Plan B Update
UPDATE: PLAN B
·
Templeton has two problems after failure of the
general override:
o The
$505,000 budget deficit for Fiscal 2014 remains.
o A
cash flow problem.
·
Cash flow:
o Town
Accountant said that there is a need for $3 million to pay bills and meet
payroll through the end of the fiscal year. The Town has about $2 million in cash.
o The
Town will run out of cash on approximately June 13.
o Solution
is to set the tax rate and send out tax bills a.s.a.p.
o But
DOR will not allow setting of the tax rate until the budget gap is closed.
·
Budget deficit:
o Two
choices:
1) Deficit legislation and a loan from the Commonwealth;
or
2) Make $505,000 in cuts now.
·
Deficit legislation:
o Will
take a minimum of several weeks to get through both Houses and be signed by the
Governor. Loan will follow.
o Loan
will be for $350,000 – state insists that the Town reduce spending by $150,000
at the STM on May 17.
o Loan
pay back over five years. Will add
$80,000+ to the annual budget.
o Loan
will be accompanied by state control
·
Make cuts now:
o This
will eviscerate Town government for six weeks
o Closing
Library, COA, and cutting staff at Town Hall and Public Safety Depts.
o Permanent
layoffs and furloughs (employee returns on July 1)
o Deep
cuts in all departments; retain only minimum staffing.
o Union
negotiations required.
Last night Dave Smart and I attended the Light and Water Meeting. It is my estimation that John Driscoll is one of the nastiest people I have ever met. This man has no idea of what the people who work in this town are going through, and he could care less. This man has played with the budget so it shows they had made a small amount of money in surplus funds. He has money in a good number of other accounts, and I am not talking about small numbers. The people in this town should be outraged by the behavior of this man and the Commissioners. We are talking about money that is ours !! The people who voted for Dana should be ashamed, because they have no clue as to what is going on under their noses, and things will not improve by shutting down the COA, Library, and shutting a few street lights off. Big decisions need to be made and I do not see the majority of the BOS doing that. Just because people are members of the Lions Club should not mean they gave up their ability to make good decisions, but It looks like they have. Virginia Wilders LTE did not help the situation for the workers in this town. Her letter was hateful and misleading, and I hope the workers in this town remember that !! What I gathered from last nights selectman's meeting. the state does not want to come here to do their job. I think the people who expected the state officials to make changes will not be happy, they are backing out. One day at a time, we will see what happens, but things do not look good. Bev.
ReplyDeleteI hope L&W meetings will also be recorded moving forward so more people can understand what the issues are. It seems that many do not understand the business end of L&W. I still do not understand why the water dept won't help out the sewer dept by turning the water off to sewer customers who haven't paid their bills. I realize that its "not their problem", but shouldn't all town depts be helping each other out right now?
DeleteAlso, yes, I agree Ms. Wilder's LTE was not helpful with passing the override. Maybe she will write a follow up letter to explain how laying off town workers, closing senior center, meals on wheels, food pantry, and library is a good thing for our community. I would love to understand that line of thought. So, my next question is if we can somehow survive the next 6 weeks and make it into FY15, can the town hold another override vote in order to take care of the 505k deficit in the coming year's budget? If the town can do that and it passes, will the state still have to take over in receivership?
if you pay your bill in full ,you cant turn off the service (water)that you paid for , kinda like if you make your car payment and not your house payment they cant come take your car if that helps with your question Randy Brown
DeleteRandy,
DeleteI agree that the way the current situation is - water with light that water can't be shut for non-payment of sewer. It wasn't always that way as you know, before the passage of Chapter 93 Acts of 2000. Then the water department was a separate enterprise under the control of the BOS, water was shut off for non-payment of sewer.
I wrote a blog about some of the issues that the passage of Chapter 93 Acts of 2000 has created to the detriment of the Town of Templeton:
http://templetonwatch.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-great-divide.html
That is part of the problem with the way the water dept. was merged with light, you would always be in court if you shut off someone's water after they had paid the bill and have a receipt. it only makes sense to undo this and put water with sewer so when a sewer bill is not paid, then the water could be shut off and then monies owed to the town ( past due sewer bills) could be collected.
DeleteThen FIRE John Driscoll, it's that simple. Either fire him or quit complaining.
ReplyDeleteThis town gets what it deserves, after all the infighting and backstabbing that has gone on I do not feel sorry for this town one bit.
Charles Couture
I wrote this on Facebook this morning and I'm writing it here as well...
ReplyDeleteThe problem that Templeton is suffering from is not just a financial one, it is a moral one. How bad does it have to get before people realize that all "groups" are working toward the same goal? Until ALL of us change our vocabulary, our tone of voice, our opinions of one another, and actually listen to one another, no amount of money will heal this town. I speak up now because I see the snide comments are still continuing. If you truly want to fix the town, then think about what you are saying before saying it. For years now, I've listened to people blame, attack people personally, and vote out of spite. During all of that, no one listened to one another. No one cared to address the real issues and the town suffered. Up until about 3 years ago, it was impossible to get agendas, minutes and other public records of town government. That has now changed and I thank the town officials that made it happen. I am thankful meetings are recorded and we have a decent town website that promotes open government. There's a ton of information on there that I'm sure many do not know is right at their fingertips. The more the residents are educated on the issues at hand, the better run our government will be. There was a bunch of misinformation and sound bites taken out of context which hurt our town and affected this election. So, as a whole community, lets work harder to communicate better and be respectful one one another--especially towards people you may be opposed to. Lets hear some ideas for moving forward. I'll start: can we find out what residents can volunteer their time towards? The town offices have to start moving soon. And with so many layoffs, most offices will not be staffed. I am willing to help pack and move boxes to ET building. I am willing to help clean, paint, and fix up the building. Any thoughts from our leaders on how resident volunteer time could help the town?
Ashley Bird
It is time to stop the blame game. Anyone that continues it is part of the problem. Now is the time for everyone to come together as one group and help (our) town recover from this mess,
ReplyDeleteDavid and Ashley, the town had depended on help from the Light Company for years and years. Once that support was gone, there is just no place else we can go to where we can get that kind of financial support. Back then we had other industry in town that paid taxes. All of those are gone, except the paper mill in Otter River. If we had passed the override along with the two other questions, we are still going to be broke. With the economy the way it is, not everyone is in good shape financially, especially with gas and oil so high this past winter, I am afraid this will be the tipping point that pushes more than a few over the financial cliff. David did a recording of last nights meeting. Wait until you hear J.D. !! He is suffering from paranoia, and half of what he says just belittles the people working for the town, not a good thing for a man who is supposed to be a professional. Walking from the L&W meeting to the meeting with the Selectman and many workers of the town, made me feel like I was going to another planet. Not one person at the L&W has a clue what these people are going through, and I felt sick. Virginia and Bob. Columbus were at L&W, cherry as can be !! Give me a day and I will show you how we depended on the Light Dept. Maybe it will open a few eyes. Bev.
DeleteIt is going to take a super effort to get through this next couple of years. When I said we did not have money for a project like 252, I was not kidding, and I was not aware of how bad things really were. I do not think anyone did. There have been more than one mistakes in the town's history as you will soon discover. We had people doing the best they could, but we needed professional help, and no one would admit it !! So here we are, do or die. Bev.
DeleteIt may be time to down size and close one fire station to cut down on expenses.
DeleteThe town offices need to get into E.T., asap. The building the town clerk is in can go, and we should not be heating the old fire station in Baldwinville all winter. I did appreciate the Cert people at the polls, helping with parking. I think our Fire Chief can work on closing a station if it makes sense. I wish we had a Norman Rockwell painting to bail us out like Gardner does. Let this be a lesson to us all, never be too trusting, and never be afraid to ask questions. Bev.
Delete