Residents should not only show up for town meeting, they should educate themselves on the process and the rules; do not expect someone else to do that. There is the administrative part of town government ie; town administrator & selectmen, there is the advisory committee and there is the legislative branch, ie; town meeting.

Constitutional principles govern the fee-setting process. In Emerson College vs. City of Boston (1984) ¹ the Supreme Judicial Court established a three-prong test to distinguish fees from taxes. The Court stated that fees are:

1. Based on services being performed or delivered;
2. Legitimate when the services received for the fee are provided only to the beneficiaries of the services, rather than the general public; and
3. Paid by choice.

Only a legislative body has the authority to assess taxes, which have the following three characteristics:

1. Enforced contribution to provide for the general support of government;
2. Levied for a broad range of services, or the General Fund; and
3. Not exclusive to meet expenses incurred in providing a service.

Fees may not be used purely as a tool to raise revenue, but should reflect the government's expense in providing the service associated with the fee. Expenses may be defined as the reasonable costs imposed on an agency for providing a service or regulating an activity, including administrative and enforcement costs.

Residents and town meeting attendees should also be aware of who can change the budget format of the town; opinion of the MA department of Revenue; only town meeting can change the budget format (from say line item to omni bus) that opinion can be found online (if you are good and have patience; I went to the DOR via email and asked for it by way of FOIA and they sent it to me) you can find the context of that opinion in the handbook of association of town finance committees online and some towns advisory or finance committees have links to that handbook. 

from ATFC handbook, page 20;

The format found in the law addresses itself to budgetary basics. Almost all towns and cities in the Commonwealth go well beyond this in their annual budget presentation package (see Chapter 2). DOR has also ruled that only a town meeting — not the finance committee or selectmen — may determine the exact budget format to be used (see In Our Opinion, 92-145). As a practical matter, town meeting would have to vote to reject the present format and request a new one for the following year.

Templeton T/A & selectmen changed town budget format without asking town meeting at the 2017 annual town meeting; once this is allowed to happen and is repeated unchecked, it soon becomes accepted, as if it was done in correct way; I believe it is time Templeton town meeting residents were asked what they want, if for no other reason, that it can be said truthfully, they were asked and voted. While it seems residents have decided they prefer omnibus versus line item and I state that  because as town meeting had been asked if they wanted to go over their budget line by line, they voted no; I think if we are going to state that "Templeton is heading in the right direction" we should do the things required correctly; much like having to go back to town meeting to get a town meeting vote on the record adjusting town budget so the town was able to cover the school budget. That was the reason behind article 3, ATM, June 2020:

ARTICLE 3: FISCAL 2020 NRSD AMENDMENT To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of Seventy-One Thousand Three Hundred TwentyTwo Dollars and No Cents ($71,322.00) for supplemental appropriation to the Fiscal Year 2020 assessment for Narragansett Regional School District to satisfy a requirement of the MA Department of Revenue. And to meet said appropriation by a transfer of said sum from certified free cash, Or take any other action related thereto

DOR informed the town that action taken at a special town meeting where town meeting voted to allow selectmen to amend budget without further town meeting was incorrect and the chairman of board of selectmen and town administrator had to agree to sign a document stating they would ensure an article before town meeting making said adjustments, hence reason for article 3.

Ya'll have the real power, but you have to know how and you have to know the rules and that requires meeting attendance and home work - you cannot depend on all selectmen informing you of same; you should not depend on anyone giving you all the information (trust but verify) do not just bitch, get involved, acquire knowledge, go to town meeting, stand up and be counted.

 There is now an 8 1/2 x 11 posting on town bulletin board at town hall stating how to find information on meetings on town website. Now if the links on the town web site can be fixed so residents can find information, that would be great.

T/A weekly report (first one since Dec. 17, 2020 is out; Assessor, accountant, town clerk, police and fire/EMS nothing reported.

Templeton meals tax to date:

1st quarter = $13,317.00

2nd quarter = $16,339.00

That is FY21 thru December 31, 2020.

Treasurer / Collector for Templeton employment agreement expired June 30, 2020 and is finally scheduled to be in front of the board of selectmen. Now about that animal control inter-municipal agreement that expired June 30, 2020?

At some point in time, perhaps membership on advisory committee should be looked at and the number of members reduced to 5, that would need to go before town meeting as a by-law change.

Hopefully, an article asking what budget format town meeting would like to see for the next fiscal year budget, FY23, per MA department of revenue opinion.

Since the premise for making assistant town accountant full time was due to inter-municipal agreement with Hubbardston and that is no longer the case, BOS should consider making that position part time again.

Fleecing of town residents - dog license fees raised to $20.00 and FY2020 3rd quarter revenue shows revenue from dog license sales at over $15,000.00. FY2021 shows expense $$$ needed to purchase dog license at $400.00 and $370.00 needed for delinquent dog postcards and postage; so, say $1,000.00 needed to offer this service to residents with dogs. Seems this dog license fee could/should be reduced to around $5.00 and still cover the expense of town dog license service.

 Rant for the day - so far.

Templeton Town by-law state information for the required annual town report is to be submitted to the selectmen office by January 31 - not February 17. Since this report is mandated by town by-law and state law, any report of a town board, committee, commission or department should be published as submitted, no shortening or editing, other than grammar, date corrections. For instance, if a committee uses the format of a previous FY and forgets to change the FY number, fix that, but if it is 10 pages, well, the whole 10 pages gets printed and the town pays for it, per MGL. But Jeff, not enough money budgeted to pay for that large of a report; well, take what is needed from so called free cash or ask advisory for a transfer from town reserve fund. It is fucking simple people, town hall, you got that?

 Friends of Templeton Veterans Inc. - get yourself a certificate from the govna.

Company Number

001442426

Incorporation Date

12 June 2020 (6 months ago)

Company Type

Nonprofit Corporation

Jurisdiction

Massachusetts (US)

Registered Address

• 491 HUBBARDSTON RD
• TEMPLETON,
• 01468
• MA
• USA

Agent Name

UNITED STATES CORPORATION AGENTS, INC

Agent Address

101 BILLERICA AVE., BLDG. 5 SUITE 204, NORTH BILLERICA, MA, 01862, USA

Directors / Officers

• JOHN C CAPLIS, president
• MICHAEL J CURRIE, treasurer
• MICHAEL J CURRIE, director
• STACEY CURRIE, clerk
• UNITED STATES CORPORATION AGENTS, INC, agent

 Templeton FY2021 tax rate set - $16.11, below link should allow you to view tax recap sheets showing tax rate, tax levy, etc. This does not automatically mean your tax bill will go down.

https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/gateway/DLSPublic/TaxRateRecapPublicReport/TaxRateRecapPublic?jurCode=294&fiscalYear=2021https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/gateway/DLSPublic/TaxRateRecapPublicReport/TaxRateRecapPublic?jurCode=294&fiscalYear=2021

 The 173 cities and towns that have adopted the Community Preservation Act can expect a first-round state match in November of 11.57 percent of their local surcharge revenue, the Department of Revenue has announced.

The fiscal 2020 match rate from the Community Preservation Trust Fund would be the lowest in the program’s history.

CPA communities that collect less than the 3 percent maximum allowable surcharge from property owners will be eligible only for the 11.57 percent match, according to the DOR. Communities that collect the 3 percent surcharge will be eligible for additional funding in rounds two and three of the trust fund distribution, called the equity and surplus rounds.

In a memo to municipalities in early March, the DOR said its estimates “are subject to change depending on Registry of Deeds collections between now and October.”

According to the Community Preservation Coalition, the CPA Trust Fund distribution (state match) has declined every year since 2013, when the state match rate was 50 percent. Last year, the DOR distributed a 19 percent match, from a combination of fees derived from the state’s Registry of Deeds and state budget surplus funds.

State legislators concerned about the decline in state contributions to the CPA program have filed bills that would adjust the fee structure at the Registry of Deeds to provide a CPA match of more than 40 percent in fiscal 2021. Bills filed by Sen. Cynthia Creem (S. 1618) and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante (H.2463) have been assigned to the Joint Committee on Revenue and are awaiting a hearing date.

The Community Preservation Act, passed in 2000, allows municipalities that adopt it to place a surcharge of up to 3 percent on real property in order to create a local dedicated fund for the four allowable CPA purposes: open space preservation, historic preservation, outdoor recreation and affordable housing. Communities that have adopted the CPA receive annual distributions from the state trust fund to supplement local revenue collections.

From 2002 to 2007, the state matched 100 percent of the local revenue raised through CPA surcharges, but the match has dropped steadily since. A state law change in 2012 added additional revenue to the trust fund, raising the match to 52.2 percent, but the growing popularity of the program has meant that the CPA fund is divided among more communities, resulting in a lower match percentage.

 MA, Quinn Bill - was passed by the state Legislature in 1970. It requires participating municipalities to provide 10 to 25 percent salary increases to police officers who obtain advanced degrees in criminal justice. Traditionally, the state and the municipality split the cost of the salary increase.

But in 2009 and 2010, the state drastically cut, then eliminated its portion of the funding.

Since then, the 254 municipalities which adopted the Quinn Bill, have had myriad approaches. Some negotiated clauses into collective bargaining agreements requiring the municipality to pay the state’s share. Others paid only the 50 percent municipal portion, leading to a drop in police salaries. Some created new education incentive programs.

The carrot was Any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section and provides career incentive salary increases for police officers shall be reimbursed by the commonwealth for one half the costs of such payments upon certification by the board of higher education. The board of higher education shall certify the amount of such reimbursement to be paid to such city or town from information filed on or before September first of each year with said board, on a form furnished by it, the chief of police, or one of similar rank, of the city or town police department. So just like regional school transportation which the state promised to pay, they again screwed us. Time might be here to start looking at things the town voted in when the "carrots" were in place, but have since disappeared; perhaps they now need to disappear from our budget / tax on our residents?