Templeton selectmen are asking for a transfer of $10,000.00 from the town reserve fund to the Templeton Town vehicle/machinery fund under highway department to cover a shortfall in that fund.

Part of the reason for this request could be linked to the "unexpected' repair/replacement of a pump on a fire department truck. That is something that is appropriate for a reserve fund transfer.

This request is questionable, for this member of the Templeton Advisory Committee, as I believe the reserve fund is not intended to be used to cover such things as inadequate funding or budgeting, sloppy management or predictable funding fluctuations.

"As a town, we need to change the practice of relying upon uncertain sources of income, such as additional state lottery receipts for example, to fund routine reoccurring expenses such as the town operating budget."

That is a quote from the Advisory Report from years ago and I believe it still holds today.


posted by Jeff Bennett