The following was taken
from a web site put forth by the Massachusetts Division of Local Services and
makes for interesting reading (for this person anyways) What this shows is
there is a way for a community to make progress, install / replace / upgrade infrastructure
that could lead to economic development. It does appear to take the citizenry
out of the loop (no voter approval) My first thought is how does the town
successfully help in marketing 40 plus acres of commercial land on Baldwinville
Road that has very old sewer and very questionable water lines in place. Well
we could say we did a nice redo of Baldwinville Road but that is like saying
yeah I put new windows and a nice paint job on my house but the crack in the
foundation, no worries man, have not had any water in the basement yet. Now
that would give me a warm fuzzy feeling to buy that home. I believe one of the
candidates for selectmen, Kenn Robinson said something about using the same
principles that successful Gateway Communities use to encourage and attract
development and I would prefer commercial development over residential.
Just
like applying for grants this special debt exclusion could be a tool for the
elected leadership to actually take the lead and do something positive for the
town, such as a sewer main down route 202 which may prove hard considering the
recent rebuilding of that state road. I am thinking more, could the town work
with or help the owner (s) of the commercial property market that parcel for
something if the town could say here we have a nice newly done over main road
within town and with good access to Route 2 and not only does it look good but
we have new infrastructure under the road as well. (yes I know, too late for
that but food for thought in the future) Perhaps this "tool" could be
used by the selectmen to work in conjunction with the water department (like
them or not, the water department is part of Templeton) to replace water mains
under roads in East Templeton and then use precious chapter 90 dollars to redo
the road surface and maybe sidewalks to improve neighborhoods there as well and
by doing this, we benefit all of the Templeton residents not just the water
customers, which if you think about it, helps anyone who may be trying to sell
their home in the future, yeah we have new water mains on this road so if you
have read anything about all those water main breaks in town, well that should
not affect you if you buy my home. While I am on a roll, if we reused ET school
for town hall and made some changes to that parcel, suddenly the section of
Templeton known as East Templeton suddenly becomes the hub of Templeton from a
business point of view, think of the many business' in that small area and then
imagine the quiet neighborhoods with new roads n infrastructure along with the
seat of Town government. Of course any selectmen suggesting we by-pass the town
vote is probably committing political suicide but when you volunteer to work
for the entire town, you sometimes have to make the tough choices and listen to
the expected and deserved criticism. Of course this could lead to more free
time to go fishing with the dog and a cold one. Perhaps this could lead to
questions for candidates night and or some thought from people on this topic.
If nothing else, residents now have information that perhaps they were not
previously aware of. Thank you - Jeff Bennett
What is a Special
Exclusion?
For a few limited
capital purposes, a community may assess taxes above the amount of its levy
limit or levy ceiling
without
voter approval. Otherwise, special
debt and capital outlay expenditure exclusions are like voter approved
exclusions. The amount
of the special exclusion is only added to the levy limit or ceiling for a
temporary period of
time, and does not
become part of the base upon which the levy limit is calculated for future
years.
One special debt
exclusion allows a community to add water and sewer project debt service costs
to its levy limit
or levy ceiling for the
life of the debt, as long as it reduces water and sewer rates by the same
amount. The water
and sewer debt exclusion
is adopted by a majority vote of the community’s selectmen, or town or city council (with
the mayor’s approval if
required by law) and may include all or part of existing and subsequently
authorized water
and
sewer debt or just the residential share of that debt.
About 4 or 5 months ago, I attended a meeting on the Master Plan for Templeton. It was a great meeting in which the citizens of Templeton got to voice their opinion on what they wanted to see the town focus on in the future to improve life here. There was a lot of discussion about redoing the intersection in East Templeton and other traffic issues around town, creating a town hall, and generating business in town. There were maps to look at exactly where business and industry could be placed in town. Also, there were many good ideas about how to support the existing businesses in town. Does anyone know when or if there is another meeting planned to discuss the Master Plan again? I was surprised that more citizens were not there--especially more school parents. There seems to be a lot of opinions on what Templeton needs and what Templeton spends their money on. Yet, the turnout at this meeting was only fair. Can someone from Planning (Kirk?) let us know the status of that project and if there is another meeting planned soon? I think its a great way to bring everyone together and work towards a focused, common goal for the betterment of the town.
ReplyDeleteWOW someone actually came to a planning meeting ,and for that i thank you . Your right anon.8;27 it is very sad that out of 8000 people in town only about two dozen people come out to give there heart felt opinion on the future needs and wants for the town . The planning board has been working on updating the master plan for about 7 or 8 years now and we still have a couple more to go . Just so you know ,the reason it is taking so long is because the towns people have refused to fund this task at town meeting . therefore leaving the planning board to fund a little bit every year from our limited budget . I will look into the status of our progress and possibly schedule a informational meeting so those that wish to attend may do so . THANKS FOR ASKING .
DeleteHere is an excerpt from the state website:
ReplyDeletespecial exclusion
For a few limited capital purposes, a community may exceed its levy limit or levy ceiling without voter approval. Presently, there are two special expenditure exclusions: 1) water and sewer project debt service costs which reduce the water and sewer rates by the same amount; and 2) a program to assist homeowners to repair or replace faulty septic systems, remove underground fuel storage tanks, or remove dangerous levels of lead paint to meet public health and safety code requirements. In the second special exclusion, homeowners repay the municipality for the cost plus interest apportioned over a period of time, not to exceed 20 years (similar to betterments).
Reading that carefully, the special exclusion sounds more like the sewer betterment. And please note the requirement that the special exclusion reduce the water or sewer rates accordingly.
Anonymous 8:27, and Mark B. good blogs. Jeff, you always come through for the taxpayers of Templeton. For many years East Templeton did not have any representation, or did Otter River, for that matter. I would love to see E.T. spruced up. It has a nice business in the old Methodist Church. The new town hall in East Templeton will be a good addition, and will prove a huge help for the residents of town. Improvements like this go a long way to improve the quality of life for us all. Thank you all, Bev.
Delete