Just read an email from the town coordinator who was passing along the response
from town counsel concerning the issue brought forth before the selectmen
concerning concerns by some town employees and retirement contributions. The
question was if Templeton could bypass having a majority (at least) sign the
warrant in a timely manner so these contributions could be made on time. This
issue affects town employees investment in their retirement accounts (such as
interest earned or loss depending on timing) as a deployed selectmen, I am out
of that loop until my return to Templeton. There are four selectmen to sign the
weekly warrants, payroll & bills/invoices, there is a need for three (3)
selectmen to go into the office to sign the paperwork,
this is part of the
duties that we all agree to do when we run and are elected to serve as
selectmen. If one selectmen has a problem or issue and do not want to sign the
warrant, that still leaves three to sign. Kate Myers does a good job of
alerting selectmen (thru e-mail) when the paperwork is ready and in the office to
be signed. Yes, I get those e-mails also. These are town employees investments
on the line and should not be affected by town politics. Part of the legal
opinion received and the opinion or response from the Department of Revenue is
that the town clerk can sign for the unavailable selectmen (me) until my
return. There can also be a vote to change this and follow another MGL to do
things differently. I am opposed to this route, I prefer to maintain a check n
balance approach, it just requires at least three selectmen to do what is
needed of them. I would ask the taxpayers of Templeton to inquire these options
and attend the next BOS meeting and ask what is the problem and what are the
proposed solutions and what are possible issues with the proposed solutions.On another front, I understand that one candidate at a candidates night held at the American Legion in Baldwinville made a statement about the once ongoing town hall project at 252 Baldwinville Road. The comment was "the town voted the project and ten people killed it." The comment was attibuted to Gerald Skelton. Now surely Mr. Skelton knows this to be untrue. As a person who served multiple terms as a selectmen and whos wife was town coordinator, surely Mr. Skelton realizes a citizens petition, much like any other mechanism that is used to bring a warrant articl to the people at town meeting is just that, a vehicle to get a question before the registered voters of Templeton for them to discuss and ultimately vote on. Just as the town's register voters who attended town meeting to vote their approval of the town hall project, so was it the towns registered voters who were present voted to stop the project and dissolve the muni building committee. And it was 100 registered voters, not 10 who needed to sign a citizens petition. I know one of the organizers of the candidates night, Mr. Robert Columbus knew this as it was he who brought that issue forward to town meeting floor a couple years back when he was a selectmen. Perhaps as one of the organizers, Mr. Columbus should have corrected Mr. Skelton so those in attendance would have correct information from the night. I also understand a comment of another building boom coming to Templeton and we should be ready for it. That comment reminds me of a similiar comment made by Mr. Kirk Moschetti a few years back in an answer to a letter to the editor I had written, it was something about development and we should have a plan in place to deal with it. Of course Kirk is on the Planning Board so perhaps that is a coincidence. Back to the building boom coming to Templeton, perhaps Mr. Skelton is privy to information that I am not. I do remember a few years back, the Templeton building inspector, Larry Brandt, commenting in The Gardner News about a limited amount of buildable land in Templeton and that having a relationship with the rise in the cost per acre in land located in Templeton and why there are more people looking further west of Templeton. Of course it could be Mr. Skelton plans to revive his plans for a housing development on his land that I believe he started pre 2004, the time line escapes me as I was not living in Templeton at the time, I am pretty sure, I know the records are out there and can be had with a little time. Perhaps there are some big plans for the Templeton Developmental Center land, I am not sure. What I am sure of is there is a lack of available funds to expand the water mains, let alone repair the many breaks, as Templeton Water is still strapped with long term debt that was incurred when Mr. Skelton was the General Manager of Templeton Light & Water (those pesky acts of 2000) and all that long term debt under the self professed "financial expert" Mr. Gerald Skelton. He was on a committee looking at the proposed purchase by the town of Templewood Golf course and it was that committee that stated funds had to be spent on an apprailsal so the town would have an idea of what it is worth before pusueing the possible purchase of it. So why would a self professed financial expert be involved ot stand by and watch the purchase of land and a building by the town without asking for or demanding an appraisal of said property? Why would the same financial expert put forward a proposal to pay Eastern Propane to remove one of THEIR propane tanks off of town owned land (252)? My thought was to contact Eastern and inform them they have 24 hours to remove said tank then we start charging you rent for every day it is there. Actually I thought it dumb for anyone to pay someone to remove their property off of ours, still do. There are many other issues that come up, involving town finances that have the name Gerald Skelton attached to them which creates on big issue with me concerning the election of Gerald Skelton to the Board of Selectmen and the issue is, A MATTER OF TRUST. In the end, the voters will decide, I just hope they are given factual information as in the truth by the candidate themselves when considering who to vote for.
Stay safe Templeton
Jeffrey Bennett
Isn't the contibution to the retirement(deferred comp) part of the employees paycheck? so when the payroll warrants are signed why isn't the rest of it signed?
ReplyDeleteI was amazed at the Candidates Night at the Legion, how MR.ENOUGH could stand in front of a room full of people and bend, fold and mutilate the truth. Especially after what the people who work for the town, have gone through. I found it incredible that this could be done with out ENOUGH batting a eye. The fact that the town's financial situation, was so bad, that every department was effected, especially the office staff. It is bad enough that these people had to work with less money, yes, less hours, but the work load did not vanish. Why did they do this? It may sound corny, but they did this to help the town get on its feet. Two people left to go to another position out of town. That was a personnel decision, but our loss. One of these ladies worked long hours to make sure the work was caught up, leaving a manual behind, showing step by step, how the job should be done. This young lady did a lot of this work with no pay. It has taken the Advisory Board with the help of the Town's Coordinator, and Town's Accountant many hours to get our books straightened out. We did not get our tax bill, on time because our books were a mess, and the DOT, decided we had to rescind a article that was approved by MR ENOUGH'S favorite legal team. So much has been said about the problems, and the debt the town is in. All of this is true. The town did not get this way overnight. I figure it was a gradual progression, starting after my friend Gladys Salame died. We have made great strides in our effort to make things better, and it has not been a easy task, and things will not be all better over night. I do not expect the people who pulled this scam to throw themselves off the stage and confess their guilt, but I do expect better from them, to try to take their blame, and put it on the people who have worked so hard to right, their wrongs. It is an insult to the people who have backed ENOUGH, and had faith in him. The truth will win the day, it always does, so then the people who have been deceived, will then say, they have had enough!!! This is my opinion, Bev.
DeleteIts a good opinion and I thank you for sharing it.
DeleteThanks, this has been a very difficult year, but the people's town government is on the mend. It is so important that we stay the course. I cannot understand what our "dear friend, ENOUGH" hopes to accomplish. We can not handle more debt, we are over our limit already. There is no money to "borrow" from. A new accounting system, is in place. Our new accountant Fred, has worked long hours with the DOR to get thing where they should be. Our town Council is the best we have ever had, and Mr. Ritter is smart enough, so he does not have to call our attorney, every time a question is asked. MR.ENOUGH made a refence to a town charter. I must say, I do not know enough about that to comment on. I do know he has no love for Mr.Ritter, and I do know I do not want a government where the people can be kept in the dark. As it is, the light and water commissioners have things, they have not shared. Having commissioners who do not keep the selectmen in the loop, is a bad practice. Commissioners work, when they work for the taxpayers, but things get bad real quick when they don't. Think about this, as it stands the Light and Water Commissioners have the ability to make decisions about the wind turbine that could cost a lot of money. The problem with that picture is, you and I are going to pay the bill. Isn't that "TAXATION WITH OUT REPRESENTATION??" I have said all along, we will not see the reports on the wind turbine, until after the election. The wind got sucked out of the room on candidates night, when someone mentioned a figure of $600,000. to fix it. Yes, the thing is working, and I hope it keeps working. The problem is, we do not have a clue how much money has been sucked into this project, and if it will ever pay us back. Ok guys, prove me wrong, and release the facts, on paper, before the election. It is not just me that you have not been up front with, it is every rate payer in town. Do I trust the TMLW Commissioners, NO!! It is them, who said the "problems in town are not their problem", but the problems at Light and Water, are our problems, because we pay the bills. So what has ENOUGH go up his sleeve? Things are going forward, maybe that is bad in his eyes. We can ask him at candidates night!! Oh yes, guess who is not going to show up!! Yes you got it right. My opinions, Bev.
DeleteAnon 8:33
DeleteThe deferred payments are part of the vendor warrant not the payroll warrant. There are two separate warrants every week. One for payroll and one for vendors. Hopefully that will change soon.