Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Jeffrey Bennett's editorial in its entirety

-->

Separating fact from fiction in Templeton

Templeton Water Department retains Tighe & Bond to complete a water rate study. Tighe & Bond publishes a Massachusetts water rate survey in 2012. It states: annual costs of $801.00 @ 8.90/1000 gals. No separate business or seasonal rate, no elderly, low income or early payment discounts. I suggest Mr. Driscoll and the commissioners research the work a firm has done and published before hiring them or commenting on their work. The water rate study available on website of Templeton Water shows high salary requirements and high debt, along with building rent of $34,965.00 paid to Templeton Light thru 2010. Statement of Bond scheduled payoff dates; 3.8 million by 2023, 2.3 million by 2027 and 332 thousand by 2044 with no cash reserves. This may have been voted in at Town meeting but someone had to bring it forward, present it and sell it to taxpayers. Selectmen also have to vote to put articles on Town meeting warrant. Records show Gerald Skelton was in charge at Templeton Light during the merge of Light & Water and he benefited financially with salary increases which is available in annual town reports. I support the undoing of the acts of 2000 so as to put water and sewer together where in my opinion it belongs. This would give sewer leverage to collect past due sewer bills. I do not support selectmen being in charge of water as history shows it a bad idea. If undoing one process to make another process happen means the selectmen take charge of water, I hope it is very limited and of short duration. 

Monday, January 6, 2014, page 6, Robert Columbus states two longest serving selectmen should resign. If you refer to me Mr. Columbus, please feel free to write my name. He also writes of concern on citizen petitions, number written and signed and brought forward by friends but he had no problem signing two and speaking on them. One was illegal as written with it being reworded by Town Counsel on Town floor so it would be legal as read. The other contained false information (article 5) concerning 1.9 million dollar appropriation as voted and authorized at the 2006 ATM, article 64. 2006 annual town report shows only 61 articles presented. That appropriation and vote on article 64 was on the warrant of the 2010 ATM. Records show Mr. Columbus as clerk of the BOS in 2006 and a member in 2010 with Gerald Skelton Chairman. Both individuals spoke in favor of article 5 at STM on October 23, 2013. Did Mr. Columbus fact check the petition prior to signing or speaking on it? How can voters trust any further information concerning this matter after being presented with a lie?

Perhaps less concern with the number of petitions and who brings them forward and more concern with the content would be a better approach. If the same subject is brought forward by petition many times, perhaps it deserves discussion outside of Town Meeting. Mr. Columbus writes about the mentality that put Templeton in its present predicament but fails explain his actions and perhaps those of his candidate versed in municipal finance that resulted using all of Templeton’s surplus funds to set the tax rate and keep said tax rate artificially low. Page 171, 2006 annual Town report, article 61; to see if the town will appropriate from available funds in the treasury, a sum of money to be used by the Board of Assessors in fixing the tax rate to meet appropriations for FY ending June 30, 2007. Motion duly made and seconded, Town voted to appropriate from free cash in the Treasury, sum of $784,151.00, used by the Board of Assessors to fix tax rate. The Town may have voted for this article, but all articles for Town meeting are voted and placed on warrant by selectmen. 

Why did Mr. Columbus and his “candidate versed in finance” vote to put this article on and put it last? What happens if it failed? Why were similarly worded articles for other years always put last? It appears Mr. Columbus had a part in artificially keeping the tax rate in Templeton low over the years yet now questions how and why Templeton is in its current predicament. I submit to Mr. Columbus and his candidate versed in finance to simply look into a mirror and there is the answer to that question. 

As for vendettas, the recall and the fiasco that followed; hiring & firing of law firm in the middle of a month, dismissal of Ritter and rehire of Carol Skelton for a total cost to taxpayers of $20,000.00. Skelton left when the money ran out, Columbus was not reelected, Wilder resigned, Mullins left after his term was over, Farrell was reelected and Ritter came back. Thank you to Robert Columbus for moving Templeton forward towards good transparent governance. 

I would also like to thank Andres Caamano for his wonderful last parting piece in TGN. Of all the things he could have written about, he chose to take a pot shot at Jeff Ritter and toss out yet another conspiracy theory. I wish Mr. Caamano had written about the seven communities in MA that put an override to the voters this past fall, with only Templeton passing one. I wish he had written about the failed overrides which largely concerned education, specifically regional school funding. Andres could have written on this most important topic which seems to consistently pit voters and school committees against each other. This most important funding issue could have made for a great last column but he chose to give us one more conspiracy theory and that is too bad. 

  Jeffrey Bennett

11 comments:

  1. Nice job Mr. Bennett in pointing out some inconsistencies in Mr. Columbus's LTE. As a Sewer Commissioner for many years It was possible to follow the history of Templeton unfolding right before our eyes. Thanks for taking the time to set the record straight.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm sure if it were possible for the former selectmen Columbus to refute this it would be the next comment posted. I as well as many others don't have to worry about that happening . Thanks Jeff for keeping the facts out in front of the public.

    ReplyDelete
  3. mr.columbus needs to be reminded that both he and his mentor, Gerry, are no longer on the bos because of health reasons, THE VOTERS GOT SICK OF THEM!! the last time bob ran he lost 60% to 40%! no recount needed. good old time butt kicking ! Gerry came in dead last in a four-way race! ditto on the but kicking!! how can we miss them if they won't go away ?brad lehtonen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trust me, Echo Hill is alive and strong as a few of us found out at the Tuesday night meeting of the Light and Water Departments. Our friend Mr. Driscoll was absolutely seething by the time the meeting was ended. The gang was all there, Mr. Columbus, Gerry and wife along with their daughter, Mr. O'brien, Mrs. Wilder, Bob. Dennis has joined the group, so there was a full house. Why at a Tuesday night meeting??? Mr. Spring came to offer his Microsoft templet so Driscoll could furnish the Advisory Board with a budget. To say the least, Driscoll laid into Will with both barrels. I was caught off guard about the DOR Report Driscoll was waving around, but what was worse, so was Will. He should have known of it's existence before he walked into the room. But not so fast, what our friend Driscoll did not say was, the town still gets to vote on any money they borrow, because we are responsible for their dept. Now isn't that a fine kettle of fish. Now we have two departments that have a free ticket to spend what they want, and you and I allowed this to happen. My husband can not understand why anyone would give up their right to vote on any interest that has a hand in your pocket, and by those votes the people in this town did just that. I would like to break the news to you, you are not the owners of The Templeton Municipal light Plant any longer.

      Delete
    2. We were informed of the fact that we do not own this business any longer by the whole gang, and very loudly, at that. I was told that among other things, that the town never relied on money from the Templeton Municipal Light Company, to help the town financially. No way, Dana said, absolutely not, and the Echo Hill group agreed. That is a lie, and I know it , and Grerry knows it, and I will give you proof. In the Town Report of 1983, that covered July 1, 1982 to June 30, 1983, at the Annual Town Meeting of 5/7/83, Article 6 reads, Motion made and seconded the town voted the sum of 25,000 to be appropriated from surplus funds of the operating account of the Templeton Electric Light Department as of Dec. 31, 1982 for use of the assessors in fixing the tax rate to meet appropriations made for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1984.

      Delete
    3. At that very same meeting, Article 7, Town voted the sum of 205,300.00 to be appropriated from the Templeton Municipal Light Plant operating revenues of calender years 1983, and 1984 to be used by the assessors in establishing the tax rate for fiscal year ending June 30, 1984. This was a common practice during the seventies and eighties. The Light Company was established to be a part of the town, not to be a self serving business it has become. I have more for you to read, along with the very reasons the town is in the financial mess it is in today. Bev.

      Delete
    4. Re: "I was caught off guard about the DOR Report Driscoll was waving around, but what was worse, so was Will. He should have known of it's existence before he walked into the room."
      Bev, I have been kind of out of the loop for awhile....too much work and traveling! I agree that the Advisory Board should have known about this. So who dropped the ball? Feel free to correct me if I am wrong when I think this through using the above information from you and my sometimes hazy memory. (I could be missing something or completely off base.) This "DOR report", which was just received, was the result of the BOS request months ago regarding the effect of the special legislation in 2000. I would assume, then, that the letter from DOR with this recent information would be sent to the BOS (as they requested the clarification?). If it was sent to the BOS then isn't it their responsibility to inform Will Spring and the Advisory Board?

      Delete
    5. Yes, Voice of Reason, I think you are right, but I am sure Will will have a chance to speak with the people in charge. I think Julie was going to send me a copy, but for some reason it got bounced back. She has had her hands full dealing with the loss of Pete's mother, and Mr. Ritter left today. What this report says is that they can run the department like the Light Dept does, but like I said they do need to come to town meeting with any big expenditures, because we will pay the bill. David taped the meeting so there is documentation of what was said. What bothers me the most is this group of people, including the Commissioners have no problem shoving the cost of things like the deficit in the Water Department back on the rate payers, and are justified in doing this. If our cost goes up in the greenhouse, we look to see where we can save some money to offset the increase in house, before we hand it off to the public. Not with these guys, How many times I have heard Driscoll say If we want more to help the elderly or lower income, he would just charge us more to get that done. What a prince !! Bev.

      Delete
  4. No TRUTH from you're boy Columbus. I think i and many others know why.
    Facts are Facts. Look them up and see for your own good.Sticking your heads in the sand won't show you and truth.
    Stick your heads in old town reports. Or would you just follow you're leader in lock step like you have.
    Things we bring to the public have facts to back it up. We will tell you where to look for our proof. Lie all they want to and that also will bring out more TRUTH deba bullcrap.

    ReplyDelete