Paul working for you.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Rerun

Just to refresh your memories...

Acceptance of DOR Report
The official name of what is commonly referred to as the DOR Report is:


The DOR Report was completed and published on the DOR website in October 2009. After repeated attempts to discuss the DOR Report at BOS meetings, it was learned that Rep. Gobi had sent a letter to Deputy Commissioner and Director of Municipal Affairs, Robert Nunes. Former BOS chairman, Gerald Skelton referred to this letter during a public BOS meeting in 2009.

Rep. Gobi felt “compelled” to write the letter to deputy commissioner Robert Nunes due to the following wording in the DOR report:


         However, despite all that has been accomplished, a schism exists among town officials, which undermines cooperation and threatens the ability of government to continue on a positive course.
            Our concerns center on the deep-rooted adversarial relationship between the board of selectmen chair, his wife, who is the town coordinator, and another member of the board who is also a light & water commissioner, and her husband, who is a sewer commissioner. It is not our intent to pass judgment on the merits of their respective positions on issues that separate them. In fact, we believe that each has in the past acted in what he or she believed to be in the best interest of the town. However, we are not certain that this is still the case. It is clear that the animosity between the members of these two families has risen to a personal level and the negative fallout threatens their ability to make objective decisions.
            We are also compelled to comment on the operation of local government when the chair of the board of selectman and the town coordinator are spouses. We understand that their re-entry into town government seven years ago marked a turning point. Since then, the town has successfully implemented broad-based reforms that fundamentally changed business practices and improved operations.
            Nevertheless, it is inevitable that as town business is discussed and options are reviewed that decisions are made solely by the selectmen chair and the town coordinator whether they are in or outside town hall. When this occurs, other viewpoints are not part of the decision-making process and issues are not
Town of Templeton            2            OverviewDivision of Local Services            Financial Management Review
vetted in the full light of day. From another perspective, the line that should separate a selectman – a chief policy maker for the town – from the day-to-day administration of town government, is blurred.
            The tensions that exist, which show no signs of abating, are divisive. They have reached employees and have begun to affect town hall morale. Given the broad participation in government of these selectmen and their spouses, it is easy to imagine that the business of the personnel board, the light & water commission and the sewer commission are affected as well. For employees, there is little recourse, if they have a concern or a legitimate complaint that involves the board chair or the town coordinator, both of whom participate on the personnel board. Overall, this is not a healthy situation.
For residents, there is good incentive to scrutinize the operation of government and how it affects the character of the community.” [pg 2-3].

Whenever I have made an inquiry about town affairs asking for help from Rep. Gobi, I was told it was a “local issue” or needed a vote by the BOS before any help would be forthcoming from the state level. In this e-mail thread to Rep. Gobi, I mentioned an issue about Chapter 93 Acts of 2000. Still asking those same questions today. I firmly believe the steps taken to wrest control of the Water department from the BOS to the Light department was done improperly. It is important to know the proper way to combine town departments.

In November of 2009, Article 6 of the Special Town Meeting was proposed by the BOS to abolish the sewer commissioners. I believe this was proposed by the BOS to gain control of the sewer enterprise reserve funds and to create a need to increase the salary of the town coordinator…in the same manner that Chapter 93 Acts of 2000 increased the salary of the general manager of the TMLWP, Gerald Skelton. This blog on Worcester County Retirement System gives more detail. The article in the Sunday July 8, 2012 Worcester telegram,(best opened using firefox browser)  reports a final average salary for Gerald Skelton of $102,256; yearly pension of $84,384 with a projected lifetime benefit of $1,198,260…which was made possible by the enactment of Chapter 93 Acts of 2000.(See Timeline Chapter 93 Acts of 2000)




In January of 2010, representatives from the DOR attended a BOS meeting. They presented information on the DOR Report for the Town of Templeton. The meetings were recorded and posted to Youtube:



In part 2 of the January 11th meeting the BOS voted to disregard the DOR Report after the representatives of the DOR had left the meeting.

Three years and one successful recall election later, the Templeton Board of Selectmen finally accepted the DOR Report in November 2012.  From page 3 DOR Report:

“For residents, there is good incentive to scrutinize the operation of government and how it affects the character of the community.”

Finally, residents seem to be paying attention. Please continue to scrutinize the operation of government!

My opinions…Supported by FACTS ! ! !

Julie Farrell

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For people who are calling for an investigation into the latest financial snafu, yes! I agree!As a selectman, I have worked long and hard to try to implement the DOR recommendations. I believe these recommendations are a blueprint for better town government in Templeton. Let's hope the Inspector General will conduct a thorough investigation.

9 comments:

  1. The members of Citizens 4 Templeton have been working for over two to try to get the town on it's financial feet. There were reasons that Mr.Skelton and Mr. Columbus did not want anyone else in the selectmen's seats. My opinion is that this is the real reason for the recall of Mrs. Farrell and Mr. Mitchell. All of these actions cost us money that we could not afford. I have been working to get someone to come in and take a look at the books along with anything else that is needed to bring closure for the people in this town. Our Senator Brewer has not been willing to help but maybe he will think twice now that his school project has been threatened due to our financial mess. The actions that have brought us to where we are today are a direct result of behavior of past administrations. Some say we need to move forward and that is right, but the only problem with that is those actions are in bedded in everything the town does today. Bev

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  2. It looks more and more like the Echo Hill plan was to bankrupt the town. FY 2012 $686,628 in Free Cash used to fund the budget as well as $212,126 in stabilization funds.

    Time to start digging in the old town reports to find out if Free Cash and stabilization money was used to balance the budget in other years.

    Wonder if this was called "fixing the tax rate" ...using every penny to give out raises and hire people when the town couldn't afford it.

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  3. Looks like the same type of creative financing used at Light and Water was used to balance the town's budget. The Town voted at town meeting to use every penny of Free cash and copious amounts of stabilization $$ to fund operating expenses over many years.

    The Light & water department can (and has) raise rates whenever there was a shortfall rather than deal with any structural deficit in their budgets. Can't make a bond payment? Raise the customer charge! Do they still borrow a pipe wrench from Gardner when there are water main breaks?

    Regional schools can deploy "the nuclear option" to fund the unsustainable structural deficits in their budgets.

    Cities and Towns can only raise 2 1/2 percent every year. In Templeton, for FY 15 that huge budget increase is $219,000 to be spread throughout all town departments …including the school.

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    1. so riddle me this. Why hasnt the town raised taxes 2 1/2 % every year for the past 10 years? Why did we still have the same rate as 10 years ago? THAT is a big part of the problem...

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    2. The town should have been raising the tax rate instead of keeping it artificially low by using Free Cash and stabilization to balance the budget. You are correct that an artificially low tax rate has lead to the current structural deficit we are facing.

      The why is conjecture. I have more information that I will try to post this weekend. It appears the former town accountant and others deliberately misled the people of Templeton. I have spoken out repeatedly against using Free Cash to balance the budget. Free Cash is not revenue. It is a receipt...one time money that varies from year to year. I believe one year Free Cash was used to pay for Worcester County Retirement.

      There are solutions to the problem of the structural deficit, but none of them are palatable.

      The tax rate includes many things besides 2 1/2 percent increase. There have been overrides and debt exclusions that have passed. Some of these debt exclusions were for 1 year, they appear on the tax rate and then are taken off the tax rate. They are not permanent increases to the tax base.

      After my first year as a selectman, I thought there was something wrong. I couldn't pinpoint it. I asked for the DOR review and it passed by a 3-2 vote. Then the composition of the board changed, and when the DOR presented their report it was disregarded. My thought was that having the DOR come in and provide guidance and suggestions would put the town on the right rack. I still believe that we can use the DOR report as a blueprint to improve the financial operations of the town. It appears this current Board of Selectmen are willing to try to implement the DOR recommendations. The first major recommendation is to create a Town Administrator position.

      There is a pattern of deliberate mismanagement. Mismanagement on the part of the town accountant (former), the town coordinator(Skelton), BOS chairman(Skelton). This mismanagement was "blessed" by the auditors as well as the DOR. Looks like the plan was to bankrupt the town.

      When you sit on a board and are in the minority, the best you can do is try to raise awareness of the issues and bring your concerns to the voters. I truly believe we will get good government in Templeton when every pays attention.

      "For residents, there is good incentive to scrutinize the operation of government and how it effects the character of the community"


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    3. hows about this riddle, what be or who be a huffn n a puffin? me be thinkin it be one them there lawyers that like to be a poppin off but not much else. here in de hood, we here Templeton is open fo business but we don't see much effort from Mr. Kenn. Why that be if dat was one of the most important things he be a doin. Peeps in da hood wants to see some action n less jive talkin like lets be fixen this first then we make it not happen anymore.

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  4. Down hear on the lower forty I just had to let people know about the obituary notice over at Templeton Times is that for real? I get plenty confused at my age but I checked on that Roberts fella and remember him when he was Secretary of the Treasury with the Gipp, who I remember watching when he played for the Irish.

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    1. Ypes, I thought I was old !! I don't remember that far back, but I am glad that you are on the ball and are not afraid to venture out and try new things like "the Computer." Some older folks are still afraid of learning something new. Thank you for your comments on the blog. I hope you have a good holiday. Bev.

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  5. I think what Anne was saying is the situation in Templeton is toxic to the point of dysfunctional. I mean, you just can't make this stuff up. I wonder if Andy had these issues in Mayberry?

    I would encourage all residents to get involved, every year when the town annual report is published, peruse the salary sections, see who is making what. People on here bemoan the high salaries at the school, hogwash, look at the salaries in the police dept. This isn't South Boston or the Bronx, it's little ole Templeton. I don't begrudge people getting paid what they earn but when they are out most of the year on workman's comp and still manage to pull down 6 figures. Again, it is disingenuous to badmouth some poor teacher earning $40,000 when there are so many doing nothing for 6 figure salaries. But, if nobody looks, if nobody cares, corruption ensues.

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