Saturday, March 17, 2012

Another Blog from Jeff's sofa!

For anyone keeping track in Templeton, according to the budget vs. actual report for the Town of Templeton, dated March 14, 2012, you have spent $10,667.50 on town lawyer. From the minutes of selectmen meeting of February 16,2012....available for legal $31,117.50 - $20,440.00 = $10,667.50 spent. That is the short version. The long version is there was $73,000.00 budgeted for FY2012 and according to the minutes of the BOS on February 16, 2012, there was a balance of $31,117.50 left. On the budget to actual dated March 14, 2012, there is a balance of $20,440.00 left in legal. Being a simple guy and a little slow, I round that to $10 grand in one month for legal. I think it is safe to say that there was no budget consideration in play when team columbus
voted to change town counsel. However, if you take the time to read "The art and science of managing legal services" by Leonard Kopelman ( I read that as controlling legal costs) you will find among other opinions of Len, his thought that "In essence, the majority of the governing body at a given time is the lawyer's client." (found on page 4 of that document) So the question is, if that is how Len Kopelman, of Kopelman & Paige feels, just who is the rest of the boards, commissions and departments suppose to turn to for legal help? Len also states on page 4 that unlike state government who are required to follow the attorney generals opinions, you (selectmen or town) are not bound by "your" lawyer's opinion. The opinion is not a sword over your head, but merely a tool to help productively attain municipal goals. If you do not like your lawyer's advice, ask how certain he or she feels about the opinion. So if Len feels he works only for the majority of the board of selectmen, would that municipal goals he speaks of be goals of the majority of the board of selectmen? So if one of the goals of the current majority of Templeton board of selectmen is to bring back former town coordinator carol skelton, does that mean he is helping them attain that goal while charging the Templeton taxpayers for that service? Just a thought from the simple mind that is Jeffrey Bennett. On another subject, I have spoken of the amount of elected salaries and stipends for chairmanships of boards and committees in Templeton to be in the $70 thousand dollar range. In the latest budget proposal from the town accountant, those salary amounts have been cut, so that number may no longer be valid if those cuts stand. For example, selectmen salary budget has been cut from $25,790.00 to be divided five ways to $5,500.00 divided five ways and the board of assessors amount of $15,476.00 divided 3 ways to $3,200.00 divided 3 ways. A most interesting change is under the town accountant. His salary would go from $45,600.00 down to $36,480.00 but his soft ware license fee would go from $500.00 per year to $1,000.00 per year. Not sure why the increase there but I will ask, unless someone beats me to it. There are alot of salary cuts in the initial budget offering, but why not eliminate all elected salaries completely. If you volunteer to run or to be on a board or committee, why expect to be paid? Why does a chairman need to be paid more? No one forces you to be a chairman, you decide if you want to do it or not. And here I thought this was public service. Times are tough for everyone, well most everyone anyways. If ya have a $80 grand a year pension, things ain't so bad, comparatively. So it is time for elected officials to lead by example and say no to any kind of compensation. And if anyone would like a copy of the Len Kopelman piece, let me know and I will provide you a copy. It is also available on the website of Kopelman & Paige. I can't say how long it will be on there though.

5 comments:

  1. SO a law firm (BB$M) charging the town just over six grand a month has been replaced with a just over ten grand a month law firm (K&P)? Costing the town over 48 grand more per year? And K&P are the ones that somehow screwed the town out of the money to pay for the sewer dept. latest EPA challenge? Who bright idea was that! Oh yeah, I remember now, the Chairman of the BOS and his cronies. Why on earth would anyone with half a brain rehire a firm like that? The only question is what is in it for them? It makes NO sense. Do the BOS not work FOR the town? It is infuriating! The "certain" majority of the BOS are just that -certain-ly going to run this town into bankruptcy. And for what? People I know are barely hanging onto their home, it is underwater, with nothing to do about it but try to hold their heads up. When people are eating ramon noodles and barely paying their morgage, how can the elected officials spend money willy-nilly for some unknown agenda (subject to change, of course). It is a crying shame that the "certain" majority does not seem to care.

    I suppose I must add that the above is "in my opinion" because heaven forbid someone "stupid" is offened.

    I would like to thank Jeff Bennett, the Farrels, Bob Mitchel, Bev Bart, Pauly's Templeton Watch, and all the bloggers for giving me hope that the truth may eventually work its way out.

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  2. The key word is bankruptcy. The debtor is beholden to the lenders. In my opinion our legal system is not what we believe we have. Think about the national debt who controls it and who is the debtor. Leonard Kopelman is privy to legal information that the average Joe does not understand. You probably won't take the time to read this but if you do, it will be an eye opener. http://usa-the-republic.com/revenue/true_history/Chap8.html It concerns bankruptcy and our current legal state of affairs.

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  3. TO THOSE WHO VOTED FOR THE RECALL

    If you are reading this, you are probably a citizen who is interested in what is happening in this town. I have just one question that has been burning ever since the recall vote was tallied. WHAT DID THE RECALL LADY AND THE STREET CRIERS SAY TO YOU THAT WOULD CONVINCE YOU TO VOTE TO RECALL? I think there are lessons to be learned for both sides here. There are probably a lot of lies, but, there could be some truths that the people should know about. I was never approached, and I don't know if this question was brought up here, so bear with me. You can go into your computer and open up an additional email account with a non identifying name (like I did) to let us know. Thankyou.

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  4. You got Queen bee hereself.Concerned about a 300 hundred dollar color cover.And she says I think we can do with out that.Were in a 6 hundred thousand dollar debt.And then you got her and the other 2 stoogers.Wanting to cut ties with Mr Ritter and give him a $35000 dollar severance pay to walk away quietly.Then rumor has it.They want to hire back our old town coodinator.That sued the town for $20000.And us the tax payers had to pay almost$13000 in lawyer fees.And top it all off they hire Kopelman and Paige back.So they can suck us dry.

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  5. Here's a link to a very interesting article about corruption in MA government. There is a poll that you can take rating the state on corruption. You can also send a message to this poll describing corruption you've witnessed in local politics. Maybe its a way to get the word out there and someone will finally pay attention and help the innocent citizens of Templeton.

    http://www.wgbh.org/articles/index.cfm?tempid=5788

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