Shedding Some Light… 6/3/14

Shedding Some Light…

6/3/14

The manager of the Light Department has posted an Executive Session to discuss the Ten K Solar Array project. …Or maybe to discuss the letter that was mentioned in the blog posting –

“General Manager Driscoll scapegoats Julie Farrell for his own incompetence.”

The meeting posting states:

Old Business:
Ten K Solar Proposal/Farnsworth Road

The Light Commission shall be taking a roll call vote in Open Session on whether or not to enter into Executive Session to discuss a competitively sensitive issue that shall address proprietary information associated with a potential solar generation project in town. This project could potentially lead to a purchased power agreement and the Light Commission believes that if it were to discuss such an issue in Open Session it would adversely affect the Light Plant's ability to effectively negotiate a purchased power agreement.

Let’s hope that whatever is negotiated meets the criteria set forth by the DOR:

Energy PILOTs 

Communities receiving “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILOTs) pursuant to the provisions of G.L. c. 59, §38H(b) must follow the requirements spelled out in IGR 98-403 for tax agreements regarding power plants of generation and wholesale generation companies, which include solar generation facilities that provide electricity to the grid. Note Part I. C. which indicates that:

Agreements should fix values or formulas for determining values (rather than fixing tax payments). These values should be representative of the future full and fair cash values of the plant for the term of the agreement and payments resulting from them will be treated as property taxes for Proposition 21⁄2 and tax classification purposes. The payments are subject to the municipality’s levy limit, and the values will be used to calculate its levy ceiling and minimum residential factor. (emphasis added) 

For FY2015 forward, communities will not be allowed to place a negotiated dollar amount as part of PILOT estimated receipts on page 3 of the Tax Rate Recapitulation form. The negotiated payments must be translated into assessed value and applied as indicated in the Guideline.

For more detailed information on the matter, please contact the Bureau of Local Assessment.

**********************************************

A good starting point might be to contact the Assessors office. The Assessor’s Office can contact the Bureau of Local Assessment.

It is unclear why this meeting will be held in Executive Session. The contract has already been signed with Ten K. Signed contracts are public records. Although the contract with Ten K is not listed below:

Contracts over $5,000

**********************************************

In other news:

Senate rejects $20M hike in community college funding

By John J. Monahan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

BOSTON — The Senate on Thursday rejected a $20 million increase in community college funding with several senators complaining they would not approve the measure without guarantees from campus officials that they would freeze tuition and fees.

A vote was pending late Thursday on a separate amendment to boost funding by $15 million for nine four-year state universities and a companion amendment formalizing an understanding with officials from those former state college campuses not to increase fees or tuition.

Those budget decisions will not impact the University of Massachusetts as the $36 billion Senate spending plan as proposed already provided enough additional funding to avoid tuition and fee hikes at UMass campuses in the coming fiscal year.

Rejection of the community college funding came despite hopes by Gov. Deval L. Patrick that all the colleges would hold the line on tuition and fees next year as they did during the current year.

Earlier in the day the governor had said, "my hope and expectation is that if the Legislature funds the state universities and community colleges at the level that we had proposed that they would freeze tuition and fees for a second year."

Legislators said the community college funding was rejected because while some community colleges had indicated plans to freeze student costs if the additional $20 million were provided, at least four had said they would not freeze those costs for the coming academic year.

In other developments, the Senate approved an amendment from Sen. Harriette L. Chandler, D-Worcester, aimed at bailing the Princeton Municipal Light Department out of a financially troubled clean energy project.

If agreed to in a House-Senate conference committee for inclusion in the final budget and approved by the governor, the amendment would allow the Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center to spend up to $2 million from the state Renewable Energy Trust Fund to purchase renewable energy certificates from the department. Normally the town is not eligible for those funds.

The town invested heavily in new wind turbines but town officials said their wind farm near Wachusett Mountain has resulted in higher than expected debt costs, energy production and repair costs along with less than expected energy output. Without the assistance, town officials said its 1,500 customers are paying on average an additional $480 annually over their investment in wind power.

Ms. Chandler also saw approval of another amendment she filed to require the Department of Public Health to hold a public hearing before approving any application for a license for skilled nursing facilities, or for the sale or closure of those long term care facilities. She said the hearings are being sought because many skilled nursing facilities that house lower-income Medicare patients have closed around the state this year.

The Senate rejected an amendment from state Sen. Michael O. Moore, D-Worcester, seeking to increase state aid to Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton from $3.5 million included in the Senate Ways and Means budget to $5.5 million, an amount included in the final House budget.

Mr. Moore said the differences will be worked out in a joint House-Senate conference committee.

The Senate budget provides for no tax increases and a five percent increase in spending over the current year, with a $100 million increase in local public school funding and a $20 million increase in municipal aid.

At the start of the budget debate Wednesday the Senate voted to allocate $42 million of an anticipated surplus from the current year with $25 million for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Investment Fund, $10 million for the Community Preservation Trust Fund and $7 million for the state's Social Innovation Financing Trust Fund.

Princeton town meeting OK's $8.9M budget, steps for Internet

By Joshua Lyford CORRESPONDENT

Add a comment

PRINCETON — Voters approved a town operating budget of $8,912,175 and authorized a new Telecommunications Municipal Lighting Plant and readiness expenditures for high-speed Internet during Tuesday's annual town meeting.