Small Town getting it right!!

Southwick Select Board backs crackdown on illegal roadside advertising signs

SOUTHWICK — Citing an unprecedented number of temporary private business signs along the town’s streets, Select Board Chair Doug Moglin said during the board’s meeting Monday he’s sending a formal letter to the building inspector to take action.

“There has been a mushrooming of temporary signs. They’re showing up everywhere,” Moglin said during the meeting.

The Southwick Select Board wants to crack down on temporary signs illegally placed on public property around town, like this lawn sign at the exit of the Town Hall parking lot.

 Once upon a time:

From: Holly Young <hyoung@templeton1.org>

Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2018 3:37 PM

To: 'jeff bennett'

Cc: 'townadministrator'

Subject: RE: information request

Jeff:

The public records request you sent would consist of approximately 362 pages copied at $.05/page = $18.10; Copying the DVD = $5; and labor at approximately 15 minutes for the lowest paid person in the office at $19.70 per hour =$4.93; Total of $28.03.

Upon confirmation from you that you wish to have it prepared and pay the fee of $28.03, I will get that ready for you and you can come in with your payment to pick it up. I will need approximately 2 days to prepare it depending on what else I have for work.

After receiving the cost estimate, I printed the law and went to selectmen meeting to inquire about the $18.10 for 181 pages (361 pages printed both sides + 181 and that is important) 

Public Records law states:

 Fees for Copies

In addition to the search and segregation fees, records custodians may charge

$0.05 for either single and double-sided black and white paper copies or printouts.

When the request is for materials that are not susceptible to ordinary means of reproduction, such as photographs or computer tapes, the

actual cost of reproduction may be assessed to the requester.27 There are also specific statutes that establish fees for copies of public records.

Since the law states 5 cents a page for either one sided or both sides printed, I had to attend selectmen meeting to explain the charge for 181 double sided copies should be $9.05 rather than $18.10. Yup, I got a refund and that is why you always have to check Templeton town hall math.

 A slight change in tune

Jeff Bennett

Adam D. Lamontagne

Where might one find those "guidelines" and when the town employees and many boards, committees and commissions start following policy and the law, I will gladly follow their lead.

From: Adam D. Lamontagne <alamontagne@TempletonMA.gov>

Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2023 7:22 AM

To: jeff bennett <j_bennett506@hotmail.com>

Subject: RE: records request

If it takes over half hour then there will be a fee in accordance with our public record guidelines of the Town. I know you are big on following policies, guidelines, bylaws, etc.

Adam D. Lamontagne, MPA, MCPPO

Town Administrator

TempletonSealFULLTRANSPARENT

Town of Templeton

Town Hall, Room 6

P.O. Box 620, 160 Patriots Road

East Templeton, MA 01438Phone 978-894-2778 Fax 978-894-2795

alamontagne@templetonma.gov

 July 18, 2023, I requested from Town Aministrator a copy in electronic form of the June 2023 monthly expenditure report.

Todays answer to my request.

Adam D. Lamontagne <alamontagne@TempletonMA.gov>

You

Good Day,

We have not received the final End of Year BvA from the Accountant.

Adam D. Lamontagne;Currie, Michael;Toth, Timothy;Griffis, Terry;Rivard, Matthew;Richard, Julie

To all concerned, I requested an electronic copy of June 2023 monthly expenditure report from Town Administrator (who is also RAO). After receiving his response, I checked the towns financial management policy and found the following:

H-3 Monthly & Quarterly Reporting Background:

Monthly reporting helps a community to determine whether sufficient funds are available to cover current obligations, any surplus can be invested, or shortfall exists requiring temporary borrowing. Policy: The Town Accountant shall produce and distribute monthly budget-to-actual reporting to evaluate the Town’s financial position per Massachusetts state law. These reports shall be submitted to the Board, user agencies, Town Administrator, and Advisory Committee, among others. This will enable the Town to take prompt management action in the event that fiscal problems are indicated or adjust spending behavior to meet financial challenges. The Town's Financial Team (Accountant, Treasurer/Collector, Principal Assessor) shall make a formal public presentation to the Board and the status of accounts, their activities, and concerns over negative trends each month following the ending of a fiscal year quarter together with any steps recommended by the Town Administrator to deal with such negative trends.

NOTE: I did not ask for end of year final, I asked for month of June expenditure report, which according to the TA, does not exist yet. This seems to be more of employees deciding what will be done and when rather than management and is another example of failing to follow policy.

regards,

Jeff Bennett

 Special town meeting, November 2015.

Article 2 - On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to appropriate the sum of Nine Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($975,000) to pay costs of designing, constructing and equipping a 4,000 square foot addition to and remodeling of the Templeton Police Station, located at 33 South Road, and for the payment of all other costs incidental and related thereto; said sum to be expended under the direction of the Selectmen; and to meet this appropriation the Treasurer, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, is authorized to borrow said sum under M.G.L. 44,

Section 7, or pursuant to any other enabling authority; provided, however, that no sum shall be borrowed or expended hereunder unless the Town shall have voted to exempt the amounts

required for the payment of interest and principal on said borrowing from the limitations on taxes by M.G.L. 59, Section 21C (also known as Proposition 2 ½).

Passed Unanimously/November 9th @ 8:33

Annual town meeting, May 2018, article 32 - On a motion duly made and seconded the Town to appropriate the sum of One Million Five

Hundred Thousand Dollars and No Cents ($1,500,000.00), in addition to the Nine Hundred and

Seventy Five Thousand Dollars and No Cents ($975,000.00) previously appropriated, for

designing and constructing an addition to the Police Station, and renovations thereof, including

the payment of costs incidental or related thereto; that to meet this appropriation the Treasurer

with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, subject to the successful passage of a Proposition 2

½ debt exclusion, so-called, is authorized to borrow such amount under G.L. c.44, §7(1) or any

other enabling authority; and that the Board of Selectmen is authorized to take any other action

necessary or convenient to carry out this project. Any premium received upon the sale of any

bonds or notes approved by this vote, less any such premium applied to the payment of the costs

of issuance of such bonds or notes, may be applied to the payment of costs approved by this vote

in accordance with Chapter 44, Section 20 of the General Laws, thereby reducing the amount

authorized to be borrowed to pay such costs by a like amount.

Passed by a 2/3 Vote/May 19th @ 1:43 pm

from TA weekly report of June 15, 2023 - Station – Royal Steam was in and finally replaced the compressor for the AC unit, a huge difference was almost instantly noticed. BWC went into service. Templeton Bldg. & Grounds assisted officers with redesigning the front lawn area.

Started 2015, now 2023 and still not complete, simply awesome.

 Town Meeting Times, which is embedded in Templeton town bylaws, selectmen: when it comes to selectmen role in town meeting, their part actually comes at the beginning, where they set the time and place of town meeting and prepare and submit town meeting warrant with articles "warning residents of upcoming meeting and what will be discussed. After that, selectmen have no real role in town meeting other than as individual voters. Of course people look to the selectmen to do certain things, but it is possible to have a town meeting without them. All that is actually required for a town meeting is a properly executed warrant, a clerk, a moderator and voters.

Templeton does have a town bylaw concerning the budget;

§ 28-7

Preparation by Administrator and Board.

[Amended 5-19-2014; 11-20-2019 STM by Art. 7; 6-17-2020 ATM by Art. 9]

It shall be duty of the Town Administrator, in conjunction with the Select Board (Board), to consider expenditures and develop a budget for the ensuing fiscal year of the several boards, officers and committees of the Town, as prepared by them in such form and detail as prescribed by the Town Administrator, and further to present and defend the same throughout the review process and to the Town Meeting for action.

So, other than budget, selectmen in theory could be told to address meeting by way of microphones on town floor like the rest of the residents. The moderator runs town meeting, not the selectmen and they probably need to be reminded of that often!

Procedural rulings at town meeting are made by the moderator and the moderator is not bound by town counsel opinion. (one must always remember town counsel gives opinions, they are not law, and Templeton town counsel has been wrong numerous times to date.)

 Summer education time.

Just in case anyone calls office of selectmen to request to be on agenda of an upcoming meeting and say town administrator refuses your request, you have options to include filing open meeting law complaint (at least make them deal with it and have to explain the reason for complaint).

Preparation of the Agenda

The agenda of a selectmen’s meeting had virtually no legal significance prior to a major overhaul of the open meeting law in 2010. Under the previous version of the law, the meeting posting simply had to say when and where the board would convene. Now, the required notice of a meeting must include “a listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting”

[G.L. c. 30A, §20(b)]. Note the imposition of personal responsibility: “that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed.”

See, the law gives responsibility and authority to chair of the public body, not town admin, regardless of what selectmen may put in a policy (that they do not usually follow anyways- in my opinion).

Note: selectman handbook - In most towns, the responsibility for preparing the meeting agenda falls to the chair, often with help from professional staff, or to the town manager or other professional staff member. This task includes determining what issues will be up for discussion, what the order of items will be, and what will not appear on the agenda. Again, open meeting law puts agenda responsibility (final) on the chair.

Again, what if a topic comes up within forty-eight hours before the meeting that the chair failed to anticipate? The chair should amend the posted notice as soon as possible, even if it means the topic is posted less than a full forty-eight hours in advance. If feasible, the board may also consider postponing discussion until the next meeting, so there will be no question about the adequacy of notice. (chair is ultimately responsible)