So, here we go again, election time is coming and one can go to town hall to take out nomination papers. It was posted to the town website, and it was at the top of the list (as it should be in my opinion) but, the website just now shows The presidential primary will be held March 5, 2024, and I clicked link, and it shows as posted on February 7, 2024. The post on nomination papers is still posted, it is the 6th item shown on town website in center of page.

Next, I looked at agenda for next Templeton selectmen meeting, which is posted for Wednesday, March 5, 2024. What I do not find is electronic agenda items for draft town meeting warrant and budget, which as selectmen Toth commented at last selectmen meeting "all things for the meeting are supposed to be in packet, electronically before the meeting. Selectmen operating procedures states; 3.) Availability of Meeting Packet: The meeting packet, complete with all support materials available at the time, shall be transmitted to the Board members electronically no

later than 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding the meeting. Thereafter, it shall be available to the general public in paper form in the Board’s offices and on the Town's web site.

Is the primary more important to local residents than nomination papers and annual local elections? Nomination paper info shows posted to town website on February 26, 2024. The presidential primary is done, the annual election is upcoming. Tax dollars pay for this "service."

 Anyone can do this, go online, type mytowngovernment.org and then click Templeton, then look for select board, click that and scroll down to old meetings, look for selectboard meeting of February 9, 2022, find agenda packet and click on it, when it opens scroll down to item 5d. This is 3 pages of description of spending some arpa funds. ARPA administration costs listed at $46,000.00

the form filled in by current town administration. Part of the form states "to provide funding for administration of funds which would cover legal review of all before any monies are distributed."

Suddenly with financial auditors in the building we have a problem?? The town accountant states "I made a surprise visit to town hall" suddenly there is a problem with some arpa funding?

So, now it begins, did the accountant come to town to do some back peddling incase auditors find some bad shit, financially speaking? Did the auditors find the arpa issues? Was $46,000.00 budgeted for admin and it was wasted on bad legal advice or work. Might be time to clean house, town administrator, accountant and town lawyer, open door and kick em to street. A town hires "professional staff" supposedly to keep crap like this from happening. When you get bad advice and bad results, generally the thing to do is fire em and hire someone else. ARPA aside, we are talking a few hundred thousand dollars of your money on a town administrator, accountant and lawyer.

 February 2023 report from State House News Service.

Emergency transportation in a publicly-owned ambulance in Massachusetts costs about twice the national average, according to an upcoming report from the state's Health Policy Commission.

The report, which has not been publicly released yet, shows disparities in how much insurance payers are charged for ambulance services in Massachusetts between publicly- and privately-owned ambulance companies, and between commercial insurers and public insurance such as MassHealth.

Nationwide, commercially insured patients pay an average $761 for an ambulance trip from a municipally owned emergency medical services company, compared to a $1,578 charge in Massachusetts, researcher Diana S. Váscones told the HPC's Market Oversight and Transparency Committee at a meeting on Wednesday.

Of the 1.5 million EMS patient transports in Massachusetts in 2019, commercial insurance payers paid municipal ambulance services roughly double what they paid private ambulances per transport. Most payments for middle-tier services were between $500 and $1,000 for private ambulances and between $750 and $2,500 for municipal transports.

Publicly owned ambulance services are commonly tied to fire departments, although there are some cities that have standalone EMS departments, such as Boston and Fall River. In 2019, there was about a one-to-one chance of being picked up by a private versus public ambulance.

Even as emergency trips have gotten more expensive for everyone over the last six years, payments over $2,000 for municipal ambulances have doubled from 17% in 2017 to 34% in 2020 for similar care.

When asked why emergency trips were so much more expensive in publicly owned vehicles, Váscones said "we don't have the clearest picture of that."

"We do think that it may be related to differences in payer contracting with private versus municipal services. It may be that payers are less likely to contract with municipal services," she said.

She added it is something the commission plans to look into further.

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 Templeton town bylaw, put forward to town meeting by select board, recommended by advisory committee and voted on by town meeting. Why not just follow the rule?

§ 9-6

Meetings.

The Advisory Committee shall meet jointly with the Select Board whenever there is a request to consider adjusting spending limits on any revolving fund, any end of year financial transfer or any request of transfer from the Town reserve fund.

stated at a meeting of selectmen on June 28, 2023;"this is a waste of time" regarding the bylaw on joint meeting for reserve fund transfer.

If that is the thought, why recommend for the bylaw in the first place? Keep the bylaw, replace some people who violated the bylaw multiple times (documented by public records)

 State Law: Section 2: Locating and marking of town boundary markers; recordation; copy of records to contiguous town

Section 2. The boundary markers of every town shall be located, the marks thereon renewed, and the year located marked upon the face thereof which bears the letter of the town locating its boundary, once every five years, by at least two of the selectmen of the town or by two substitutes designated by them in writing. The marking shall be made with a paint or other suitable marking material.

The proceedings shall be recorded with the town clerk and the board of selectmen of the town in writing signed under penalty of perjury setting forth which boundary marks were located, and those which were not located. A copy of such records shall also be sent, by registered letter, to the town clerk and the board of selectmen of any contiguous town. (Massachusetts General Law chapter 42)

From: jeff bennett <j_bennett506@hotmail.com>

Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 7:51 AM

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

Subject: public record

Good day, I am sending this request for public information to the person listed as the Templeton records access officer per MA public records law. I am requesting a copy (electronically preferred) of the required information on file with town clerk, signed letter by involved parties, be it select board members or their substitutes, concerning the finding and marking of the Templeton, MA town boundary markers. To be clear, this is a request for a copy of boundary markers on file with town clerk, rather than the letter on file in the office of selectmen.

Jeffrey Bennett

We have not yet located the documents you are requesting at this time. Should they turn up in the future, we will forward you a copy.

Adam D. Lamontagne, MPA, MCPPO

Town Administrator

Templeton's house is still not in order. One person can read many things, look into many items, spend countless hours looking at town business/government and still not cover or see/find it all. Perhaps no further tv shows and take that time to review things and practices so we as a town become proactive rather than always reactive.

 Oh look, a selectman complaining a business used their rights to file a egal appeal with a state agency (alcoholic beverage control commission) to move a one-day suspension penalty to a different day so a planned paid for already event could take place on said day. First, news flash for government (selectmen) people go into business to make money, not break even or to lose money (they leave that to government) so any day a business is forced to close and thus loses out on taking in money, as in their livelihood is punished, is a penalty and they feel pain. Second, welcome to reality, state and town are not partners like the governor and state legislature likes to say, the state is the dictator and towns are their subjects, welcome to reality.

If selectmen wish to suggest that local business do better so they are safer, etc., perhaps selectmen should take that advice and do better, become a better board and make Templeton a better town. Hey selectmen, start following state law and town bylaws and perhaps you will become a better board.

 Main Street bridge is still open, the roadway is still in use, so why is a debt exclusion needed at this point in time. First, ARPA funds were going to pay for it, then the state was going to pay for it. Yes, it is a town bridge and yes it needs to be replaced, but since it is still in use, it could be placed on TIP list and in about 5-6 years, it would be replaced without a debt exclusion on the backs of town residents, I mean the people on Royalston Road have waited 10 plus years on TIP list. Templeton has 2 roadways that are closed, Stone Bridge and part of N. Main Street/Lord Road. Sometimes called gilligans island and since these roadways are closed and everyone uses the roads, from residents to police, fire, ambulance, school buses, it would seem to this resident that the more pressing items would be the roads that are closed rather than one that is still useable. Important to note, the called for debt exclusion question is a two-part affair. First there is a contingent town meeting question where town meeting is asked to approve borrowing of a certain amount of dollars (I would never vote to approve anything without a known/stated dollar figure and then the question has to go to the election ballot, and both have to pass for it to move forward. Right now, the town has too much debt and remember, the selectmen voted to put less money into town stabilization funds, which can affect the town bond rating which has effect on borrowing costs. Vote no on debt exclusion!

The deadline for obtaining voter approval of override or exclusion questions for contingent appropriations made at an annual town meeting is September 15. More than one election may be held, but the contingent appropriation is null and void if the related question is not approved by September 15.

• The deadline for obtaining voter approval of override or exclusion questions for contingent appropriations made at any other town meeting is 90 days after the close of the town meeting at which the contingent appropriation vote was taken. More than one election may be held, but the contingent appropriation is null and void if the related question is not approved by the end of the 90 day period.