Moving forward, one step at a time

Moving forward, one step at a time

Some people may think the citizens petition concerning L&W is nothing more than a power grab (no pun on my part) while others may think this is no different of a move than was made in the past when some selectmen wanted to abolish sewer comm and take control of sewer. This is my opinion and thoughts on this issue! Going back to the sewer comm., I believ the action there was 2 fold, one get access to the cash at sewer and secondly, push the salary of the former town coordinator up hence an increase in retirement. This may have been a copy of a tactic used with the merger of L&W back in 2000 or so, least the same last name was involved. While the intent of the L&W merger may be hard to prove, the results are easy by simply perusing the annual town reports for salary and eventual pension of L&W manager. Once again, I digress.

I believe the action of the petition is mainly due to poor performance of the current elected commission and general manager. Lack of communication and general attitude towards ratepayers/taxpayers. Certainly financial times do not help when looking at the total package that is Templeton Light & Water. Again, it is TEMPLETON light & water, a municiple entity rather than a private one nor is it an independent one. Therefore it should be a whole lot more friendly toward citizens of Templeton. Once again, in my view, the action being taken here is a direct result of inaction by elected officials. Look back at how and why Pauly's Blog got started and you can see similiar actions and similiar reactions, only this time the reaction did not take as long to gather steam, people are learning! This is town meeting government at work in basic form and some people donot seem to like it. (my opinion anyways)
I will state right now that I do not wish nor do I feel it to be a good thing for the selectmen to be in charge of Templeton L&W for long term. Perhaps in an oversight position as per the duties and responsibilities that selectmen already have by state law and town by-laws, but I feel an appointed commission to look after things at Light would be in the town's interest. And yes I whole heartly support breaking water away from light and move it to sewer short term and into DPW long term. One thing I feel could happen quite easily, although every time I think that, it always ends up harder than I feel necessary dang it. A PILOT agreement on paper, in place to detail how the amount will be figured each year for all to see anytime. No more guessing and no more mystery! Selectmen could also work on a more equatible contract for some employees at light to be more in-line with the rest of the town's admin workers.
One impact on the town which would result from an on paper PILOT agreement would be some of the town's debt could be positively affected with an influx of cash by following a formula used by many of the other muni light depts. within MA. Just a shift from the last light PILOT of 100 thousand to an increase to 300 thousand would mean some available funs to deal with debt the town needs to pay off sooner rather than later, as in 252 Baldwinville road. On that note, please be aware, this selectmen does not want to simply raid all available cash from light and leave it in same mess as the rest of the town is in, as this would be unwise and make no sense. We will establish a fair share thru PILOT agreement rather than just be a corporate raider so to speak. I believ with this action and further regionalization of other services and chnging the way we do business with others, Templeton will not only work thru this financial mess we are now in, we will eventually get on sound financial footing again.
In writting this, it is not my intent to create a sales pitch, rather to let taxpayers and citizens know my thoughts, intentions and plans if this were to pass at the STM. I would also like to make the case that I have pretty much followed thru on what I thought should be done or what I would work for if elected. No it has not been my work alone nor the work of any one person, but my votes on the BOS are mine. No pay for all elected positions in Templeton, get rid of K&P law firm from Templeton, remove the former town coordinator whom I did not think had Templeton's best interest in mind. Light & Water comm kept thier salary which to me just shows they think they are above the rest of the town. It is time for everyone to get in the same boat and row together. There is much work to be done and it must be done. I believe part of what needs to be done is to follow through on this petition and to proceed with what the BOS has already begun actually, by accepting the DOR report, they have stated they support it and its content and within that report was the suggestion to create a proper PILOT agreement and now is the time to follow through. Selectmen cannot simply vote to accept because of the public pressure to do so at the time and then just toss it in the corner, we have to act! So in closing, I would ask the citizens of Templeton, stand up and act, vote this petition forward and allow the change to continue. The change began back in May 2010 with the re-election try of Gerald Skelton was disabled (slight pat on the back) K&P out in 2011, Carol Skelton out as town coordinator, hiring of Jeff Ritter, the recall fiasco and the mess that came with it which demonstrated why we need to stay focused, the pulling back of the financial blanket within Templeton and the mess we found, yes there is much to do and let us continue down the path of making this a viable town again. Please support the citizens petition and lets keep the ball rolling.

Jeff Bennett