Municipalities can raise tax revenue beyond annual statutory limits imposed by

Proposition 2½ M.G.L Ch. 59 Sec. 21C through a referendum to approve an override or an exclusion, or they can reduce the amount taxed through an underride. With one exception, legal authority to place a question on the ballot rests solely with the board of selectmen, city council or town council. Only an underride can also be placed before the voters through a local initiative petition process. Otherwise, overrides and underrides require a majority vote, while exclusions require a two-thirds vote of the local appropriating authority and, to take effect, all must receive a majority of votes in a city or town election. Under the Proposition 2½ statute, local appropriating authority is defined, in a town, as the board of selectmen.

from MA general law, chapter 59, section 21C:

''Shall the (city/town) of ___ be allowed to assess an additional $___ in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of (state the purpose(s) for which the monies from this assessment will be used) for the fiscal year beginning July first, nineteen hundred and ___?

So, the override is coming, the override is coming, okay, but for it to happen, it has to be approved by the voters. Selectmen do not just get to say we need an override and BAM, it goes into effect.

Lastly, amendments in 2003 to Ch. 40, Sec 5b allow a municipality to establish special purpose stabilization funds and to build balances in them through a type of override, which also has characteristics of a debt exclusion. Through initial approval, by two thirds vote, of town meeting (and the selectmen), a city council or a town council, a referendum can be placed before the voters asking whether to raise tax revenue, by majority vote, above Proposition 2½ limits for the purpose of the stabilization fund. In succeeding years, solely through an annual vote of the selectmen, city council or town council, the override can be continued, lowered or deferred entirely and resumed, or not, in a later year. Like an override, the additional tax can continue year-after-year without town-wide or city-wide referendum votes beyond the year of inception and, each year, the amount available to be raised increases by 2½ percent. However, like an exclusion under Proposition 2½, the levy limit increase need not be permanent. It can be discontinued in any year.

This approach would be one way to fund the infrastructure stabilization fund just created by town meeting vote. Not the only way, but one way.

 Excess levy capacity, Templeton now has it and on purpose. Each year, under prop 2 1/2, the town's levy can increase by 2 1/2% and many towns, including Templeton usually spend at or very close to levy limit. For fiscal year 2023, Templeton budget left almost 200 thousand dollars on the table, so to speak. What this means is Templeton has, in a way, set aside 200 thousand dollars that will be available next year, that could be added to the automatic 2 1/2% increase in the levy in case something comes up, money wise. That 200 thousand is a financial cushion and if the town could continue to have excess levy capacity over the years, those funds could be used rather than an override to have more funds available for any unforeseen need for increased funding for any number of things. Anyone can google or search online for what is excess levy capacity.  This was a smart move by the board of selectmen. You are welcome.

from statehouse news service.

State Agrees To $56 Mil Holyoke Home Settlement
The Baker administration has agreed to a $56 million deal to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the COVID-19 outbreak that took the lives of at least 76 veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in 2020, and will soon ask the Legislature to appropriate the money for the settlement. The terms of the settlement, which must still be approved by the federal district court for Massachusetts, would cover veterans who lived at the state-run Holyoke home at any point between March 1, 2020 and June 23, 2020 and who became ill or died from COVID during that period. Estates of deceased veterans would receive at least $400,000 and veterans who contracted COVID but did not die would receive at least $10,000, the governor's office said. "The COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home was a terrible tragedy. While we know nothing can bring back those who were lost, we hope that this settlement brings a sense of closure to the loved ones of the veterans," Baker said in a statement.

 Massachusetts has an item called the Open Meeting Law, which is covered under MA general law chapter 30A, §§ 18-25, and accompanying regulations, 940 Code of Mass. Regs. 29.00, provide the public with a right of access to the meetings of a large number of public bodies at the state and local level. It is important to have these laws / regulations, which results in a way for residents to ty and hold their elected and appointed representatives accountable. When residents use these laws and regulations, it is not a burden, unfair or costly means, it is part of our system of governance that we have in place. When I hear an elected or appointed official comment or complain about an open meeting law complaint being a burden to taxpayers or a reference to increased legal cost to taxpayers, as if a resident or person should not use the process put in place by other elected officials. All elected or appointed persons should remember that the people supply the money elected people spend, so in the end, when a person files an open meeting law complaint, they are also approving the spending of their money to bring forward and have discussion on said complaint.

 

Templeton Police Department manning level and budget past 5 years plus 2010, 2012, 2014.

 

Fiscal Year	Chief	Officers	Budget
2010	1	9 FT / 7 PT	$833,995.00
2012	1	9 FT / 6 PT	$833,588.00
2014	1	9 FT / 7 PT	$822,055.00
2017	1	8 FT / 10 PT	$859,460.00
2018	1	8 FT / 9 PT	$1,303,000.00 – police & dispatch
2019	1	10 FT / 9 PT	$1,354,750.00     police / dispatch
2020	1	8 FT / 9 PT	$1,388,570.00 -   police / dispatch
2021	1	8 FT / 9 PT	$1,465,015.00 -   police / dispatch
2022	1	8 FT / 9 PT	$1,432,350.00 -   police / dispatch
2023	1	8 FT / 7 PT	$1,442,950.00 -   police & dispatch

 

 

Fire Department expenses

Fiscal Year	Personnel	Support	Services	Supplies	Other
2022	$644,000.00	$52,500.00	$100,000.00	$42,500.00	$148,500.00
2023	$712,000.00	$53,000.00	$  36,850.00	$11,000.00	$  92,500.00

 

FY 2023 Ambulance expense = $   290,250.00

               Fire expense             = $   905,350.00

Total Fire / EMS                     = $1,195,900.00

 MA Worcester county register of deeds.

Community Preservation Act Fee Increase

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2020 budget included a provision aimed at increasing funds available to towns and cities through the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The new fee schedule is shown in the table below.

Fees

Recording fees are now the same whether you own Recorded Land or Registered Land. Most property is Recorded Land. If the document you wish to record refers to a “Book and Page” number, you probably have Recorded Land. If your document refers to a “Certificate of Title” number, you probably have Registered Land.

Please Note:

• The Registry accepts only cash or checks for recording transactions
• Please make all checks payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• Telephone numbers and addresses must be on all checks
• Document recording fees must be in the exact amount and total due should be paid with one check or cash
• Identification must be presented

Document	Fee
Declaration of Homestead	$35
Declaration of Trust	$255
Deed	$155
Mortgage	$205
Mortgage Foreclosure Deed & Affidavit	$155
Mortgage Discharge, Release or Partial Release	$105
Municipal Lien Certificate	$80
UCC Documents (up to 2 debtors)	$75
Federal Tax Liens (and related documents)	$5
Plans (per sheet)	$105
All other documents	$105
Certified Copies (per page)	$1

 Ask DLS: Snow and Ice Removal

How do communities budget for snow and ice removal during a particularly snowy winter?
 
G.L. c. 44, § 31D authorizes a city or town, under certain conditions, to spend in excess of its available appropriation for the costs of snow and ice removal. The rationale for the exception to the general rule of G.L. c. 44, § 31 that departments cannot incur liabilities in excess of appropriation is that some of the costs of snow and ice removal are extremely variable from one year to the next, depending upon the weather, and are impossible to budget for accurately. Typically, the sorts of costs that would vary unpredictably with the weather would be overtime costs for internal plowing crews, the cost of sand and chemicals to be spread on the roads, and the cost of hiring plows and drivers during storms. On the other hand, expenses for regular, recurring departmental activities that are predictable and do not vary with the weather in any given winter cannot be paid for by deficit spending. Municipalities must budget for such planned and regular expenses. Authority to deficit spend on snow and ice removal is contingent on the amount of the current year’s appropriation equaling or exceeding the prior year’s appropriation.

What are examples of expenditures that vary with the weather?

The repair or replacement of a snowplow blade, or the repair of a transmission on a snowplow truck could qualify as costs of snow and ice removal if the blade were damaged or the transmission failed during the snow-plowing season. Another allowable expenditure would be the cost of fuel for snow and ice removal. The deficit spending must be directly related to the removal of the snow and ice, and it must be an expense that the municipality could not have realistically budgeted for.

Would the regular maintenance of DPW equipment or other municipal vehicles be an allowable expenditure under G.L. c. 44, § 31D?

No. The cost of snow tires for police and fire vehicles, or regular maintenance of DPW vehicles that are used year-round cannot properly be charged as costs of snow removal. The same is true for the purchase of radios for the trucks used in plowing; their acquisition is a fixed one-time cost that does not vary with the amount of snow that falls in a winter. Scheduled maintenance or repair of such equipment, or even the emergency repair or replacement of equipment damaged in operations having nothing to do with snow plowing, could not be funded as a deficit in the snow and ice account.

Street and drain cleaning activities regularly and typically performed every year must be paid for with budgeted funds, but if unusual weather conditions result in extraordinary cleaning activities, those costs could also possibly qualify for deficit spending. G.L. c. 44, § 31D authorizes, under certain conditions, deficit spending only for those expenses directly related to the removal of snow and ice that are variable from year to year depending on the severity of the winter.

What are some of the allowable expenditures of a particular snow and ice removal line-item if a municipality is not deficit spending under G.L. c. 44, § 31D?

The scope of the appropriation is for local officials to determine. Municipalities are entitled to expend from the appropriation for purposes within the scope of that appropriation.