Templeton official who lives in Harvard will have shorter commute to new job in Sterling
By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFFgbarnes@telegram.com
TEMPLETON — On Jan. 17, Town Coordinator Jeffrey Ritter will work his final day in town, but if something major happens, he will be available to help through the weekend.
"That Friday is my last working day, but my resignation becomes effective Jan. 19," he said. "I am on the clock until midnight Sunday."
Mr. Ritter is leaving to accept the position of town administrator in Sterling, replacing Terri Ackerman, who stepped down from that post Dec. 31.
Mr. Ritter announced his resignation to the Board of Selectmen this week. He said he has no regrets about his two years as town coordinator in Templeton.
"As I told the board there are two reasons I am leaving — for higher pay and a job closer to home." he said.
Mr. Ritter, a resident of Harvard, said the job in Sterling will mean the shortest commute he has had in his 40-year professional career.
During his two years as the town's chief executive officer, he had to weather a recall of two members of the Board of Selectmen and a series of contentious school and town override votes, and is now dealing with a $505,000 deficit.
Town Accountant Fred Aponte said the deficit likely arose while a previous accountant used different software to handle the town's books. Mr. Aponte and forensic accountant Matthew Angell are now trying to get the town's books in order. How the town will make up the deficit has not yet been determined.
Mr. Ritter said the town's immediate challenge will be to get on sound financial footing. He said the town needs to wean itself off the use of one-time revenue sources such as free cash to set the budget and get the town operating with a budget paid for through its regular and predictable annual revenues.
To ensure the deficit problem does not get any worse, selectmen have set a hiring freeze. Possible options for balancing the budget include budget cuts and possible layoffs or a Proposition 2 1/2 override.
Selectmen are also looking to hire an interim replacement for Mr. Ritter while they search for a permanent replacement.
Before Mr. Ritter leaves, a special town election will be held to replace former Selectman Virginia Wilder, who resigned in May. Candidates for the Jan. 14 election include Diane Haley Brooks and Robert Mitchell.
There will also be a nonbinding question on the ballot asking if voters support removing the town Water Department from management by the Templeton Municipal Light Co.
Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter@georgebarnesTG
Pauly, please speak to your admins. By allowing either Julie or Bev ti delete posts who's view they disagree with, it completely denegrates the honesty & trustworthyness of your blog. If you want a "Julie followers" blog, then name it that, otherwise this is just a farce.
ReplyDeletehuff n puff January 4, 2014 at 8:27 AM
ReplyDeleteNot sure who you are. I dont care. If an admin deletes your post, so be it. thought you were one of those people who said thsi blog was crap. don't like it don't read don't post.that simple
Pauly, I have never said it was crap. Quite the opposite. I have learned alot on here & stated such. It is one of the only places you can question elected officials & share your concerns. But if they start censoring that, this blog loses all credability.
DeleteFYI - Guidelines for posting on the 'Gansett Greatness Facebook:
DeleteThis is a public forum established for the purpose of spreading information about the efforts of the 'Gansett Greatness organization. As this is a public forum, questions may arise and debates about issues may occur. In these cases, any and all individuals or groups must identify themselves. 'Gansett Greatness stands for and encourages positive, open, evidence-based communication that leads to greater understanding. Along those lines, any and all communication on this Facebook page must be civil and must not demean any other individual or group. If any post does not comply with these norms, or does not identify the individual responsible for the post, that post will be removed.
& their is no such disclaimer here, so what is your point? And how is "vote for DHB" in any way demeaning???
DeleteJust sayin’ this is what happens elsewhere. Maybe it should be added here as well so there is no confusion. Having seen some of the removed posts prior to their removal, most vote DHB posts were followed by vicious demeaning taunts (the truth), I am not surprised Admins chose to remove them.
DeleteIt has been said that what one dislikes in others is what one dislikes in themselves. Ring a bell? Maybe not, maybe you are perfect in your own mind. Attack all you want. I believe you to be the fraud. The truth is I sure wish someone could have done their job well enough to not be dismissed and get us partly in the mess we are in.
DeletePuffy,
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like the blog, don't read it or comment. If you wish to speak to me, my number is 978-340-2503 my e-mail is j_farrell@hotmail.com.
Stay warm.
Anyone remember one of the first people to be removed from the blog? Can you guess who was in support of their actions?
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/1TuesdayGirl/status/370244910399508481
That’s right, one of the founders and admins of Gansett Greatness.
I personally have no fight with DHB. My point is that we all sometimes say and do things that others could take and use against us. We are all imperfect.
There is a HUGE difference between criticizing a person's opinion or actions and criticizing a person. Many of the posts that were deleted criticized a person and not their actions or opinions. I criticized TGN news editor because I feel he acted unprofessionally and as a journalist didn't keep his bias out of his articles and reported opinions as facts. Plus, he did not sanity proof his and other reporters' work for accurate numbers and spelling people's names correctly. I did not call him names or attack him as a person. Many posts on here have called town officials and other bloggers names. They didn't give any examples of what actions or opinions of these people they did not agree with. You cannot say someone is a fraud without giving examples of why. Criticize the actions not the person. And back it up with examples.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between TGN and Pauly's blog is one is a professional news outlet which is supposed to be neutral and presents facts and all sides of a story. The other is an opinion-based website which doesn't necessarily have to be neutral. Its up to the owner what to present. Pauly's blog was created because TGN wasn't doing their job correctly. They were not presenting facts or being neutral. So, Pauly started this blog to get the word out on so many issues in Templeton that were being covered up by traditional news agencies. Its been wonderful to have a place to get this information. Its also been a wonderful place to share opinions (opposing and aligning). There are many in town that do not want certain facts and stories to see the light of day. So, they come there to try to discredit the blog and certain people in town. Instead of presenting the opposing view, they just try to put down the person. Unfortunately, several of these people support Ms. Brooks and add their words of support to her at the end of their bashing comments. If this blog was really against Ms. Brooks, do you think there would be a link to Gansett Greatness on the left side of the page? If people who want to support Ms. Brooks for selectman would like to explain why she's the best fir for the position, please do so without putting down anyone else.
And if anyone wants to know why I still comment under a nickname it is because there are many people in town that think it is ok to bully others who do not share the same political view as them and resort to harassing actions. I've been attacked, yelled at, and overall made to feel uncomfortable because I didn't support the past candidates that they supported. Its extremely unfair and juvenile. I know many others have suffered the same experience as I have. Isteach has also described their ordeal with harassment and bullying. There is a horrible climate of intimidation that has hovered over this town for almost 2 decades. Until that climate is changed, I'm sticking to my nickname. If people are pissed that people don't use their real names on here, then I will stop blogging and only read it like hundreds of others who are afraid to use their real names are doing. Unfortunately, for every one person who is using a nickname to have a voice for good, there are 10 people who are using a nickname to cause trouble. That's how it will always be until our community as a whole will act more civil and adult-like. I suspect that the bloggers who come here to only cause trouble and name call really have no valid reasons to present when opposing what Bev or Ms. Farrell says. If they did, maybe they would present them in an intelligent way that adds to a healthy debate. If someone was to criticize a person and not the person's opinion or action at a town meeting, they wouldn't be allowed to speak. So, if there are people that would like to comment an opposing viewpoint to other on this blog, please do so without attacking the person and give examples as to why you feel that way. I'm open to hearing all points of view. That's how I form my own opinions. Sometimes hearing others speak solidifies my viewpoint, sometimes hearing others speak makes me reconsider my viewpoint and change my mind.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record, I will be happy with whomever wins the 4 month selectman seat. I think there are positives to either candidate being on the board. I wish both could join actually. And I feel the four sitting selectman are doing a great job under extreme circumstances. Each brings a valuable opinion to the table. I didn't feel this way a year ago. So, I don't think we're all doomed. 2014 may start out tough for Templeton. But I am confident it will end in a much better place.
Thanks Phil,I went to the twitter from tuesday girl and saw the Batman thing.
ReplyDeletePeople should know whos who and when they do it changes the things that get posted!
I was surprised to see that!
Now i wonder if she is some others on this blog under some of the other names!
Rings of Echo Hill ????