Templeton advisory reviews senior center, library and veterans budgets; library certification rules highlighted

Jackie Todd, presenting the senior services and library budgets, told the advisory committee the senior center substituted an activity coordinator for a kitchen manager with the select board’s recent approval and that parts of several positions are reimbursed by the town’s formula grant. Todd said the formula grant currently has a balance of about $33,002.06 and yields an annual allocation ‘‘around 18 to 20’’ thousand dollars, which helps cover much of the senior center’s staffing and transportation costs.

Todd said the new kitchen is nearly finished and that the center is exploring how many congregate meals it can realistically prepare and how to make those meals available to residents. She also noted vehicle and driver cellphone costs and said some items are reimbursed through the regional MART program.

On the library budget, Todd warned that state certification requires the town appropriation for the library to rise ‘‘2 and a half percent over the average of the past three years,’’ a rolling calculation she said the department has tracked closely to avoid sudden spikes. Todd said the library’s FY27 request increases by $6,763 and that the library must expend at least 19% of the total appropriation on borrowable materials; she flagged an $81 arithmetic error in the municipal appropriation line that staff will correct before the next meeting.

Michelle, the veterans services presenter, reviewed payments on behalf of veterans and explained that Chapter 115 rules provide full reimbursement for funerals and cemetery flags but not for accessories such as flag holders. She said veterans’ payments include items that are 75% reimbursable in some cases and that reimbursement is deposited into the general fund.

Why it matters: The library’s certification requirement can limit how the advisory committee and select board set the municipal appropriation, and modest changes in small department budgets can trigger reporting or waiver steps with the state. The senior center’s new kitchen and the veterans’ reimbursement rules affect program delivery and near‑term operating costs.

What’s next: Staff will fix the reporting error Todd noted before the next meeting and return with any follow‑ups about meal service models and Chapter 115 reimbursement details.