from the pages of "A guide to financial management for town officials" published by the MA division of local services.


11.3 W H AT CAN BE DONE T O MAKE TOWN MEETING AS EFFECTIVE AS POSSIBLE ? Because town meetings convene infrequently and generally have a great deal of business and information to deliberate upon, it is important that issues be identified , data and information assembled , and analysis completed by municipal officers , committees and interested persons in advance of the meeting . Committee meetings , public hearings , cable television programs and news paper articles offer convenient forums for the dissemination of important information on municipal matters . Computer technologies may also help to develop informational reports to assist town meeting . In any event, advance preparation of relevant information and it's presentation to town meeting in a concise and meaningful manner will result in a more effective meeting.


11.4 CAN TOWN MEETING APPROPRIATE MONEY IN A SPECIAL PURPOSE ARTICLE IN EXCESS OF THE AMOUNT STATED IN THE ARTICLE ?
Special purpose articles often state a specific amount of money for a particular capital or non - recurring purpose (e.g. , police ca r — $20,000) . Sometimes , town meeting wishes to appropriate more money than was identified in the article (often based upon additional information available by the date of town meeting). The answer to the question depends on local practice and the wording of the article . In the case of appropriation articles , town meeting is usually afforded a broad scope of action . The purpose of a warrant article is to just give notice of the subject matter to be acted on at the meeting . Generally, if the subject involve s a matte r that requires an expenditure , the meeting may decide the amount to spend , the financing source and other details . The practice in some communities , however, is that a specific amount stated in a special purpose appropriation article cannot be exceeded unless the article also contains qualifying language such as “other sum ” o r “other amount” . Town officials should consult the moderator and town counsel about the by -laws , procedural rules or practices that apply in their particular town.


I believe at our next town meeting, it should be requested by Town meeting that all articles that require more than a simple majority be determined by a hand count.


posted by Jeff Bennett

from "A guide to financial management for town officials" published by the MA division of local services.



The town accountant should also prepare interim financial reports during the fiscal year. Interim financial reports allow local officials to compare their actual financial status to their projected financial situation (budget vs. actual, year-to-date revenues and expenditures). Interim financial reports are the principal means by which local officials can monitor an annual budget during the fiscal year. They provide information necessary to alert management to potential fiscal problems.


Department heads usually prepare their own budgets. Each departmental budget is created within the framework and guidelines set by the finance committee, selectmen, manager or some combination of the three, and finally by the town meeting. Department heads are usually very active in the budget review process, attempting to persuade those reviewing the budget of the value of their department’s services and the reasonableness of their budget requests. Once the budget is approved, department heads have direct responsibility for ensuring that they spend within the allocated amount



Finally, it is important to provide timely interim financial reports to the other financial officer s i n town . These report s facilitate communication among the various fiscal officer s an d provide a common basis for making policy decisions . A t a minimum, monthly report s that compare revenues receive d an d expenditures mad e against the budge t a r e critical planning an d control tool s for the boa r d o f selectmen, finance committee and department heads . Narrative explanation s accompanying the numbers in a report ca n dramatically increase the report’ s value . To complement the written reports , an accountant might consider making oral presentations several time s a year to the selectmen an d finance committee on the town’ s financial condition.


posted by Jeff Bennett

Is this a financial merry -go-'round?

Hi,

Wanted to update you on the Budget VS Actual Reports.   You will only be receiving them once a month now after the Interim TA has reviewed and approved them to be sent.   You should get the one for October on or around the 7^th of November.

Kelli Pontbriand

Accountant

Town of Templeton

978-894-2765

from the latest report of the Town Administrator:

"The VADAR system refuses to pay any amount due if it will cause the line item to go over budget. I believe that the Town Administrator - in their role as defacto finance director - should be deciding whether or not to do this override (I need to know when a department heads run over their budget and be looking at how we will address it.)"

My thought is if you have a weekly budget versus actual, you have a better tracking of funds available and therefore how much you have to spend. When you have up to date information, you know, like keeping your checkbook register up to date or keeping track of account balance and how much you pay on a debit card. If department heads are doing their job, they should not be spending more than they were given at town meeting. It seems pretty simple but this is Templeton where we seem to always try to reinvent the rules of finance, in my opinion. Lets see if any selectmen speak out on this or do they continue to smile in public and say everything is alright, you know, just like the 2017 budget, so called.

posted by Jeff Bennett

School choice, it is the schools choice!

A school district cannot stop students from leaving a district, but they can stop taking in students from other districts. It requires a vote by the school committee and that can stop trying to balance a schools budget by using students as a cash commodity, which in my opinion, is not a very honorable thing to do.


posted by jeff Bennett

So we have at least one selectmen stating on this blog they did not know how town meeting was going to go. Selectmen solving issues? Sounds like they are just creating more.

Question: Is there a rogue selectmen making calls by themselves and or with the town administrator?
               Seems like the rest of the board went along with it rather than question it, that is one of the
               things town meeting is for, to discuss and ask questions.

Question: Is that democracy in action? Is that how this board of selectmen is "functioning"? One selectmen making the rules                         without input from other board members in a public meeting?

Question: Are other selectmen allowing this to happen without calling for discussion or do they know
               about it and are fine with it, privately, then have a public opinion on it to make themselves look better?

Failure to explain all the warrant articles to the legislative body is an affront to democracy, it is an insult to the people who take the time to show up and wish to discuss something. Too bad a majority if not all of the selectmen did not want article 8 to be discussed, which means they put their personal agenda in front of the people that elected them. We are not suppose to agree on everything, as this board of selectmen seem to want, agree in public to paint an all is good picture, when we all know it is not. Seems like that has been tried the past few years, so how is that working out for you?

What we really do not need now is another policy to just use as a puppet to hold up as a statement of "onward and upward." Once again, this is not a pep rally, it is business! Should have honored the three no votes and found another way to deal with it.

So now, what are the real powers of selectmen at town meeting? After the warrant is voted, posted and town meeting is called, what really do the selectmen have to do that we must allow them to do?  What are the rights of the legislative body/ They do have and they demonstrated that they have the power to challenge the moderator so they must have the power to challenge the selectmen and they should, in my opinion.


The above is basically my opinion as a registered voter and participant.

posted by Jeff Bennett

As for the lawyer at Town meeting, he or his firm is hired by the Board of selectmen and he acts on things they request. You pay for it but that is how it goes. I believe if asked by the selectmen, Paul would have / could have, put forth proper and legal wording to allow for the motion to be discussed and voted on. The selectmen chose not to do that. I believe you will find a majority of the selectmen did not want further discussion on the school. Further investigation is required to find out what the actual authority of the selectmen is during a town meeting. Perhaps selectmen are not required and perhaps a group of citizens could go front and center and read each article to all who attend town meeting. That way, everyone who attends would hear the entire article read. Remember, the people who attend town meeting and sign in as registered voters are the legislative body, that body votes for or against all town by-laws and appropriations to operate the town. Perhaps a new by-law, properly researched, to force a reading of all articles, rather than "as written" could then happen. It is your government and it really does not need to be changed. It only becomes bad or misaligned when we allow it.

That is my opinion.
If a group of business men and farmers can take on the king of England, certainly the town's people can take on the selectmen.

posted by Jeff Bennett

from the face book of John Columbus:
Filibuster by the advisory committee.

As a member of the Templeton Advisory Committee, I can say there was no organized filibuster or delay tactic on the part of the Committee as a whole. What individual members do is on them, as they are still a resident of Templeton and a voter. Was selectmen Brooks acting as a selectmen or an individual? She did not come off the stage to speak on the floor, which the moderator informed Advisory Committee that if we wished to speak on recommendations, we could speak from our table but if we wished to act as a citizen, we needed to speak from the floor. The selectmen apparently did not get the same instructions or they ignored them. They have after all declared themselves "the superior board"

posted by Jeff Bennett