The following shows the reason (s) behind the upcoming Templeton annual town meeting, article #3 (article # as of right now)

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From: Terenzini, Carter <cterenzini@TempletonMA.gov>
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2019 2:22 PM
To: Adam D. Lamontagne <alamontagne@TempletonMA.gov>; Bennett, Jeff <jbennett@TempletonMA.gov>; Currie, Michael <mcurrie@TempletonMA.gov>; Diane Haleybrooks <DHaleybrooks@TempletonMA.gov>; Richard, Julie <jrichard@TempletonMA.gov>; Griffis, Terry <tgriffis@TempletonMA.gov>; Young, Holly <hyoung@TempletonMA.gov>
Cc: Pontbriand, Kelli <kpontbriand@TempletonMA.gov>; Royer, Luanne <lroyer@TempletonMA.gov>; Richardson, Cheryl <crichardson@TempletonMA.gov>
Subject: ReCap

 

Good Day:

We had three issues with our recap and it appears it will NOT require a resigning.  We will advise you ASAP if it turns out otherwise.

1. We had place a miscellaneous revenue item in one reporting column when DOR asked us to report it differently.  This threw the recap off.  They subsequently advised we had done it correctly; once moved back it was AOK but…

2. They then had questions on our FY ’20 DE-1 (monies to be raised as the result of a debt exclusion).  Let me start by saying that, during the course of construction, one never knows exactly how much one will need nor what the interest rate will be;  With the two windows to work with (Town Meeting and Recap) we are not always spot on the amounts needed during the BAN phase of the financing.  We budgeted, in May of ’19, $90k for interest on BANs we issued in November of ’19 and are due in February of ’20.  At that time we will convert some portion thereof to General Obligation Bonds.  It turned out that the interest is only $51,954 leaving an excess of $32,046.  We also budgeted $75k to make advance paydowns on the BANs thus reducing the GOBs we had to raise and the annual principal and interest payments.  In simplest terms; DOR wants to see only the amounts that are shown as owed on a debt statement that we “need” to pay down in that FY.    They do not want to see us raising the added amount we “want” to pay down. They subsequently approved the inclusion of these monies on the DE-1 But advised us to not do so again in the future.

3. Notwithstanding prior legal advice that Article 2 of the July STM was a proper method of authorizing the BoS to cut the General Fund budget to accommodate the final NRSD budget; they subsequently opined that it was not permissible.  That said, they did earlier today approve the use of that  method provided the Chair and I sign a letter committing to seeking an appropriation of the same amount as we cut the general fund to out all of the accounts.  The end result is nil as we use FY ’19 free cash to satisfy them which simply becomes FY ’20 free cash as it never actually gets spent.

With this behind us, Luanne advises all comments have been submitted and we expect a rate by Monday; a date we had established as our “drop dead”.

Over the coming months we will ask Town Counsel to arrange a meeting with DOR Chief Counsel and our Bond Counsel to discuss these differing legal opinions that we might learn more.

Many Thanks

Carter Terenzini

Town Administrator

Town of Templeton

160 Patriots Road

East Templeton, MA 01438

1.978.894.2755

Why spend further tax dollars meeting with lawyers, just follow the guidance of the Department of Revenue; you cannot do what you did, plain and simple.

To try and move forward in a responsible manner and to update a prior town meeting vote; as well as to allow full funding of necessary items to properly and safely operate a town ambulance, I proposed the following to the other members of the board of selectmen and town administrator.

Since many talk about fully supporting public safety, it was disappointing to see the rest of the board take the easy way, the way of the town administrator and say, this proposed change is not ready for prime time.

The proposal would have limited the ability of the town administrator to use ambulance receipts funds to support general fund budget - the easy way.

Amend town meeting vote:

ARTICLE ?? Create Ambulance receipts reserved for appropriation: To see if the Town will vote to amend the motion for Article 8 of the November 7, 2011 Special Town Meeting; to create a fire-ambulance receipts reserved for appropriation account where collected ambulance receipts for services are placed beginning with fiscal year 2013.

The motion will be changed from:

To create a fire-ambulance receipts reserved for appropriation account where collected ambulance receipts for services are placed beginning with fiscal year 2013.

To:

To see if the Town will vote to create a Fire Department-Ambulance
Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account where collected ambulance
receipts for services are placed and monies are expended only through a Town Meeting vote for the purpose of funding various ambulance/fire department requests, to include, equipment, gear, medical supplies and capital items beginning in fiscal year 2022.

 

 So that the amended entire motion shall now read as follows:

 

To see if the Town will vote to create a Fire Department-Ambulance
Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account where collected ambulance
receipts for services are placed and monies are expended only through a Town Meeting vote for the purpose of funding various ambulance/fire department requests, to include, equipment, gear, medical supplies and capital items pursuant to the betterment of the fire dept. / ambulance services as deemed by the Templeton fire chief, beginning in fiscal year 2022.

Please check it out from various sources - one possible is state house news or contact your state legislature - either representative or senator, state - one each.

By Steph Solis | ssolis@masslive.com

The House passed a bill Thursday that would grant a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures for residents and business owners who cannot afford to pay because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill, H.1279, bars landlords from charging late fees or sending reports to credit rating agencies if tenants notify them within 30 days of a late payment. The provisions last for up to 30 days after the governor lifts the state of emergency over COVID-19.

“During these unprecedented times, we need to do whatever we can to keep people healthy, safe and in their homes,” House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, said in a statement. “This legislation shields tenants and homeowners from economic insecurity during and immediately after the period of the state of emergency."

The Senate advanced its own housing bill, S. 2621, and plans to take it up next week. The House and Senate would need to either come together behind one bill or merge their proposals into one version before it can land on the governor’s desk and become law.

The House bill also bars landlords from sending “notice to quit” letters, which notifies tenants of a landlord’s desire to terminate a lease, and prohibits sheriff’s officers from enforcing an eviction execution until 30 days after the state of emergency ends.

There is an exemption for emergency evictions that involve allegations of criminal activity or certain lease violations that could affect public health or public safety, according to the bill. Under those conditions, a landlord would need to send a 10-day “notice to quit” in writing.

Both the House and Senate bills established a moratorium on foreclosure actions for the same time frame, but that doesn’t mean people are free from making mortgage payments.

DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka said more than a week ago that they were working on housing legislation in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Massachusetts is one of the states hardest hit by job losses due to the pandemic. The Bay State had 181,062 initial unemployment claims for the week ending on March 28, up from 148,452 a week earlier, according to a report published Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. The previous week’s initial claims alone were more than all the claims the state received for the entire month of February.

More than 60 organizations signed onto a letter urging lawmakers to pass a housing relief bill by April 1, the State House News Service reported.

“Action is needed now to protect these families,” the groups wrote. “The emergency moratorium should be definitive about protecting people from all stages of eviction and foreclosure processes until the end of the crisis, since at this time new cases are still being filed, landlords holding executions are free to use them to throw people out of their homes, and many homeowners remain vulnerable to foreclosure.”

Gov. Charlie Baker said evictions and foreclosures should not move forward as long as the courts are closed, but noted that details were being worked out by lawmakers.

“We know you are worried and we are going to do everything we can to ensure nobody loses their housing because of this crisis,” Baker said last week.