Templeton town meeting votes a single dollar amount for each department, it is up to department heads to spend those dollars wisely. If town meeting wants more control, they would have to vote in a line item budget, which would require amending previous town meeting votes, changing a few policies and in the end, could cost money if there were an increase in special town meetings to transfer money around. Always the details that drive the train.

 Survey question; town bylaw / policy - no charge for public records. Yes or no?

Paper, ink, computers, printers, copiers, people producing or getting the information are already all paid for, no reason to pay twice.

What is the cost for copies of public records; what about electronic records?

Absent a specifically identified statute or regulation, an RAO may charge no more than $0.05 per page for single and double-sided black and white paper copies or computer printouts. There is no longer a separate charge for police or fire reports, or for computer printouts.

The Public Records Law and its Regulations apply to all Massachusetts government records, regardless of form, and regardless of the location of the

records.

Provision of public records in electronic form is preferred where available. An RAO is not permitted to assess a copying fee for electronic records. The $0.05 fee applies only to paper copies of records.

Public records that are of great interest to a large number of people must be readily available within the office of the RAO and should be provided at a minimum cost, if any. Examples include minutes of board meetings, town meeting documents, warrants, street lists and municipal financial documents.

Many of these records are required to be placed on the RAO’s website.

An RAO may charge and recover a fee for the time spent searching, redacting, photocopying and refiling a record.

Municipalities with a population of 20,000 and under are permitted to charge

for the first two hours of time spent searching for, compiling, segregating, redacting and reproducing a requested record.

The hourly rate may not be greater than the prorated hourly wage of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task. Generally, an RAO is not permitted to charge an hourly rate in excess of $25.00 per hour to search for records. Municipal RAOs may petition the Supervisor for permission to charge a fee in excess of $25.00.

 The overlay is raised by the assessors in the annual tax levy as a reserve for abatements and exemptions.  MGL c. 59, secs. 23, 25 and  70A. Currently, there is a separate overlay reserve account for each fiscal year to cover property tax abatements and exemptions granted by the assessors or ordered by the Appellate Tax Board for just that fiscal year.

The Municipal Modernization Act creates a single overlay reserve to cover the costs of potential abatements or exemptions granted by the assessors or ordered by the Appellate Tax Board for any fiscal year. With a single overlay reserve, municipalities may now avoid deficits which formerly occurred when amounts abated or exempted exceeded the balance in the overlay account for that particular year. The single overlay takes effect on November 7, 2016. No local action is needed. As of that date, all balances in all overlay accounts will be merged into a single overlay account, the balance for which may be charged for abatements or exemptions granted for any fiscal year. Local assessors, however, will still need to review, as part of each year’s budget and tax rate process, whether an additional amount needs to be raised that year for addition to the single overlay account.

DOR Code	Municipality	Fiscal Year	Overlay Appropriation	Total Levy	Overlay as a % of Total Levy
294	Templeton	2021	313,292	12,276,184	2.55%
294	Templeton	2022	234,466	12,740,880	1.84%
294	Templeton	2023	225,774	12,935,986	1.75%
294	Templeton	2024	143,641	13,526,437	1.06%
294	Templeton	2025	140,749	14,086,053	1.00%

 Town meeting hypothetical article;

Yes or No?

To see if the town will vote to amend prior article, senior tax work off program.

To see if the Town will vote to amend Article 4 of the May 13, 2017, Annual Town Meeting, as shown below:

from “The Senior Tax Work-Off Program, for taxpayers over 60 years of age, shall provide a maximum abatement of Five-Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each participant earned at an hourly rate as the Board of Selectmen shall, from time to time, set as the minimum wage of the Town in compliance with statute; said abatement(s) to be paid from the Assessor’s Overlay account.”

To “The Senior Tax Work-Off Program, for taxpayers over 60 years of age, shall provide a maximum abatement set by the select board, per M.G.L. c 59, section 5K, in consultation with council on aging, for each participant, earned at an hourly rate set as the minimum wage of the Town in compliance with statute; said abatement(s) to be paid from the Assessor’s Overlay account.”

There is over $700,000.00 in the overlay fund (and it was explained to the SB that it is planned to add $130,000.00 more to the overlay fund) now, as a senior and a member of the board, I would be in favor of an amount of not less than $1500.00 per senior, with work assigned by SB/council on aging. There are many things seniors can/could do, the list is long, and there are seniors in Templeton who are more than capable of helping the town out as well as themselves. Consider this as an unofficial survey.

 BARRE — Voters in Barre handily rejected a proposed $540,000 Proposition 2½ override in a townwide election Tuesday, Aug. 5.

According to unofficial results the town posted online, the measure failed 798-154.

There were 952 ballots cast, which represents about a fifth of the town’s 4,369 registered voters.

The vote, which town officials said would lead to cuts in services including the police, comes after Town Meeting voters in June, by a 133-67 vote, approved the expenditures that would have flowed from a “yes” vote.

The Telegram & Gazette has reached out to members of the town’s three-person Board of Selectmen for comment.

At Town Meeting, officials said the override, which would have raised property taxes by $255 a year on the median $359,000 home in town, was needed to avoid cuts in services.

The town’s police chief, James Sabourin — who was recently appointed interim town administrator — said the cuts would amount to an 11% decrease in his budget; the fire chief told residents he expected the town to lose its fire inspector.

Sabourin told the T&G Aug. 6 that he expects the cuts to lead to the loss of the town’s school resource officer, as well as about a $17,000 cut from his overtime budget.

That will hinder the ability to backfill shifts should officers be out sick or on vacation, he said, and may lead to situations in which the department only has one officer on at times overnight.

 The Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center has launched a new website, making it easier for veterans to access services, according to a community announcement.

The Barre Savings Charitable Foundation provided funding for the website, which was developed by Gardner-based InConcert Web Solutions. The site is now fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessible via computer, tablet and phone. It also features an active veterans event calendar, downloadable housing applications and easily navigable service pages.

The MVOC has served homeless and high-risk veterans throughout North Central Massachusetts for over 40 years. Its previous website had remained unchanged for over a decade due to funding restrictions and capacity restraints.

 The State Ethics Commission has issued a formal advisory opinion that explains how the state’s conflict-of-interest law (Ch. 268A) applies to municipal employees who solicit donations or engage in fundraising on behalf of the municipality where the persons and entities approached for a donation may have business dealings with the municipality or its agencies or employees.

In general, sections 3 and 23(b)(2) of Chapter 268A prohibit public employees from soliciting anything of substantial value from anyone with whom the public employee has official business dealings.

As discussed in the advisory opinion (EC-COI-12), however, a municipal employee may solicit donations to a municipal entity from persons and entities with whom he, or other municipal employees, has or expects to have official dealings, consistent with Chapter 268A, provided that all of the following are true:

1. The solicitation is carried out in accordance with Chapter 44, Section 53A, which authorizes acceptance of gifts by municipal employees on behalf of the municipality, and, by implication, authorizes the solicitation of gifts.

2. The solicitation is not made in circumstances that are inherently coercive because the person or entity solicited may be directly and significantly affected by a pending or anticipated decision of the same municipality.

3. No overt pressure is exerted in connection with any such solicitation.

4. The municipality and its employees apply objective standards in all dealings with persons and entities who are solicited and do not favor those who give or disfavor those who do not.

5. The municipal employee principally responsible for making such solicitations discloses publicly and in writing the names of those solicited, pursuant to Chapter 268A, Section 23(b)(3).

 Article 27.   To see if the Town will vote to accept the provisions of M.G.L. C.59, §5K, Senior Tax Work-Off Program, for taxpayers over 60 years of age.  The program shall be implemented in fiscal year 2013, with abatements applied to the fiscal year 2014 actual tax bills provided, however, that such program shall provide a maximum abatement of $500.00 for each of up to twenty participants with an hourly rate of $8.00; said abatement(s) of up to a total of $10,000.00 to be paid from the Excess Overlay Reserve account; or to take any other action relative thereto.                                                 

Submitted by Susan Byrne, MAA, Deputy Assessor and Eileen Clarkson, HS-BCP, MS, Notary Public, director of Council on Aging/Senior Center/Food Pantry/Meals on Wheels/Transportation 

On an amended motion duly made and seconded the town voted to accept the provisions of M.G.L. C.59, §5K, Senior Tax Work-Off Program, for taxpayers over 60 years of age. The program shall be implemented in fiscal year 2013, with abatements applied to the fiscal year 2014 actual tax bills, provided however, that such program shall provide a maximum abatement of Five-Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each participant earned at an hourly rate of Eight Dollars ($8.00); said abatement(s) to be paid from the Assessor’s Overlay account. Passed Unanimously/May 16th @ 8:50 

MGL c59 section 5K: A city or town, by vote of its legislative body, subject to its charter, may adjust the exemption in this clause by: (1) allowing an approved representative, for persons physically unable, to provide such services to the city or town; or (2) allowing the maximum reduction of the real property tax bill to be based on 125 volunteer service hours in a given tax year, rather than $2,000.

MGL c59, section 5K: In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section, the board of selectmen of a town or in a municipality having a town council form of government, the town council or the mayor with the approval of the city council in a city may establish a program to allow persons over the age of 60 to volunteer to provide services to such city or town. In exchange for such volunteer services, the city or town shall reduce the real property tax obligations of such person over the age of 60 on his tax bills and any reduction so provided shall be in addition to any exemption or abatement to which any such person is otherwise entitled and no such person shall receive a rate of, or be credited with, more than the current minimum wage of the commonwealth per hour for services provided pursuant to such reduction nor shall the reduction of the real property tax bill exceed $2,000 in a given tax year. It shall be the responsibility of the city or town to maintain a record for each taxpayer including, but not limited to, the number of hours of service and the total amount by which the real property tax has been reduced and to provide a copy of such record to the assessor in order that the actual tax bill reflect the reduced rate. A copy of such record shall also be provided to the taxpayer prior to the issuance of the actual tax bill. Such cities and towns shall have the power to create local rules and procedures for implementing this section in any way consistent with the intent of this section.

 The Joint Committee on Transportation yesterday released a bond bill that would authorize $300 million for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program for fiscal 2026, a 50% increase over previous years.

The bill (H. 4257) would distribute $200 million based on the traditional Chapter 90 formula and $100 million based on road miles only.

The committee’s proposal is a one-year authorization, whereas the governor had previously proposed $300 million per year for five years.

The committee’s nearly $1.2 billion borrowing bill would also authorize $200 million for a culvert and small bridge program overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, along with $500 million for a MassDOT bridge and pavement asset management program and $185 million for congestion and safety initiatives.

 There is still one opening on Templeton advisory committee. If appointed, term would be until adjournment of Templeton annual town meeting May 2026.

 Good Morning

Over the weekend we had some more damage to the roof at Houghton Park.

The Police have 3 suspects who admitted to doing the damage.

We will be getting an estimate to repair damage to the roof and those 3 suspects will be responsible for paying for the damage.

They will more than likely be serving some community service hours as well.

Good Afternoon

The construction for the School St. project is completed.

School St. is officially open to 2-way traffic.

 Templeton, MA June meals tax revenue reports as $19,670.00.

Meals Tax revenue for fiscal year 25 is down $523.00 from previous year, using data from MA division local service.

FY24 total meals tax $83,879.00

FY25 total meals tax $83,356.00

Fiscal Year 25 meals tax for 1st., 3rd and 4th quarters were down from previous FY. 2nd qtr. was up from previous FY.

Templeton Meals Tax history.

Fiscal Year

2019 total $41,709.00

2020 total $50,573.00

2021 total $55,457.00

2022 total $67.168.00

2023 total $77,346.00

2024 total $83,879.00

2025 total $83,356.00

 Fiscally responsible spending plan is more than $1 billion below H1; Will make Massachusetts more affordable, improve transportation, invest in the state's world-class education system, and grow economy. House 1 is the state budget generally put forward in January that most cities and towns use as basis for state aid in local budgets. Except now the state has reduced it by 1 billion dollars. This is exactly why town should not use stabilization funds to pay reoccurring expenses such as school assessment. It was a dumb move a couple years ago, was a dumb move this year and will always be a dumb move, fiscally speaking.

 The Legislature plans to approve a final fiscal year 2026 state budget on Monday, the day before the new spending cycle starts, after House and Senate Democrats announced they reached an accord.

Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues, the budget chiefs for each chamber, said in a statement just after 1 p.m. Friday that they completed a deal on the annual spending plan. They did not release any details about its contents or even a bottom line spending figure.

 How does a debt exclusion differ from an override? Both are Proposition 2½ questions and, in municipal finance language, both are technically overrides. However, there are some basic differences. While both will increase your property taxes, a debt exclusion is a temporary increase while an operating override is a permanent increase in the town’s tax levy limit. A debt exclusion finances a particular project(s) and your taxes increase for a period of time, usually 10-20 years, to cover the cost of the project. When the financing bond is paid off, your tax increase for that project goes away.

Why are there two votes – one at the polls and one at Town Meeting? A debt exclusion is required to pass two thresholds: a simple majority at the ballot and a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting.

https://www.templetonma.gov/home/news/the-annual-town-election-will-be-held-on-monday-may-19th-from-1100am-700pm 

 Back in January, MA governor presented her budget for FY26. Commonly called house 1.

House 1 state aid to Templeton - $2,075,790.00

House ways & means $2,041,391.00

Senate ways & means $2,099,863.00

Used in revenue totals for the budget you just voted on Wednesday, total state aid for FY26 $2,048,909.00

Anyone have a crystal ball to tell me exactly how much total state aid Templeton will get? Can anyone tell me if Templeton will collect 100% of personal property and real estate taxes for FY26?

Town budget is a crap shoot based on estimates; there is financial history to aid in arriving at those estimates, but, nothing in stone.

Same with chapter 70 state aid to school districts.

Just in case you did not realize that.