Massachusetts General Law, chapter 39:

Section 15. The moderator shall preside and regulate the proceedings, decide all questions of order, and make public declaration of all votes, and may administer in open meeting the oath of office to any town officer chosen thereat. If a vote so declared is immediately questioned by seven or more voters, he shall verify it by polling the voters or by dividing the meeting unless the town has by a previous order or by-law provided another method. If a two thirds, four fifths or nine tenths vote of a town meeting is required by statute, the count shall be taken, and the vote shall be recorded in the records by the clerk; provided, however, that a town may decide by by-law or vote not to take a count and record the vote if a two-thirds vote of a town meeting is required by statute; and provided, further, that if the vote is unanimous, a count need not be taken, and the clerk shall record the vote as unanimous.

A town may pass by-laws, subject to this section, for the regulation of the proceedings at town meetings. Such by-laws shall be approved and published in the manner prescribed by section thirty-two of chapter forty.

In any town having a representative town meeting form of government the town meeting members shall not use the secret ballot when voting in the exercise of the corporate powers of said town or on any motion unless two thirds of the town meeting members present and voting thereon vote that a secret ballot be used.

posted by Jeff Bennett

Where does it come from?

Actually, I do talk to people and people talk to me. I see town employees, including department heads, other boards and committees, people at town meeting. Then there are the groups such as the friends of the Templeton elders. I speak with some people at MacDonalds in the morning when I stop for a coffee. Surprising the number of "seniors" who gather there to talk. Information is all around us and while it may not all be on paper, so to speak, sometimes it is very interesting and worth tossing out there. I had heard the closing of the senior center before town meeting on October 20, but waited until after the meeting. If the article to take money out of stabilization had passed, there would be no need to close the senior center or anything else. All one has to do is think about it for a minute, unless the selectmen suddenly "find" some more money, how will they come up with $87,500.00?

By the way, I hope people do not fret or spend too much time wondering where somethings come from or begin. The information is all around us, all you have to do is listen.


posted by Jeff Bennett

Some thoughts on a reply to one of my blog entries:

I generally let the any replies on here go, as I let people post comments, but sometimes I find things interesting and decide to comment on the comments, clear as mud, right.

Onward and upward, where we going, to the moon? What part of Templeton is the "selectmen's house?" I always thought the selectmen were elected to watch out for the entire town rather than just some departments. Since the light & water department of Templeton deals with all of the people of Templeton, just check who your light bill comes from. Who has to sign the warrant to pay all the town's bills? Who hires and oversees the people who are suppose to take care of town employees taxes, health insurance, retirement? The selectmen and who do the L&W commissioners turn to when they need to borrow money?, the selectmen, so in my opinion, the Templeton light & water department is in the selectmen's house.

Some selectmen should remember how they came to be elected, a special election and how one selectmen made a speech about democracy and representation. It is on video by the way. Democracy and the democratic process is suppose to be about the free and unfettered sharing of information, not just the part you want to share to favor your opinion. Might be time for people to take back their town meeting and that will take some work.

As for working together, how come when the Advisory Committee asks the selectmen for information, it is not readily forthcoming? Talk all you want about working together, but where were the selectmen at pre-town meeting? Where is the budget to actual for the school project? Where are the contracts involving the town and the school district? Two legal separate entities by the way.

"We don't have free cash to certify and our board has made the promise it will never be use for operating expenses."

If I recall correctly, there was a member of the audience thrown out of a selectmen meeting after one selectmen talked about using some of that mysterious 750 thousand dollars of "free cash" for operating expenses. The current board of selectmen wanted to use savings to cover operating expense, long term debt. So much for that promise.

posted by Jeff Bennett

an email sent to a selectmen by me:
Over and done, two yes votes, however, there seems to be movement on part of BOS to provide as little information as possible. Point 1, not reading articles at town meeting, point 2, I asked the TA for a budget to actual for school project and all I got was partial information with acc'ts payable, encumbrances and pending contractual amounts missing. I know such a document exists because I have a copy from March of 2016. Advisory Committee exists because of MGL and town by-laws. Lastly, if any selectmen wish to know how I vote at advisory meetings, they should attend meetings, especially pre town.

Good day,
Bennett

PS, if you are written about or mentioned on my blog by me, it is because you (you as in anyone) are doing something. If you are doing nothing, you may never see your name there, think about that.

One item the selectmen seem ready to do to fix their fu%k up is to close the senior center. How about the selectmen take some heat and make the tough call, use the 40 thousand dollars in un-allocated funds, (from annual town meeting May 14, 2016) stop the raises given and then move some funds around (transfers) and make up their 87,500.00 mistake that way rather than punishing innocent people, the seniors.

By the way, that was the illegal part, I am told, about article 8. by rescinding the entire article, you would be hurting other innocent parties, because money has already been spent, encumbered, on accounts payable or by way of a promissory, as in awarding  future work or "promising"  and then that contractor turns down other work because they believe they have a job in waiting. For article 8 to be legal, it would have been to reduce the appropriation down to 4 million dollars. Again, the selectmen would need to be asked if they did or would they ask town counsel to "fix" the wording. Since the selectmen control how access to town counsel happens, I think the answer would be a NO. Besides, the selectmen seem implicit in all the children being used as pawns for a town meeting. Right up there with using children as a commodity in fixing a budget, school choice.

Also nice to see all those people up and leave right after the school vote, perhaps they had to get all the children home to bed for school the next day!

posted by Jeff Bennett

The question people should be asking, in my opinion, is this: Did the selectmen send all 8 articles which appeared on the warrant for the October 20 special town meeting, to town counsel before the meeting? Generally, that is what happens. I am betting town counsel did not see those articles, especially number 8, before Thursday evening. Waiting to the last minute, is a trick, in my opinion, you may call it a procedural move, which is why it is important to know the rules of the game. So, ask the selectmen at a meeting if they sent all 8 articles to legal before the meeting.

posted by Jeff Bennett