DOR / USDA? Why we cannot depend on the government to protect us


Two agencies, one state, one federal, both charged with overseeing a couple very important things for the local folks. Supposedly, in the state of Massachusetts, the Department of Revenue (DOR) is suppose to oversee the financial goings on in the cities and towns of the state. The United States Department of Agriculture is suppose to oversee the nations food supply. In my opinion, both of these agencies suffer from the same thing, there is a lack of real oversight and too close of a relationship with the people who are suppose to do the job (s) of keeping municipal financial records and the other to process the nations food supply, particularly the meat industry. Inspections are scheduled and announced, all the players are a little to cozy and not all the players are truly looking out for the regular folks as in the consumers and the taxpayers.


Take into account the issues of prevailing wage and school district budget issues and laws and I am really surprised there have not been more problems. I believe the USDA issue is pretty well documented as the number of recalls, especially in the meat industry so what about the financial health of the cities and towns in Massachusetts? Even with independent audits, problems can and do occur, just ask the folks in Saugus who I believe used the same audit firm as Templeton once did, Heath Melanson. I wonder how many towns Deb Wagner of the DOR has to oversee? I wonder how much scrutiny each town gets, especially if the books are done on time or early and are in a nice neat package.


I believe this is a wakeup call for each taxpayer to educate themselves on the process of town finance and to demand information as well as taking the time to read it. I also believe selectmen and city councilors have to take the time to pay attention and trust the professionals (so called) but verify and I can attest, that is a fulltime job in itself. I find it interesting that in Winchendon, one of the financial issues is with healthcare cost and insurance. Next time you see a sign, especially near election time, that says "save dispatch", ask what does that mean, because every town employee costs a lot more than just their salary.


Winchendon, like Templeton, will fix this issue but it will not be fun and it will be painful. One puzzling thing is why would someone want to call for a special recall election now, when there is a real money problem? Two selectmen are up for election in 7 months which makes me wonder who is in it for politics and who is in it because they really care about the town. Personally, I thought the thing to do was to walk away which accomplished a few things. One, it brought attention to me with questions of why, give us a reason (s), what did he know and when did he know it and on and on, which caused a little deflection from the issue which I thought calmed people down a little, secondly, it brought a fresh look from others which I hoped at the time, it would give people the idea or feeling that now with different people attacking the problem, they would get the answers and more importantly, the solution. The people would get what they expected and wanted, which was way more important than an elected position.


So, to Templeton taxpayers, I would say, learn about the financial terms, the paperwork and the process, learn what the positions and the players are suppose to do and ask the selectmen for explanations and do not just accept the old answer, the financial team is in place and doing the job, because clearly that is not the case in too many cities and towns. This does not mean people are not trying or that there are not knowledgeable people out there, it just means we need more and we need to be more involved. The towns takes your money so you should ensure they handle it right and spend it wisely.


Jeff Bennett