Another Town, another finance committee:

The Arlington Finance Committee (FinCom) is a standing committee of the Town Meeting. Its purpose is to recommend a vote to Town Meeting on the Town budget and all articles that require an appropriation. The FinCom reviews each department's budget in detail and holds hearings on Town Meeting appropriation articles. In conjunction with the Town Manager, the Budget and Revenue Task Force, and other Town offices, the FinCom integrates revenue and expense projections to present a balanced budget to Town Meeting.

Hearings are usually held in the O'Neill Room, 2nd floor, Community Safety. On Town Meeting nights, they are held in the second-floor hearing room, Town Hall. Agendas, minutes, and upcoming meetings can be found on this page. Only the approved minutes are posted. 

The FinCom was established by Town Meeting vote on March 7, 1895. The present-day FinCom has 21 members, one from each precinct, who are appointed under the authority of Section 33 of the Town Manager Act (the Town's "charter") by a committee consisting of the moderator, the chair of the FinCom, and the chair of the Board of Trust Fund Commissioners. Under Section 34 of the Town Manager Act, the FinCom is authorized to have access to all Town accounts, and "officers, boards, and committees" of the Town are directed to cooperate.

The FinCom operates under Title I, Article 7 of the Town's bylaws. This article establishes a 3-year term for each member, defines eligibility, directs the committee to elect its own officers (currently the chair, 3 vice chairs, and a secretary), authorizes a salaried part-time executive secretary, and requires the committee to report to Town Meeting on all appropriation articles. Article 7 Section 5 authorizes the FinCom to approve requests for fund transfers within a department's budget and to approve transfers from the reserve fund to department budgets within the limits set by State law.

How it works - Town By-laws:

Article IV - Advisory Committee
Section 2. The Moderator of the town meeting when this By-Law is adopted shall, within thirty days after such by-law becomes effective, appoint 2 members of said committee for terms of one year, 2 members for terms of two years, and 3 members for terms of three years. At each Annual Town Meeting thereafter the Moderator thereof shall appoint 3 members of said committee for terms of three years. The terms of office of said members shall commence immediately upon qualification and shall expire at the close of final adjournment of the Annual Town Meeting at which their successors are appointed. Said committee shall choose its own officers and shall serve without pay, except the chairman who shall receive such amount as voted upon at the Annual Town Meeting, and it shall cause to be kept a true record of its proceedings.
 Amended 5-11-11

Section 3. The said committee shall fill any vacancy which may occur in its membership, by vote, attested copy of which shall be sent by the secretary to the Town Clerk. If any member is absent from five consecutive meetings of said committee, except in case of illness, his position shall be deemed to be vacant and shall be filled as herein provided. The term of office of any person so chosen to fill a vacancy shall expire at the final adjournment of the next succeeding Annual Town Meeting, and the Moderator thereof shall appoint his successor to complete the unexpired term of the member in whose office such vacancy originally occurred.

Ayer, MA finance committee - according to data, population of 8,000

Mission

The responsibility of the Finance Committee is to act in the best interest of the taxpayer. The Finance Committee is the representative and advisory committee for Town Meeting; the legislative body of government in the Town of Ayer. The committee’s primary responsibility is to present a balanced budget for Annual Town Meeting which provides an efficient use of available funds by maximizing revenue streams and ensuring expenses are quantified. The committee reviews and provides recommendations on all monetary municipal warrant articles. The committee provides information on the Town of Ayer’s financial health, execution of financial processes, and financial efficiency for voters to make educated decisions. Final decision making responsibility rests with elected officials and those who vote at Town Meeting and general elections.

Someone asked for this, so here you go.

Tax rate for Templeton, MA for 2018 is $16.72 per thousand.

Tax rate for Phillipston, MA for 2018 is $16.48 per thousand
(from their tax recap sheet on DLS website)

Tax rate for Winchendon, Ma for 2018 is $17.35 per thousand
(from their tax recap sheet on DLS website)

Tax rate for Hubbardston, MA for 2018 is $15.13 per thousand
(from their tax recap sheet on DLS website)

Tax rate for Royalston, MA for 2018 is $14,44 per thousand
(from their tax recap sheet on DLS website)

Tax rate for Wesminster, MA for 2018 is $18.55 per thousand
(from their tax recap sheet on DLS website)

Tax rate for Ashburnham, MA for 2018 is $23.40 per thousand
(from their tax recap sheet on DLS website)
Ashburnham's new school is on the books being paid for by tax rate)
listed on MSBA website with a 30 million dollar budget

Tax rate for Gardner, MA for 2018 is $20.27 per thousand
(from their tax recap sheet on DLS website)

Not many $20.00 per thousand Towns around Templeton.

A 2016 article on gas tax in Massachusetts. 

Cities and Towns get their chapter 90 monies from the fuel tax, except alot of those tax dollars go to pay for tunnels in Boston and other projects that benefit Templeton how?

BOSTON -- The state Legislature is poised to vote on a bill requiring the state to apply for federal funding to test a new tax on drivers, based on the number of miles traveled.

Gov. Charlie Baker has said he opposes the pilot program.

Supporters of the proposal say the state must come up with a new way to fund transportation infrastructure, since the growth of fuel efficient cars means the state will get less money from the state gas tax. The vehicle miles traveled tax could eventually replace the gas tax.

So how much money does Massachusetts get from the state gas tax?

Data obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue shows that state revenue from the gas tax dropped on the heels of the 2008 recession, from $672.7 million in 2008 to $654 million in 2009. The revenue began to rebound around 2011.

In 2013, Massachusetts increased the state gas tax from 21 cents per gallon to 24 cents per gallon. With that shift, the state's revenue grew significantly, to $766 million in the year that ended on June 30.

Great news Templeton residents:

advisorycommittee templeton1.org <advisorycommittee@templeton1.org>

 

|

Today, 7:41 AM

You;

Wilfred Spring (185wilberdr@gmail.com);

Beverly Bartolomeo (bartsfarm@comcast.net);

Elizabeth Toth (liz_toth@hotmail.com);

jfarrell59@gmail.com;

> ---------- Original Message ----------
> From: townadministrator <townadministrator@templeton1.org>
> To: Advisory Committee <advisorycommittee@templeton1.org>, Diane Haley Brooks <seldhaleybrooks@templeton1.org>, John Caplis <selectmen.caplis@templeton1.org>, selectmen.fortes@templeton1.org, selectmen.morrison@templeton1.org, selectmen.richard@templeton1.org
> Date: March 7, 2018 at 1:37 PM
> Subject: Monty Tech
>
> You can see their proposed budget here:
> https://ma02212741.schoolwires.net/cms/lib/MA02212741/Centricity/Domain/8/FY
> 19PublicHearingBudget%202%2021%2018.pdf
>
> Their public hearing is now set for next Wednesday night.
>
> It did not contain any good news for you.  Our proposed assessment is up
> $50k (see page 10).  This is roughly $35k above our hoped for increase of
> $15k+/-.  I am told that it is driven by the change in the net school
> spending formula (i.e.. minimum contribution). 
> 
> So. that $32k we moved from grants to the revenue ledger the other evening
> is now eaten up here and cannot offer us any assistance in offsetting the
> potential NRSD assessment.   

> Many Thanks
> Carter Terenzini
>
> Town Administrator
> Town of Templeton
> 160 Patriots Road
> East Templeton, MA 01438
> 1.978.894.2753

Perhaps there should be some clarity on a few things, and perhaps such clarity could/should come from the board of selectmen. Massachusetts General Law, chapter 39, section 16 states how things are suppose to work. It states that Towns may by by-law provide for election or appointment of a finance/advisory committee; as in towns have a choice of which way to go on that.

The law also states that the finance committee/advisory shall submit a budget unless there is a town by-law for selectmen to do it. Templeton has two separate by-laws contradicting each. Templeton advisory committee went to Town Administrator with the question and asked that Town Counsel be sent the question for some kind of clarity. That was done and the answers were it could be done by agreement between the two committees in one way or another, then fix the by-law issue or go to Town Meeting and have it decided there. I will dig up the response from legal counsel to post it here.

Thing is, if there is a legal right for Advisory to submit a budget and selectmen control the warrant, how would the budget presentation get on the warrant without a legal - in court fight? Go to your state senate or representative and suddenly "that is a local issue' go to the Department of Revenue and "that is a local issue" so short of spending money on lawyers, there should be a meeting of selectmen and advisory and come to agreement and then fix the damn by-laws.

Templeton General Town by-laws state:

Article III - Town Officers;

Section 4. “It shall be duty of the Town Administrator in conjunction with the BOS 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.”
Passed 5-16-13, Approved by A/G 8-22-13. Amended 5-19-14, Approved by A/G 7-2-14

Article IV - Advisory Committee;

Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Advisory Committee annually to consider the expenditures in previous years and the estimated requirements for the ensuing year of the several boards, officers and committees of the town, as prepared by them in such form and detail as may be prescribed by said committee. The said committee shall add to such statement of expenditures and estimates another column, giving the amounts which in its opinion should be appropriated for the ensuing year, and shall further add thereto such explanations and suggestions relating to the proposed appropriations as it may deem expedient, and report thereon as provided in section five of Article II.

Sections 1-4, 5, 6 Passed 3-5-51, Section 4a Passed 3-9-57, Amended 3-10-73, Approved by A/G 7-27-73, Amended 5-16-13, Approved by A/G 8-22-13 Sections 1 & 2 Amended 5-11-11, Approved by A/G 5-17-11

It is my personal belief that this conflicting item (s) were not addressed because of the then board of selectmen (s) position of "we are the superior board and we are elected and you are just appointed.) and you may ask selectmen Brooks about that. Again, that is my personal belief as a resident.

Important Note: Talked about at a meeting of board of selectmen, proposed amendment to Town general by-laws - clarify the role in which Advisory Committee can comment on warrant.