Templeton voters OK override to save town services
By George Barnes, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gbarnes@telegram.com
TEMPLETON — With the possibility of town services getting cut by 30 percent, voters Tuesday night approved a $620,000 Proposition 2½ override.
The override was approved 958-736, allowing the town to maintain budgets that would have been cut to pay for an increase approved in the summer for the Narragansett Regional School District budget.
After the vote was announced, Police Chief David Whitaker said he was pleased with the community's support. He said the department would have faced significant cuts if the override had failed.
"We would have lost four full-time officers with up to nine years experience," he said.
Chief Whitaker said the police union worked hard to promote the override, which he noted was the first of its kind voted in town targeted for the town budget.
Among those waiting for the results were Officers Robert Fagundes and Edward Holden, both facing layoffs. Both said they were happy with the result.
Officer Holden said the cuts would have affected many town services beyond the Police Department, including reductions in fire and highway services.
Officer Eric Smith, a 10-year veteran of the Police Department, said the loss of four officers would have forced Chief Whitaker to make significant staffing changes.
"It would have changed the dynamic of the department," he said.
The department was expected to eliminate staffing from 2 to 10 a.m. if the four officers had to be laid off.
Dianna Morrison, administrative assistant for the Board of Health, said she would have been down to part-time hours had the override failed.
"I'm thrilled," she said. "But we're not out of the woods yet. We still have to go through town meeting."
For the override to go into effect, it must receive a second approval at a town meeting scheduled for Oct. 23.
great job Templeton.....the school gets their way, the town gets it's way, the taxpayer gets screwed....I am so proud of this town.......hey here's an idea.....keep raising taxes to the point no one can afford to live here and there will be no school and no town !!.
ReplyDeleteyou all make me sick.
Ok be sick, but that will not help. Everyone needs to understand that they have to show up at town meeting to vote. We would not be where we are if people had showed up at the town meeting with Phillipston. The school people showed up but others didn't!! So stop crying and get to the town meeting on the 23rd. Skelton's people are working their ass off to shove the 252 building down your throat, or up your butt, depends how you look at it. We do not need one more cent of debt. The reason we are broke is our debt level is way to high compared to what we take in. As a result, in the end we have no money. People always said our friend was going to ruin the town because we "fired his wife", but I did not believe it, but I do now. No one can bitch about what went on yesterday if they did not vote. As for hurting the school,a no vote would not have hurt them one bit, but it would have hurt the people who went without to help their town. Find new School Committee members to replace Columbus and Mason. Call them up and ask them what the hell they are doing? Maybe they need to hear from the tax payer, but GO VOTE ON THE 23rd. Bev.
DeleteWhy on earth would we replace the SC members? They did their job. The one & only thing they are responsible for is the school. Their sole interest is whats best for the school. That's why we put them there.
DeleteI'd say the tax payers get their way chuckle Bunny! Since we voted!
DeleteIf the one & only thing they are feel responsible for is the school then we should replace the SC members. Their interest should what is best for the school and the town together. That's why we put them there. They are supposed to be the representatives of the townspeople.
DeleteI kind of feel sad,it wasn't a wide margin for winning,so there is a large number of people in this town who won't be able to afford the tax increase.
ReplyDeleteThe Duce That is the problem. There are many of us on fixed incomes or Unemployed/Under employed. Bev has valid points. What happened has happened. We did not have the support at the Joint Town meeting. The School got their money and that forced the proposed cuts in town services. People will need to attend the Town Meeting so everyone is represented. People need to vote for the proper candidates to represent the town on the school committee. Otherwise we will be forced to repeat our situation next year.
DeleteI stood up on town meeting and asked the people in the room not to put the town in the position we are in. Ok, so no one listened. I knew a override would be hard on the people with fixed incomes, because I am one of them Columbus and Mason are residents of this town as well as School Committee members. They should have a clear understanding of how the town stands financially, although I have not seen one of them at a meeting they did not have to attend. Saying that, how could they allow their School Committee members and Ms. Miller to take every cent the town had?? It's for the kids, my foot!! So now the administration is fatter than ever, and they think they will get what they want from the people in this town the next time around?? Yah right! The elderly voted yesterday, and it was because they were afraid, and that is sad. So now, we still need to get through the town meeting on the 23rd. Please talk to everyone you know because we can't let Dana and friends add to our debt limit, or take more money from our operating funds. If that happens we are back to square one. Bev..
DeleteSpeakin of School commitee does anybody know how to contact our "stealth" Monty Tech school committee member. Last name of Gilbert. Unlisted number? It should be a bylaw that all elected town officials must have a listed phone number
DeleteSo you can call him at home??! You shouldnt be able to invade ant of their privacy. Just go to a meeting.
Delete"PUBLIC" officials need to be available other than once a month. That's what public means. I don't call it invasion of privacy. If they want privacy, then don't run for elected office.
DeleteNope, they are the ones that should be unlisted. They have a right to privacy, juzt like you & I. You can call their office, email, or go to a meeting. Most meet more than once a month.
DeletePuffy,
DeletePublic officials have a right to privacy? How uncharacteristic of you? Are you thinking of running for an elected office?
What happened to transparency ?
LOL. Wondering if you'd catch that. No matter how much I agree or disagree with you or any other elected official, I will only do it when you are "in public". I woylf never bother your private life.
Delete*would*
DeleteI suppose we will have to disagree as to how much privacy a PUBLIC official is entitled to.
DeleteBy the way, I notice Mrs. Farrell has a listed phone number. I guess she wishes to be available to her constituents. Thank you Mrs. Farrell
I think if you can't afford taxes in Templeton, it may be time to look into 55 and older, apartment living. It is a luxury to own a home. Not a necessity. I know some day I will have to down size myself
Deletemy phone number and email is on the town web site. I think I just may run for school committee in 2014. After 40 plus years, it may be time for new ideas and a new set of eyes on the school budget.
DeleteDont jepordize your political career Jeff. I can almost guarantee no current member of the BOS would get elected. Stay on the BOS.
DeleteI have yet to make a decision to ensure my political career, if that's what it is. I would leave it to the voters and as I stated, perhaps the voters would get a fresh view. If I was worried or wanted a guarantee, I would not have run for office to begin with. I just think it would be good to have a race for school committee for a change. You know, to talk about policy,, rules, laws, budgets and required positions and those just desired or wanted and there is a difference and it absolutely affects the budget and taxes. Remember, I am a member of the BOS who had to win two votes to get on the board; I won and was sworn in then told I lost then won a recount. Besides, if I don't run, I will never know.
DeleteJeff You will get my vote and assistance if you decide to run.
DeleteYes Jeff let's see...not a lot of facts in your recent posts...that would contradict your previous words of only being here to post FACTS!! And yes another BOS member heading for the hills before the court system tells you and Julie how much you have destroyed this town!! Sorry mr. Bennett stop being a Fraud or get OUT!! COLD HARD TRUTH don't worry Templeton The Truth is here to keep you informed..
Deleteactually truth, I am not heading anywhere. Actually thinking it is time to file suit against someone who makes a false claim against me, that would be that complaint on file naming 3 selectmen and the town and it is all on dvd, written minutes and a record within a written report by someone brought in by an attorney present at that meeting. Fact: I post under my name and you do not. Good day.
DeleteMr. / Ms. Truth, please check this fact; unlike what we were told and what was put out by the school district and supporters, a principal at each elementary school is not mandated, in fact state law says 2 or more elementary schools can share a principal and elementary schools can have a teaching principal. That is from the DESE website posted by the state secretary of education. I have a print out of it. So look at the 2014 budget of the district and see what money could have been saved by one move. Consider the web, email, cel phone/ smart phone texting faxing etc. Practically instant electronic communication so one person ( with a small increase in pay) could have done the job of 3 people and saved an easy hundred thousand dollars on salary alone and then how much in benefits would that save. It is called doing more with less which most private business' do and most cities and towns are also doing. So why not schools too? Just one more fact for you to check. My question to you is this; how many more things are out there in school land that we were told were/are mandatory that are in fact no so? Just food for thought. thank you.
DeleteSo Jeff, are you advocateing people that live & work in our town should lose their jobs? Their homes? Their health insurance etc...? I thought the whole purpose of everything done over the past year was to save jobs? But to hell with the school employee? Thats BS!
Deletedear mr. Bennett- it is very clear from reading your recent post, you have NO idea how a school is run or what it takes to run a school effectively... Have you received an education?? By your posts it would seem you have not...I don't want to make any assumptions so I am asking you what do you know about education in the year 2013??
DeleteDAMMIT! The school supporters fought long & hard to save EVERY job in town! & you still care nothing for school employees!
DeleteUH, Puffy and Truthy must be smoking from the same pipe
DeleteFirst let me say I will be advocating some consolidation with respect to some town departments so yes some one may lose a job for the benefit of the whole. Second, where is it that taxpayer have to be the supporters or the employers of everyone just so they have a job? Not a nice thing but government should not be in the position of existing to give everyone a job. To truth, I have an idea how a school is run and I am simply advocating that following the law is possible. The law of which I spoke came from a posting from the state secretary of education who simply wrote state law says an elementary school or 2 or more elementary schools may share a principal and elementary schools may have a teaching principal. Certainly if it was not good or if it was not meant to be discussed, the secretary of education of the commonwealth of Massachusetts would not post it on the website fro the DESE. Huff, the school supt. and school committee fought long & hard for the school budget and the recently approved teachers contract, nothing more. The main problem is not the school committee going for more money for the school, it is the way they went about it. Get out and talk with the people. Lets take education/business 101 here okay, the district was turning around and "giving" the town $27,000.00 back for plowing, sanding and sweeping. Recently, the school district advertised bids for those services ( I hope ) the district received a low bid of ( I am told ) $19,000.00 for those services, but yet the district is asking the town if we wish to continue to do these services for the district at a cost of $27,000.00. I would think if the district could obtain the same service for less money, that would be the smart thing to do and perhaps spend the savings on text books or a librarian, but hey, what do I know? It is not the school supporters that I question or should be taken to task, it is the leadership of the district that should be questioned, in my opinion. I asked for and I asked where was compromise on a budget from the school committee and some chose to call me names. Well we or I shall see as I ask people to sign nomination papers for school committee for the 2014 election cycle. All you can do is not vote for me, but I will ask and I will try. Oh, I also see a lot of school supporters asking (making) taxpayers pay for an election for a selectmen seat that is up for re-election in 4 months at a cost of $5,500.00 to the taxpayers. I am an avid supporter of citizens rights but it is not I who you have to worry about. It is the average taxpayer / voter who voted two or three times only to see their vote did not seem to count who you should fear. I said I would not just blog and blog so you will not see much more of this from me on here but you will see news letters and ads in the newspaper (if they take my money and print them) later on. regards; Jeff Bennett
Deleteso your gonna run for SC on a platform of cutting school jobs????? good luck with that
Deleteactually, the platform or position could be this; while state law says superintendents appoint principals for each public school, it also states that 2 or more elementary schools may share a principal so in order to be in or to have a good relationship with the taxpayers and to be aware of the constraints on budgets of the town, I would vote for or speak in favor of following the law and have only one principal for the three elementary schools. I believe this would be a move to show some compromise on the part of the school district and this would do well to gain confidence of the taxpayers, you know the ones who pay the bills.
DeletePuffer, you amaze me, you continue to be an idiot.
Deletesomeone may wish to check this out and I just became aware of this law while doing some late night reading. It is MGL chapter 150E section one, which states that in a school district, the chief executive officers (chairmen of board of selectmen) shall elect one of their number to represent them in collective bargaining, as in teacher contract talks, in accordance with Board of Education regulations (MGL c. 150E, section one; CMR 42:00. Please check if this has ever been done within the NRSD. I could find no such participation.
DeleteHMMMM. Compromise? We cut 3? & which 3 jobs of town workers would you cut as well?
DeleteAlso, shouldnt you know the laws of your job???
Mr./Ms. Puff, at least I am honest enough to admit I don't know them all and apparently I am not alone as I can find no evidence that this has been done before. Ah on compromise, the town was not the one originally looking for an override and so compromise would have come from the district as in we can lower our override request by this many thousands because we are reluctantly cutting one principal from elementary school per the law such & such. Guess we will continue to agree to disagree on this one. "we cut 3" so are you part of the district Puff? good night.
DeleteALMOST 1700 PEOPLE VOTED! When was the last time that happened? It was the parents, .ot the seniors, who got this done! There are more people ages 18-65 than 65+ & we decided enough is Enough. You cant run a town with an artificialy low tax rate. Its now up to us to keep people involved to ensire our money gets spent the way we want it to.
ReplyDeleteYa'll should be thanking the SC for putting its foot down, drawing a line in the sand, & saying "This ends now!"
Sorry bud, but I saw lots of older people going to vote. Don't kid yourself, there are many people who are very angry about the way this whole thing was handled. I think this is one that will be remembered for a good long time. Remember the saying "don't bite the hand that feeds you" Well that fits well in this case, and I sure hope people remember that. I really do think the school effort lost much more than they gained, but time will tell. It is good that the younger people have gotten involved. The lesson to learn is what one department does has a inpact on everyone. Bev..
Delete...and that one dept just helped every other dept in town. I hope it IS remembered for a good long time! You cant just keep cutting the budgets of all the depts in town, not create any revenue, & not expect the towns biggest dept to stand up for everyone.
DeleteDon't worry Puffy,
DeleteThe use of the "Nuclear Option" by the school superintendent and school committee WILL be remembered for a good long time.
here is a good conspiracy theory for ya all
ReplyDelete252 was billed to be the new town offices and with out going tru a override and just pushed tru town meeting well that backfired construction cost were too high and the rent that was paid monthly was not enough to cover the extra cost . so that lead to the over ride and it failed ...well why the new push guess what happened but not by accident ....the rent went way up this year for the town offices and that just gave a ton of extra money for that project that can get passed at the special town meeting and no override needed !!!just my little theory
Make sure you attend the special town meeting on October 23rd
DeleteHey Bev, I hear Julie sent you to your very first SC meeting tonight. Maybe next time you can stay longer to get informed.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you Bev for your interruption of the School Committee meeting while Mr. Cushing was speaking and introducing the new Vice Principal and laying out a foundation for what he hoped to accomplish of which I didn't get to hear all of it with the distractions. I got kind of excited that you had come to a school committee meeting and I thought you wanted to participate and then I was just deflated. So much for commUNITY. That is like a slap in the face Bev especially when we are trying to rebuild a better and more informed public and bring it together and this is how it all starts? You have complained on here about the SC not coming to meetings, but the BOS does not come to the School meetings that I have seen. But, you know what ... there are a LOT of meetings and you cannot be everywhere all at the same time. There were 3 meetings tonight I should have been at and I had to choose 1 so I choose SC even though my son had a school meeting....go figure. The agenda for this evening's meeting was right on the front page of the NRSD website.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but didn't the BOS vote to violate a town by-law about some 45 day rule and it would have been 1 day beyond and the school would have gotten their funds by default? HMMMMMM, Did Gansett Greatness speak out in protest of that? Did the School Committee come and make waves about that? I don't believe so and I think we could have, however, that was not the way to be so that is how we, as Gansett Greatness left it as I cannot speak for the School Committee. I am deeply disappointed once again with how it transpired this evening and a hope for UNITY for the future? Well, that still remains to be seen.
Hi Diane,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are back on the blog. I do have a couple of points to make about your comment:
I'm sorry but didn't the BOS vote to violate a town by-law about some 45 day rule and it would have been 1 day beyond and the school would have gotten their funds by default? HMMMMMM, Did Gansett Greatness speak out in protest of that? Did the School Committee come and make waves about that?
The vote to violate a town bylaw isn't quite the same thing as violating an open meeting law, if that is what happened. Both violations are less than ideal. In my opinion, to bring about unity in the commUNITY, you need to have trust and transparency, both seem to be in short supply.
The vote to violate the bylaw occurred at a properly posted BOS meeting that was televised and discussed prior to the vote. I'm not sure what happened last night. I too, had three meetings to attend and was not in town.
Thank you for posting your opinions.
Please attend the October 23rd Special Town Meeting.
Remember the past to ensure a better future.
Julie, no one said anything about an OML violation, that was Bevs charge & she was blatantly wrong. How could you possibly know that unless you spoke to her about it?
DeleteOh, &thanks for publicly admitting to violateing town bylaws, that'll help any reelection run...
Of course she spoke to bev about it ....bev on a different post was boasting how Julie called her and how they are phone buddies.....
DeleteIf anyone wants more dirt on Mrs. Farrell and wants to know the "truth" I am always happy to shed some light on Mrs. Farrell putting on a front for those who are not aware... and those who know the TRUTH... Anyone want to hear about meetings at the RED ONION or DART night at the RED ONION...I would be happy to share!! right Jules?? I know the community would love to hear some details about those nights....I was there and saw and heard the TRUTH!
DeleteMrs. Farrell maybe you should go back to name calling because when you write something and try to sound smart..Anyone can tell who can read that it is a bunch of BS! just trying to help Jules cold hard truth
DeleteTruthy,
DeleteI call Bev all the time. It's no big secret.
There are no secret meetings. Contrary to popular belief, I can have a social life. I am allowed to go out to dinner with my husband on Friday nights and then stop by any establishment for an adult beverage.
That's the truth, Truthy.
Go outside! It's a wonderful day!
Please attend the Special Town Meeting on October 23rd.
Remember the past to ensure a better future.
Oh mrs. Farrell you keep putting up your front.... you can keep lying and make it a part of your future or you can stand up and start being honest with the people and make this nonsense a part of the past...The only reason you addressed this comment is because you know it is the...................................best part..............................................TRUTH!!! HAHAHAH cold hard truth provided for your reading enjoyment for the truth by the truth supported by the truth documented by the truth telegraphed by the truth fed ex by the truth straight to Templeton!!! hahahahahah
DeleteTrust and Transparency...yes, they are in short supply. It is still a violation is it not? And no one spoke up about that correct? This is exasperating Julie to continue down these roads was my point. It just seems like it will never end. Did Bev call Mrs. Miller to ask if the meeting was properly posted? No, it does not seem that way. Why couldn't a phone call be made? I am just sighing over here because it's just frustrating to keep seeing these things happen and that we cannot make a phone call to ask questions. I am tired today so I hope I am making sense.
ReplyDeleteThis is Julie tactic Dianne- she will not stop until people get soooo frustrated they walk away! templeton needs to stand up and do away with Mrs. Farrell as an elected official...She obviously sees you Diane as a threat, as Jules is after her own recognition...she wants control she wants to be the "star"....This is not possible with Dianne Haley Brooks involved... Just to give you a little "heads up" Diane you don't deserve this but You can make a difference you lead and many including myself will follow.
DeleteThank you for the vote of confidence Truth. I am not looking to run for office and I like to see the best in people. I am not a threat to anyone, I want to bring my town to a good place and build not burn. The town deserves all the best it can be is my thinking. How about we speak to one another in a good way and not accusing. How about we actually call people to see if there is something wrong and meet with them to go over things. I don't know it hurts me to see all of this here and what I hear from people. I love my community and I moved here for many reasons and I never thought I would feel like I live in dark days. Again, I appreciate your support for me and the cause and I will continue with Community Advocates for Gansett Greatness and my involvement with CERT and other places I am needed.
DeleteI agree that it totally sucks when people walk out in the middle of meetings. It's been distracting at past Town Meetings to see the room clear out after a vote on a school related issue or a special interest issue. Its distracting during BOS meetings. Its distracting at a SC meeting. So, lets say everyone is guilty of it and maybe instead of calling each other out on it, we try to be respectful at all meetings. I'm extremely disappointed that we couldn't go even 24 hours without the finger pointing firing back up again. Hey! How about we stop for a second and acknowledge the fact that we all came together and accomplished passing the first part of a successful override? One that passed with the votes of the seniors, the school parents and the people in between. We did it unified. So, please stop saying it was one group or another that got it done. It was an accomplishment by the voters of Templeton. It shows that we are capable of getting the job done when we are all in agreement about a solution to a problem. That was the difference between this override and the failed overrides of the past. How about we discuss the articles of the upcoming Special Town Meeting next week and make sure we are all properly informed on what a yes or no vote will mean on each article. That seems way more productive than hurling insults and more negativity. Our town will not evolve without all of us being responsible for improving the political climate.
ReplyDeleteIt won't end here unfortunately Templetonian as you are right we couldn't even go 24 hours without an upset to a meeting or what was written here on the blog. It's sad in my eyes and in my opinion and seems like change will be hard to come by. I just read another post on another blog about how the school got us into this mess. I am not hopeful that togetherness is going to come anytime soon. I hope many will come to the STM, but I wonder if that will happen. Tonight Community Advocates for Gansett Greatness and the High School Marching Band will present our idea to the Board of Selectmen for a Winter Festival to bring some community to our town. I hope they agree to allow it and we have tried to involve every single department and board. Alan Mayo and both Chiefs and the CERT leader are on board and hopefully will come with us to the meeting to speak. Building bridges is the way to accomplish goals.
ReplyDeleteDiane,
DeleteI saw the information in my packet for tonight's meeting. It's a great idea. I love the tree lighting ceremony. I do it every year. I just put the date in my calendar.
We are very excited about doing this and presenting to all of you tonight. I have a flyer to hand out. See you at the meeting.
ReplyDelete