Impact fees - a source of money to aid in road repair - could that be viable in Templeton?

Heavy trucks have an effect on roads, especially roads in distress, so could a fee structure be put in place to have an entity such as Graves Concrete and Graves sand and gravel pay a percentage of some amount to help raise money for road repair? I know that in some close by communities have such mechanisms in place. I also have to wonder about the once much talked about complete streets program available, which seems to have faded into distant memory. If start up funds or matching funds were/are needed, there appears to be $199,000.00 (+/-) of free cash - so called that could be used in that endeavor.

Of course there are a few shortfalls that have to be dealt with first as we as back fills (taking care of shortfalls in the fiscal year 2018 funding), so perhaps as soon as the next fiscal year begins, work could start on this subject; increase available funds without first increasing property taxes. we cannot go back to $10.00 per thousand, but I don't think we should be aiming for $20.00 per thousand either.

For the record, an example is there is a single tax rate in Templeton, right now that is $16.72 per thousand dollars of valuation and what ever all of the property Graves construction owns, for example is what is supposed to be paid to the Town. The question is or could be, what effect that operation has on Town Roads, do heavy sand laden trucks cause more wear, damage to roads than someone who travels the same road in a Ford for example.

Perhaps this post will cause some real debate and or ideas on how to provide needed or wanted Town services at a cost residents can afford. In my opinion, that means that everything should be on the table, honestly look at everything, even looking at services provided by town employees (salary and benefits) and look to see if those things could be done by a private service provider.

A nearby community, Ashburnham, has one of the highest property tax rates in the area and they have advertised for accounting services. Why would that be? It just may be that the community is looking to reduce long term costs for a particular service important to the Town.

Remember, the advertised impact on the Templeton tax rate for the new school was $1.74 per thousand to be able to make a yearly bond payment of roughly 1.4 million dollars. Yesterday, the office of the Board of Assessors told me that right now one dollar on the tax rate raises $622,843.00, so how can it be that $1.74 will raise 1.4 million dollars if $2.00 on the tax rate will now only raise roughly 1.2 million dollars. Again, the Town came in low to get the deal and again, may have to come back higher to follow through.

That should really help with any proposed override, (increase in the tax rate). Again, that $199,000.00 of free cash that apparently has been left to "hang out there" should have, in my opinion, been a subject of appropriation for the capital stabilization fund, then a new police cruiser and DPW truck could be purchased out right, as in a cash one time payment, without any need or worry about future lease payments. Perhaps not a concept workable in Templeton.