So ya'll think you are separate over there?


From annual town meeting of 1999.

Article 18        To see if the Town will vote to Appropriate a sum of money to repair and repaint or replace the South Road Water Standpipe, and to authorize the Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow any sum appropriated hereunder pursuant to Chap. 44 of the MGL, as most recently amended, or any other enabling authority, and to issue bonds or notes of the Town therefor.  Such bonds or notes are expected to be paid from Water System Enterprise Fund To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money to repair and repaint or replace the South Road Water Standpipe, and to authorize the Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow any sum appropriated here under pursuant to Chap. 44 of the MGL, as most recently amended, or any other enabling authority, and to issue bonds or notes of the Town therefor.  Such bonds or notes are expected to be paid from Water System Enterprise Fund Revenues, but nevertheless, shall be general obligations of the Town.

                        On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to Appropriate the sum of $190,000.00 to repair and repaint or replace the South Road Water Standpipe, and to authorize the Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow any sum appropriated hereunder pursuant to Chapter 44 of the MGL, as most recently amended, or any other enabling authority, and to issue bonds or notes of the Town therefor.  Such bonds or notes are expected to be paid from Water System Enterprise Fund revenues, but nevertheless, shall be general obligations of the Town.

                        Passed.

posted by Jeff Bennett

Some debt exclusion information for your reading.
From Annual Town meeting of 2007:


Article 26.
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of Three Hundred Seventy-One Thousand, Four Hundred Eighty Dollars ($371,480.00) for payment of the long-term debt for the expansion and renovation of the Narragansett Regional High School/Narragansett Middle School in accordance with a debt exclusion voted on January 22, 1996, or to take any other action relative thereto.
Submitted by the Narragansett Regional School District Committee
On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to raise and appropriate the sum of Three Hundred Seventy-One Thousand, Four Hundred Eighty Dollars ($371,480.00) for payment of the long-term debt for the expansion and renovation of the Narragansett Regional High School/Narragansett Middle School in accordance with a debt exclusion voted on January 22, 1996.

Passed Unanimously/May 16th @ 8:46

Article 27.
To see if the Town will vote to approve a Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) borrowing by the Narragansett Regional School District for the purpose of paying costs of replacing roofs at the High School/Middle School Complex, which approval shall be contingent upon a vote of the Town to exclude the amounts required to repay the Town’s share of any such debt from the limitations of Chapter 59, Section 21C of the General Laws, or to take any other action relative thereto.
 Submitted by the Narragansett Regional School District Committee

A motion was duly made and seconded to move the question. Passed Unanimously/May 16th @ 8:55 On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to approve the Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) borrowing by the Narragansett Regional School District for the purpose of paying costs of replacing roofs at the High School/Middle School Complex, which approval shall be contingent upon a vote of the Town to exclude the amounts required to repay the Town’s share of any such debt from the limitations of Chapter 59, Section 21C of the General Laws.

Passed/May 16th @ 8:55  (MGL chapter 59, section 21c is prop 2 1/2)

Not a debt exclusion but an interesting article:

Article 28.
To see if the Town will vote to authorize the establishment of a Stabilization Fund in accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 71, Section 16G ½, which provides authorization for the Narragansett Regional School District to maintain said fund to include providing for a deposit for the fund in its annual budget and to appropriate from the fund by a two-thirds vote of all of the members of the Regional School District Committee, or to take any other action relative thereto.
 Submitted by the Narragansett Regional School District Committee

On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to authorize the establishment of a Stabilization Fund in accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 71, Section 16G ½, which provides authorization for the Narragansett Regional School District to maintain said fund to include providing for a deposit for the fund in its annual budget and to appropriate from the fund by a two-thirds vote of all of the members of the Regional School District Committee.

Passed/May 16th @ 9:00

posted by Jeff Bennett

Considering using OPEB money to fix budget goofs. Is that a good idea?

The following comes from the Massachusetts Municipal Association web page.

From The Beacon, Summer 2016

Several years ago, momentum was gathering on the issue of OPEB reform. A special commission had calculated that communities and state government are facing a combined unfunded liability of $46 billion to pay health insurance benefits for their retired employees, a staggering burden that is certainly unaffordable for taxpayers.
 
In 2014, general awareness of the issue was growing across the country, as taxpayers and elected officials began to recognize the heavy burden that “other post-employment benefits” (the non-pension benefits provided to retirees, consisting mainly of health insurance, commonly known as OPEB) will place on their budgets.
 
Unlike defined benefit pensions, which are funded using a tightly regulated model adopted by the state in 1988, retiree health benefits are funded on a pay-as-you-go basis. But because the cost of medical care is rising much faster than inflation or local revenues, pay-as-you-go is not sustainable. Unabated, the cost of retiree health insurance will consume a larger and larger share of municipal budgets and will push out spending on vital public services, including education, police and fire protection, road repairs and much more.
 
Unfortunately, efforts to address the looming crisis through legislation were derailed, as interest groups were able to insert measures that would have maintained the status quo for the next 15 years, deferring any meaningful savings until 2030 and beyond. In addition, the legislative draft would have stripped cities and towns of the only power they hold to control OPEB costs today, by preventing local officials from changing the employer-retiree premium contribution percentages. 

The MMA and local officials strongly support providing excellent health benefits for employees and retirees. This benefit offers essential security for public workers and their families, and is an important strategy in recruiting, retaining and rewarding a high-caliber workforce. But without reform, it is very likely that taxpayers will take aim at these benefits and eliminate them, as has happened in many states.


I believe it is time to let selectmen know that when they talk about using OPEB funds to cover their goofs, they would be once again telling a lie to residents/voters. Voters were told at the annual town meeting to they needed to transfer this money from selectmen office expense account to the OPEB fund so the Town could begin saving for these future health care costs.



posted by Jeff Bennett