MAcciard said...
Publius, Please accept this as an article submission.
Selectman Sapia is right!
For the first time in quite a while I have to agree with selectman Sapia. He is right, the voters approved a $2.7million fully furnished brand spanking new town library.
You can not start a government building project $200,000 over the approved amount. Typically the interest on the capital reserve stays in either the general fund, or the capital reserve fund to be used as the trustees see fit.
What Mr. LaMarre is saying is not right. We, the voters already turned down a $3M library. We approved a $2.7M library, if we had wanted an almost $3M library, we could have approved it last year!
The proposal that was approved at town meeting, was for a total cost of $2.7M, $1M of which was either in the capital reserve or would be raised. $1.7M of which would be bonded.
Mr. LaMarre and the library trustees would be well advised to stay within that proposal.
But however you present this, you are still proposing a $2.9M library, when the voters told you $2.7M
If the board of selectmen had been this conscientious about adhering to town meeting votes two years ago, maybe we could have avoided all the litigation and the coming town meeting on the Vietnam Honor Roll issue.
September 10, 2007 8:20 PM
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ATKINSON's Vietnam HONOR ROLL as VOTED and PASSED by 2005 Town Meeting and re-approved at Special Town Meeting Sept. 12
EDITORIAL-
A voice of compassion, an example of fairness and reasonable government.
One who believes in the strength and comfort you, your children and your family can draw from good government leadership.
A person who knows Atkinson is our home -- our most important possession that must be preserved and protected through fair taxes and sound community planning and where our children must be safe to grow to become a new generation of leaders.
One who knows that the citizens of Atkinson are all neighbors with her leadership to be dedicated and responsive to all.
One who believes that when those from Atkinson have served our nation and honors are deserved, those honors must be given.
In Valerie Tobin, we now have a leader we know we can entrust with these responsibilities because they are part of her character.
It is our honor to endorse Valerie for election to Atkinson’s Board of Selectmen.
Just a note for those who wish to count the deer.
In January 08 this blog had 16,000 hits and 1,500 unique visitors (for the month).
In 2007 this blog had over 100,000 hits and 5,750 unique visitors (for the year).
In 2007 this blog had over 100,000 hits and 5,750 unique visitors (for the year).
EDITORIAL-
"I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense . . ." [TP, 1776]
We take no small measure of umbrage at such a hostile official act against this BLOG’s patron. Therefore, a timely Editorial comment is both appropriate and necessary.
Discussion of Atkinson’s financial direction, from any viewpoint, is fundamental and encouraged and we will always attempt to limit and correct errors.
However, Righteous indignation towards purported error of such inconsequential nature is not appropriate.
The ENTIRE car deal is problematic. If it was caused by poor judgement, improper exercise of authority, neglect or mistake or even specious reasoning, this will never trump the facts that the entire questionable transaction started and ended within a very small circle of confidants.
We find the entire circumstances surrounding the disposition of the police Cruiser highly irregular at the least and the "explanations" somewhat trifling and exhaustive of our intellect.
Mr. Consentino: It’s time to go. Being Chief of Atkinson’s Police Department is NOT a birthright. That is a fabled legend of yesteryear.
Historically in Atkinson, police chief appointments were made "under the hand of the selectmen" for terms of one year at a time, as was also the case in the beginning of Mr. Consentino’s assorted and discontinuous stream of appointments to this position.
Your only remaining credential established on a claim of indispensability has faded.
So time is neigh. Plan a graceful exit, Clean out your desk, Accept the gratitude and tearful sentiments from some. We plan no editorial recriminations. It is time. Thank you for your service, We wish you a long and happy retirement. Bon Voyage.
LETTER
"To All Atkinson Residents,
I am writing to ask for your help. A member of the Atkinson Police Department needs our help. I am here to ask for your help in Corporal John Lapham's fight for his life. As you are aware, John has been diagnosed with Leukemia. He has been once again hospitalized with an infection that is threatening his life. He is one of the bravest people that I have ever met. He has never asked of anything from the residents of the town. Now is our chance to step up and help both him and his family out. As everyone is aware John has been out of work for a few months. His family has been busy helping John to get better. He needs our help, and I am hoping that this town can step up to the plate and help. From the moment that I met John, I have admired him. He does alot, but never asks for anything in return. He has helped so many people in this town. I for one am one of those people. Please help him.
There is a fund set-up in his name at TDBanknorth in Plaistow. Any amount will help John, while he is out of work. It would be great if this town could help ease a burden off his wife.
Thank You
Also if anyone would like to send a card, please address it to:
John Lapham
c/o Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Ctr.
Inpatient mail
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
United States
Please show Corporal John Lapham, that this community can stand up and show our support to those in need. I for one, miss John and can not wait until he can get better and return to work. Please show him that we support him. "
14 comments:
Library people, get it right!
You asked for $2,724,000
$1,734,000 in Bond
$890,000 in Cap Res.
$100,000 from Trustees
THATS IT!!!
If you want to raise more to put some whiz bang computers, or HD plasma flat screen TV's, GREAT! Just make sure that is over and above the cost for a brand new, state of the art, technologically advanced, totally furnished, complete, ready to go, WOW, library!
That is what you promised us for $2.7 Million!
I watched the Selectman's meeting last night. Thank you Selectman (all of you) for stand firm on the library cost issue. Lets get what we were promised first. Prove to the taxpayers that this project will be on time and not over budget ($2.7M).
As for Katie, please stop pushing for more than what we the taxpayers asked for. Katie is looking to put this library project on her resume as her baby and at our expense. I hope this blog continues to monitor the Library progress.
Also, the interest generated by the bond is NOT the library;s to spend on this project! It is general fund money that SHOULD be being used to pay the interest payments on the bond while it is not being used.
And why was the bond aquired so soon? Probably should have waited until Dec. or Jan., but it doesn't matter, really, it is a wash item if the selectmen use the interest generated to offset the interest payments on the bond.
Either way, the voters were promised a fully functional, fully furnished(new), technologically advanced library for the price of $2.72 Million.
That is what we should get!
2.7Mill Will get us a NEW LIBRARY! State Laws say, that Interest Earned from Bonds CAN BE USED for the project!(most don’t take advantage of this but ITS LEGAL!) The Library Will Not be over budget because of this. Especially Since The Library Has Already Raised over $70,000 Additional Dollars for the Library, and Fund Raising Hasn’t Even Begun. -- Interesting Concept "macciard" about the Town taking out the bond so soon. That’s right, the Town took out the bond so soon which is in violation of the IRS.. Nice Job Town Administrator for getting the town in trouble like that. Can’t wait to see where this plays out...
My point was that in light of the fact tht the bond was aquired so early, and we are now paying interest on money that is sitting in the bank, it would be prudent fiscal management for the town to use the interest generated, which goes to the general fund, not the capital reserve, to pay the interest payments genreated by this mistake. Rather than making the taxpayers foot this extra expense, while spending the money on the library over the total amount authorized by the voters.
What Mr. Lamarre has not mentioned is that the task force worked off construction cost figures of roughly $2.1 million, and now they are $2.3, THAT is why they are now $200k over, the original plan.
The task force used "fuzzy logic" they never got "NUMBERS" to support their claims. Everyone at the library knew of this, as well as the selectmen, but because the selectmen loved the idea of "Their Task Force" they would never bash it. Plus -- the fact is, the town made the mistake of pulling out the bond now, and the TOWN will pay additional expenses up to around Feb. when the trustees requested for the bond to be taken out, not the library.. The town is seriously going to be in big trouble with this. Plus what is the Trustees sued the town for not following laws regarding this? I Cant wait for the trustees to mention that on next Monday’s meeting. The library WILL NOT stoop to a lower library, because the selectmen don’t know how to run a town. Yes, sometimes interest from the bond is to the general fund, (which is what Jack wants to do) because he wants to use the money that the library generously got, to help him build his addition to the town hall. Did you know there is a committee against Jack, and against the town hall addition… Things will be interesting in the next few months prior to elections :)
The problem with the library lies squarely on the shoulders of the library trustees. They had been warned for months (by members of the task force, selectmen and some trustees)that this project was on the the fast track to exceeding the cost of $2.7 million that was approved by the voters. The library building comittee under the guidance of the librarian Katie, the butcher of books, were determined to get the most extravagant library they possibly could using the maximum amount of taxpayers money. The majority of trustees simply rubber stamped the wishes of this committee and the librarian. Anyone knows that if you start adding expenses to a building project you must cut costs somewhere else in order to ensure the overall cost stays within budget. When memebers of the community, members of the task force, selectmen and even the former chairman of the library trustees starting asking questions they were all taken to task through an e-mail smear campaign headed by non other then Katie (which by the way was done on a computer at the library that was paid for with taxpayers money). So where does this leave us. The bid to build the library came in slightly over $2.3 million dollars. When you add in the professional services, and the cost for furniture and technology this puts the total over $2.7 million as everyone has stated. However, to make matters worse when figuring out the total cost of library, the architect either neglected to or chose not to take into account the additional monies that would be needed for a contingency fund and also the money that would needed to hire someone to oversee this project despite questioning from members of the task force and library trustees. These two items alone could raise the cost of the project by an additional $160,000-$250,000 depending on the amount put into a contigency fund. Instead of making cuts to either the size or scope of the library to bring the project back under budget the chairman of the trustees along with the librarian and the architect have decided to use the monies raised through private donations to the building fund and their gala event this weekend "The Legacy Fund Kickoff" towards the additional shortfalls. I don't know about any of you but I didn't donate money to the library nor will I give any future monies to the library to have it go to pay for some mistakes that are truly owed to bad planning.
Anybody knows that money raised by fundraising cannot be used to pay down a bond, it's illegal. Just as is the selectmen refusing to sign contracts when they already signed other contracts guaranteeing that they will sign this contact. And they did not. The task force was put together by the Trustees and the Selectmen, and frankly, it failed. Trustees went along with their "great findings" but just so the selectmen were pleased. (In my opinion, and based on newspaper articles) It also brought in some powerful people in town who are now for the library. Regardless of what this blog says, the ultimate control over the library and anything to do with the library and its money is in total control by the Trustees. Not the selectmen who, as it says here, took the bond out too soon, now causing tax payers to pay additional taxes on their mistake.
I've been to a few of the library meetings, and the Librarian at the library does one hell of a job. She works harder and longer than anyone in Atkinson, and deserves the Citizen of the Year vote A LOT more than our behated selectmen. (Who, oh yea SPIT in the fire chiefs face years back).
The library is and will prevail, and it will be at its budgeted money, without losing any functionality, or programming. I can almost guarantee it. The Trustees are very smart people, who do an awful lot of reading regarding State Laws; they know much more than anyone here, who "blogs" about laws etc that the town will be amazed. I have complete confidence in them, for whatever it is they choose to do next. They got the HIGHEST turn out vote for anything in Atkinson's history for many years back..
Way to go library! Keep doing what you do! My colleagues and I will be at the event this weekend to get some naming opportunities. History in the making, can’t Wait!
Please lets not turn this into another fight of who is right, who wants what. Let the Trustees and the employees of the libiary do what they have been doing. They are after all the ones who know what their needs are and are more knowledgable than anyone else. The voters gave them the right to build us a new libiary that we as a town can and should be proud of. let them work within their budget and let them spend the money they have raised as they see fit. come on folks can't this town agree on anything?
I don't think this is about the goodness in people's heart, or their good intentions.
I think it is about the will of the voters.
The voters turned down a $3 Million library last year, The voters approved a $2.72 Million library this year.
This does not mean that you start construction with a budget that is $200,000 higher than what you went to the voters with.
I trust the library trustees FAR more than I trust the selectmen to do the right thing, But the right thing here would be to build a fully, newly furnished, technologically advanced library for $2.72 Million, and after that if you want to add extras with the fundraising money, or re-stock the depleted cap.res. great!
Oh and btw, if we are paying Mr. Lamarre, and 6 engineers, architects, and overseers, almost $400,000, why is there another $50,000 in there for a clerk of the works?
Did I hear that right at mondays meeting?
For the record, here is RSA 33:3 Use of Bond Proceeds:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/III/33/33-3-a.htm
33:3-a Use of Bond Proceeds. – I. The proceeds of any sale of bonds or notes shall be used only for the purposes for which the loan was incurred except as otherwise authorized by this section; provided, however, that any premium received shall not be used to increase the amount to be spent for the purpose for which the loan was originally incurred.
This means that the interest generated by getting the bond early, may NOT be spent on the construction and fitting out of the new library.
It amazes me how groups like this think. We all aren't "stupid"! Get the bond early, use the interest on more "toys" and the he&& with the tax payer..........
TO THE ATKINSON REPORTER, DO WITH WHAT YOU WISH --
The Kimball Library sponsored a very nice event tonight, featuring the two state reps, Stephen Lewis, and also the chairman of the state of NH's library trustee association. Near 200 people signed up and near that many showed up. All three selectmen signed up, but none of them showed up... Funny how they "support" it so much, when it only makes them look like fools to not even show up for a free, public event having to do with towns history...
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