Templeton FY13 Cash Book is complete.
Massachusetts Manual for Treasurers / Collectors states a Municipal Treasurer must annually render a true account of all (their) receipts and disbursements and a report of their official acts. This statutory provision necessitates treasurers' use of a cash book. The cash book provides a control that enables treasurers to reconcile the cash on hand with bank statements and with general ledger. A cash book may vary in form to suit a particular communities needs and is generally made up of computerized records.
The cash book should contain the dates and amounts of all receipts and deposits. A list of payments by warrant is also necessary information for the cash book. Work is now to begin on FY14 Cash Book. Question is, with no apparent accounting of a cash book, why would selectmen push a 47 million dollar debt at this time? They, the current Board of Selectmen presented it to town meeting on behalf of the Narragansett School Committee. I have always thought it a good business decision to build a new school based on the condition and the cost estimates to rehab the existing buildings now used for schools. If we had taken better care of them, perhaps we could have chosen a different path but we did not so here we are. I have always been opposed to the process we chose to take to get to this point. There is a difference and hopefully as we move forward people will get involved rather than just giving up and thinking their say does not matter because it can and it does.
Jeff Bennett
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
The following is copied from the website of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
Jeff Bennett
From The Beacon, January 2016
Local officials are hoping that 2016 will ring in a string of positive investments in cities and towns, and one of the most important would be early action on a multi-year Chapter 90 bill to provide adequate funding for local transportation needs.
The just-ended 2015 construction season was a good one for local roads. Cities and towns received a much-needed $330 million allocation of Chapter 90 road repair funds, and the result was clear across the state, with orange cones sprouting up like wildflowers, marking important repair projects in nearly every community.
Modern and well-maintained roads, bridges and transit systems are essential in order to attract and keep families and businesses in the state, foster economic development and investment in our communities, create jobs, ensure public safety, and build a higher quality of life for our residents.
The progress on Chapter 90 funding, the primary resource cities and towns use to rebuild, repair and maintain 30,000 miles of local roads, began a year ago when newly inaugurated Gov. Charlie Baker released $100 million in funds that had been unwisely withheld by the previous administration. The governor and Legislature then enacted a one-year $200 million Chapter 90 bond bill, and the state also provided a special distribution of $30 million to help cities and towns repair potholes and other damage caused by the brutal winter.
It has long been recognized that Chapter 90 funding should be increased above the $200 million amount provided in 2014 and previous years. In December 2012, the MMA released a survey report documenting that cities and towns across the state need to spend at least $562 million every year just to bring local roads into a state of good repair, the industry standard for ensuring well-maintained roads in good condition. In 2014, we updated the analysis, showing that the annual need has increased to more than $600 million. The additional cost reflects the overall deterioration of our transportation infrastructure and shows why delays and underinvestment will cost taxpayers much more in the long run.
Currently, municipalities spend far less than the amount needed because of inadequate resources and because, for most cities and towns, Chapter 90 is the main or sole source of funds for road construction and repair. Under Proposition 2½, cities and towns are unable to increase the amount of local funds to supplement Chapter 90 unless they cut other important services, such as public safety or education, or pass a tax override, increasing local reliance on the already overburdened property tax. The result is seen in potholes and crumbling roads across the state.
Funding the Chapter 90 program at $300 million annually in future years, with an inflation-based adjustment, will close a portion of this huge gap.
We also note that the Chapter 90 program is the most effective and efficient way to ensure regional equity and regional access to the gas tax that was supported by the MMA. Chapter 90 shares transportation revenues in a fair way in every corner of the Commonwealth. Further, cities and towns face such a backlog of need that timely and adequate funding results in visible and necessary construction and repair projects on local roads across Massachusetts.
Investing more in Chapter 90 funding to improve the quality of local roads will actually save taxpayers millions of dollars a year. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, once a local road is in a state of good repair, every dollar invested to keep it properly maintained will save $6 to $10 in avoided repair costs that become necessary to rebuild the road when it fails due to a lack of maintenance.
Swift action is needed to keep Chapter 90 funding at an adequate level as we head into the 2016 construction season, which will start in just about three months. In order to ensure the timely release of $300 million in Chapter 90 authorizations for fiscal 2017 (which covers the 2016 construction season), the governor and Legislature need to enact a new Chapter 90 bond bill by March at the latest. Otherwise, we could see a repeat of the frustrating and costly delays that communities experienced in 2013 and 2014, when funds weren’t released until late summer, cutting those construction seasons in half. That’s why it will be important for state officials to make Chapter 90 a priority within the next few weeks.
Specifically, the MMA is asking the state to enact a five-year Chapter 90 bond bill with $300 million in annual baseline funding, indexed to grow with the CPI each year. The five-year duration would provide predictability and stability, allowing communities adequate time for planning, instead of lurching year-to-year with one-year commitments. Indexing the program to the CPI would ensure that communities do not lose purchasing power over time. This investment is essential for the state’s economic future and necessary to save taxpayers millions of dollars in more costly projects when roads fail.
The first step will be for the governor to file a multi-year bond bill as soon as possible, and then for the Legislature to expedite public hearings so that the final measure can be enacted in time for official notification of Chapter 90 allocations to be sent to communities before the April 1 date called for in state law.
We need a strong multi-year Chapter 90 bill now. Delays will only serve to widen the potholes, erode our roads, and place a greater burden on local taxpayers. Quick action will serve to improve our roads, save taxpayers money, strengthen our economy, ensure regional equity, and make our streets safer and less crowded.
That would be the best way to ring in a new construction year.
Jeff Bennett
From The Beacon, January 2016
Local officials are hoping that 2016 will ring in a string of positive investments in cities and towns, and one of the most important would be early action on a multi-year Chapter 90 bill to provide adequate funding for local transportation needs.
The just-ended 2015 construction season was a good one for local roads. Cities and towns received a much-needed $330 million allocation of Chapter 90 road repair funds, and the result was clear across the state, with orange cones sprouting up like wildflowers, marking important repair projects in nearly every community.
Modern and well-maintained roads, bridges and transit systems are essential in order to attract and keep families and businesses in the state, foster economic development and investment in our communities, create jobs, ensure public safety, and build a higher quality of life for our residents.
The progress on Chapter 90 funding, the primary resource cities and towns use to rebuild, repair and maintain 30,000 miles of local roads, began a year ago when newly inaugurated Gov. Charlie Baker released $100 million in funds that had been unwisely withheld by the previous administration. The governor and Legislature then enacted a one-year $200 million Chapter 90 bond bill, and the state also provided a special distribution of $30 million to help cities and towns repair potholes and other damage caused by the brutal winter.
It has long been recognized that Chapter 90 funding should be increased above the $200 million amount provided in 2014 and previous years. In December 2012, the MMA released a survey report documenting that cities and towns across the state need to spend at least $562 million every year just to bring local roads into a state of good repair, the industry standard for ensuring well-maintained roads in good condition. In 2014, we updated the analysis, showing that the annual need has increased to more than $600 million. The additional cost reflects the overall deterioration of our transportation infrastructure and shows why delays and underinvestment will cost taxpayers much more in the long run.
Currently, municipalities spend far less than the amount needed because of inadequate resources and because, for most cities and towns, Chapter 90 is the main or sole source of funds for road construction and repair. Under Proposition 2½, cities and towns are unable to increase the amount of local funds to supplement Chapter 90 unless they cut other important services, such as public safety or education, or pass a tax override, increasing local reliance on the already overburdened property tax. The result is seen in potholes and crumbling roads across the state.
Funding the Chapter 90 program at $300 million annually in future years, with an inflation-based adjustment, will close a portion of this huge gap.
We also note that the Chapter 90 program is the most effective and efficient way to ensure regional equity and regional access to the gas tax that was supported by the MMA. Chapter 90 shares transportation revenues in a fair way in every corner of the Commonwealth. Further, cities and towns face such a backlog of need that timely and adequate funding results in visible and necessary construction and repair projects on local roads across Massachusetts.
Investing more in Chapter 90 funding to improve the quality of local roads will actually save taxpayers millions of dollars a year. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, once a local road is in a state of good repair, every dollar invested to keep it properly maintained will save $6 to $10 in avoided repair costs that become necessary to rebuild the road when it fails due to a lack of maintenance.
Swift action is needed to keep Chapter 90 funding at an adequate level as we head into the 2016 construction season, which will start in just about three months. In order to ensure the timely release of $300 million in Chapter 90 authorizations for fiscal 2017 (which covers the 2016 construction season), the governor and Legislature need to enact a new Chapter 90 bond bill by March at the latest. Otherwise, we could see a repeat of the frustrating and costly delays that communities experienced in 2013 and 2014, when funds weren’t released until late summer, cutting those construction seasons in half. That’s why it will be important for state officials to make Chapter 90 a priority within the next few weeks.
Specifically, the MMA is asking the state to enact a five-year Chapter 90 bond bill with $300 million in annual baseline funding, indexed to grow with the CPI each year. The five-year duration would provide predictability and stability, allowing communities adequate time for planning, instead of lurching year-to-year with one-year commitments. Indexing the program to the CPI would ensure that communities do not lose purchasing power over time. This investment is essential for the state’s economic future and necessary to save taxpayers millions of dollars in more costly projects when roads fail.
The first step will be for the governor to file a multi-year bond bill as soon as possible, and then for the Legislature to expedite public hearings so that the final measure can be enacted in time for official notification of Chapter 90 allocations to be sent to communities before the April 1 date called for in state law.
We need a strong multi-year Chapter 90 bill now. Delays will only serve to widen the potholes, erode our roads, and place a greater burden on local taxpayers. Quick action will serve to improve our roads, save taxpayers money, strengthen our economy, ensure regional equity, and make our streets safer and less crowded.
That would be the best way to ring in a new construction year.
- Written by MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Battle brewing in Templeton???
Actually, a legal opinion on a Town meeting change or addition to Town by-laws was requested by the Advisory Board and it is scheduled to be discussed this Wednesday at our next public meeting. This should be a good meeting as it is budget season as well. The only thing that really seems to have happened was an addition of a duplicate section to Town by-laws which may or may not have been the intention. What is clear is the role of the Advisory Board was not changed by that Town Meeting vote, as Article IV - Advisory Committee, section 4 was NOT changed with that Town meeting vote. Another section may have been added to article III - Town officers which appears to be a duplication of section 4 of article IV - advisory committee.
Another confusing item within the most recent budget versus actual summary provided by the Town Accountant is the item listed as firefighter / ems salaries under expenditures. Listed under allocated is $84,902.50 and expended $94,428.15 with a deficit of -$9,525.65. Also of interest to me is the allocated versus spent amounts under dispatch wages with allocated at $229,417.00 and expended -$131,791.38 and here I recall former chief of police stating at a public selectmen meeting and even handing out written copies that dispatch only costs Templeton less than $40 thousand dollars a year. Clearly he was wrong or something has really changed in a bad way for taxpayers. In my opinion, I was lied to at that meeting, I felt so then and I still do.
Another item has Worcester county retirement as allocated and expended $612,557.00 so just keep adding employees and bring on more EMS personnel and watch that number continue to grow. I still believe that shows it is cheaper in the long haul to contract much out and not grow the size of government. I believe people will see this when the OPEB figure begins to show up at town meeting. Contract people may cost as much or more up front but on the back side, there is no more additions to retirement or insurance, with group insurance showing up on the budget versus actual sheet as $1,056,012.00 which will also continue to grow. Contract ambulance and regional dispatch may begin to look better and better in a few years, if Templeton does not miss the boat.
Jeff Bennett
Actually, a legal opinion on a Town meeting change or addition to Town by-laws was requested by the Advisory Board and it is scheduled to be discussed this Wednesday at our next public meeting. This should be a good meeting as it is budget season as well. The only thing that really seems to have happened was an addition of a duplicate section to Town by-laws which may or may not have been the intention. What is clear is the role of the Advisory Board was not changed by that Town Meeting vote, as Article IV - Advisory Committee, section 4 was NOT changed with that Town meeting vote. Another section may have been added to article III - Town officers which appears to be a duplication of section 4 of article IV - advisory committee.
Another confusing item within the most recent budget versus actual summary provided by the Town Accountant is the item listed as firefighter / ems salaries under expenditures. Listed under allocated is $84,902.50 and expended $94,428.15 with a deficit of -$9,525.65. Also of interest to me is the allocated versus spent amounts under dispatch wages with allocated at $229,417.00 and expended -$131,791.38 and here I recall former chief of police stating at a public selectmen meeting and even handing out written copies that dispatch only costs Templeton less than $40 thousand dollars a year. Clearly he was wrong or something has really changed in a bad way for taxpayers. In my opinion, I was lied to at that meeting, I felt so then and I still do.
Another item has Worcester county retirement as allocated and expended $612,557.00 so just keep adding employees and bring on more EMS personnel and watch that number continue to grow. I still believe that shows it is cheaper in the long haul to contract much out and not grow the size of government. I believe people will see this when the OPEB figure begins to show up at town meeting. Contract people may cost as much or more up front but on the back side, there is no more additions to retirement or insurance, with group insurance showing up on the budget versus actual sheet as $1,056,012.00 which will also continue to grow. Contract ambulance and regional dispatch may begin to look better and better in a few years, if Templeton does not miss the boat.
Jeff Bennett
Saturday, January 2, 2016
What is involved in selling a light company?
The last municipal light dept. or company was formed back in the 1920's. Since then, it has been tried to change the law to allow more cities and towns to form their own municipal light department. The investor owned companies have fought it and not many cities and towns have the capital to buy needed facilities anyways. Lets say a town offers to but some of national grid infrastructure to form a municipal light co. A town offers $50 million but National Grid says it is worth $150 million, an audit and appraisal says it is worth $75 million but NG won't sell, what then? Now reverse this and put a municipal light department up for sale. First you audit the financials to see assets versus debt and what materials are worth. A Town puts it up for sale for a figure that no one bites on, then what? What if there is more debt than assets? What if other financial obligations out weigh assets, such as bonds outstanding or refinanced bonds, deferred bonds and on and on, along with certain contracts that no one wishes to assume 100% of. Does a town take a loss to dump it? Easy to say sell, but a little harder to do, especially with Town meting approval required.
What is involved in improving roads?
First, a solid plan and approach, followed by funding. a source of road funds and seed money for grants and planning is chapter 90 money. In my opinion, the first thing to do is stop the practice of using these funds to buy equipment, especially equipment that is not needed, such as excavators and ten wheel trucks for a highway department that should only be involved in road maintenance and not road building. I believe residents already feel like their vote does not count and by using road money to buy equipment while roads go un-repaired adds to the problem of getting an override or debt exclusion passed. It will be even harder now that the town has more debt for the police station and school. I believe the town will have to find another way to repair the roads in town.
Jeff Bennett
The last municipal light dept. or company was formed back in the 1920's. Since then, it has been tried to change the law to allow more cities and towns to form their own municipal light department. The investor owned companies have fought it and not many cities and towns have the capital to buy needed facilities anyways. Lets say a town offers to but some of national grid infrastructure to form a municipal light co. A town offers $50 million but National Grid says it is worth $150 million, an audit and appraisal says it is worth $75 million but NG won't sell, what then? Now reverse this and put a municipal light department up for sale. First you audit the financials to see assets versus debt and what materials are worth. A Town puts it up for sale for a figure that no one bites on, then what? What if there is more debt than assets? What if other financial obligations out weigh assets, such as bonds outstanding or refinanced bonds, deferred bonds and on and on, along with certain contracts that no one wishes to assume 100% of. Does a town take a loss to dump it? Easy to say sell, but a little harder to do, especially with Town meting approval required.
What is involved in improving roads?
First, a solid plan and approach, followed by funding. a source of road funds and seed money for grants and planning is chapter 90 money. In my opinion, the first thing to do is stop the practice of using these funds to buy equipment, especially equipment that is not needed, such as excavators and ten wheel trucks for a highway department that should only be involved in road maintenance and not road building. I believe residents already feel like their vote does not count and by using road money to buy equipment while roads go un-repaired adds to the problem of getting an override or debt exclusion passed. It will be even harder now that the town has more debt for the police station and school. I believe the town will have to find another way to repair the roads in town.
Jeff Bennett
Friday, January 1, 2016
Happy New Year.........now for those tax bills!
Your tax bill may have arrived with a surprise, that should not have been a surprise at all, if you follow this blog or the news in some other way. This was a reval year in Templeton and home values rose a bit in Templeton, which is a good thing. Now how can your tax bill go up when the tax rate goes down you may ask? Well if the value of your home goes up enough, your tax bill will rise regardless of the tax rate and it is legal and not in conflict with prop 2 1/2. While a certain blogger may think it is a violation of the law, it is not and he is wrong and I urge you to contact the Board of Assessors and get your questions or concerns answered.
If you took the time to attend any of the many meetings on the new school, you would have heard exactly what has happened. That is if you build a new school, they will come and your home values will rise and your tax bill will follow. If you read the warrant for the special town meeting held in November of 2015, you would have seen the shifting responsibility of the Templeton selectmen to the school committee, a legal separate entity, which is made up of Templeton and Phillipston residents. So don't fret so much on the location or size of the school, but take a good look at the warrant for town meeting and see exactly what you voted for!
Jeff Bennett
Your tax bill may have arrived with a surprise, that should not have been a surprise at all, if you follow this blog or the news in some other way. This was a reval year in Templeton and home values rose a bit in Templeton, which is a good thing. Now how can your tax bill go up when the tax rate goes down you may ask? Well if the value of your home goes up enough, your tax bill will rise regardless of the tax rate and it is legal and not in conflict with prop 2 1/2. While a certain blogger may think it is a violation of the law, it is not and he is wrong and I urge you to contact the Board of Assessors and get your questions or concerns answered.
If you took the time to attend any of the many meetings on the new school, you would have heard exactly what has happened. That is if you build a new school, they will come and your home values will rise and your tax bill will follow. If you read the warrant for the special town meeting held in November of 2015, you would have seen the shifting responsibility of the Templeton selectmen to the school committee, a legal separate entity, which is made up of Templeton and Phillipston residents. So don't fret so much on the location or size of the school, but take a good look at the warrant for town meeting and see exactly what you voted for!
Jeff Bennett
Monday, December 21, 2015
Budget versus actual;
On the financial front, according to information out of the town accountant's office; the highway improvement fund or the chapter 90 monies, there was $338,351.00 allocated for FY 2016 which began July 1, 2015, there has been expended to date ( received this on December 8, 2015) $282,471.00 and that leaves $55,879.07. It does not note what the money was spent on.
Jeff Bennett
On the financial front, according to information out of the town accountant's office; the highway improvement fund or the chapter 90 monies, there was $338,351.00 allocated for FY 2016 which began July 1, 2015, there has been expended to date ( received this on December 8, 2015) $282,471.00 and that leaves $55,879.07. It does not note what the money was spent on.
Jeff Bennett
At tonight's selectmen meeting;
It seems a secretary may be running the office and making decisions as the chairman of the board said at one point, "what is your pleasure Holly?". The subject was business licenses and what to do about some who have not turned in certain paper work or paid fees required. The secretary seems to have a problem with one business owner who went to a meeting and spoke up on his behalf and his lively hood. This is the same secretary that some members of the selectboard wish to make an assistant town administrator. Why the board will not do what the voters said to do and that is get a full time Town administrator!
There was also discussion about the original debt exclusion of $550,000.00 which apparently never went out to bond, it was simply handled by a BAN or bond anticipation note, government speak for short term borrowing, usually year to year. It was paid off by using available funds which equals to cutting into free cash, as in the big number often referred to by the town administrator. There also seems to be some question as to the payoff date for debt in regard with 252 Baldwinville Road. It has to be determined if the payoff date is in 2017 or 2019.
The police department wants to get a K-9 dog and no action on the tree growing out of the top of a building. The board does not seem to have the will or the moxy to put some pressure on the housing authority. So when you are in the area of the Tucker building, be sure to look up to watch for falling something or other. Once again, the same member was absent so we only have a 4 member board at the meeting.
Jeff Bennett
It seems a secretary may be running the office and making decisions as the chairman of the board said at one point, "what is your pleasure Holly?". The subject was business licenses and what to do about some who have not turned in certain paper work or paid fees required. The secretary seems to have a problem with one business owner who went to a meeting and spoke up on his behalf and his lively hood. This is the same secretary that some members of the selectboard wish to make an assistant town administrator. Why the board will not do what the voters said to do and that is get a full time Town administrator!
There was also discussion about the original debt exclusion of $550,000.00 which apparently never went out to bond, it was simply handled by a BAN or bond anticipation note, government speak for short term borrowing, usually year to year. It was paid off by using available funds which equals to cutting into free cash, as in the big number often referred to by the town administrator. There also seems to be some question as to the payoff date for debt in regard with 252 Baldwinville Road. It has to be determined if the payoff date is in 2017 or 2019.
The police department wants to get a K-9 dog and no action on the tree growing out of the top of a building. The board does not seem to have the will or the moxy to put some pressure on the housing authority. So when you are in the area of the Tucker building, be sure to look up to watch for falling something or other. Once again, the same member was absent so we only have a 4 member board at the meeting.
Jeff Bennett
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