Thursday, June 15, 2017
Policies. Procedures. Pins.
Policies. Procedures. Pins.
There's been some talk locally about
following policies and procedures. Some of this discussion has focused
on the Templeton elected leaders- the "Superior Board", if you will.
The crux of the matter comes down to
this - if there are policies and procedures in place and they aren't
being followed, will even more policies and procedures help correct
Templeton's financial situation?(lack of a bond rating; $5 Million BAN
issued needs to be paid by December 1, 2017; the need to issue $20
million in bonds to pay for the school - THAT situation)
There are a number of significant findings in the Financial Management Letter
Improved policies and procedures should help to address those significant findings.
Problem: Templeton can have the most awesome policies and procedures in place, but if these policies and procedures are not followed nothing will change.
When I began teaching (many years ago), a
former colleague of mine had some good advice: "Don't make a "rule", if
you aren't going to enforce it." Students figure that out in a hurry!
Same rule applies in government!
Here is the latest example of not following the "rules":
The request:
From: townadministrator [mailto:townadministrator@templeton1.org]
Sent: Tuesday, June 6, 2017 2:45 PM
To: Julie Farrell
Cc: 'Kelli Pontbriand'
Subject: Treasurer/Collector
Good Day:
Although the By-Law amendment providing for AC members to sit on ad hoc screening committees has not yet come back formally approved by the AG’s Office, I am confident enough that there will not be any problem with it that I would like to invite you to participate as a member of the Team to interview candidates for the position of Treasurer/Collector.
These are tentatively set for the afternoon of 06/21 or 06/22.
Please let me know at your first convenience that I might loop you in on the process.
Many Thanks
Carter Terenzini
Interim Town Administrator
Town of Templeton
160 Patriots Road
East Templeton, MA 01438
(978) 894-2753
Sent: Tuesday, June 6, 2017 2:45 PM
To: Julie Farrell
Cc: 'Kelli Pontbriand'
Subject: Treasurer/Collector
Good Day:
Although the By-Law amendment providing for AC members to sit on ad hoc screening committees has not yet come back formally approved by the AG’s Office, I am confident enough that there will not be any problem with it that I would like to invite you to participate as a member of the Team to interview candidates for the position of Treasurer/Collector.
These are tentatively set for the afternoon of 06/21 or 06/22.
Please let me know at your first convenience that I might loop you in on the process.
Many Thanks
Carter Terenzini
Interim Town Administrator
Town of Templeton
160 Patriots Road
East Templeton, MA 01438
(978) 894-2753
My response:
Julie Farrell
Jun 13 (2 days ago)
to townadministra., Kelli, MA, Selectman, Diane, Cameron, Doug, Julie
Good evening:
Sorry for the delay in my response to your request to serve on the ad hoc screening committee to secure a treasurer collector.
I believe the proper procedure to have a member of the Advisory Committee serve on an ad hoc committee would be to go through the chairman of the Advisory Committee. Then this discussion could take place at an Advisory Committee meeting.
I thought this message had been sent to the Advisory Committee but looking back at the email thread, I realize that is incorrect.
It would be inappropriate for me to serve on any ad hoc committee as an Advisory Committee member without the knowledge, consent and vote of the Advisory Committee.
Best,
Julie Farrell
Jun 13 (2 days ago)
to townadministra., Kelli, MA, Selectman, Diane, Cameron, Doug, Julie
Good evening:
Sorry for the delay in my response to your request to serve on the ad hoc screening committee to secure a treasurer collector.
I believe the proper procedure to have a member of the Advisory Committee serve on an ad hoc committee would be to go through the chairman of the Advisory Committee. Then this discussion could take place at an Advisory Committee meeting.
I thought this message had been sent to the Advisory Committee but looking back at the email thread, I realize that is incorrect.
It would be inappropriate for me to serve on any ad hoc committee as an Advisory Committee member without the knowledge, consent and vote of the Advisory Committee.
Best,
Julie Farrell
Can't make this stuff up!
It will all be better if we just put a pin on it.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
Julie Farrell
AND
Who's Next?
Good News! Looks like everything is AWESOME in Templeton!
The hard work done by department heads to control their budgets resulted in enough money ($131,000) to transfer and cover the Snow and Ice deficit. That is great news!
It will be very interesting to see how much money remains in the FY 17 budget. That money should eventually clear out to Free Cash, if approved by the DOR.
So one question might be, was the merger of departments really fiscally necessary? Or was it a tactic to terminate a few long time employees? What happened to that report from the "outside" evaluator regarding the merger of the Highway and Cemetery departments?
Time will tell.
What departments do you think they will go after next?
My opinions, as always
Julie Farrell
The hard work done by department heads to control their budgets resulted in enough money ($131,000) to transfer and cover the Snow and Ice deficit. That is great news!
It will be very interesting to see how much money remains in the FY 17 budget. That money should eventually clear out to Free Cash, if approved by the DOR.
So one question might be, was the merger of departments really fiscally necessary? Or was it a tactic to terminate a few long time employees? What happened to that report from the "outside" evaluator regarding the merger of the Highway and Cemetery departments?
Time will tell.
What departments do you think they will go after next?
My opinions, as always
Julie Farrell
NEWSFLASH !!!
BREAKING NEWS!
These blogs are my opinions!
Julie Farrell
Bigger News Flash !! All of the above information is PUBLIC INFORMATION ! All of this information can be found by watching a number of meetings in person or for your pleasure, on channel 8, and also on u-tube. As you can see, Pauly started this blog for as means for the public to ask questions, comment or as a forum for people to air their opinions. As this stands, the blog has become a picture of real life in the Town of Templeton. it is a flowing history of a town in deep financial trouble and the struggle over come years of bad policies, in a town divided by the young and old, the native residents and the new comers. In it's narrative, the blog paints the picture of the town in it's fight to find a stable footing in it's path to financial solvency, hindered by some who are self serving, backed by political favoritism and money. No, the blog is not going anywhere. My opinion, as always. Bev.
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