Good Morning Jeff,
I hope all is well. I would like to express my concern with the way you are talking to town personnel. These are people with functions that do not need your concerns expressed to them directly. I would suggest if you have a concern over the nature of any town employee you bring that before the Town Selectmen. As we are the one's who would handle such matters. The response you were given actually suffices to any and all your questions. Carter & Kelli stated in their email, if you have a question they will be happy to answer it.
This is not your place to pick a quarrel with the Town Administrator or the Town Accountant. Your place to take it up would be with the Selectmen and give us your feed back in a public forum about your qualms about financial details. I am sure the Chairman would be willing to accommodate.
Also, sending a line as if to threaten town employees that you will be making burdensome inquiries into their financial items so they "may wish to clear their calendar" is as bizarre as it is unprofessional. I highly suggest you correct your actions in correspondence with Town Employees as this will not be tolerated.
Furthermore, The Advisory Committee is not a spending watchdog. Your task as an advisory committee is to review the budget and make recommendations. The Select Board reviews and signs all warrants once a week. We have been tasked with reviewing day to day financial operations & spending within the community. As the executive body of Templeton, we also have the power to put a financial team in place and as such we are responsible for their actions and reviewing their work.
The Advisory Committee is not an investigatory body and it is certainly not an audit committee. Kelli has three auditing bodies already. Tony Roselli, the Department of Revenue, & the Board of Selectmen. Which would make three entities reviewing the books and as you can imagine makes for some incredible strain on Templeton's financial department when they are asked the same questions regularly. Your scope, once again, should be defined as budgeting review and recommendation of warrant articles. You do not create the budget and you are not the financial arm of the town. You are an advisory committee.
So I direct you again Jeff. If you have a question about insurance payments being paid timely or in full. That isn't in your jurisdiction. If you have a question about what the insurance policy being paid in full and how much that would save the town versus payments over time and have a possible recommendation to the budget based on that information, you would be in your role as an advisory committee member.
If you have a budget related question, ask it Jeffery, if not then I would suggest you reach out to the Chairman of the Selectmen Board to discuss your specific complaints in open forum but in no way within your scope of duties does it say you can threaten members of town hall with burdensome work or enforce by-law requirements leave that to the elected officials.
Regards,
Cameron Forte
I hope all is well. I would like to express my concern with the way you are talking to town personnel. These are people with functions that do not need your concerns expressed to them directly. I would suggest if you have a concern over the nature of any town employee you bring that before the Town Selectmen. As we are the one's who would handle such matters. The response you were given actually suffices to any and all your questions. Carter & Kelli stated in their email, if you have a question they will be happy to answer it.
This is not your place to pick a quarrel with the Town Administrator or the Town Accountant. Your place to take it up would be with the Selectmen and give us your feed back in a public forum about your qualms about financial details. I am sure the Chairman would be willing to accommodate.
Also, sending a line as if to threaten town employees that you will be making burdensome inquiries into their financial items so they "may wish to clear their calendar" is as bizarre as it is unprofessional. I highly suggest you correct your actions in correspondence with Town Employees as this will not be tolerated.
Furthermore, The Advisory Committee is not a spending watchdog. Your task as an advisory committee is to review the budget and make recommendations. The Select Board reviews and signs all warrants once a week. We have been tasked with reviewing day to day financial operations & spending within the community. As the executive body of Templeton, we also have the power to put a financial team in place and as such we are responsible for their actions and reviewing their work.
The Advisory Committee is not an investigatory body and it is certainly not an audit committee. Kelli has three auditing bodies already. Tony Roselli, the Department of Revenue, & the Board of Selectmen. Which would make three entities reviewing the books and as you can imagine makes for some incredible strain on Templeton's financial department when they are asked the same questions regularly. Your scope, once again, should be defined as budgeting review and recommendation of warrant articles. You do not create the budget and you are not the financial arm of the town. You are an advisory committee.
So I direct you again Jeff. If you have a question about insurance payments being paid timely or in full. That isn't in your jurisdiction. If you have a question about what the insurance policy being paid in full and how much that would save the town versus payments over time and have a possible recommendation to the budget based on that information, you would be in your role as an advisory committee member.
If you have a budget related question, ask it Jeffery, if not then I would suggest you reach out to the Chairman of the Selectmen Board to discuss your specific complaints in open forum but in no way within your scope of duties does it say you can threaten members of town hall with burdensome work or enforce by-law requirements leave that to the elected officials.
Regards,
Cameron Forte
Maybe someone ought to read................
ReplyDeleteArticle IV – Advisory Committee
Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Advisory Committee annually to consider the
expenditures in previous years and the estimated requirements for the ensuing
year of the several boards, officers and committees of the town, as prepared
by them in such form and detail as may be prescribed by said committee. The
said committee shall add to such statement of expenditures and estimates
another column, giving the amounts which in its opinion should be
appropriated for the ensuing year, and shall further add thereto such
explanations and suggestions relating to the proposed appropriations as it may
deem expedient, and report thereon as provided in section five of Article II.
Section 4a. All articles, other than those deemed by the Board of Selectmen to constitute
an emergency, sought to be inserted in the Town Warrant for the Annual
Town Meeting shall be filed with the Board of Selectmen, and referred by
them to the Advisory Committee on or before April 10th and all articles sought
to be inserted in the Warrant for a Special Town Meeting shall be referred by
the Board of Selectmen to the Advisory Committee at least 14 days before the
date set for such meeting.
Section 5. In the discharge of its duty, said committee shall have free access to all books
of record and accounts, bills and vouchers on which money has been or may
be paid from the town treasury. Officers, boards, and committees of the town
shall, upon request, furnish said committee with facts, figures, and any other
information pertaining to their several activities.
Section 6. It shall be the duty of the Advisory Committee to make an annual report of its
doings, with recommendations relative to financial matters and the conduct of
town business, to be contained in the annual town report.
Thursday Night Mr. Fortes NEEDED a Drink. This response must be late Friday morning hungover grumpy Mr. Fortes.
ReplyDeleteIs there a problem ? Why can't the Chairman of the BOS speak for himself ? Why does he need to have the junior selectman speak for him ? It does seem that this BOS picks out what they agree with as far as the Town By-Laws go and ignore the rest. This article says to me that it is the job of the AC to "prepare such forms and detail as may be prescribed by said by said committee". It would provide a clear picture of town spending for the voters and taxpayers of this town. Isn't that what everyone would want ? I am sure at this day and time most people would prefer a clear picture of how their town government works and how their money is spent. Why would any of our town officials want anything but that ? That would be a good question for our TA and elected officials.
Delete