From: jeff bennett <j_bennett506@hotmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2023 6:12 AM
To: Bennett, Mike <mbennett@TempletonMA.gov>
Subject: non criminal disposition

 

Good day, i have a law enforcement question; Templeton has a number of bylaws with fines in place and we have non criminal disposition means of further enforcement. My question is if proof exists that a bylaw was violated and there is a fine listed but the party ignores the fine, would it be proper procedure for a resident to file a police report so as to pursue collection of money owed the town? According to town bylaws, the party responsible for enforcing bylaw is not the police department but ignoring the fine, would that constitute criminal or non criminal behavior that would become the business of law enforcement?

regards,

Jeff Bennett

 September 13, 2023, a dog hearing is scheduled for selectmen meeting, how can selectmen with a straight face have a hearing to decide if a dog and/or owner violated or did not follow a town bylaw when the selectmen and other town officials do not follow the town bylaws themselves. Town bylaw states the selectmen shall appoint a town counsel in June, yet the chair and the town administrator waited until July to appoint town counsel. This means they either do not know the bylaws or chose to ignore them. Since the selectmen are law breakers themselves, they have no right to sit in judgment of anyone else, so I hope they do not bring up town bylaws and by not following the bylaw, nor their own policy, they need to pay up the $300.00 per selectman fine, that is another town bylaw under non-criminal disposition.

 On face book there is a letter from the Templeton fire department union ( I think 4 members) the letter talks about union declining a bonus from arpa money, but then suggests the department could use some arpa money for ems things. So, to members of the union, there is a thing called ambulance receipts, which is money collected to cover costs of ems service. Town meeting was told the ambulance service would pay for itself. The department chose a new tanker over replacing the 2014 ambulance. July monthly expenditure report shows a balance of $7,000.00 in fire/ems donation fund and $961,000.00 balance in ambulance receipts. Fy2024 Ambulance/EMS budget voted at town meeting is $534.500.00 while the FY2023 ambulance/EMS budget was $290,250.00 - almost 100% increase in ambulance funding from fy23 to fy24. EMS does not require any arpa money.

 An insult to the residents of Templeton.

Employees of the Templeton municipal light & water dept. along many other departments are asking for premium pay for working during covid. While many important things to benefit residents remain on a to do list. Employees wanting to suck up arpa funds is a joke in my opinion. One of the purposes for arpa funds is to replace lost revenue due to covid. Best of my knowledge, no government employee lost a cent in pay, lost no job, lost no benefit, tax money still rolled in being paid by people who actually lost work time, lost jobs and had to pay more for things while supporting the government and its employees. Suddenly to collect extra money, the light and water dept. suddenly say they are part of the town.

 The pavement has been put down and concrete blocks are in place, just waiting on the carpentry part to be completed for the resident salt/sand shed at highway barn. This shed will allow residents to get sand/salt from highway barn without having to dig thru snow. That is a project brought forward and pushed for by former selectman Jeff Bennett to be a small benefit for the residents of Templeton. Thank You to Fischett construction for offering free time and labor to get the carpentry part completed.

 BULLETIN-2023-5: Tax Title Foreclosure Surplus Proceeds

The Division of Local Services (DLS) Municipal Finance Law Bureau (MFLB) has a new Bulletin. Bulletin 2023-5 discuss a recently decided United States Supreme Court case, Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023). As a result of that decision, there is uncertainty as to whether or not tax title foreclosure surplus proceeds will need to be returned to property owners. The Bulletin notes that DLS will not object to a community temporarily holding any such surplus proceeds in an agency account until there is a directive from the courts on this matter.

 Templeton Town bylaws.

§ 47-4Town Counsel.

[Amended 8-31-1978]

A. 

The Board shall annually in June appoint a Town Counsel, who is a member of the bar in good standing, to serve for the term of one year from the first day of July following and until his successor is appointed and enters upon the performance of his duties. It shall likewise fill any vacancies in said office for the unexpired term, and may employ special counsel to assist the Town Counsel whenever, in its judgment, necessity therefor arises.

Selectman procedures policy states: page 6

10.) Appointments to Standing Committees: The Board shall make annual appointments and reappointments to standing committees at its first business meeting in June. Unless otherwise required by law, appointments need not be restricted to registered voters of the Town.

(3) Town’s General By-Laws: Article §59-3. "The Board shall annually, in June, choose and appoint all necessary Town officers, Trustees for Boynton Public Library, and the Gilman Waite Memorial Field, and Trustees for the Jehu Richardson Fund, the Masonic Fund, and the Waldo N. Haskell Fund, to serve from July 1 to the following June 30.”

 (4) Town’s General By-Laws: Article §47-4 “The Board shall annually in June appoint a Town Counsel, who is a member of the bar in good standing, to serve for the term of one year from the first day of July following and until his successor is appointed and enters upon the performance of his duties.”

Templeton town bylaws:

Article IINoncriminal Disposition of Violations

[Adopted 5-15-2019 ATM by Art. 8[1] (Art. XXXVII of the Bylaw Compilation)]

[1]

Editor's Note: This enactment also repealed former Art. XXXVII of the General Bylaws, adopted 6-22-1994.

Select Board.

[Amended 6-17-2020 ATM by Art. 9]

(1) 

A violation of the provisions of the Rules and Regulations of the Select Board:

(a) 

Fine allowed: $300.

(b) 

Fine schedule: as established in rules and regulations.

(c) 

Enforcing agent: Select Board or designee.

Selectmen meeting minutes show:

Wednesday July 12, 2023

Appoint Miyares Harrington as Town Counsel for FY 2024.

Time for all 5 members of board of selectmen to pony up 300 bucks each for violating town bylaw.