My Name is Paul H Cosentino. I started this Blog in 2011 because of what I believe to be wrongdoings in town government. This Blog is to keep the citizens of Templeton informed. It is also for the citizens of Templeton to post their comments and concerns.
Paul working for you.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Reconsider the Site for New School, VOTE NO
Reconsider the Site for New School, VOTE NO
The editorial above was printed in the Gardner News.
What happened to our new elementary school being a town project? When Dr. Hemman is selling this to the town it becomes something else. This location is too small and the price is too high. Let's fix what we have keeping the remaining village schools and utilize the space we already have efficiently. Education is a good investment, schooling is a bad investment.
From what I understand, the numbers given to the public for what this project will cost are at best, a shot in the dark. Wall Street has been kicking around whether the interest rates will go up or not. If they do, seeing the state of our fiscal health, we will not get any deal. On top of our fiscal health, which has improved some, are the facts that our financial records have not been closed. I want you to think about this fact. The town of Templeton has very little money coming in from industry. Since Temple Stuart closed, along with Baldwinville Products every penny we spend at Town Meeting is coming from the tax payer. That is a lot to ask from the members of a small Town. Templeton has been broke since 2003. The Highway Department workers and Police Officers workers were laid off at that time. A Special Town Meeting was held and a large override of 951,367.00 was asked for, and rejected. How did the Town get by ? The same way it has been getting by now. Found money, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. In reality there is no money that does not belong somewhere. Every time a new worker is added on to the Town or School payroll, every time a new project is proposed, you will pay for it, simply because there is no place else for the money to come from.. Bev.
Voting No on School based on location, costs, and design.
Before this town spends another dollar the townspeople deserve an accounting of our financial condition. Nothing regarding our budget is trusted by taxpayers. We are constantly going from panic to elation based on bad book keeping, accounting and management.
I truly think it is time for Templeton to rethink its government processes. Our town meeting process skews results from peoples wants based on access. This antiquated method needs an update. We have 3 shifts of workers in the world today, single parents, etc. Why are these people forced into silence based on a meeting date/time. Maybe we should open up the voting on meeting issues for 7 days or a month. Allow people to watch the town meeting on tv, computer and submit their vote digitally. All we would have to do is supply each legal voter in town with a "password", "pin number" of some kind as a validation.
These town meetings tend to be filled with members of the group or groups being effected by the votes which leads to all issues regarding the school or the elderly being approved at town meetings and denied at general election ballots.
To anyone concerned with elderly issues please be aware you are voting to put people out of their houses. The average SSA check is about $1150 a month. Thats $13,800 a year. This means that with todays tax rate a senior in Templeton is paying over 20% of their yearly income on property taxes. These folks are not getting an increase in COLA. Increasing their property taxes will require people to move, freeze or starve do not fool yourselves.
Bob you bring up a good point and to change the way we do it is the same way to get anything done in town. Stackers get what they want if they want it bad enough to show up and vote. They give all their speeches most a repeat of someone who just said the same things and after a great round of claps get the vote the way they and most of the time it's a very small portion of the voters. So if Templeton sticks to it's norm the school will be voted down and we will further divide the people over a poor plan we needed to vote on or loose out on something. Willing to give up you're town over a school we are sure won't fit well where the state says we can makes me wonder why. To think we have no better place is not a full thought out plan. With the land on Baldwinville road now available,that never was from Colonial co op to use should give the state a reason to work to get that school done on a piece of land suitable for the future of the towns needs. Boxing our needs in the Templeton center site is setting the town up for failure to expand if we wanted low income housing to ever come to town. Worse would be if it does come and bring with it a 300 child count and we need to build yet another school to take care of them. Would a charter school in Templeton help the kids if over crowding happens. School choice may boom when we get the best school around the area and throw the studies done by MSBA out the window. It's up to the voters who show up to speak the wants of the town as a whole. A full accounting is hard to get in this town,we have yet to get a full years books done to give to an auditor to look at. If anyone doesn't vote the outcome has no chance to be what you want it to be. Vote to have you're town do what you think is what it should be doing with the tax money you give to it.
What happened to our new elementary school being a town project? When Dr. Hemman is selling this to the town it becomes something else. This location is too small and the price is too high. Let's fix what we have keeping the remaining village schools and utilize the space we already have efficiently. Education is a good investment, schooling is a bad investment.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, the numbers given to the public for what this project will cost are at best, a shot in the dark. Wall Street has been kicking around whether the interest rates will go up or not. If they do, seeing the state of our fiscal health, we will not get any deal. On top of our fiscal health, which has improved some, are the facts that our financial records have not been closed. I want you to think about this fact. The town of Templeton has very little money coming in from industry. Since Temple Stuart closed, along with Baldwinville Products every penny we spend at Town Meeting is coming from the tax payer. That is a lot to ask from the members of a small Town. Templeton has been broke since 2003. The Highway Department workers and Police Officers workers were laid off at that time. A Special Town Meeting was held and a large override of 951,367.00 was asked for, and rejected. How did the Town get by ? The same way it has been getting by now. Found money, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. In reality there is no money that does not belong somewhere. Every time a new worker is added on to the Town or School payroll, every time a new project is proposed, you will pay for it, simply because there is no place else for the money to come from.. Bev.
DeleteVoting No on School based on location, costs, and design.
ReplyDeleteBefore this town spends another dollar the townspeople deserve an accounting of our financial condition. Nothing regarding our budget is trusted by taxpayers.
We are constantly going from panic to elation based on bad book keeping, accounting and management.
I truly think it is time for Templeton to rethink its government processes. Our town meeting process skews results from peoples wants based on access. This antiquated method needs an update. We have 3 shifts of workers in the world today, single parents, etc. Why are these people forced into silence based on a meeting date/time.
Maybe we should open up the voting on meeting issues for 7 days or a month. Allow people to watch the town meeting on tv, computer and submit their vote digitally. All we would have to do is supply each legal voter in town with a "password", "pin number" of some kind as a validation.
These town meetings tend to be filled with members of the group or groups being effected by the votes which leads to all issues regarding the school or the elderly being approved at town meetings and denied at general election ballots.
To anyone concerned with elderly issues please be aware you are voting to put people out of their houses. The average SSA check is about $1150 a month. Thats $13,800 a year. This means that with todays tax rate a senior in Templeton is paying over 20% of their yearly income on property taxes. These folks are not getting an increase in COLA. Increasing their property taxes will require people to move, freeze or starve do not fool yourselves.
Bob you bring up a good point and to change the way we do it is the same way to get anything done in town. Stackers get what they want if they want it bad enough to show up and vote. They give all their speeches most a repeat of someone who just said the same things and after a great round of claps get the vote the way they and most of the time it's a very small portion of the voters.
ReplyDeleteSo if Templeton sticks to it's norm the school will be voted down and we will further divide the people over a poor plan we needed to vote on or loose out on something. Willing to give up you're town over a school we are sure won't fit well where the state says we can makes me wonder why. To think we have no better place is not a full thought out plan. With the land on Baldwinville road now available,that never was from Colonial co op to use should give the state a reason to work to get that school done on a piece of land suitable for the future of the towns needs. Boxing our needs in the Templeton center site is setting the town up for failure to expand if we wanted low income housing to ever come to town. Worse would be if it does come and bring with it a 300 child count and we need to build yet another school to take care of them.
Would a charter school in Templeton help the kids if over crowding happens.
School choice may boom when we get the best school around the area and throw the studies done by MSBA out the window.
It's up to the voters who show up to speak the wants of the town as a whole.
A full accounting is hard to get in this town,we have yet to get a full years books done to give to an auditor to look at.
If anyone doesn't vote the outcome has no chance to be what you want it to be.
Vote to have you're town do what you think is what it should be doing with the tax money you give to it.