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4 SPENCER NEW LEADER • Friday, October 1, 2010 Mundell: Terms ‘major violation’ of Brookfield charter BY DAVID DORE NEW LEADER STAFF WRITER BROOKFIELD — A town official claimed last week the Board of Selectmen committed a “major violation” of the bylaws when Treasurer James Dunbar and Tax Collector Lois Moores were not reappointed to three-year terms. Advisory Committee member Cindy Mundell said at the Tuesday, Sept. 21 selectmen’s meeting that Section 30 of the town’s personnel bylaws states the treasurer and tax collector are to be appointed to three-year terms. The board voted earlier this year to appoint Dunbar to a one-year term because of the possibility of combining the treasurer and tax collector positions. When the posts were elected, the same person held both of them. As for Moores, “technically the tax collector was not reappointed for anything,” Selectman Peter O’Connell noted. On the advice of the town’s attorney, he said, Moores is staying on as a “continuing employee” until she reaches certain benchmarks for collecting several years’ worth of overdue property taxes. “This is not concerning Lois,” Mundell said. “This is concerning the position.” Mundell is working with Town Clerk Michael Seery on a plan to ensure the town’s bylaws are up to date and reflect new bylaws approved in recent years. The plan is supposed to be presented to selectmen Tuesday, Oct. 5. Mundell said she spoke with people in the state attorney general’s office on the alleged bylaw violation, who told her there was “nothing there that will override this bylaw to make it a one-year term.” O’Connell said later in the discussion he interpreted the bylaw to deal with initial appointments for the tax collector and treasurer, “but silent on successive appointments.” Added in May 2000, Section 30 states: “A Screening Committee composed of seven persons will establish the qualifications, review the applications and make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen of, at most, three candidates. The Screening Committee will be composed of one member of the Board of Selectmen, one of the Advisory Committee, one member of the Personnel Board, and four citizens chosen by the Town Moderator. The four citizens chosen, will, in so far as possible, have backgrounds in municipal finance, accounting, data processing, banking, law or other similar fields. The Board of Selectmen will appoint for a term of three years a candidate recommended by the Screening Committee.” “This is the first I’ve heard of this violation,” Selectmen Chairman Rudy Heller told Mundell, adding later, “As is clear by our general lack of knowledge … I am not at all prepared at this point to discuss this issue, but I will be happy to have it put on the agenda” for a future meeting. As a result of last week’s meeting, a group of Brookfield residents is circulating petitions asking selectmen to put questions on the Oct. 29 Special Town Meeting on whether both the tax collector and the Advisory Committee should “become an elected position not appointed by the Board of Selectmen.” The group will have to collect the signatures of at least 240 Brookfield voters before Tuesday, Oct. 5 for the petitions to be valid and the questions to appear on the Town Meeting warrant. The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to close the warrant Oct. 5 so it can be posted in accordance with state law. TAX COLLECTION UPDATE Later in last week’s meeting, O’Connell gave an update on Moores’ efforts to comply with state law and collect unpaid taxes dating back to 2002. He reported that Moores is finishing up the remaining letters she will sent to property owners who owe taxes for fiscal 2002 to fiscal 2009. “Payments are coming in along with complaints that the taxpayers should have received notifications that they owed back taxes to avoid piling up of 14 percent interest,” said O’Connell. People who owe property taxes for fiscal 2010 got a letter from Moores notifying them they must pay within 30 days, he said. If they did not pay, Moores will start the tax taking process Oct. 2 through Municipal Management Associates, a Marlborough-based company the town hired to help with the process. That help comes at a price: about $75 for the company’s fee, $45 for advertising and $75 for filing the tax taking documents at the Worcester County Registry of Deeds — a total penalty of about $200, on top of the original amount owed and interest accruing at 14 percent per year. “Taxpayers should either pay their back taxes now or arrange for a payment plan with the tax collector,” O’Connell said. He noted the amount owed in property taxes for fiscal 2010 through June exceeded the amount of delinquent taxes collected for fiscal 2002 through fiscal 2009 by about $5,000. He also said the amount of interest and penalties collected exceeded the town’s estimates by more than $50,000, which will become “free cash” (the term for unexpended money from the previous fiscal year). Selectmen voted last week to ask Moores and Dunbar for reports on their collection efforts, and for Moores to include a letter with the next batch of property tax bills telling people who are delinquent of the taxes, interest and fees they owe (as required by state law). O’Connell’s report concluded with a suggestion for fellow board members: “High delinquent tax balances mean that taxes are higher than they have to be. Assuming that aggressive delinquent tax collection does in fact produce a surplus above and beyond any unpaid takes for [fiscal 2011], the [Board of Selectmen] should go on record in using at least a portion of that surplus to reduce the tax rate.” Heller said “this board is considering that” as an option, while James Allen remarked, “We like the idea, at least that’s how I look at it.” David Dore may be reached at (508) 909-4140, or by e-mail at ddore@stonebridgepress.com. Federal funds means job openings in Leicester BY DAVID DORE NEW LEADER STAFF WRITER LEICESTER — The Leicester Public Schools will reverse the recent trend of staff layoffs, thanks to money from the federal government. The district got $434,103 from the Education Jobs Fund, a $10 billion fund approved by Congress earlier this year and designed to save teachers’ jobs. The grant, given out within the last few weeks, is good for two years. Gov. Deval Patrick said in August the money Leicester got would save an estimated eight teaching positions. And at the Sept. 20 School Committee meeting, Superintendent Paul Soojian presented a plan to hire at least four new instructors: • A fifth-grade teacher at Leicester Memorial School to lower class sizes from 28- 30 pupils to 24-25 pupils. • A music teacher to be split between Leicester Memorial and Leicester Primary School. • An English teacher at Leicester High School. • A math teacher for Leicester Middle School, where School Committee member James Gonyea told the Spencer New Leader last week there has been “some trouble” with MCAS math scores for pupils receiving free and reduced lunch — one of the subgroups the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education tracks in MCAS testing. According to Gonyea, the district lost 17 people this year through retirements (and their jobs not being filled) and layoffs (equal to 10.4 positions), in addition to 12 people leaving last year. Change at the top With new responsibilities comes a switch in leadership on the School Committee. Gonyea announced at the start of last week’s meeting that he would be stepping down as chairman, three months after being appointed to the post. He ended up switching with previous Vice Chairman Scott Reider, who automatically became chairman after Gonyea’s announcement. Explaining the reason for his decision, Gonyea said, “I’ve accepted a new job in Hartford. Since it’s a new job I need to focus on it, and since it’s in Hartford I’m going to have an hour commute each way. It would make it difficult for me to perform the duties of chair, so to be fair to the committee and community I’ve chosen to step down as chair.” Mark Armington, who served as chairman until the board reorganized in June, will remain as board secretary. BY DAVID DORE NEW LEADER STAFF WRITER BROOKFIELD — A hearing will be held Wednesday, Oct. 6 on plans by the state Department of Transportation and railroad company CSX to replace one of the bridges on Fiskdale Road (Route 148). The hearing will start at 7 p.m. at Brookfield Elementary School. The project would raise the deck (or roadway) of the bridge over the CSX railroad tracks, near the junction with Mill, Pleasant and Lower River streets, between 9 and 20 inches. “In their plan, at this moment the bridge would be totally closed for one weekend, at which time they would be working 24/7 to jack up the bridge,” Brookfield Selectman Peter O’Connell said last week. The bridge would be open to emergency vehicles and school buses, but not other traffic, for about a week afterward, he said. Once that is complete, one lane would be open on the bridge, with traffic lights regulating the flow of vehicles. Grants, staff and donations Also at last week’s School Committee meeting: • Soojian discussed a plan to seek funding from the state’s Green Repair Program to repair the roof at Leicester Middle School and fix the condensing tank at Leicester Memorial School. The Green Repair Program, run by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, gives school district the chance to get money for buildings that are “structurally, functionally and educationally sound except for the condition of the roof, windows, and/or boilers,” the authority’s website states. The repairs must “produce measurable energy savings and shall incorporate sustainable maintenance practices.” The Leicester School District used the Green Repair Program’s predecessor three years ago to replace the roof at Leicester Primary School. The School Committee voted to approve the application, but the Board of Selectmen also needed to sign off on it. Meeting at the same time Sept. 20, selectmen voted 4-0 to allow Town Administrator Robert Reed (as the town’s chief executive) to sign the application. Selectman Douglas Belanger’s motion also included a directive to Reed to come back to the board if there are any “economic” strings attached to either the application or the acceptance of funds. • Soojian introduced the district’s new technology director, Anthony Tomah. He previously served as communications and information technology director in Boxborough (serving both the town and the school district), director of educational technology in Middleborough and technology director for the Newport, R.I., public schools. The previous technology director, Daniel Durgin Jr., took a position with another school district, Gonyea said. Tomah has a master’s degree in education and is certified by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. He will complete an overview of technology in the district and come up with a plan to deal with issues he might find, Gonyea said. • The Primary School Volunteers presented a check for $2,700 to fund the school’s art program. It had not been funded by the district for a few years, although this year’s budget has money for the art program. David Dore may be reached at (508) 909-4140, or by e-mail at ddore@stonebridgepress.com. Hearing next week on Brookfield bridge plans The project is part of a larger plan, dubbed “CSX Bridge Bundle No. 3,” to raise seven bridges so there is enough room for double-stacked freight trains to pass underneath. Also to be raised are bridges on Route 49 in Spencer, Boston Post Road (routes 19 and 67) in West Brookfield and Jones Road and Spencer Road (Route 31) in Charlton, along with spans in Westborough and Worcester. O’Connell said state officials hope to start the Brookfield project right away while they and the contractor wait for steel needed to raise the other six bridges. If work waited until the spring, he said, “they could not get the other six bridges built in time.” And if work starts right away, he noted, it would be completed in June. David Dore may be reached at (508) 909- 4140, or by e-mail at ddore@stonebridgepress.com.
Friday, October 1, 2010 • SPENCER NEW LEADER 5 Savings, service key to regionalization BY GUS STEEVES NEW LEADER STAFF WRITER With most towns facing a likely fiscal problem in 2012 as stimulus funds dry up, many are looking for alternative ways to provide services at less cost. Among the numerous ideas being discussed are various forms of regionalization, in which towns share staff and/or purchase energy or materials in bulk. In Charlton, the Financial Planning Committee has suggested regionalizing police and fire dispatch, the building inspector, planner, conservation agent and animal control, and selectmen approved investigating sharing the building inspector with Dudley last week. Charlton’s job is held by Curt Meskus, who said he told Town Administrator Robin Craver about Dudley’s recent ad seeking to hire an inspector. The two of them conference-called Dudley’s town administrator Wednesday, Sept. 22. “The concept of regionalization of many services is being explored by the [Financial Planning Committee], some department heads and the selectmen,” Meskus said before that call. “… It is going to take thought, planning, discussion and agreement between the towns on the level of service that can be rendered by any regionalization proposal.” Specifically, he said, the two towns need to work out time, communication and management, address what happens if one town becomes so busy as to need the shared person full-time, and other issues. He also suggested considering a larger regional operation covering several towns in a “hub model,” in which there would be a head inspector and specific duties could be fulfilled by the nearest inspector. A few years ago, Meskus recalled, Sturbridge Town Administrator James Malloy proposed sharing two building inspectors with Charlton and <strong>Southbridge</strong>, but “at that time, it was not palatable to this board.” Down the hall, Town Planner Alan Gordon does not much like the idea of sharing his job with another town. It is an idea used by Spencer and Leicester, who are temporarily sharing a town planner. With a variety of projects coming forward, the need to manage those in progress, and economic development issues, Gordon said his plate is already full with Charlton duties, and he believes those efforts would suffer under a regional set-up. Instead, Gordon advocates trying to regionalize the purchase of employee benefits and basic materials needed for town government to function. He said Charlton was looking at that a few years ago, under former Town Administrator Jill Myers, but it has since fallen by the wayside. Although purchasing has not been raised by the Financial Planning Committee or selectmen, it’s not a new idea, even in Massachusetts. Several communities — including Worcester, Shrewsbury, Grafton and Holden — are part of Municipalities Organized for Regional Effectiveness (MORE), for which Myers once served as executive director. According to the fiscal 2008 annual report on MORE’s webpage, member towns buy in bulk using Worcester’s 285-plus contracts for everything from salt and paper to gasoline. If a town needs a product, it provides quantity data to MORE, who sends it to the city prior to bidding. After a contract is awarded, the town gets the name of the winning bidder and “is then responsible to execute its contract directly with the winning bidder.” “Due to the complexity of the Massachusetts 30B Procurement process this program is a real time saver for communities large and small,” the report states, referring to the legal chapter governing buying practices. “One of the biggest gripes heard from the MORE Board of Directors is that bid protests can be particularly time consuming and expensive for towns due to legal fees incurred. This program eliminates the involvement of individual town staff members and the legal fees.” Closer to home, the Brookfields, Warren and New Braintree are collectively investigating a variety of regional efforts, including purchasing office supplies and utilizing Hampshire County’s bulk energy contracting process. According to Brookfield Selectman Rudy Heller, that effort has taken about seven years to develop to this point, with formal collaboration for the last three and the regional purchasing effort for three months. He said the group has been working with UMass- Boston’s Collins Center for help with drafting memoranda of understanding and other paperwork. “There isn’t always a direct cost savings. But where there isn’t a cost savings, there’s an improvement of service,” Heller noted. “… We’ve made a conscious decision to start small and let this fire of regionalization build, then look at more ambitious projects.” Among the possibilities he would like to investigate going forward are regional police, fire and/or highway departments (they already have a regional dispatch) plus greater sharing of expensive but rarely used equipment. In the latter case, Heller noted, “it’s a matter of scheduling. We already do that with East Brookfield with some pieces of equipment.” Regarding energy, Heller sees “a great potential” for cooperative effort that will have both economic and environmental benefits. With prices for traditional energy sources likely to keep rising, he said it makes sense to make upfront investments in localized alternative energy that will pay for themselves over time. North Brookfield Selectman Mary Walter noted the group is trying to start with projects that are “doable and not disruptive, just to demonstrate we can be successful working together.” Her town is taking the lead in an effort to coordinate human resources, such as common job descriptions, an employee handbook, personnel policies and job evaluation practices. In the future, she added, the group might look into a regional personnel board, sharing a fulltime human resources person and taking the load off town administrators or whoever handles health insurance. Walter said the goal is to “put into place the system we need to operate efficiently … [and] increase the level of expertise of the person we hire.” In the public health realm, a similar effort to boost skill has gone on since 2002, with state and federal money funding emergency preparedness regions and subregions (the South County’s Tri-EPIC group is one of the latter). Likewise, Community Health Network Areas have existed since the early 1990s to coordinate social services and public health issues. But both kinds of entities have defined functions that don’t cover many of the things town health and inspection offices must do. To address that gap, the state has been promoting (but not yet funding) the formation of regional health districts. It released the Public Health Regionalization Project report, an early-stage exploration of the potentials of such districts, last November. “Faced with funding and workforce challenges; increasing demands including water and air quality, housing safety, and emergency preparedness; and regional disparities, most municipalities are currently unable to meet many of their responsibilities, providing only those services deemed most essential — in short, performing public health triage,” the report states. It notes that a significant minority of towns lack health agents and sometimes do not even have the resources to keep the legally required records of communicable diseases. The report advises having a minimum of 50,000 people or 155 square miles within such a district, adding it can be formed under either a “comprehensive” or “shared services” model. The former centralizes all health services; the latter shares certain staff members. It uses the Tri-Town Public Health Department of Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge as a case study; it started in 1929 as an effort to prevent milk contamination, but soon evolved into an agency addressing waste disposal, water supply protection, environmental testing, inspections and more under the “shared services” model, with Lee selling services to the other two. Gus Steeves may be reached at (508) 909-4135, or by e-mail at gsteeves@stonebridgepress.com. Remove summer plants in cemeteries by Oct. 4 EAST BROOKFIELD — In preparation for fall cleanup at Evergreen and Podunk cemeteries, the East Brookfield Cemetery Commissioners request that all summer plants, baskets and decorations be removed from the cemetery lots and the cemetery by Monday, Oct. 4. For more information, call (508) 867-6769, ext. 307. Race lawnmowers, tractors for Quaboag 350th WEST BROOKFIELD — The West Brookfield Quaboag 350th Planning Committee, in conjunction with Ye Olde Tavern, is sponsoring a parade and races for Watch the Prices FALL in September 50% OFF PLUS AN ADDITIONAL 10% OFF Omega and Dynasty Cabinet Orders* For orders placed 9/6/10 - 9/30/10. See Naylor’s Kitchen & Bath for details. *No minimum cabinet quantity needed. *Includes cabinets from Fine Furniture for the Bath. NAYLOR’S Kitchen, Bath & Interiors, Inc. 175 Main St., Oxford, MA (508) 987-7000 www.NaylorsKitchenandBath.com tractors and lawnmowers starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 on the West Brookfield Common. Rain date is Oct. 9. Final registration and check-in time will be from 9-10:30 a.m. Liability waivers will be completed by all entrants. Proof of identification and liability waivers will be signed at check-in. The fee is $15 per entrant. The minimum age of entrants is 9 years old. A signed liability waiver by parent or legal guardian is required for all entrants under the age of 18 years of age. All entrants will receive a special Quaboag 350th Commemorative T-shirt (one shirt per entrant). There will be several lawnmower competitions, set up for specific groups throughout the day. All lawnmowers and tractors are restricted to factory stock engines. All cutting blades must be removed. Any entrants that have not removed all cutting blades will be disqualified and removed from all events. There will be a Parade of Tractors/Lawnmowers around the town common, as well as best in show competition. There will be lawnmower races, a tractor NEWS BRIEFS pulling competition and tractor/trailer obstacle course for younger entrants, along with other events throughout the day. All competition events will be judged and will be awarded first, second and third place prizes. The decorating theme is to “Depict any historic event which has taken place over the past 350 years.” Be creative! Contest judging will be conducted by a volunteer panel of three Quaboag Plantation residents. The decisions of judges are final. Then, at 3 p.m. top off the day by enjoying a Pig/Beef Roast to help celebrate the 250th Anniversary of Ye Olde Tavern. Tickets are $10 per person. Menu items are beef and pork cooked over an opened fire pit, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, baked SERVICES PROVIDED: Wellness Exams Surgery Radiology/X-Rays Dental Services Pharmacy Sick Pet Exams Diagnostic Laboratory Services beans, mixed vegetables, garden salad, pasta salad, potato salad and cornbread. All questions on the lawnmower and tractor races may be sent to quaboag350tractor@quaboag350.com. For more information regarding all Ye Olde Tavern events, click www.westbrookfieldtavern.com. Trash, Demolition Debris, • Etc. $99 WEEKLY PICK-UP, $70 BI-WEEKLY, QUARTERLY RATE RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE PICKUP Pick-up Weekly and Bi-Weekly DUMPSTER CONTAINERS We Offer 15, 20 and 30 Yard Dumpsters RELIABLE PROMPT DUMPSTER SERVICES LLC 508-885-2428 Fully Insured, Locally Owned & Operated Please Call For our Money Saving RATES Spencer Veterinary Hospital 401 Main Street • Spencer, MA • 508.885.4848 Dr. Jennifer Fagerquist & Dr. Annie Custer NEW PATIENTS WELCOME *New Wednesday Hours* Now Open 2 Nights! Hours of Operation: Monday 8-5 Tuesday 8-5 Wednesday 2-8 Thursday 8-8 Friday 8-5 Alternate Saturdays 8-12 The Harvest is In APPLES Visit The Farm For: • Just Baked Pies • Cider Donuts • Cheese FREE with this coupon and purchase Good thru October Mon.-Thurs. Only <strong>Southbridge</strong> Rd., Warren, MA • 413-436-7122 Open 10am, - 6pm 5 min. from Sturbridge - 148 N. Follow signs 1/2 Dozen Cider Donuts
Page 1 and 2: 5 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER WE
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Page 7 and 8: Friday, October 1, 2010 • SPENCER
Page 19 and 20: B Section INDEX Friday, October 1,
Page 23 and 24: NOTICE OF MORTGAGEE'S SALE OF REAL
Page 29 and 30: SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 ☎ TOWN-TO-TOWN

october specials - Southbridge Evening News

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