Board accepts resignation resignation
Eryn DionNews Staff Writer
TEMPLETON — The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to accept the resignation of former Chairman Jeffrey Bennett during their April 4 meeting.
“Jeff was a really good selectman,” said Selectman Doug Morrison. “He asked good questions, he did the research, he looked at things a lot of people don’t look at.”
Mr. Bennett’s resignation was served to the board and town clerk on March 17, and was read into the record during the board’s March 31 meeting. The letter consisted of a single sentence simply stating that Mr. Bennett would be resigning from his seat effective immediately.
Acceptance of the resignation was delayed, as members of the board had not heard from Mr. Bennett since its submission. Board member Julie Farrell suggested reaching out to Mr. Bennett on an official level to persuade him to reconsider.
“The situation that we’re in now, going for an override, we need every single person we can get,” she said.
Town Administrator Bob Markel made contact with Mr. Bennett and was informed that he would not return to complete his term, according to Vice Chairman Kenn Robinson. The board agreed Mr. Bennett’s reasons for leaving would remain personal and not be brought forward for discussion.
“No one could ever accuse him of not putting enough time into the position or not taking it seriously enough,” said Mr. Robinson. “He did not take the trust that was instilled in him by the town lightly.”
While voting on the resignation was really a formality, Mr. Robinson expressed his desire to follow the precedent set by the board last May when former selectmen Virginia Wilder resigned from her position.
“I think for consistency’s sake, because we did it 10 months ago, we should do it now,” he said.
Mr. Bennett had served on the board since 2011 and was appointed chairman in 2013 while serving overseas in Afghanistan with the National Guard. His term was set to expire in May, and while records at the Town Clerk’s Office indicate he had taken out nomination papers, they were never returned.
In line with the board’s policy, Mr. Robinson will assume the duties of chairman until after the May 5 Annual Town Election.
Where the money went, perhaps a quick look back is in order. 2012 recall effort that resulted in $15,000.00 given someone to quit, $5,000.00 to a law firm because another firm was fired in the middle of the month, another $4000.00 plus paid to someone to supposedly do the work of the person paid $15,000.00 to quit. That person left as soon as the money was gone ( last pay check indicates 1.9862 hours worked, I would like to see that time clock) Then there is the $28,000.00 on legal fees to avoid paying a $3,000.00 bill. That is a choice past selectmen made. There is the out of grade pay to the former conservation agent (with a legal opinion stating that) then a so-called emergency pay raise at the behest of the former town coordinator for the con com agent, then a vote by the select board. Somewhere in the mix, the contract for the former town auditors that was in the amount of I believe 27 thousand dollars where only 22 thousand was budgeted for it. Another glaring issue is the almost doubling of the town accountants pay from $24,000.00 to $45,600 . I believe what will be found is payroll was brought inhouse for a supposed saving of $25,000.00 to taxpayers but was used up by the pay increase to the accountant. There have been many head scratching financial things in Templeton over the years but the most glaring one maybe the amount of free cash that was never used to the town's benefit. About 4.5 million dollars used to set the tax rate over the years rather than seek tax overrides which would have allowed Templeton to keep revenue in line with ever increasing costs. If those funds had been put away and saved, there could have been a stabilization fund, free cash (a rainy day fund) which could have helped this year but more importantly could be used to show Templeton to be on sound financial ground with possible savings in better interest rates for borrowing. Then there are moves by the sewer commissioners who raised the entrance fee into town sewer to 10 thousand dollars which resulted in a recent law suit against he town that was thankfully settled before going further which could have really hurt the town. Then the actions of making it so expensive to develop in Templeton, remember the fee schedules that saw the light of day when the infamous project at exit 19 came to light, 10 grand in fees for doing business in Templeton when the same fees in other towns were from I believe 50 bucks to 100 dollars. If you go to exit 19 and travel west a couple miles, you will find quite the development going on in Athol which equals new growth and new tax revenue. These information is available at 690 Patriots Road in the selectmen's office, town treasurer and in the files of the accountant. Any selectmen can look for and bring this information to any taxpayer, all the selectmen have to do is take the time to look, take the time to go in the office at night, during the day, on the weekends or at home. One last item that may be of interest to Templeton taxpayers is a place call Saugus, a town that used the audit firm of Heath Melanson, the same firm that Templeton did and if you look at Saugus, you may find that Heath Melanson may have missed or overlooked some things there. The town's present interim town accountant I believe use to work for Heath Melanson and may have insight into this issue and perhaps it is worth looking into. It is worth Templeton looking into how and who audited the use of CDBG grant funds, as audits are part of the grant program. It may also be worth Templeton having the use of 911 grant funds audited because it looks as though that grant money was like a personal slush fund for someone. You use grant funds to cover salaries then take salary appropriations to cover other things and then you have to wonder has Templeton been one big shell game for quite a while and that is why no one on Beacon hill seems to want to touch the investigation of Templeton.
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