one vocal selectmen (at the time) but so far, that selectmen and committee have been a no show. Personally, right now, I would settle for some straight talk on Templeton finance rather than the party line that all is fine. Right now, I think the king has no cloths on and someone should tell him.
Jeff Bennett
At the last meeting of select board in Templeton, a question was asked about TDC, response from one selectmen was that an attempt to contact the state and have a meeting was met with no response and it is hard to have a meeting or do anything when one side will not talk. That came from John Columbus.
I have wondered about the CDBG grant for the eastern part of Templeton, so I contacted Community opportunity group, which is the entity that has done the paper work on that grant for a number of years in Temleton. They have not heard from anyone on the board of selectmen or the town administrator. There is a need for about 30 thousand dollars to do the grant application and survey and then hire an engineer to draw up bid ready plans and that cost is an eligible chapter 90 (road funds) expense and has been used in the past. Question is, does Templeton have those funds available to do this. One thing is for sure, one group is ready to proceed and one group, selectmen have not acted so far. Applications would be submitted around February 2017 which is not that far off.
The was suppose to be an economic development committee led by one vocal selectmen (at the time) but so far, that selectmen and committee have been a no show. Personally, right now, I would settle for some straight talk on Templeton finance rather than the party line that all is fine. Right now, I think the king has no cloths on and someone should tell him.
Jeff Bennett
Thursday, March 10, 2016
ARTICLE 4 FISCAL 2016 FINANCIAL TRANSFERS
To see if the town will vote to increase, decrease or
otherwise adjust the various appropriations voted pursuant to Article 5 of
the May 16, 2015 Annual Town Meeting (the Annual Operating Budget), and to
raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds or borrow pursuant to any
applicable statute to carry out the foregoing; or to take any other action
related thereto.
Main Motion:
I move to transfer funds within the Fiscal 2016 Annual Operating Budget as follows:
I move to transfer funds within the Fiscal 2016 Annual Operating Budget as follows:
From Acct. Name Amount To Acct. Name
|
1000-123-100-
51-5110-0000
|
Town
Administrator Salaries
|
$990.00
|
1000-135-100-53-5300-0000
|
Town
Accountant Software
|
$990.
|
|
1000-123-100-51-5110-0000
|
Town
Administrator Salaries
|
$61.00
|
1000-175-100-54-5300-0000
|
Montachusett
Regional Planning Assessment
|
$61.00
|
|
1000-123-100-51-5110-0000
|
Town
Administrator Salaries
|
$12,949.00
|
1000-220-200-51-5117-0000
|
Fire/EMS
Salaries
|
$12,949.00
|
|
1000-424-400-52-5210-0000
|
Street
Lights
|
$19,478.00
|
1000-220-200-51-5117-0000
|
Fire/EMS
Salaries
|
$19,478.00
|
|
1000-630-600-51-5115-0000
|
Recreation
Salaries
|
$73.00
|
1000-220-200-51-5117-0000
|
Fire/EMS
Salaries
|
$73.00
|
|
1000-710-700-59-5910-0000
|
Debt
|
$12,500.00
|
1000-220-200-51-5117-0000
|
Fire/EMS
|
$12,500.00
|
|
1000-710-700-59-5910-0000
|
Debt
|
$50,000
|
1000-543-500-57-5770-0000
|
Veterans
Benefits
|
$50,000
|
|
1000-710-700-59-5910-0000
|
Debt
|
$25,000
|
1000-913-900-51-5171-0000
|
Unemployment
|
$25,000
|
or take any other action related
thereto.
Requires a majority vote
Summary: Requires a majority vote
These transfers are within the Fiscal 2016 budget. No new appropriation or tax increase will be required.
so much for the Town's finances being all set and it looks like the salary account for town administrator is not much more than a slush fund to move money from so what would we do if we had a full time administrator and that fund was not available?
Jeff Bennett
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