Fall Town Meeting approves NRSD debt
Reporter
Posted Oct 19, 2018 at 2:36 PM
Updated Oct 19, 2018 at 2:36 PM
TEMPLETON — Residents approved capital budget supplements and the
payment of about $400,000 for debt to the Narragansett Regional School
District for the new elementary school, but not without some criticism,
during the fall Town Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 18.
Residents approved a payment to the school district for $417,911 that was left off of the budget voted on at the annual Town Meeting earlier this year. The debt on the budget was missed and left off the presentation at the meeting, a mistake that won’t cause any issues but drew criticism from locals.
“This has to be paid, but the fact it was left off ... I don’t know who to blame,” resident Kate Fulton said. “Someone needs to take responsibility, whether it is the School Committee who holds budget hearings, whether it is the superintendent or selectmen or administrator who didn’t catch this, or Advisory Board, someone needs their fingers slapped.”
Selectmen Chairman John Caplis took responsibility following the comments, saying he should have caught the mistakes.
“I am quite sure you don’t make out the warrant, someone else does,” resident Beverley Bartolomeo responded.
Residents approved capital budget supplements to the Senior Center for $100,000 to be used for new siding for the building, as well as $7,500 to the work being done on the Fire Department roof.
The money was drawn from certified free cash. Prior to any appropriation made at fall Town Meeting, Templeton’s free cash sat at about $1.5 million.
Residents also approved a number of operating budget supplements: $15,000 went to the Public Works department to back-fill expenses from responding to the dilapidated Stone Bridge, as well as $5,000 to fire and EMS to back-fill costs related to responding to the bridge.
Also approved was an operating budget supplement of $22,500 to the Police Department to cover relocating the police station to and from Baldwinville Fire Station, as well as pay for police academy for new hires.
Approved in the same warrant was $5,000 for the selectmen for legal
fees relating to two separate cases that concerned zoning over the past
10 years.
Another $5,000 was appropriated for the IT department for excess costs of deploying new office software and email programs.
Residents approved an operating budget transfer of $25,000 from insurance and benefits to fire and EMS, to balance numbers after the approval of the EMS override at annual Town Meeting this past spring.
Initially, the town planned to hire two more employees for fire and EMS immediately, but the town was not able to secure those employees. Instead, they are putting two employees through the fire academy, and money that was initially appropriated for their insurance and benefits went unused and will be used to back fill their positions and cover overtime while they are away.
“You send someone to academy and you are back filling their position during the day,” Town Administrator Carter Terenzini said. “The fact that we did not get everyone hired (immediately) means we were not spending the insurance and benefits. This is a simple re-balancing of moneys appropriated for fire and EMS.”
Residents approved a payment to the school district for $417,911 that was left off of the budget voted on at the annual Town Meeting earlier this year. The debt on the budget was missed and left off the presentation at the meeting, a mistake that won’t cause any issues but drew criticism from locals.
“This has to be paid, but the fact it was left off ... I don’t know who to blame,” resident Kate Fulton said. “Someone needs to take responsibility, whether it is the School Committee who holds budget hearings, whether it is the superintendent or selectmen or administrator who didn’t catch this, or Advisory Board, someone needs their fingers slapped.”
Selectmen Chairman John Caplis took responsibility following the comments, saying he should have caught the mistakes.
“I am quite sure you don’t make out the warrant, someone else does,” resident Beverley Bartolomeo responded.
Residents approved capital budget supplements to the Senior Center for $100,000 to be used for new siding for the building, as well as $7,500 to the work being done on the Fire Department roof.
The money was drawn from certified free cash. Prior to any appropriation made at fall Town Meeting, Templeton’s free cash sat at about $1.5 million.
Residents also approved a number of operating budget supplements: $15,000 went to the Public Works department to back-fill expenses from responding to the dilapidated Stone Bridge, as well as $5,000 to fire and EMS to back-fill costs related to responding to the bridge.
Also approved was an operating budget supplement of $22,500 to the Police Department to cover relocating the police station to and from Baldwinville Fire Station, as well as pay for police academy for new hires.
Another $5,000 was appropriated for the IT department for excess costs of deploying new office software and email programs.
Residents approved an operating budget transfer of $25,000 from insurance and benefits to fire and EMS, to balance numbers after the approval of the EMS override at annual Town Meeting this past spring.
Initially, the town planned to hire two more employees for fire and EMS immediately, but the town was not able to secure those employees. Instead, they are putting two employees through the fire academy, and money that was initially appropriated for their insurance and benefits went unused and will be used to back fill their positions and cover overtime while they are away.
“You send someone to academy and you are back filling their position during the day,” Town Administrator Carter Terenzini said. “The fact that we did not get everyone hired (immediately) means we were not spending the insurance and benefits. This is a simple re-balancing of moneys appropriated for fire and EMS.”
This was the first Town Meeting that the articles on the Town Meeting Warrant were not read. A citizen requested that they be read, but he was refused.There were ten pages of voter information, I never got to see before sitting down, and I know I did not get a chance to read the information because the meeting schedule did not allow it. Something is very wrong with this whole thing. Maybe the idea is to drive people away from attending their Town Meetings. If it is, well it is working. I asked a couple of pointed questions. If in the end people on the stage did not tell the truth, then they lied to not only me, but everyone in the room.It will come out in the wash.
ReplyDeleteThe number of errors Chairman Caplis is eager to take credit for grows. I am confused, does this mean we should feel secure because it was him and him alone that didn't do things right ? Does he think that by his confessing that he made the mistake, makes it ok ? In my way of thinking, if he cannot get things right, maybe he should be recalled. Was he the reason we received the Town Meeting Warrant filled with crossed out material ? By the way, this was the second warrant in this condition. When people in Town offices only had a typewriter to use, the Town Meeting Warrant was easy to read. Seeing the computers people have access to today, and the money we pay them, it seems a better job should be expected.
ReplyDelete