Templeton voters approve $1M in cuts
By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gbarnes@telegram.com
gbarnes@telegram.com
TEMPLETON — Faced with a financial mess and no other good options, voters at the annual town meeting Saturday approved cutting more than $1 million total in services from the current and next fiscal year town budgets.
At the annual town meeting in Narragansett Middle School auditorium, voters approved a fiscal 2015 town budget that reflected a $505,000 cut in services for the year that begins July 1. At a special town meeting held within the annual meeting, voters also approved reducing the current year's budget by $505,000 to eliminate a deficit.
Acting Town Administrator Robert D. Markel told voters the cuts for the current year were not a pleasant option and will decimate town services between when they were approved and July 1. He said the option was necessary.
"This is the bottom," he said. "If we can do this and accept these reductions, the town can begin the slow process of climbing out. I don't know of any other strategy that would void a catastrophic problem of defaulting on our bills."
Mr. Markel told voters that several different plans were considered but after voters rejected an override to close the gap at the annual town meeting, it was decided to seek cuts of about $505,000 from this year and about $530,000 from next year's budget.
After hearing the bad news, voters approved the cuts which basically shut down the Health and Building Departments for the rest of the fiscal year and left the other departments minimally operating. Voters approved a town budget of about $4,351,000 for next year, representing a reduction of about $530,000 from the current year.
Unsuccessful efforts at the meeting were made to restore the Board of Health to minimal operating levels after Health Agent Philip Leger and Health Board Chairman Donald Tourigny said the cuts to next year's budget would mean most services would be eliminated.
Mr. Leger said his was the only department to have its employees lose their benefits from the town. His position was cut from full to part-time, eliminating his retirement benefit.
"I feel the building inspector and myself have been unfairly targeted in this budget," he said.
Mr. Leger said the building inspector was able to shift his retirement to another town he works for, but the health agent only works for Templeton.
Mr. Leger said the cuts fly in the face of the selectmen and town administrator's stated interest in attracting professionally certified people.
Mr. Tourigny added that as of Saturday, the Health Department was closed.
"If there is any type of health issue, I don't know what we are going to do," he said.
An effort was made to cut some money from the Council on Aging expenses, the emergency reserve and technology expenses, but the motion was rejected by voters.
The town completed 12 of 43 articles before adjourning until 7 p.m. Monday. Still up for discussion is the town's share of the Narragansett Regional School District budget and 10 articles submitted by citizen petitions, including two articles addressing fluoride in water, including inserting a warning of the hazards of fluoride on all water bills and an article making the town meeting the legislative body in all decisions relating to fluoride in the town water supply.
In recent years, voters have rejected several efforts to have fluoride removed from the town water supply.
Other citizen petition articles include requiring the annual town meeting to be held on the second Tuesday after the annual town election, a bylaw change requiring town meetings to be publicly posted and advertised seven days before the meeting, a bylaw setting restrictions on where sex offenders can live, changes in how and who draws up the town budget and a bylaw change restricting selectmen from holding positions on other town or regional elective boards.
There are also articles seeking community preservation money for restoration of a large pillar in the front of First Church of Templeton, restoration work on the Grange Hall, which is owned by the Narragansett Historical Society, preservation of the town's Civil War monument, preservation of town records, and money for restoration efforts at East Templeton Elementary School, which is being eyed for town offices.
Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG
At the annual town meeting in Narragansett Middle School auditorium, voters approved a fiscal 2015 town budget that reflected a $505,000 cut in services for the year that begins July 1. At a special town meeting held within the annual meeting, voters also approved reducing the current year's budget by $505,000 to eliminate a deficit.
Acting Town Administrator Robert D. Markel told voters the cuts for the current year were not a pleasant option and will decimate town services between when they were approved and July 1. He said the option was necessary.
"This is the bottom," he said. "If we can do this and accept these reductions, the town can begin the slow process of climbing out. I don't know of any other strategy that would void a catastrophic problem of defaulting on our bills."
Mr. Markel told voters that several different plans were considered but after voters rejected an override to close the gap at the annual town meeting, it was decided to seek cuts of about $505,000 from this year and about $530,000 from next year's budget.
After hearing the bad news, voters approved the cuts which basically shut down the Health and Building Departments for the rest of the fiscal year and left the other departments minimally operating. Voters approved a town budget of about $4,351,000 for next year, representing a reduction of about $530,000 from the current year.
Unsuccessful efforts at the meeting were made to restore the Board of Health to minimal operating levels after Health Agent Philip Leger and Health Board Chairman Donald Tourigny said the cuts to next year's budget would mean most services would be eliminated.
Mr. Leger said his was the only department to have its employees lose their benefits from the town. His position was cut from full to part-time, eliminating his retirement benefit.
"I feel the building inspector and myself have been unfairly targeted in this budget," he said.
Mr. Leger said the building inspector was able to shift his retirement to another town he works for, but the health agent only works for Templeton.
Mr. Leger said the cuts fly in the face of the selectmen and town administrator's stated interest in attracting professionally certified people.
Mr. Tourigny added that as of Saturday, the Health Department was closed.
"If there is any type of health issue, I don't know what we are going to do," he said.
An effort was made to cut some money from the Council on Aging expenses, the emergency reserve and technology expenses, but the motion was rejected by voters.
The town completed 12 of 43 articles before adjourning until 7 p.m. Monday. Still up for discussion is the town's share of the Narragansett Regional School District budget and 10 articles submitted by citizen petitions, including two articles addressing fluoride in water, including inserting a warning of the hazards of fluoride on all water bills and an article making the town meeting the legislative body in all decisions relating to fluoride in the town water supply.
In recent years, voters have rejected several efforts to have fluoride removed from the town water supply.
Other citizen petition articles include requiring the annual town meeting to be held on the second Tuesday after the annual town election, a bylaw change requiring town meetings to be publicly posted and advertised seven days before the meeting, a bylaw setting restrictions on where sex offenders can live, changes in how and who draws up the town budget and a bylaw change restricting selectmen from holding positions on other town or regional elective boards.
There are also articles seeking community preservation money for restoration of a large pillar in the front of First Church of Templeton, restoration work on the Grange Hall, which is owned by the Narragansett Historical Society, preservation of the town's Civil War monument, preservation of town records, and money for restoration efforts at East Templeton Elementary School, which is being eyed for town offices.
Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG
No comments:
Post a Comment