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.
A Vermont utility sounded the alarm after finding malware code
on a laptop that the FBI and DHS had touted as associated with Russian
hackers. However, cybersecurity specialists say the code came from an
outdated Ukrainian hacking tool.
On Thursday, the FBI and
DHS released a joint report on a hacking operation they called ‘Grizzly
Steppe’. They claimed the operation was linked to the Russian
government, alleging that it had targeted “US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.”
Along with the report, the US security agencies released a
sample of the malware code allegedly used in the Grizzly Steppe
operation to compromise US computer networks. The code was also shared
with executives from 16 industries around the nation, including the
financial, utility, and transportation sectors, according to a
Washington Post report.
On
Friday, Burlington Electric, a Vermont-based power company, released a
statement saying that the malware code had been detected during a scan
of a single company laptop that was not connected to the grid.
“We
took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal
officials of this finding. Our team is working with federal officials to
trace this malware and prevent any other attempts to infiltrate utility
systems. We have briefed state officials and will support the
investigation fully,” the statement said.
The
US media reported the incident as if Russian hackers had penetrated
America’s electric grids, prompting some officials to call on the
federal government to protect Americans from Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
“Vermonters
and all Americans should be both alarmed and outraged that one of the
world’s leading thugs, Vladimir Putin, has been attempting to hack our
electric grid, which we rely upon to support our quality-of-life,
economy, health, and safety,” Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin said in a statement.
“This
episode should highlight the urgent need for our federal government to
vigorously pursue and put an end to this sort of Russian meddling,” he said.
Meanwhile, a number of IT specialists that have analyzed the
code and other evidence published by the US government are questioning
whether it really proves a Russian connection, let alone a connection to
the Russian government. Wordfence, a cybersecurity firm that
specializes in protecting websites running WordPress, a PHP-based
platform, published a report on the issue on Friday.
Wordfence
said they had traced the malware code to a tool available online, which
is apparently funded by donations, called P.A.S. that claims to be
“made in Ukraine.” The version tested by the FBI/DHS report is 3.1.7,
while the most current version available on the tool’s website is
4.1.1b.
“One might reasonably expect Russian intelligence
operatives to develop their own tools or at least use current malicious
tools from outside sources,” the report says.
So it looks like bond counsel won't approve borrowing for the Police Station until the vote at town meeting is "fixed". One way to do that is to hold another special town meeting, the other way is to draft Special Legislation:
Apparently, the police station project was not part of the Capital Improvement Plan which was required by By Law XLII - Capital Planning By Law:
This is not what was presented at the Special town meeting on November 9, 2015 nor on the ballot.
I wonder why the Inspector General is coming to Templeton for training? Will ALL departments attend?
As discussed at the selectmen meeting on Wednesday 12/28/16, the polling location will be changed to the Narragansett Middle School Cafeteria. Check your Census mailing for more information:
Audit update:
So it looks like may be, kinda, sorta, that FY 15 and FY 16 field work might happen in early February despite the "variety of items" from FY13 and FY 14 that need to be redone.
So the Auditor has agreed to attend the MFOB meeting in January to discuss the elementary school financing. Wonder if his attendance at this meeting will increase the cost of the audits?
By Matt Murphy and Andy Metzger, State House News Service
BOSTON - The process for licensing retail marijuana shops would
be delayed by six months under legislation that surfaced Wednesday in
the Senate before clearing both branches, the result of which could push
the legal sale of marijuana, authorized by a successful ballot campaign
this year, well into 2018.
The House and Senate on Wednesday
morning during lightly attended informal sessions passed a bill (S 2524)
amended by Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, pushing out the effective
dates of several key milestones in the new law, including the dates by
which the state will begin accepting applications and issuing licenses
for retail pot shop licenses. The state, under the bill, would have
until July 2018 to issue the first licenses for retail pot sales.
The move highlights a rare willingness among lawmakers to tinker with a law approved directly by voters.
The
bill also directs the Baker administration to contract for a study of
marijuana use, including patterns of use and methods of consumption,
incidents of impaired driving and marijuana-related hospitalizations and
the economic impacts on the state.
Senate President Stanley
Rosenberg, who presided over Wednesday's session, said the bill would
not impact any provisions of the new law that went into effect on Dec.
15, including the legalization of possession, use, gifting and
home-growing of marijuana. House and Senate officials said the delay
would give the Legislature more time to "improve the ballot question,
take up issues not addressed by the ballot question and allow the state
more time to implement the will of the voters."
"The legislature
has a responsibility to implement the will of the voters while also
protecting public health and public safety. This short delay will allow
the necessary time for the Legislature to work with stakeholders on
improving the new law," Rosenberg said in a statement. "Luckily, we are
in a position where we can learn from the experiences of other states to
implement the most responsible recreational marijuana law in the
country."
The bill must still be signed by Gov. Charlie Baker
before becoming law. The legislation would give the forthcoming Cannabis
Control Commission an extra six months -until March 15, 2018 - to
develop initial regulations, and applications for testing facility
licenses and for retail sales from established medical marijuana
dispensaries would be delayed until April 1, 2018.
Want to follow Santa Claus across the skies as he soars around the
world on Christmas Eve? The NORAD Santa Tracker is back for 2016 and
ready to help.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command will carry on its 61-year tradition of tracking St. Nick on the official NORAD Tracks Santa website.
On the site you and your family can follow along as NORAD pinpoints
where on Earth Santa has visited, and follows him to each destination on
Christmas Eve. You can also play Christmas games, listen to songs,
watch videos and learn facts about Santa, NORAD and holiday traditions
from around the world.
The Santa Tracker is also available as an app for your Apple, Android and Windows devices. Twitter users can follow live updates from @NoradSanta on Christmas Eve.
The story of how NORAD first started tracking Santa goes back to 1955
when a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted a telephone
number for children to call Santa. Instead, children were connected to
the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The director
decided to have his staff check for Santa flying down from the North
Pole, and callers were given updates on his location.
The tradition was carried on the next year, and continued when NORAD took over in 1958.
Eager Santa followers can begin watching Father Christmas prepare for
his journey at 2 a.m. ET on December 24. Santa's journey typically
starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean. He then
travels west through Asia, down through Africa then back up through
Europe before flying across the Atlantic to visit North and South
America.
Of course, if you prefer the classic approach, you can dial the
toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to reach NORAD
volunteers helping to track Santa.
You can also send an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com for updates on Santa's location.
Eastern Air Defense Sector personnel in Rome, NY, have been training hard in preparation for the big night.
Google also makes it easy to track Santa on google.com/santatracker, where you can play games, see videos and more on Google's virtual Advent Calendar.
AG Healey Calls on the
DPU to Investigate Increase in Allowed Profits for Utilities in
Massachusetts
Seeks More
Transparency in the Department of Public Utilities’ Decision-Making
Process; A Decrease in Shareholder Profits Would Save Customers Millions
BOSTON – Attorney General Maura Healey this week
called on the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to launch an
investigation to explain why the allowed profits for Massachusetts
utility companies are going up and are higher than the allowed utility
profits in neighboring states. In a letter sent to the DPU Monday, AG
Healey urged the DPU to shine more light on--and improve the process
used to determine--utility companies’ allowed profits.
In her letter ,
AG Healey describes the DPU’s final decision-making process for a
company’s allowed shareholder profits – known as its rate of return on
common equity (ROE) – as less transparent than other public utility
commissions. The DPU does not provide a road map or the specifics for
how it arrives at a final allowed ROE number, and the final result often
appears inconsistent with the DPU’s other findings. Small changes in a
company’s ROE can either cost or save customers millions of dollars.
“Massachusetts customers should not be paying millions more towards
utility profits than customers in neighboring states,” said AG Healey.
“As the ratepayer advocate for the state, we must ensure best practices
and a transparent process that is understandable to the public. Our
office is calling on the DPU to conduct a comprehensive and public
review of utilities’ allowed profits and to bring more clarity and
openness to the rate-setting process.”
Eversource shifting thousands of retirees to private health insurance
Eversource
said the move will save $30 million a year in health costs and will
benefit its retirees by offering a greater choice of plans.
By Adam Vaccaro and Katie Johnston
Globe Staff
Eversource Energy will remove 14,440 retirees from its health
care plan in the New Year and will instead offer to reimburse them for
buying private insurance, a switch being made by a growing number of big
companies to curb costs.
The electricity and natural gas company,
the largest in New England, said the move will save $30 million a year
in health costs and will benefit its retirees by offering a greater
choice of plans through a new private insurance exchange. Eversource
spokeswoman Caroline Pretyman said the service, called OneExchange, also
may be able to get better deals on health plans because of its greater
purchasing power.
“Health care costs are increasing. With more buying power, exchanges
like OneExchange can more easily absorb health care cost increases on a
larger scale,” Pretyman said.
The effect of the change on retirees
will vary, as some of the former workers were already paying for the
coverage provided by Eversource, while others received the company plan
for free. Meanwhile, OneExchange offers hundreds of different plans that
range in price, deductible amounts, and coverage limits.
But the union that represents some of the retirees predicted some
members will end up paying significantly higher out-of-pocket expenses
that will exceed Eversource’s reimbursement. It also criticized
Eversource for making the change in a year that saw the retirement of
its longtime chief executive, Thomas May, with a compensation package
that included $23 million in accrued retirement benefits.
“If the company really wants to save money, then it should look to
the excessive bonus and retirement packages provided to its top
executives instead of reneging on its retiree health care obligations,”
said Craig Pinkham, president of the Utility Workers Union of America
Local 369, which represents about 3,000 retirees.
Other companies have made similar moves to limit retirees’ health
costs, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in
Washington, D.C. In 2015 the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.,
based in Springfield, and General Electric Co, now headquartered in
Boston, did away with their traditional retiree plans in favor of giving
employees fixed subsidies to purchase plans through exchanges. GE
offered retired hourly workers reimbursements of $1,000 per year.
Many other companies are eliminating retiree health benefits all
together. A quarter of US employers with 200 or more workers offer
coverage to retired employees, down from two-thirds in 1988, according
to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Of the companies that still cover
retirees, 6 percent do it through private exchanges.
At
Eversource, formed through the 2012 merger of Boston-based NStar and
Northeast Utilities of Hartford, most of the affected retirees are older
than 65 and eligible for Medicare. They will receive either $2,500 or
$3,600 annually to pay for a Medicare supplement plan through
OneExchange’s marketplace, depending on when they retired, and their
spouses will receive the same amount. Pretyman said May has signed up
for insurance through OneExchange and will receive an annual
reimbursement of $2,500.
About 1,900 younger retirees who are not
yet eligible for Medicare will receive $6,500 a year. The change was
announced to employees in August and goes into effect Jan. 1.
Depending
on the year they retired, former Eversource workers over age 65 had
paid $816 a year for the company plan, while those who retired before
2000, according to the union, did not pay premiums.
Now they have
to choose their own health care coverage online with the assistance of
OneExchange workers. So far, Eversource said its retirees have enrolled
in 462 different plans, offered by 51 carriers.
OneExchange, a
division of benefits and health care consultancy Willis Towers Watson,
connects retirees with Medicare supplemental coverage and prescription
plans based on their location.
OneExchange has worked with hundreds of
thousands of retirees, is a licensed Medicare broker, and puts new
employees through weeks of training before they assist retirees, said
John Barkett, director of policy affairs for Willis Towers Watson.
“It
benefits both the employer and the retiree most of the time to move to a
Medicare exchange, so that both can pay less for a similar plan,”
Barkett said.
Pretyman said the average premium for Eversource
retirees who are over 65 is about $3,000, meaning the company
reimbursement should cover the new premium costs for most. But some
worry their out-of-pocket costs are now much higher.
Bill Doherty
said his 79-year-old father, William, who retired from the company about
30 years ago, will end up shelling out anywhere from $2,500 to $2,900
for prescription medicine after factoring in the Eversource
reimbursement; previously the elder Doherty paid about $200 per year for
medicines, his son said.
“For 30 years, he never paid anything
close to” $2,500, Bill Doherty said. “It’s a change in their benefit and
at 80 years old, a $2,500 change is significant.”
Dental products are a major source of
fluoride exposure, particularly for children. Fluoridated dental
products include toothpastes, mouth rinses, fluoride gels, fluoride
varnishes, and fluoride supplements.
How Much Fluoride Are in these Products?
Fluoride Toothpastes (1,000 to 1,500 ppm)
Over 95% of toothpastes now contain fluoride.
A single strip of toothpaste covering the length of a child’s brush
contains between 0.75 to 1.5 mg of fluoride. This exceeds the amount of
fluoride in most prescription fluoride supplements (0.25 to 1.0 mg).
Many young children swallow over 50% of the paste added to their
brush, particularly if they use candy-flavored varieties and if they are
not supervised during brushing to ensure they spit and fully rinse. Research has shown that some children swallow more fluoride from toothpaste alone than is recommended from all sources combined.
Although dentists now recommend that children only use “a pea-sized
amount” of toothpaste, many children use more than this, particularly
when the toothpaste has bubble gum and watermelon flavors.
Ingesting toothpaste during childhood is a major risk factor for dental fluorosis, and can also cause symptoms of acute fluoride toxicity (e.g., stomach pain, etc).
The FDA now requires a poison warning on all fluoride toothpastes sold in the U.S.
Fluoride Mouthrinses (230 ppm)
Some mouth rinses now contain fluoride.
A single mL of fluoride mouthrinse contains roughly 0.25 mg of fluoride.
Between 5 to 15 mL are generally used per rinse, which equates to 1.25 to 3.75 mg of fluoride.
Little data is available to show how much of the rinse is ingested.
Fluoride Gels (Self-Applied) (5,000 ppm)
Dentists prescribe self-applied gels to those at high-risk of tooth decay.
Each mL of gel contains 5 mg of fluoride.
Without taking extraordinary precaution to limit the amount of gel
that is applied and reduce the amount of gel that is ingested,
self-application can result in dangerously high fluoride exposures.
Dentists are now recommended to apply no more than 4 mL when
treating children (=49 mg of fluoride), and no more than 8 mL when
treating adults (=98 mg of fluoride).
The highly acidic nature
of the gel greatly increases saliva flow, which makes it largely
impossible to avoid swallowing large amounts of it. While few measures
were used in the past to limit the amount of fluoride ingested, dentists
are now advised to use suction devices and to encourage the child to
fully rinse and spit at the end of the treatment.
Even when precautionary measures are taken, children swallow an average of 7.7 mg per treatment
Adults swallow an average of 10.3 mg per treatment.
Symptoms of acute fluoride toxicity (e.g., nausea and vomiting) are common in children receiving fluoride gels.
Billy Williams
just finished his first college semester and did so with the
all-impressive 4.0 GPA. Instead of celebrating his accomplishments with
friends and family, he decided to drop out of college entirely.
Billy made a facebook post that is now going viral in which he explains his reasoning for dropping out:
“Now that I’ve finished my first semester I think it’s safe to say… FUCK COLLEGE. Now before all you of you go batshit crazy… I have a few points to make.
1. Yes I have dropped out after finishing my first semester (with a 4.0 GPA). And it’s one of the best choices I’ve ever made. Not because I am averse to learning, but actually the exact opposite.
2. YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED. You may not see it today or tomorrow, but you will see it some day. Heck you may have already seen it if you’ve been through college. You are being put thousands into debt to learn things you will never even use. Wasting 4 years of your life to be stuck at a paycheck that grows slower than the rate of inflation. Paying $200 for a $6 textbook.
Being taught by teacher’s who have never done what they’re teaching.
Average income has increased 5x over the last 40 years while cost of
college has increased 18x. You’re spending thousands of dollars to learn information you won’t ever even use just to get a piece of paper.
I once even had an engineer tell me “I learned more in my first 30 days
working than in my 5 years of college.” What does that tell you about
this system? There are about a million more ways you’re being scammed
into this.. just watch the video i’m gonna comment if you want to see
more.
3. Colleges are REQUIRING people to spend money taking gen. ed. courses
to learn about the quadratic formula (and other shit they will never
use) when they could be giving classes on MARRIAGE and HOW TO DO YOUR
TAXES.
4. Gosh there are so many more
reasons I could add, but just comment if you disagree or have reasons to
add. I’d love to add to the discussion. TAG a friend in college, Tag
your parents, share this if you agree, disagree. Let’s just talk about
it. Heck post a picture of yourself flipping off something you think is
unjust in our society.”
Billy is right too that the price of college continues to soar
Ray Franke, a professor of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Bostonsaid:
Well look at this. It seems if the powers that be (TPTB) want to redact a public record, they have to provide a privilege log or detailed response concerning exemption claims.
So at what point will the realization be made that it might just be easier to give me the invoices requested in their "un-redacted" state?
How much more time and energy will be spent to keep the public in the dark about how their tax money is spent?
Stay tuned! I'll keep you posted!
*****************************************
Open, Honest and TRANSPARENT?
Nope!
In the never ending quest for truth, justice and the American way,
I promised to post the legal invoices from town counsel for the time period of August 2016 to October 2016when I had them in my possession. Here they are, sort of.
More borrowers are losing Social Security benefits over old student loans
Over 70% of the $1.1 billion garnished from Social Security to pay student loans only applied to fees and interest.
Reuters
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren
criticized the government’s policy of taking Social Security payments to
pay back student loans.
By
JillianBerman
Reporter
The
typical struggling student loan borrower is often a 20-something weighed
down by six-figure debts as he or she looks to start a budding career
and adult financial life. But a new report adds to the growing body of
evidence that student debt is so widespread that it’s now a challenge
faced by Americans of all types.
About 114,000 student loan
borrowers over 50-years-old are losing out on a portion of their Social
Security benefits because of an old student loan and the number of
borrowers over age 65 facing this predicament has increased 540% over
the last decade, according to a report released Tuesday
by the Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan investigative
arm of Congress. The government provides federal student loan borrowers
with a variety of options to avoid defaulting on their loans, but once a
borrower defaults the feds have access to incredible powers to collect
on the debt, including garnishing Social Security benefits, wages and
tax refunds.
More than 70% of the $1.1 billion collected through
Social Security benefits to pay off student loans only applied to fees
and interest —meaning that those funds likely barely made a dent toward
paying back the borrower’s debt.
The
dramatic increase in older borrowers facing these collection tactics is
likely due in large part to the growth in older Americans carrying
student loan debt; the number of borrowers over 64-years-old increased
385% since 2005, compared with an increase of 62% for borrowers between
ages 25 and 49. About three-quarters of older borrowers had taken on
loans for their own education -- not their children’s -- and those who
are carrying debt on behalf of their kids were less likely to default,
the GAO found.
The report indicates that often collections on
student loans are increasingly pushing seniors closer to the financial
edge. The government has to leave borrowers with a minimum of $750 in
Social Security benefits, but that floor was created in 1996 and hasn’t
been adjusted for changes in cost of living. In 2016, the poverty
threshold for a single adult was $990. About 67,300 borrowers have had
their benefits garnished below the poverty line, compared with 8,300 in
2004.
“This
report demonstrates just how draconian these Social Security offsets
are and how there seems to be a failure at all sorts of levels of this
policy,” said Persis Yu, the director of the Student Loan Borrower
Assistance Project at the National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit
group based in Boston, Mass.
GAO
Seniors are increasingly pushed toward poverty because of old student debts.
everything you need to know about today's Solstice
What exactly is the winter solstice?
The December solstice happens at
the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth. This year the
solstice occurs on Wednesday December 21st at 10:44 GMT (Universal
time).
The winter solstice happens every year when the Sun reaches its most
southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, when the North
Pole is tilted farthest – 23.5 degrees – away from the Sun, delivering
the fewest hours of sunlight of the year.
The Sun is directly overhead of
the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere during the December
solstice and is closer to the horizon than at any other time in the
year, meaning shorter days and longer nights.
The shortest day of the year lasts for 7 hours 49 minutes and 41
seconds in Britain. This day is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than on June
Solstice. As such, Tuesday December 20th was the longest night of the
year with the sun not rising until 08:04 GMT on Wednesday morning.
The day after the winter solstice marks the beginning of lengthening days, leading up to the summer solstice in June.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite is true. Dawn comes early,
and dusk comes late. The sun is high and the shortest noontime shadow of
the year happens there. In the Southern Hemisphere, people will
experience their longest day and shortest night.
Does the winter solstice always occur on December 21st?
While it more often than not falls on December 21st, the exact time of the solstice varies each year.
Sunrise between the stones at Stonehenge on the Winter Solstice in 1985Credit:
Mark Grant
WESTORO - A state decision on establishing a timber rattlesnake population on Mount Zion at Quabbin Reservoir is at least four months away.
The
Fisheries and Wildlife Board on Monday approved a 120-day process that
would consider additional comments on the project as well as evaluate
concerns about the competence of the science on which the project is
based.
The recommendation from the board's Rattlesnake Working Study Group
was approved unanimously. The board also set up a Public Survey Working
Group and a Science Advisory Group.
Joseph Larson, chairman of
the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, told fellow board members that with
respect to science concerns, those commenting needed to "identify
specific scientific reports that were not adequately considered in
planning for the project."
Sometime during the first two weeks of
January, the Public Survey Working Group will meet and begin soliciting
questions and concerns from their organizations, constituents and
contacts.
Within the next month the panel will create a single
list of questions and concerns for consideration by the Science Advisory
Group.
During the next 30 days, those questions and concerns will be addressed with written comments from both groups.
Those
concerns and comments, as well as any recommendations on the project,
will be submitted to the Fisheries and Wildlife Board within the next
30-day period.
Asked after the meeting about the board's
decision, director Jack Buckley said he would not pre-judge the outcome
sometime in the spring, saying it was important to let the process play
out.
MassWildlife's proposal to enhance the survival chances of the
state's endangered timber rattlesnake population came under fire in
January with criticism the proposal had never been publicly vetted,
specifically that public safety concerns had not been addressed.
The
13-member committee reviewing the rattlesnake restoration project will
include George Peterson, Department of Fish and Game commissioner; Leo
Roy, Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner; Jack
Buckley, MassWildlife director; state Sen. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer;
state Rep. Susannah Whipps Lee, R-Athol; Dan Hammock of the Quabbin
Fishermen's Association; and Tony Brighenti of the North Worcester
County Quabbin Anglers.
Ms. Gobi on Monday said, "I appreciate
that the Fish and Wildlife Board understands the importance of the
formation of a working group to discuss in detail the many issues
surrounding the proposal to introduce rattlesnakes at the Quabbin." The
senator is co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural
Resources and Agriculture. "I look forward to being an active
participant in the proceedings," she said.
Can't make it? More Anti-Foreclosure Clinics are coming up soon!
• Thursday, December 22, 5:00-7:30 pm in Springfield [Download flyer - PDF]
• Tuesday, December 27th, 5:00-9:00 pm in Somerville
• Wednesday, December 28th, 5:00-9:00 pm in New Bedford [Download flyer - PDF]
In the rush to consolidate departments to try to achieve some sort of savings to close the budget deficit in the FY 17 budget, the merger of highway and cemetery departments is being considered.
The merger of these two departments is being done hastily, which will probably cause a lot of problems.
Both the cemetery superintendent and the highway superintendent will interview to remain employed by the Town of Templeton. The interim town administrator, Carter Terenzini, has proposed a "neutral" evaluator to interview both candidates.
The plan is to put the "neutral" evaluator up in a hotel and pay for meals while these interviews are conducted. There is no money in the budget to pay for this.
Maybe a better plan is that the Board of Selectmen actually do the job to which they were elected.
A better plan might be to see if one of these long time employees is considering retiring and could train the other long time employee. Both of these individuals have extensive knowledge of the town. The transition period could take place and be beneficial to the town and the employees.
As for "neutral", the evaluator chosen by the interim TA is also a colleague of the TA.
So Templeton selectmen, time to "suck it up, buttercup!"
Deb Wagner – BOA Springfield Office Supervisor Tony Rassias - BOA Deputy Director of Accounts
Will this be another banner year for city and town certified free cash, continuing a trend that has exceeded the $1 billion mark each of the last four fiscal years? At this point, it appears that will be the case.
As of close of business on Monday, December 12th, 2016, certified free cash for 243 communities has increased $131.3 million (15%) compared to the prior year’s certification for that same group.
The graph below shows total overall certifications doubling from July 1st, 2009 to July 1st, 2016. Should this trend continue, last fiscal year’s record for free cash will likely again be broken.
However, this isn’t the whole story. A review of the last several free cash certification cycles for all communities reveals that not every entity has experienced an increase in its free cash certification.
This article will provide advice and guidance to those cities and towns where free cash certification has decreased, (see graph below) particularly where it has decreased for two certifications in a row. It will also be helpful to municipalities where certification is in the negative and any community that just wants to improve its free cash position.
What is Free Cash?
Free cash is a term believed to be first used in a 1923 letter from the Commissioner of the Department of Corporations and Taxation (now known as the Commissioner of Revenue) to Boards of Assessors. At that time, surplus funds available for appropriation were considered as unappropriated cash on hand. In that letter, the Commissioner referred to this cash as “free”, and the label “free cash” stuck.
Today, 93 years later, the idea of unappropriated cash available for appropriation remains about the same, although its calculation methodology and supporting documentation are somewhat different.
7 Rules for Using Free Cash It must first be certified by the Bureau of Accounts from the community’s balance sheet accompanied by certain supporting documents as detailed in the Director of Accounts’ annual letter to accountants and auditors.
To be spent, it must be appropriated by the community’s legislative body applying the usual process for appropriating funds.
The certification is only effective from the date certified until the following June 30, after which any certified balance remaining cannot be appropriated until the amount is certified by the Bureau from the community’s next balance sheet submission.
It may be appropriated in particular for any lawful purpose or in general as an amount to reduce the tax rate, thereby releasing it as revenue applied against the entire omnibus budget.
It cannot be appropriated to an amount greater than the amount certified.
Upon request by the community’s accounting officer, the certification as of July 1 may be updated once during the fiscal year by receipts attributable principally to prior fiscal year property taxes, net of refunds, collected in the current fiscal year between July 1 and March 30. Receipts may also include non-recurrent distributions. An update will not be certified if, in the opinion of the Director of Accounts, the update could result in a negative certification as of the following June 30, and no similar update may be requested for the following fiscal year if an update is certified and a negative certification results.
Be very careful if appropriating it for anything other than one-time expenses or uses, such as capital expenses to paying down unfunded pension and OPEB liabilities. Since free cash is not a guaranteed revenue source, it shouldn’t be used to balance the operating budget. Using it to support ongoing expenses can lead to serious structural budget deficits. Also, replenishment must be planned for during the budget process and supported by strong property tax collections. Appropriating it for ordinary operating purposes could result in continued expenses the following fiscal year, with insufficient revenue to fund them.
On Rebuilding or Improving Free Cash
Credit rating agencies look for healthy reserves. Free cash is certainly one such reserve they focus upon to assess a community’s overall fiscal health and its ability to honor its debt obligations. Here are the building blocks of free cash and some tips on how to rebuild or improve free cash position.
Not Using it All - Don’t appropriate the entire certification in the first place. Some communities do; many do not. For certifications as of July 1, 2014, the median average free cash appropriated was 87% of the amount certified. For those that appropriate it all, pay attention to the tips below because your community’s free cash must be entirely rebuilt. For those communities that don’t appropriate it all, what goes unappropriated in one fiscal year becomes a building block for the next fiscal year’s certification.
On August 28, The Post published a piece by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras,“The Frightening Effects of Digital Heroin,” that was based on his book “Glow Kids.”
In it, he argued that young children exposed to too much screen time
are at risk of developing an addiction “harder to kick than drugs.” The
response was overwhelming, generating more than 3.3 million views on The
Post’s website and hundreds of letters from anxious parents. Now Dr.
Kardaras writes about this parental revolt against digital heroin and
reminds readers of the worst effects of the obsession.
Experienced sailors, Barbara McVeigh and her husband exposed their
children to the natural beauty near their home in Marin County, Calif. —
boating, camping and adventuring in the great outdoors. None of this
stopped her 9-year-old son from falling down the digital rabbit hole.
His first exposure to screens occurred in first grade at a highly
regarded public school — named one of California’s “Distinguished
Schools” — when he was encouraged to play edu-games after class. His
contact with screens only increased during play dates where the majority
of his friends played violent games on huge monitors in their suburban
homes.
The results for Barbara’s son were horrific: Her sweet boy, who had a
“big spirit” and loved animals, now only wanted to play inside on a
device.
“He would refuse to do anything unless I would let him play his
game,” she said. Barbara, who had discarded her TV 25 years ago, made
the mistake of using the game as a bargaining tool.
Her son became increasingly explosive if she didn’t acquiesce. And
then he got physical. It started with a push here, then a punch there.
Frightened, she tried to take the device away. And that’s when it
happened: “He beat the s–t out of me,” she told me.
When she tried to take his computer away, he attacked her “with a
dazed look on his face — his eyes were not his.” She called the police.
Shocked, they asked if the 9-year-old was on drugs.
Modal TriggerBarbara McVeighHandout
He was — only his drugs weren’t pharmaceutical, they were digital.
In August, I wrote a piece about “digital heroin” for the New York Post,
and the response was explosive. More than 3 million readers devoured
and shared the piece — though not everyone agreed on its message. Some
readers felt that the notion of comparing screens and video games to
heroin was a huge exaggeration.
I understand that initial response, but the research says otherwise.
Over 200 peer-reviewed studies correlate excessive screen usage with a
whole host of clinical disorders, including addiction. Recent
brain-imaging research confirms that glowing screens affect the brain’s
frontal cortex — which controls executive functioning, including impulse
control — in exactly the same way that drugs like cocaine and heroin
do. Thanks to research from the US military, we also know that screens
and video games can literally affect the brain like digital morphine.
In a series of clinical experiments, a video game called “Snow World”
served as an effective pain killer for burned military combat victims,
who would normally be given large doses of morphine during their painful
daily wound care. While the burn patient played the seemingly innocuous
virtual reality game “Snow World” — where the player attempts to throw
snowballs at cartoon penguins as they bounce around to Paul Simon music —
they felt no pain.
I interviewed Lt. Sam Brown, one of the pilot participants in this
research who had been injured by an IED in Afghanistan and who had
sustained life-threatening third-degree burns over 30 percent of his
body. When I asked him about his experience using a video game for pain
management, he said: “I was a little bit skeptical. But honestly, I was
willing to try anything.” When asked what it felt like compared to his
morphine treatments, he said, “I was for sure feeling less pain than I
was with the morphine.”
Modal TriggerGetty Images
Sure enough, brain imaging research confirmed that burn patients who
played “Snow World” experienced less pain in the parts of their brain
associated with processing pain than those treated with actual morphine.
,
AG Healey describes the DPU’s final decision-making process for a
company’s allowed shareholder profits – known as its rate of return on
common equity (ROE) – as less transparent than other public utility
commissions. The DPU does not provide a road map or the specifics for
how it arrives at a final allowed ROE number, and the final result often
appears inconsistent with the DPU’s other findings. Small changes in a
company’s ROE can either cost or save customers millions of dollars.
Reuters
By
GAO
Sunrise between the stones at Stonehenge on the Winter Solstice in 1985
Credit:
Mark Grant
