Norfolk Hunt Club cancelled its Thanksgiving day hunt. I did find others who had come from Uxbridge and North Attleboro, who were tailgating at the locked entrance to the race course area.
Best,
Pete
Osler L. Peterson, Esq.
PETERSON | Law
580 Washington Street
Newton, MA 02458
T 617.969.1501
M 508.359.9190
F 617.663.6008
Osler.Peterson
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Posted in Uncategorized
Tuesday December 2, 2014 @ 7:00 PM
AGENDA {SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FY2016 Budget reviews:
7:00 PM Town Clerk
7:10 PM Council on Aging
7:20 PM Inspection Department
ACTION
Police Chief to discuss personnel hiring
Other business that may arise
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Posted in Budgets, Select Board matters
The Superintendent of Schools, Jeffrey Marsden, has started a monthly blog, which is now into its second month, and which I highly recommend. This month Jeff explains the issues behind the changes in the music program at the Dale Street School, which gave me the information I needed to appreciate the issues of the situation and to better understand the solution that has been crafted. I also liked the solution of appointing a citizen and schools committee to study whether the current solution is the right one.
I do not usually get to see the School Committee meetings on Medfield.TV, so I greatly appreciate having Jeff write about what is going on and pushing that information out to me to read on my own schedule, when I am able. This is exactly how the town should be delivering information to its residents on how their town is being run.
The town government should exist to get its residents the services that they want and are willing to pay to have, but in the process of doing that, those running the town government must figure out exactly which services those are and in which amounts the residents both want the services and are willing to pay for them. The first step towards accomplishing that goal is by making sure the residents have full information on which to make their decisions, and Jeff’s blog is a great step towards making information available to we residents.
To me this blog is a huge step in getting me the type of information that I, as both a resident and a parent, want about the schools, delivered in a format that works well for me, and so I applaud Jeff for starting the blog. Thanks Jeff! You have made me one happy reader
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Posted in Information, Schools
Email from Mike –
The tax rate for fy15 was approved today by the Dept. of Revenue. It is $16.04, which is a decrease of $0.08 from the $16.12 fy 14 rate. However, the property values on average increased by 5%, so the levy increase is about 4% and if you take out new growth about 3%. The Propositions 2 1/2 levy limit looks greater than it is because we included $155,000 in the levy, which is 1/2 of the first annual installment for the hospital purchase. Since it is an override debt exclusion it increases the allowable levy limit, but the funds to cover the %155,000 we raised by increasing the local receipts, so it raises the levy limit by that amount for just fy 15. Confusing ain’t it. Have a good weekend. Mike
From: recapdata@dor.state.ma.us
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2014 9:01 AM
To:
Subject: Tax Rate Approval Notification
Massachusetts Department of Revenue Division of Local Services
Amy Pitter, Commissioner
Robert G. Nunes, Deputy Commissioner & Director of Municipal Affairs
Medfield Assessors Date: Thursday, November 20, 2014
Dear Assessors:
The Fiscal Year 2015 tax rate has been certified by the Bureau of Accounts for Medfield.
The four pages of the tax rate recapitulation form and the levy limit worksheet (not
applicable to districts) are available on the Division of Local Services website:
Page one of the tax rate recapitulation form includes the Director of Accounts’ electronic
signature and the date of approval. This letter is your notification of approval pursuant to
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, section 23. Please forward copies of this notification
to other officials as you deem appropriate.
We wish to thank you for your cooperation and assistance in the tax rate setting process.
Sincerely,
Gerard D. Perry
Director of Accounts
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Posted in Budgets
From the Medfield Music Association –
Tickets are now on sale for the Medfield Music Association’s Spaghetti with Santa fundraiser at the high school on Dec. 10. This is the 41st year for the event making it one of the oldest fundraisers in Medfield providing a beloved holiday tradition for hundreds of families. Two seatings are available: 5:15 and 6:30 p.m.; tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at Park Street Books. Spaghetti with Santa has sold out for the past two years, so families are encouraged to buy their tickets early to avoid disappointment.
You can now find the MMA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MedfieldMusicAssociation.
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Posted in Entertainment, Music
Tuesday November 25, 2014 @ 7:00 PM
AGENDA (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
7:00PM Medfield High School State Championship Boys Lacrosse Team Presentation of citations and
Town Pins
7:30 PM Historical Commission and Historic District Commission
Sign Memorandum of Agreement pertaining to the state hospital
ACTION
Vote to appoint Brandie Erb, Lucille Fisher, Jean Mineo and Gene Rodgers to State Hospital Resource Committee
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Posted in Select Board matters
At the selectmen meeting this week the Assessors reported that they are submitting a tax rate of $16.04 to the Dept. of Revenue, for its required approval as the town’s FY 15 tax rate. Last year the tax rate was $16.12.
Selectmen approved a unitary tax rate, which means the same rate for all property, rather than a higher rate for non-residential properties which results in only modest savings to homeowners but high impact on non-residential property – so great as to discourage such uses. After voting the unitary tax rate the selectmen electronically transmitted the proposed tax rate data to the Dept. of Revenue for its certification.
The selectmen also received the unfortunate news that Medfield Assessor for over 25 years, Stan Bergeron, will be retiring come March. Stan is a major reason why the Assessor’s office functions so well, and will be hard to replace.
This from the DOR DLS e-newsletter today –
By the Numbers
In order to provide an update on the progress of the ongoing tax rate and certification season, below please find an overview of the ongoing process. The following information is accurate as of close of business on Tuesday, November 18th, 2014:
Preliminary Certifications: 82 Communities Approved (97 Submitted)
Final Certification: 48 Communities
La4/ New Growth: 214 Approved (271 Submitted)
Tax Rates: 80 Approved
Balance Sheets: 225 Approved
Aggregate Free Cash Approved Total: $833,725,918
Comments Off on Proposed tax rate = $16.04
Posted in Budgets
This from the Dept. of Revenue Division of Local Services’ e-newsletter –
Local Aid Impacts of 9C Reductions
Using his authority under MGL c. 29, s. 9C, Governor Patrick has reduced various state appropriations to executive department agencies, including some minor reductions to cherry sheet appropriations. The Division of Local Services has reviewed these reductions and concluded that they will not impact previous cherry sheet estimates materially given the magnitude of the reductions and the normal variation in some of these accounts during the course of the year. Therefore, DLS will not be revising cherry sheet estimates as a result and does not anticipate that these reductions will impact the ongoing municipal tax rate setting process.
The Governor has also filed legislation seeking permission to reduce Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) by $25.5 million. This reduction will not take effect until it is approved by the Legislature.
For additional information regarding these reductions and related actions, click here.
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Posted in Budgets
From the Massachusetts Municipal Association –
November 20, 2014
SPEAKER DeLEO REJECTS $25.5 MILLION MUNICIPAL AID CUT
On Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after Governor Deval Patrick filed legislation to impose a $25.5 million mid-year cut in Unrestricted General Government Aid, House Speaker Robert DeLeo issued a strong statement in opposition to the measure.
“Understanding the vital role cities and towns play in providing services and jobs, I will not support a reduction of unrestricted local aid,” said Speaker DeLeo. “Local aid is integral to helping municipalities accurately assess and plan their budgets so they can contribute to the overall growth of the Commonwealth’s economy.”
The Speaker’s opposition to mid-year cuts to local aid will effectively kill the proposal for the remainder of the legislative session. “This is very good news for communities across Massachusetts,” said MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith. “We applaud and deeply appreciate the leadership of Speaker DeLeo and his colleagues in the Legislature for rejecting the Administration’s unwise and damaging proposal to slash unrestricted municipal aid.”
On Wednesday, November 19, the Governor announced his desire to close a $329 million state budget deficit by imposing over $65 million in mid-year cuts to cities and towns. He used his statutory budget authority to reduce key municipal and education reimbursements and aid programs by $40.3 million, and filed legislation seeking a $25.5 million reduction in unrestricted local aid. Speaker DeLeo’s opposition to the cut in unrestricted local aid will block that proposal, yet communities will still be hit with the $40.3 million reduction because the Governor Patrick can implement those cuts unilaterally without legislative approval.
The Governor’s $40.3 million in mid-year cuts to key municipal and education programs includes the following:
Every city, town and school district will be hit with one or more of these cuts. In most cases, the cuts will feel deeper because the reductions are being implemented five months into the fiscal year.
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Posted in Budgets, Massachusetts Municipal Association
Medfield Select Board member
I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield select board member. I thought that my fellow Medfield residents would also find that information interesting and useful as well. This blog is my effort to assist in creating a system to push the information out from the Town House to residents. Let me know if you have any thoughts on how it can be done better.
For information on my other job as an attorney (personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and administration, and real estate), please feel free to contact me at 617-969-1500 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.
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