Monday, March 11, 2013

Accountability


The Special Town Meeting (STM) held on March 6, 2013 was called in order for the Town to correct improper votes at the prior ATM last May and STM in November. These important votes had to occur before the tax rate could be set.

The legislative body of the town (Town Meeting) has a lot of power. The votes taken at town meetings are directives given to the executive branch of local government (BOS). It is imperative that the BOS carry out those directives as voted by the townspeople.

The vote on Article 6 was soundly and loudly defeated. The message town meeting sent was very clear.  Templeton shall have two separate governments; Town government and Light and Water. Town government i.e : The Board of Selectmen shall be accountable to the voters. Light and Water is accountable to ???

Despite law (MGL 164 section 56) which in part states:
“…a manager of municipal lighting …have full charge of the operation and management of the plant…and shall, at the end of each municipal year, render to them such detailed statement of his doings and of the business and financial matters in his charge as the department may prescribe. …
The auditor or officer having similar duties in cities, and the selectmen in towns, shall approve the payment of all bills or payrolls of such plants before they are paid by the treasurer, and may disallow and refuse to approve for payment, in whole or in part, any claim as fraudulent, unlawful or excessive; and in that case the auditor or officer having similar duties, or the selectmen, shall file with the city or town treasurer a written statement of the reasons for the refusal; and the treasurer shall not pay any claim or bill so disallowed. This section shall not abridge the powers conferred on town accountants by sections fifty-five to sixty-one, inclusive, of chapter forty-one. The manager shall at any time, when required by the mayor, selectmen, municipal light board, if any, or department, make a statement to such officers of his doings, business, receipts, disbursements, balances, and of the indebtedness of the town in his department…” The voters in Templeton do not want the BOS to follow the law of the Commonwealth.

Accountability is not only an issue on the local level. It is a problem on the federal level as well. The following is an e-mail message from Senator Elizabeth Warren:

Julie --
Attorney General Eric Holder indicated in testimony before the U.S. Senate that some Wall Street banks have gotten so big that they are now above the law.
He actually said earlier this week:
I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy.
This is wrong -- just plain wrong. We are a country that believes in equal justice under the law -- not special deals for the big guys. And that's not all the special deals that the big banks get.
According to recent calculations by Bloomberg, the top ten biggest banks receive an $83 billion subsidy every year in the form of lower borrowing costs -- something not available to your community bank or credit union. The markets think that, if things get tough, the government will be there to bail out the big banks again but not the little guys.
To put things in perspective -- that $83 billion subsidy is about the same amount of money being fought over in the sequestration.
So why are we still debating this issue at all? Isn't it obvious that the "too big to fail" problem still exists and is bad for small banks? Bad for taxpayers? Bad for our economy? Bad for justice?
Here's one theory that worries me: maybe people believe that the banks have in fact become too big to shrink. They have started to say that we can't cut these banks down to size.
I'm not one of them, and neither are colleagues of mine like Sen. Sherrod Brown who have been fighting hard on this issue. We know we can take on the big banks and their army of lobbyists and win because we've done it before.
When banks are too big to fail, too big to jail, too big for trial, too big to manage, too big to regulate, too big to shrink, and too big to reform... they are just too big.
We're just getting started here.
Thank you for being a part of this,
Elizabeth

Senator Warren is trying to hold the banking industry accountable. Not an easy task. For me, Article 6 was an attempt to hold TMLWP accountable: to provide answers to important questions that impact the Town of Templeton as a whole. Questions about the audit of the wind turbine; questions about the water system and the multiple water main breaks; questions about the PILOT payment calculation. These questions will go unanswered, because TMLWP is accountable to no one.



On the local level, what happens when a department is accountable to no one? I guess we’ll find out… or not.

My opinions…supported by FACTS ! ! !

Julie Farrell


Accountability is a global issue as well. LIBOR,(the London inter-bank lending rate) is a major issue and scandal with global implications. Please check out the links to an article in USA Today entitled : U.S. banks caught up in LIBOR Scandal  as well as The BBC Timeline LIBOR fixing scandal.

12 comments:

  1. I think if the people had a better understanding of the real reason we had submitted the article, things would have been different. Remarks about our rates, and the good job our electric company does, as you know, had nothing at all to do with our article. The false things that were spread, did a lot of damage. We won in one sense, as tonight Mr.JD and our fine Light and Water Commissioners, made a showing at the selectmen's meeting. They decided to talk with the selectmen about the PILOT. At least these discussions will take place. Still, MR.D. really does not get it. When and if, they decide on a number to pay the town, he thinks if their business is not good, then they would not pay us!! I said no, you pay us, then you make a adjustment to your department!! The town workers have given enough. The light and water have not been hurt at all, because of our money problems. The tax payers can not handle all of the debt, by themselves, on top of the school budget, and other things on the agenda. The light dept. can spare the money, that is why we went to them in the first place. If they had been half decent, none of us would have had to go through the grief we did last week. We are one town, all of us! Light and water included. Lets hope tomorrow night's meeting goes well. My opinion, Bev.

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  2. It is like the parents that do everything for their children to make sure they are successful in life only to spoil these children because they do not realize what toil it took to get the children to the position they are in. Our spoiled Light and Water need to look around and realize why they are in such relative wealth and become part of the team that made them successful in the first place.

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  3. To Anon 5:45, How right you are, and thank you for this insightful comment, might I suggest to yourself and other readers of Pauly's Watch : All I Really Need to know I learned in Kindergarten Quotes by Robert Fulghum.

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    1. The Light and Water Commissioners should watch these departments as independent watch dogs. Being on the board as a commissioner for too long, has blurred the lines. Now the people who should have watched the hen house, are in it with the fox. This happens so gradually, they do not notice themselves. Paul O. said everyone makes mistakes! Ok, All the things that are going to cost this town, more money than it has, can not be mistakes! Why do you think Julie is gone?? She asked questions, they do not want the public to know about. She did not fit in with the good old boys. She is too smart and to independent. She is also too honest, they needed her out. We got Chris Stewart, a nice enough guy. One who will follow the department line, and not rock the boat. We are now at the point, where our light company is going to have to give us the information we have been asking for. Lets see how much "THE MISTAKES" are going to cost us, with the money we do not have. What is that old saying? "if you are in a deep hole, stop digging". The town need to stop digging!! My opinion, Bev

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  4. What about the hostile takeover of the light + water commissioners ??? Time mrs.farrell listens to the town people like the 300 voters not just your 10 voters!!

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    1. If 300 people told you to jump off a bridge without asking why, would you?

      Your response is probably - no
      And yet those people at the STM were not there to ask why, they were there to say no, because someone asked them to jump off the bridge.

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  5. it wasn't Ms Farrell's petition it was Dave S. there was no hostile takeover. Anyone has the right to bring a citizen petition. And we have the right to vote for it or against it.

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    1. It is very scary that the people in this town, did not have one question, when the article came up about reversing the previous vote, for the funds that had been placed in the wrong account. I know in my heart, most of the people did not have a clue, what they were doing, but they voted for it any way. I think you could bring a elephant into the room, and they would not know the difference. Bev.

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    2. People's eyes glaze over when financial talk comes up at ATMs & STMs. They're there for the hot button articles that they are aware of. I doubt most at this past STM actually knew why there had to be a rescinding vote. If people turned out for the BOS meetings or Advisory Board meetings they way they did for the STM, more would be aware and better understand the financial situation Templeton is in. If people want a new school, police station, reconstructed roads, etc. then eventually they will have to learn more of the back stories as to why the town is in financial danger.

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  6. I showed up because I was asked to by my friends at the L&W. Although I voted the petition down like I was told by people who I thought knew what was going on I was still impressed by Mrs Farrell and her knowledge on the subject. I just don't have the time to stay informed, maybe when the kids are older.

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    1. Just keep reading the blog, look at all the info on the C4T website, read it all when the kids are in bed, then make up your own mind. I did. I believe that I, you and the town was lied to by the powers that were for their own personal gain and put the town in great financial danger. And now they will do what they can to keep it hidden. Your friends may not know the whole story either, so good to do your own resaerch.

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  7. thank you anon 4:51 and 7:23 !!!! the more people eyes are opened to the fact the julie, fred, will, tom, dave, just to mane a few are on the side of trying to fix a mess, the better off we ALL will be !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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