Sunday, April 28, 2013

Meetings the week of April 29

Upcoming
Agenda for the Advisory Board 4/29/13 Meeting
Agenda for the Sewer Commissioners 4/29/13 Meeting
Agenda for the Board of Selectmen 4/29/13 Meeting
Agenda for the Monty Tech Workforce Subcommittee 4/30/13 Meeting
Agenda for the Common Improvement Committee 5/1/13 Meeting
Agenda for the Monty Tech School Committee 5/1/13 Meeting
Agenda for the Advisory Board 5/1/13 Pre Town Meeting
Agenda for the Advisory Board 5/2/13 Pre Town Meeting
Agenda for the Board of Health 5/2/13 Meeting
Agenda for the Advisory Board 5/3/13 Pre Town Meeting


And don't forget to VOTE - TUESDAY APRIL 30th
POLLS ARE OPEN 7 AM to 8PM

and one additional note - to everyone that thinks that the traffic on this blog has gone down since I blocked the "anonymous" comments - it has not! Sooo to the people who tried to destroy the blog by posting all the nasty comments and then spreading gossip that it was Julie or Dave S or me posting those things (we always sign our names) - just goes to show - the truth is out there and the truth will prevail and I will not stop putting out the information to the taxpayers and voters! Blog on.

Thanks for reading - Pauly

11 comments:

  1. In my opinion I would recommend voting for anyone but the dictatorial, tyrannical candidate Gerald Skelton. In Mr. Skelton's world there is no reason to have any other boards or commissions in town because it is his way or the highway. In my opinion the main reason Mr. Skelton is running for Selectmen is to throw a wrench into the investigation at the State House that concerns himself and his wife. As a Sewer Commissioner for eighteen years Mr Skelton is by far the most self centered politician that I ever met. It is my belief that Mr. Skelton and his wife interfered with the WWTP contract costing this town between 25 to 35 million dollars. If you want a tyrant back in office by all means vote for this man, if you want someone who has some respect for the office of Selectman choose another candidate. Remember to vote early and vote often.

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  2. Pauly
    With all due respect, perhaps the "read-only" traffic hasn't gone down, but I have noticed a great reduction in postings. there are only a few of us who have assumed authenticated membership and continue to post. Don't you think?
    My opinion and no facts to back it up.

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  3. I'm glad the negativity has cut down, just wish there was more support for the schools!

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  4. should have done it long ago ...im still up in the air on the schools ...it is hard to vote your taxes up forever ..if it was just one year it would be different !!!

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  5. I Hear you mike, it is a tough choice. I hope they don't have to file with the state. The Quabbin situation was expensive!

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  6. The school can file with the state, then I want the school to explain why or how they signed a land lease with someone other than the BOS for the town of Templeton. The school district can explain how it threw down the drain 200 thousand with nothing to show for it. This is why I hope the issue of making schools accountable under the prop 2 1/2 as municipalities are held to. Even if it does not happen this year, perhaps it will make people realize schools cannot simply keep asking for more money than the town can raise. With 25% of a graduating class on lunch subsidies, just where is this money to be found?

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  7. Perhaps an audit of the school districts books would be a good thing, perhaps with the school committee having to get permission from the state DESE on union contract negotiations and having the state to okay budget line item expenses would not be such a bad thing. Perhaps the state DESE will come to the same conclusion the state did with regards to Wachusett Regional, it is not the budget that is the problem, it is bad management that is the problem! It is not a magical fix where the school gets everything because the school has set a budget, they are just short of funds and again, perhaps if the school district has to have its assessment set under the same constraints as cities & towns do under prop 2 1/2, things will actually get better.

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  8. I think the lesson here is that we all have to support all branches of our town. Not just the schools. Not just the seniors. If we all take the time to pay attention--even a little bit--to town politics, then we will know better when budgets seem out of whack and question it. Even though I do not have kids in the school system, I plan on voting for the override. Just like I voted for the senior center money and I am not a senior. Our taxes are very low in comparison to the rest of the state (one of the reasons I moved here). I knew that eventually these taxes would have to rise to match the rise of demand of town operations. I really cannot afford more taxes. But, I will deal the best I can in order to support the town. Believe me, it will hurt. And next year or the year after that I will vote to support a new safety complex (police/fire/rescue) as you know that's coming down the line very soon. What I do not support is a waste of my tax dollars on poor management of projects like 252 Bald. Rd. or $10k on investigating a Charter form of government. No need to spend money on things that are not an emergency until we're on better financial footing. I would like to see better communication with the school dept to better understand why certain positions are paid higher than others. Why is there not more money going directly to the children as in updated books and technology? I would also like to see better communication with the L&W dept so I can understand why money was spent for legal opinion on citizens petitions before they were even voted on and before they were even reviewed by the state to see if they were legal. Lots of unanswered questions floating around. Better communication will benefit us all and will make it easier to vote on important issues as well as better manage town finances.

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    1. Very nice blog, I completely understand your thoughts & it is noble how you feel. I used to feel the same way until I saw the Administrative budget & salaries. If desired, for further info please read the School budget that Pauly acquired throught the FOIA. Also, I wrote a blog under heading it is Our Business. Just one example here is the Supt. salary is $137,800.00 annually. That is only one of the admin. wages that has gone sky high. When funding these inflated pays, remember it is coming out of the hard working man/woman wages if they are still lucky enough to have a job. Also, the seniors are on a fixed income. The average Templeton yearly salary according to the DOR report is ONLY $23,000.00. Now, where is the balance here?? The Admin. salaries are not funded through growth as a commodity. It is the taxpayer, resident who is at the bottom of the barrel or the lowest rung on the ladder who has to pay. They simply cannot pass this added expense onto anyone else as the school can. Please look at the information that Pauly got for us to be able to see where & how our money is being spent. Makes you ask yourself, why are they asking us for more???? If it was truly going to the kids, as is always the song & dance they give, I would be the first to say, here let me give you my last dime. Oh sorry, I have already done that. Please Vote how ever you feel but vote April 30th.

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    2. I totally understand what you're saying, Isteach. I make less than $23,000 and the threat of losing my home is a constant threat everyday. And I recognize that the school is being very sly by scheduling so many school activities on election day--dinner, art show, sports games, etc. which I am not pleased with. Parking is going to be a nightmare and it will be a madhouse today up there. I guess I'm damned if I vote yes and damned if I vote no for the override. Regardless of the outcome of the override vote, people are going to be pissed and the town will still remain as divided as ever. The people struggling financially will be upset if this passes. The school parents will be upset if this doesn't pass. And both will blame the other side for it. So, what is one to do when they stand in the middle? I feel that since I voted for the senior center (yes I know it wasn't a forever increase) that I should vote for the school in order for me to sleep at night feeling that I supported the whole town the best I could. Because I know that the taxes in Templeton have been so much lower than other towns for so long, I fully accepted that they would go up one way or another in the coming years after I moved here. I predict another override coming next year just to balance our budget for simple municipal operations and to pay out outrageous retirement funds. It sucks. In my opinion, I put full blame for this situation on the people who ran the town into the ground over the last decade for the reason our finances are in the crapper. And I fully believe it was intensional. Its no coincidence that financial oversight went askew around 2004. Look at when the Advisory Board's ability to work with each department on the budget was taken away. Look at who became a selectman. Look at who was town coordinator. Look at who became town accountant. Look at when the attempt to make Templeton the new location for a dump happened (and if you think that issue is over, just wait and watch). Look at when the budget was balanced using the stabilization fund (one of the reasons taxes didn't go up for so long). Look at when the BOS tried to take the ambulance receipt money and the sewer dept money even though it is an enterprise fund (to use in general fund to balance budget). Look at when all the fuzzy math at the L&W happened. Look at when certain people got inflated raises and others were bullied out of town. The more I learn about the details of the last decade, the more the picture is coming into focus. I blame the name Skelton for it all. So, we may disagree on the override issue, but I know we agree that voting for Gerry Skelton is one of the worst votes one could ever make. An additional $200-300 yr. tax increase will be the least of our problems if this man gets his way. I just wish the infighting would stop and we could all work together to get through it all as a unified front. Because the more we're distracted bickering over special interest issues, the more we'll be blind to what is being done behind our backs. Its no coincidence that the divide between young and old has been promoted by Skelton. You are right about Templeton becoming another Bell, CA. I pray this doesn't happen. I pray that the investigation will happen in a timely manner with support from our state elected officials. I love living in Templeton and I pray our problems will be resolved and we can put our energy into strengthening our shared community. Keep your opinions coming Isteach. I love reading your thoughts and think they are very important.

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  9. Thank you & I feel that your thoughts are very eloquently written & so to the point of what has been happening here for a long time. I am in total agreement with you on all the issues you have discussed. I do not want the override to fail because I do not want to help our students & the future of our youth. However, I believe those who we trust with them to educate not only the basic ABCs but are there to see our teachers, leaders acting in a way that shows right from wrong, morals, ethics, responsibility, accountability, restraint at times, etc. etc. ...I am not seeing as much of that as I would at this time. If we keep passing overrides that does not show any of those qualities & leadership to our children. If they see that no matter what is not budgeted correctly, & those who failed the taxpayers, time & time again, get bailed out by the taxpayers every time then that will not help them to develop responsibility when they get into the real world.... My examples in my other blogs were not meant to discredit or highlight only the Supt. or her salary but to show that, in my opinion, even she is not using good leadership skills at this time. I can not speak to her morals or values, as I do not know her personally but, when she stands before the town & "begs" for more lets me know she is not in touch with the population at large. Her position & pay are only a reflection of what is happening most everywhere. They need to see & hear from those whose lives their decisions impact severely when asking for more.....I believe you are correct when saying you see this as an act to the same behavior next year & the year after that, & so on. ...I also think you may be correct in that we have not heard the last of the landfill project. I do hope folks keep paying attention everyday to what is going on in their community so this does not happen again. Thank you for listing the numerous issues we face. They are worth repeating again & as often as it takes to get us back on our feet & not be sideswiped in the future. My shared opinion with you on that. Let's hope those elected will fight for transparency, accountability, stability, honor & so forth.

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