Templeton grapples with $500K shortfall in projected tax levy

Templeton grapples with $500K shortfall in projected tax levy

Kimberly Petalas
News Staff Writer


TEMPLETON — Templeton Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to freeze discretionary expenses and discretionary hiring until further notice at Monday night’s meeting after recently discovering that there is a $505,000 shortfall in the tax levy.

Forensic Accountant Consultant Matt Angel attended the special meeting of the Selectmen on Friday to discuss the issue as well as possible solutions for the town.

“There are a couple of accounts that were hard to follow,” said Mr. Angel.

The issue with the tax levy, according to Mr. Angel, traces back to the change in Town Accountant. According to officials, the former accountant reportedly used a finance software that is uncommon and not favored by the majority of municipalities. When the new accountant took over the books, the decision was made to transition to another program.

“Someone copied off of someone else’s homework and their homework was wrong,” said chairman of the Selectmen Jeffrey Bennett. “That is it in a nutshell. It is what it is.”


With the help of the consultant, the board discussed the three options available to solve the issue at hand: They can ask residents for an override, make cuts in the budget, or use free cash to fill the budget gap.

“We just had a $620,000 override,” said Selectmen Kenn Robinson. “The chances of us getting another override are non-existent.”

Mr. Angel suggested that using free cash would be a last resort as the town’s books have not been closed for fiscal year 2013 — leaving important factors in terms of free cash unknown, such as the definitive dollar amount and date of availability.

In the past, funds from free cash and stabilization have been used, but Mr. Angel said if they continue to do so, the town’s money concerns will never be fixed.

“The process is flawed. Nobody was looking at the entire entity,” he said. “Just throwing free cash without changing the process isn’t going to change the issues.”

The Selectmen met again on Monday to continue discussions regarding the tax levy with the community.

Although no decision was made as to what route the selectmen will take to resolve the matter, many ideas were given, including combining a mix of budget cuts with an additional override.

“It’s not going to be easy to fix and it’s not going to be fun,” said Mr. Bennett.

After the meeting, Templeton Police Chief David Whitaker said he fears cuts will ultimately need to be made in the budget, which could negatively affect his police force.

“I’m beside myself about it,” he said. “I suspect there might be severe cuts within all the departments.”

The Board of Selectmen is set to meet after the turn of the new year, at which time they will continue ongoing discussions and make further reccomendations for solving the monetary matter at hand.