Writing about Lancaster, Massachusetts

An image from the original comprehensive permit application by Crescent Builders   Sale on May 15th puts the developer in control of the parcel where he was approved to build two large 40B projects in 2019.

Photo by Randy Laybourne on Unsplash   FACT CHECK:   The town's post today is wrong --  the town definitely could use ARPA funds to balance this years budget: "revenue replacement" is an allowed use, and towns can claim a standard allowance for revenue replacement, without any need to show a loss, of up to $10 million.  The Treasury's standard allowance for "revenue replacement" made the town's entire ARPA award available for this purpose in early 2022.  Other towns have already used their ARPA funds this way.  If the budget was formulated around this critical misunderstanding, maybe we SHOULD take a step back and look at it again.  The latest in the Town's "Two Facts and a Fib" series is incorrect.

  Photo by Chris Arthur-Collins on Unsplash   "This is the moderator's meeting, his rules, knowing full well that it is on the ballot five days later, he made the decision as is his right, to not vote on an item because it's going to be voted on by a larger group of people, arguably, five days later."  - Steve Kerrigan, 4/19/2023 

  Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash "No-excuse early voting-by-mail" became a permanent voting option for everyone in Massachusetts after the pandemic.  It works well!   You do have to sign-up once a year, so even if you signed up last year don't forget to sign up again for this year.

                                      Social media has been a pitfall for Lancaster officials in the recent past.  Last July, Select Board Member Jason Allison found himself the target of questions after pulling the town administrator and Planning Board in a Facebook argument in which he desired to be declared "right."

  Photo by regularguy.eth on Unsplash Since 2021 the Town of Lancaster has paid $17,000/year for use of OpenGov's budgeting and planning package .   It has never been implemented, and at the moment there's no intention to ever use it.  The town has a three year contract with OpenGov that will end next June.  

  Photo by Amy Elting on Unsplash    National Grid announced their summer electric-supply rate yesterday, for the six months starting in May.  The supply rate for residential customers will drop to 14.2 cents/kWh.  On the other hand, if you're a member of Lancaster's Municipal Aggregation program you'll pay 29.984 cents/kWh for supply through June.    After that, you'll pay a 14.781 cent/kWh supply rate into December.   Boston Globe:  National Grid has Good News About Electricity Rates Typically Municipal Aggregation programs are able to offer savings over the National Grid default supplier:  National Grid ostensibly doesn't make any profit on supply, but the state requires them to sign new contracts every six months.    Municipal Aggregation programs have the flexibility to sign much longer contracts:  from 2019-2021 Lancaster benefited from a three year contract at 9.978 cents/kWh cut bills a bit. It's be...