Massachusetts General Law, chapter 44: Municipal Finance
Section 33B. transfer of appropriations; restrictions
(a) On recommendation of the mayor, the city council may, by majority vote, transfer any amount appropriated for the use of any department to another appropriation for the same department. In addition, the city council may, by majority vote, on recommendation of the mayor, transfer within the last 2 months of any fiscal year, or during the first 15 days of the new fiscal year to apply to the previous fiscal year, an amount appropriated for the use of any department other than a municipal light department or a school department to the appropriation for any other department, but the amount transferred from 1 department to another may not exceed, in the aggregate, 3 per cent of the annual budget of the department from which the transfer is made. Except as provided in the preceding sentence, no transfer shall be made of any amount appropriated for the use of any city department to the appropriation for any other department except by a 2/3 vote of the city council on recommendation of the mayor and with the written approval of the amount of the transfer by the department having control of the appropriation from which the transfer is proposed to be made. No transfer involving a municipal light department or a school department shall be made under the previous sentence without the approval of the amount of the transfer by a vote of the municipal light department board or by a vote of the school committee, respectively.
(b) A town may, by majority vote at any meeting duly held, transfer any amount previously appropriated to any other use authorized by law. Alternatively, the selectmen, with the concurrence of the finance committee or other entity establish under section 16 of chapter 39, may transfer within the last 2 months of any fiscal year, or during the first 15 days of the new fiscal year to apply to the previous fiscal year, any amount appropriated for the use of any department other than a municipal light department or a school department to the appropriation for any other department or within a department, but the amount transferred from 1 department to another or within a department may not exceed, in the aggregate, 3 per cent of the annual budget of the department from or within which the transfer is made or $5,000, whichever is greater.
(c) No approval other than that expressly provided in this section shall be required for any transfer under this section.
I understand the total amount of all the transfers is in the $150,000.00 range and a few of the transfers exceed the 5 thousand dollar threshold. Time to pay attention since it appears no matter who is sitting at the table, the financial woes of Templeton have not worked their way out yet. Maybe that 300 thousand (that was there, then wasn't, then was, sort of) should not have been spent so fast after all.
That is why it was important to watch the last meeting where Bud Chase was really doing some dancing trying to convince the BOS that there was enough chapter 90 money to buy an excavator. and why it was not good to hear the Town Administrator say the Town would probably get the same amount of chapter 90 money next year as we got this year. The lesson has not been learned it would seem. Spending more than you have over the years, using one time funds to pay reoccurring bills and other things that were done that brought the Town to the brink and then the $85,000.00 grant that wasn't, the $100,000.00 plus from FEMA for all the snow that turned into $30,000.00, the 300 thousand that was available then was not then almost all of it and the transfers at Town meeting and perhaps more end of year transfer to come all point to a system that perhaps is not quite there yet.
Somewhere, I hope someone thinks of the taxpayers first rather than second or third or further down the line.
Jeff Bennett
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