My hope is for the next special Town meeting, we do not hear "the sound of silence"


posted by Jeff Bennett

Looking back at a meeting and election, November 9, 2015, special town meeting for school - 356 voters present with 236 yes votes (2/3 majority) and at the special election in December 8, 2015 - there were 1405 voters with 806 yes votes and 597 no votes. At the annual election in May 2016, there were 685 voters! Annual town meeting in May 2016 there were 65 voters??? Those numbers seem to indicate there was more interest and concern about the school than the next three years of Templeton. That being said, I still believe Templeton voters deserve an opportunity to state again how they feel via a vote, especially with the latest financial information available. I still am of the belief that some, if not all of this information was hidden or overlooked in order for a positive school vote. That is my personal opinion! I am still waiting on a new 2015 annual town report that contains a report from the Town treasurer and Town accountant. I am also still thinking of the financial presentation by the selectmen to the Town meeting, the 2017 budget, so called.


posted by Jeff Bennett

This is an interesting item found on the website of MSBA, under projects for Narragansett regional district. It has the appearance that the district paid for repairs to Phillipston elementary school or at least it looks as thought the district received a reimbursement from MSBA. This is something to look into because it raises the question as to why the district did not do the same thing for Templeton elementary schools. Per the regional agreement, any amount over $5,000.00 in costs puts the repair or work solely on the Town.



school name           MSBA ID            project      Phase         total           rate         MSBA         Total    
                                                            type                            cost                            paid             MSBA

Phillipston Memorial

201107200003G

Green Repair

Final Audit Approved

$161,232

59.84 %

$78,095

$81,401

This is worth some phone calls.

posted by Jeff Bennett

from the site of MSBA: for your informational purpose.

MSBA Board Approves $22.9M Grant for New Templeton Center Elementary School

November 18, 2015

State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts School Building Authority  (MSBA), and MSBA Chief Executive Officer Maureen Valente today announced that the MSBA Board of Directors voted to approve a grant of up to $22.9 million for the new Templeton Center Elementary School. One of the next steps is for the District and the MSBA to enter into a Project Funding Agreement, which will detail the project’s scope and budget, along with the conditions under which the District will receive its MSBA grant.

“Upon completion, the new school in Templeton will provide a 21^st century learning environment for area students,” Treasurer Goldberg said. “Our goal is to create the best space to deliver the district’s educational commitments and goals.”
 
The new 92,735 square-foot school will be built based on a design enrollment of 580 students in Kindergarten through grade 5. The MSBA will contribute 63.11% of eligible costs toward the project, for a total grant of up to $22,928,897. The current school was built in 1942 and suffers from deficiencies in major building systems including mechanical, electrical, plumbing and windows.
 
“The new Templeton Center Elementary School will replace an aging building with a modern learning facility,” stated Chief Executive Officer Valente. “Students will soon have a beautiful new space which will undoubtedly enhance and improve their ability to excel in the classroom.”
 
The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over 1,650 site visits to more than 250 school districts as part of its due diligence process and has made over $11.7 billion in reimbursements for school construction projects.

The grant is up to, which means no more than and does not really mean 22.9 million, it means no more than. It is also 63.11% of eligible costs, not 63.11% of the total cost of the project. Big difference there.

posted by Jeff Bennett

On Wednesday evening, September 21, 2016, the Advisory Committee took up a motion for discussion. It was about the school and whether we should recommend or propose to Town meeting to rescind the prior Town meeting vote of November, 9, 2015. Speaking for myself, it was from a financial perspective. You would have to ask the other members about their reason or vote. If this question were to make it to Town meeting floor, there would be two options; vote yes to rescind that vote and that would put into motion things to stop that project. A no vote, if in the majority would effectively be a second yes vote for the project, then we could all watch the school be built at the location of Templeton Center. The Advisory Committee did not start any petition. Any citizen is able and free to make such a move and that is our democratic process. If the information given at the first meeting, on November 9, 2015 was correct, proper and not a used car sales pitch, there should be no worry about a second yes vote happening. There is an opening for one member on the Advisory Committee. All you need do is show up at a meeting and inquire. The committee can appoint it's own members when there is an opening 30 days after Town meeting.

It is up to the selectmen to place or not, items on the warrant for a town meeting. The original school vote happened on a special town meeting so there should be no issue for having a second vote on a special town meeting. So before there is a big uproar on this topic, we should wait to see what the selectmen choose to do. That is the first step in the process.


posted by Jeff Bennett

Speaking of Audits for Municipalities -

Management Letter
 At the conclusion of each audit a management letter may issued by the Independent Auditor.
 It is not required if there are no findings that are considered significant.
 It is a good idea to get a copy of recent management letters before you start reviewing the
    actual financial statements.
 The management letter does not provide an opinion but instead deals with the Auditor’s
    evaluation of the Town’s internal control over financial reporting.
 The internal control evaluation is limited and will not identify all weaknesses.
 A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not
    allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions,
    to prevent or detect misstatements on a timely basis.

Sections of the Auditor’s Report
 Report on the Financial Statements
This defines the statements being audited
Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statements
This tells the reader that management is responsible for the fair presentation in accordance with
    GAAP; that management is responsible for Internal Controls; and free from material
    misstatement due to error or fraud.

Looking at the management letter for 2011, for Templeton by Melanson Heath, I find this:

Improve segregation of duties in sewer department (significant deficiency)

Town's response: The sewer department has no response at this time.

Perform periodic internal audits of departmental receipts.

Town's response: The Town agrees with this recommendation

Other prior year issues - 

        Computer passwords, should be changed periodically.

Town's response - agreed.

delinquent recievables - all delinquent prior year real estate tax receivables should be liened.

Town's response - agreed. Is this being done today in 2016?

Current year issues:

Reconcile tax title receivables - in fiscal 2011 the town accountant established a new general ledger accounts to track tax title receivables in the general, water and sewer funds. Although current year activity was posted to these accounts, all prior year activity remains in the previous generic general fund account. (Could this be one of the "problems"?) We recommend the prior year activity be analyzed and be reconciled to the treasurer's detail receivable records.

Town response - agreed

The above is a partial summary of the management letter for 2011 with regards to recommendations and status of current and prior year analysis.

posted by Jeff Bennett

Here is some interesting reading which highlights some things that need attention in Templeton.

posted online in May of 2012;

Selectman Stephen Castinetti found it troubling that previous auditing firm Melanson Heath gave the town a clean bill of health every year and was curious why the company didn’t pick up the violations cited in the Powers & Sullivan audit.

Powers responded that he couldn’t say for sure why the issues weren’t caught, but he stressed that if people did their jobs they had the opportunity to put a halt to the practices.

Selectman Debra Panetta asked Powers if he has seen any violations in other communities that rise to the level of what has been reported in the Saugus government.

In fact, Powers said he has reviewed worse situations elsewhere involving scenarios such as employees stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“What we found (in Saugus) were misleading financial statements as opposed to personal gain,” Powers said.

To support that viewpoint, Horlick pointed out how Regan and other employees approached then Temporary Town Manager John Vasapolli earlier this year to report the violations of municipal finance laws.

“Employees said they felt intimidated and succumbed to what they perceived as pressure to process transactions they knew weren’t correct,” Powers said.

From speaking to town employees, Castinetti said it was obvious they felt intimidated to come forward with their concerns.

Palleschi protested that the fiscal uncertainty puts the Finance Committee “under the gun” because it is supposed to provide its recommendations to Town Meeting in May, yet at this point the Board of Selectmen has yet to send along its proposed budget. (sounds familiar)

To that point, Palleschi lamented how the Finance Committee never received the financial information it requested from the previous administration during its deliberations.

Seems a very similar pattern here in Templeton, same audit firm, same problems.

posted by Jeff Bennett