Tuesday, October 23, 2012

As Templeton Turns


I’ll be posting the recording of this meeting in a few days.

Many people attended the last night’s BOS meeting. Some of the hot topics were:

BOH regionalization with the Town of Barre
Bond payment for 252 Baldwinville Rd
Action on proposed letter to TMLWP
DOR Financial Management Review


The BOS voted not to enter into an MOU(memorandum of understanding) with the Town of Barre. Some board members felt we should investigate regionalization on a larger scale. I voted no because I want nothing to do with a town that has an active, expanding landfill. There were other unanswered questions as well like use of the vehicle, exact amount of time spent in Barre. While an additional $18,000 in revenue is enticing, there are other “costs” that were not calculated into this agreement in my opinion.

The BOS voted to proceed with a 5 year State House note to pay back the $700,000 that was expended for the Boondoggle. I hope we are able to sell this property and put it back on the tax rolls. We will never make back what we put into that property. We can hope to offset some of the cost to repay the loan.

The BOS voted to send two letters to TMLWP asking for a written report regarding water main breaks and the water system. I’m not sure when a request for information became an insult or a threat. I’ve been asking for this information since July. I attended the last light & water meeting and left the same letter with the commissioners so they would know that I was making the request at the BOS meeting. I took that action so they would not feel blindsided by the request. I’m following the procedure outlined in Chapter 93 Acts of 2000. When did following procedure become a threat?
A new day has dawned in Templeton! Yes! The BOS voted to accept the October 2009 DOR Financial management review. It is interesting that the Advisory board came up with similar conclusions working independently. Who knew?


Please try to attend the Master Plan meeting tonight at 6:30. This is your town and your input is needed. See you tonight!

Julie Farrell

18 comments:

  1. Perhaps with a business professional such as our Town Coordinator Jeff Ritter presenting the request for factual information from the TMLWP, these two letters will be received as part out their responsibility to inform the Board of Selectmen of the TMLWP state of affairs. It is clearly written in the document that created the TMLWP, that the BOS can ask to see any and or all data and financial reports associated with the TMLWP. The idea that the TMLWP is an independent entity from the town is a ridiculous thought. If someone is threatened or insulted by being asked to do their job, then perhaps it is not the right job for them. What is being asked of the TMLWP will take some time to gather, but it should not take months.

    One of the next steps for the town’s financial health is to follow the DOR suggestion that a formal agreement between the BOS and the Light dept. occurs regarding a formula based payment for the PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) that is the Light dept. The Town needs to know, in advance, what monies they can expect to receive from the Light dept. This payment is not a gift. It is a payment in lieu of taxes which should be based on a calculation. In the end, it should be easy math. Past practices by our town government did not hold everyone accountable fairly. That time is over, let’s do things right from now on.

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    1. I agree with everything Julie and Anonymous has written. Last nights meeting was the most productive meeting that we have had in a year. It is time for the Light & Water to get in the game. If they do not have anything to hide, give the selectmen the information they need to help the town run in a more efficent way. The illusion that they are a totally independent group, is gone. If Mr.Driscoll can not get the information, he can have one of the ladies in the office get it for him. The town is in big trouble. It is time for all of the departments, including the light and water, to do their share. The rest of the town workers have been hurt enough as it is. As for the Board of Health, it is not clear who would benefit the most from this deal. It sure looks like agent is feathering his nest. It is bad enough that no one knows where he is most of the time, or what he is doing. We do not have as many businesses, or food establishments as we did when I was on the board. The building boom is long gone, so that means less perk tests. I think the bd. of selectmen better inform the Bd. of Health, that there is no money for all the time off and other perks, they have promised this man! Better now, than later on. I smell a law suit, this guy is not going to be happy. As for Chris's belief that there are so many more regs. now than when I was on, I do not believe it. Phil has his fingers in too many other towns, to spend as much time here, as he is supposed to, but that is my opinion. It just hit me, with the large chunk out of our budget, I doubt there will be enough money to pay Phil, what he is getting this year! If we are going to regionalize, we should see if Gardner would take us under their wing. The thing with the animal control, seems to be going well. The payment for 252 Baldwinville Rd., is going to be a killer. When we have to cut services, and jobs, we can thank GS, and his friends. The payment is for five years. Trust me when I say, they are going to be five long, long years. Things are getting better, for our town, one step at a time. Bev.

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  2. Our Board of Health inspector is already regionalized. As an independent contractor, he serves over seven towns other than Templeton. The description given of the contract that he wanted the BOS to sign seemed to be full of holes and had a lack of details. He seemed surprised that what he had written was not enough to convince the Selectmen to agree with him. The acts of regionalizing local Board of Health depts.will probably start with two towns and grow from there. However, in these lawyer infested times, contracts need to be clear and full of detail. His was not. The basic idea is great. Perhaps looking at the towns that already hire our inspector has its merits. The real challenge is the management of the program and who gets to deal with what. This is where a well thought out plan with clear details should come out of the BOH office, not a flash of cash ($18,000).

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  3. I'm glad the BOS acted responsibly last night. Our financial situation is nothing to play around with or use as a chip in political silliness. It was great to see decisions made, as tough as they were. Lets get to selling off some property, collecting back taxes, and putting this boondoggle in the past. I hope the future BOS meetings will be as productive as this one. Then there will be better days to come for sure!

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  4. why all the bashing of the health director. He is doing a great job.All the talk of not knowing where he is ,is a lot of bull coming out of bev's mouth. Why don't you take a break from the blog and see what he does. I Know for a fact that he would never do another towns work while on the town payroll.He has merit,Not like some other people in town.And if he wants to work in other towns after hours so what,a lot of other people have more than one job.Don't knock him for working Bev

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    1. Oh Please, Wake up and smell the coffee!!! Phil is all about Phil, he is first looking out for his future and 2nd he will do what he needs to stay in the job.

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  5. Have him keep a log and time schedule for what he does!
    all tha details and times and we can see if the barre thing will fit in his time needed for his templeton pay,clearly he thinks he has the extra time to take it on?Question will be do we need him full time?
    Why?

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    1. It would be a really good thing if Phil, did have a record of his activities. It is up to his boss to tell him to do that. It is just beyond me, how he fills his time. He does not to answer his phone, he has a person to do that. It may not make a difference come the next fiscal year, considering the budget we have now is going to look real good, compared to the next one we will have. I do not care what anyone does on their own time. I do not like paying anyone for nothing. If you want to give me crap, be big enough to use your name, I use mine. Bev.

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  6. So when you work you don't look out for yourself.Why you are on the subject,there are alot of other dept.heads that don't answer their phones and you don't know where they are.If you want one to keep a log you better make all do it

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  7. Anonymous 9:31 PM

    That is a really good idea. If one department or department head is required to keep a log, follow the personnel policy, use a new time sheet, then all department should do the same. Excellent idea!

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    1. I hate to think anyone could not be trusted to do thier job, however I tried to reach the Board of Health for an appointment for the flue shot. I was later informed that Phil was on vacation and there was no longer a secretary. We can;t make appointments if no one answers the phone or returns messages. Needless to say I did not get the shot. I guess no big deal. I will still get it somewhere.

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  8. There is a formular to follow or use as a guide on public power.com, google it and you will see the # of town/city owned power co's and what percentage is average for PILoT. It tells you what number to use to take a percentage from and everything. Perhaps some of th selectmen figured out if an article went to town meeting floor, more people would question the actions of the selectmen (some of them) glad to see it passed and now things can move forward for the better of the taxpayers (hopefully) yes I am a little behind the schedule but tough to get to internet moving around as much as we are just glad to have the blog cause there is not much else newsworthy to read about Templeton elsewhere. Tried the so called newspaper but they would not even print a good word about Tom Carroll. well 7:00 PM here, off to bed, Mail is slow here so I will say thank you to any and all who sent or contributed things, it is appreciated, still scatchin my head on what I did to deserve it but thank you again to all.

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  9. anonymous 4:24 p.m nice blog. my opinion is mr.ledger is doing a fine job. my advice to you would not to say certain peoples names on any blog. be careful. slander is not protected by the first amendment! my opinion is this blog is full of slander do not become one of them. first time on blog. my opinion supported by facts111

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  10. Hey Anonymous 11:07

    Get your own signature line

    Julie Farrell
    My opinion...supported by FACTS ! ! !

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  11. Hey Mrs.Farrell,how many light and water commissioners does it take to figure out a water bill??? Answer is one if he or she knows how to do their job!!! you all have a good day.

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  12. Hey you’re funny! But how about this as an answer to how many L&W Commissioners does it take to figure out a water bill – More than we ever have. With the secrecy over at the L&W dept, no one can figure out their bill. What is the service charge for? What is with the estimations versus actual meter readings to calculate a bill? What about the office help receiving $600 clothing expense line every year? What about their stellar performance keeping the lines replaced that there are few breaks due to old pipes? What about the new shiny trucks, and raises over at the L&W when they cry poor? It is going to take more than one commissioner to figure out their bill, it is going to take the entire town to get through the BS that is the TMLWP, I hope while you are having a good day, you consider this – Am I part of the problem or the solution? #484

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  13. Did you all see at the last selectmen's meeting when chris S (also a water commissioner) was asked how many water main breaks there had been he said he didn't know. good work for an elected official. not. wonder if the other commissioners could answer the question. Dana? Gregg?

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