Saturday, May 15, 2010

Franklin, MA: Plenty to do today

Museum opens from 10:00 to 1:00 PM today

Bottle/Can drive options

  • Franklin High School 9:00 - 2:00 PM at high school parking lot
  • JF Kennedy School 9:00 - 12:00 

Library Book Sale 9:00 - 4:00 PM at DPW Yard off Hayward St


DPW Open House 10:00 - 1:00 PM

In the News - sharing stories, Pulaski construction

Sharing stories in Franklin

from Wicked Local Franklin News RSS 

24-hour constrution to begin Monday in Bellingham

by 


Franklin, MA

Friday, May 14, 2010

Storm water mandates

Under the proposed mandate from the EPA, which would only apply to Milford, Franklin and Bellingham, properties with two acres or more will have to manage their stormwater runoff.
Wednesday night's public information session included a presentation from the EPA about the regulations as well as time for public comment.
Rick Kaplan, owner of Kaplan Commercial Properties, recently purchased the Bellingham Plaza on Rte. 126, which has 8 acres. Kaplan, who lives in Medway, is not only concerned with the price tag of the mandate, but the fact that the actual cost is still undecided.
"It's an unknown amount of money," Kaplan said. "It's scary to me. It's not fair."
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Stormwater mandate concerns businesses



This article helps to clarify one of the questions asked during Wednesday night's meeting on the Downtown Improvement Project. If the new mandates apply to properties in excess of 2 acres, there doesn't appear to be much of an impact for the downtown project.

If you missed the Downtown Project meeting Wednesday, you can view the video here
Downtown Improvement Project - live broadcast

The EPA meeting was also broadcast but the video has not yet been posted to the Franklin website. As soon as I see the link, I share it here.

Franklin, MA

HMEA 5K Race/Walk - May 23rd

The Horace Mann Education Associates - HMEA, Inc. is located here in Franklin, MA but their effective service delivery is to over 100 communities in MA.





The annual fund raiser for HMEA is the 5K Race/Walk and Family Fun Day scheduled for May 23, 2010.
HMEA's 9th Annual Independence 5K Walk/Run in the Park - MARK YOUR CALENDARS and grab your sneakers to participate in this "Fun-filled Family Day fundraising event...
This event, which is hosted by our good friends at EMC2 Corporation in Franklin, MA gathers 2,000 or more people to help HMEA continue its mission to make a difference in people's lives. AND, all the money raised is returned to the many programs at HMEA, which supports 2,400 children and adults with intellectual challenges and developmental disabilities.

In addition to working the road race registration table (and providing splits at the 2 mile mark), I have decided to help HMEA do some fund raising this year.

I love the quote from Horace Mann that they use on their History page:
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity"

You can help the HMEA make a difference with a donation. I have a widget in the center column of this and my other blogs, should you choose to donate an amount within your means.

I will appreciate it.
The HMEA clients you help will too!

-----

If you would like to register for the race you can do so here
http://www.hmea.org/events.html

If you'd like you can contribute in one of several options directly through the HMEA website here
http://www.hmea.org/donations.html




Vallee holds office hours next week

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:


via The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc. on 5/13/10

Rep. James Vallee, D-Franklin, invites residents of Franklin and Medway to meet with him or a member of his staff on Friday, May 21, for his monthly office hours.
The first session will be held at the Medway Town Administrator's office at 155 Village St. from 9-10 a.m.
Vallee or a staff member will be available at his Franklin office at 4 West St. from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Those unable to attend can call his State House office at 617-722-2600 to schedule an appointment.

Things you can do from here:

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Special Override Election - June 8th - registration/voting details

ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT THE TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE.

TOWN OF FRANKLIN ELECTION NOTICE
SPECIAL OVERRIDE ELECTION
DATE:  TUESDAY, June 8, 2010
TIME:   6:00a.m. – 8:00p.m.
PLACE: FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL FIELDHOUSE ON OAK STREET
ALL PRECINCTS



LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE:
May 19, 2010  at 8:00pm at the
Town Clerk’s Office,
First Floor, 355 East Central Street,
Municipal Building.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS WILL BE AVAILABLE BEGINNING May 12, 2010

Absentee Ballot Information:
Absentee ballots are now available in the Town Clerk’s office.  A registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on election day due to the following reasons may vote absentee up to 12:00 noon Monday, June 7th.
(1) absence from your city or town during normal polling hours; or
(2) physical disability preventing you from going to the polling place; or
(3) religious belief.


All absentee requests must be made in writing with an original signature (no faxes or e-mails are accepted).  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Deborah L. Pellegri, Town Clerk, at 508-520-4900.



Attest: Deborah L. Pellegri, CMC, Town Clerk/Election Administrator



This was originally posted to the Franklin, MA website here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_News/01579C3D-000F8513

"It'll make the stretch more vibrant"


Concerned neighbors and business owners turned out for an informational session with engineering firm Weston & Sampson to talk about designs to improve downtown's appearance.
"Our goal is to restore (downtown) as the focal point for community life and create economic development," said Vice President Eugene Bolinger. "We'll upgrade the infrastructure within the public right of way, in an effort to (attract) private investment in that quarter."
Engineers walked attendees through the designs, which call for eliminating some one-way traffic, adding parking spots, raising certain crosswalks and widening sidewalks to meet standards for the disabled.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1773731500/Plans-for-downtown-Franklin-discussed

To view the video of the session you can click here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/downtown-improvement-project-live.html

Franklin, MA

"spotlight on the youth program"

The Panthers are underdogs no more; they are now the team to beat.
And this spring, with Franklin off to an 11-1 start, and unbeaten in the Hockomock League at 10-0, may be just the beginning. The town’s youth program, started in 2004, is still in its infancy, but is stocking both the girls’ and boys’ rosters at the high school. This season, the Franklin girls moved up to Division 1 from Division 2.
“I was in seventh grade when the youth program started,’’ said Franklin senior captain Gina Velluti, a defender. “Now they’re out there and they’re 8 years old. And it just is changing the game so much, it’s making us so much better. The incoming freshmen, they don’t even know how good they’re going to be."
Read the full article in the Boston Globe West section here
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2010/05/13/franklin_youth_lacrosse_program_paying_dividends_for_varsity/

Franklin, MA

In the News - weekend events

J.F. Kennedy Elementary School bottle drive is Saturday

by 

Franklin Library book sale is Saturday

by 

Parmenter 5K run slated for Sunday

by 



Franklin, MA


Mystery Dinner Show - May 22

Mystery Dinner Show
May 22nd 6:30pm


It will feature a theatrical troupe, "Whodunnit," straight from the Newport Dinner Train in
"Win or Die Trying."

Tickets are $30

Please call the church office to purchase.


Franklin, MA

Parmenter 5K Race/Walk - Sunday May 16th

The Parmenter Elementary School will be the start and finish for their 2nd Annual 5K Race/Walk on Sunday, May 16th.

You can visit the event website for detailed information here
http://parmenter5k.weebly.com/index.html

You can also register at Active.com here
http://www.active.com/running/franklin-ma/2nd-annual-parmenter-5k-for-all-ages-2010

Franklin, MA

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Downtown Improvement Project - live broadcast

Live video by Ustream



Franklin, MA

Downtown Revitalization Project and EPA meetings being broadcast

With three choices tonight and new information, I will change my schedule. Talking with Chris and Bob at the Cable broadcast booth last night before the School Committee meeting, I found out that they will broadcast the EPA meeting from Tri-County and make it available on the Franklin website for on demand viewing like other town meetings.

I'll attend the Downtown Revitalization Project meeting and broadcast that one so it will also be available via video replay here on Franklin Matters.

So even with two of the three meetings being broadcast, please, get out to one of them in person. That will ensure that your voice will be heard!

Financial Planning Committee
May 12, 2010 7:00 PM
May 12, 2010 7:00 PM

To view the Downtown Revitalization Project meeting via the web, return here to Franklin Matters to find the Ustream video.


Franklin, MA

"If you do nothing else, come out and vote"


Fire Chief Gary McCarraher said his department will have to cut one firefighter-paramedic, reduce training, and reduce continuing education for staff and residents.
"We believe this year's budget reductions will have a negative impact," McCarraher said, noting it's important for neighbors to realize the decreased quality service is not the fault of employees.
He said without the tenth firefighter, he will not be able to sufficiently staff a second ambulance, and will have to rely on mutual aid for some emergency responses.
Though mutual aid response is of no charge to the town, whichever town responds and transports a person will collect the ambulance fee - which can result in $200,000 to $300,000 in revenue annually


Franklin finance officials back override
by 

For the full reporting of the three Finance Committee budget hearings I attended in person:
May 4th http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/finance-committee-050410.html
May 6th http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/finance-committee-050610.html
May 10th  http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/finance-committee-051010.html


The presentation used by the Fire Dept can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/franklin-ma-fire-dept-presentation.html


Franklin, MA

In the News - Dean College, Senate election, storm water

Dean College graduates look to the future

by 

Ross wins special Senate election by more than 6,000 votes
by 


Stormwater regulation meeting tomorrow in Franklin


Franklin, MA

School Committee - 05/11/10

The collection of live reporting from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 can be found here






Franklin, MA

Museum opens May 15th and 16th

The renovated museum opens on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and again on Sunday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM




Franklin, MA



DPW Open House - May 15th

DPW Open House on Saturday, May 15th from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Save File: DPW_OpenHouse_20100515.pdf




Franklin, MA

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Live reporting - Closing items

5. Information Matters

Superintendent’s Report
a. Enrollment Comparison for April 2009-2010
b. Bullying Law - law did pass, we want to approach this systemically, summer will be busy

c. School Choice
already covered above

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
space needs meet before this, looking at ways to develop a capacity plan for the schools



School Committee Liaison Reports
interested firms will be touring the building this month, the MSBA has a specific process with not a lot of discretion
need to designate three representatives for the design selection process
School Committee, Superintendent, Building Committee all get one choice each


By Feb/Mar 2011 we should have a good sense of options for the high school and a good sense of what it will cost.
Sometime Sep-Nov 2011 we should have a vote to fund the project, with a 40-60 percent reimbursement by the state


Tom Mercer will be here for the June 8th meeting


6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
foreign language course to be added to future agenda


7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations



no intention to return to open meeting


passed 7-0




Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Action items

4. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the request of Anne Bergen for the field trip to Roger Williams Zoo on June 10, 2010 as detailed.
motion to approve, 7-0

b. I recommend acceptance of the donation of $500.00 from the Keller PCC for field trips for Keller students.  motion to approve, 7-0

c. I recommend not participating in the school choice program for the 2010-2011 school year.  motion to approve, 7-0

d. recommend acceptance of the MSBA project enrollment report
Roy - a three page letter determining appropriate enrollment, State looking for commitment to a design limiting to 1650. Conflict with prior enrollment projections showing 1800.

Sabolinski - enrollment projection, architect hired, study designed and feasibility study can then proceed. The MSBA collects data from every district.  First number from them was in the 1500's, Met with them to review the numbers, provided additional data for their evaluations, outstanding building permits, etc. this results in the increase to 1650. Any further hold up holds the whole schedule.

There might be an opportunity to get the number up as the project gets underway but that is not guaranteed. The data is updated annually.

Cafasso - the issue with MSBA is how much of a building they will create as that is where the cost is

motion to approve, 7-0



Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Discussion only items

3. Discussion Only Items

School Choice
need to let DESE know if we will continue by June 1
we have 39 currently, the question is whether to open up additional seats available
Principals have recommended not to do so given the flexible budgetary arrangements
not a prudent choice to make at this time

In 2007, we had 76 students generating $5,000 per seat
in addition to loosing teachers, we are loosing revenue

56 for 2008, 2009, and currently 39
We haven't been able to allow staff to bring their children to the district
Is it fair to say, the only way to resume this program would be to increase teachers?
Yes, you need to look at the class size and down the road for the cohort factor

Principals conducted the survey to determine no space K-12

First Reading - Policy JJFG Disposition of Student Activity Accounthow to handle the money for each class, as the seniors graduate they are no longer part of the district
the funds would need to be kept in an account with a different tax ID than part of the Franklin Schools


motion to move to second reading, passed 7-0


Further FY11 Budget Discussion
Glynn
PCC meeting at Kennedy
shortened elementary day might be in the morning as a delayed start or early dismissal

Sabolinski - the principals actually came up with the alternatives, the morning actually works a little better
Glynn - what about parents going to work, how would they be covered
Sabolinski - we could use the Solutions program



Franklin, MA

Live reporting - DESE report

2. Guests/Presentations
a. DESE Coordinated Program Review Report
Sally Winslow and Michele Kingsland-Smith

review done every six years with a mid-cycle review every three years

The coordinated review covers three areas:

  • Civil Rights (CR)
  • Special Education (SE)
  • English Learner Education (ELE) 

preliminary data submitted before an onsite visit which occurred during the week of 12/8/2009
exit interview upon leaving
draft corrective action plan (CAP) provided, being worked on now

Commendable    3
Implemented     55
Partially              1
Not Impl            0

9 out of 90 areas are partially implemented and are now areas of focus

Handbooks are not readily available in languages other than English
need translation in the five major languages for the Franklin district

ELE findings

  • District does not have an ESL curriculum based upon MA English Language Proficiency Benchmarks and Outcomes (ELPBO)
  • Amounts of ESL instruction far below ESE recommended hours
  • LEP Students do not receive sheltered content instruction; all teachers of LEP students have not completed all levels of SEI professional development

spent time researching K12 curriculum, will be purchasing a copy this June
teacher from Seekonk coming into provide some experience teaching K through high school

478 teachers and administrators, 102 at this time have already received the training, 4 have received all levels of the training

Instructional Grouping
Students do not receive recommended number of hours of English Language Development (ELD) instruction to limitations of current delivery model

need to develop a system of oral and written translations, explored with other districts to see how they handle this

surprised by FHS students were not receiving credit for ELD instruction

Licensure requirements
District does not have a policy for determining the literacy and fluency of teachers

does not need to be a school committee policy but does need to be written, e.g. new hires would be part of an oral interview, as well as a written response (writing sample), incorporate the communications home and the annual reviews to include to cover this requirement

Professional Development Requirements
a multi-year plan is in place to meet the requirements

Program Evaluation
District has not conducted periodic evaluations of the effectiveness of its ELE program in developing students English language skills and meaningful participation in the education program

Records of LEP students
in the random sample taken, there were some records missing

Corrective Action Plan (CAP) due May 18th
have 1 calendar year to be 100% compliant
SE, CR, ELE supervisors are conferring to coordinate all the actions

The DESE recognizes that the 478 teachers/administrators will not be completely trained in the period, the plan needs to be in place and making progress

actually 416 teachers, 36 long term subs counted per DESE, 26 administrators

Cafasso
thanks for the effort and level of detail in this report
the only area where we have been lacking

Kingsland-Smith
we have 23 different languages in the district
The top 5 non-English languages: Spanish, Portugese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tuluga (an Indian dialect)

Rohrbach
we added the 1.5 positions, did DESE have any recommendation on staff?

Kingsland-Smith
no, the program is actually more important than the numbers of staff
the curriculum and environment (i.e. professional development)

Sabolinski
DESE did say we should add a minimum of 2, we couldn't do that
We did add .5 last December, we are adding the other 1.5 now, together these steps have shown DESE that we are heading in the right direction, otherwise we would have been less compliant than we are

Glynn
Can you tell me how a teacher can help a student access the curriculum

Kingsland-Smith
I can try, Category 1 - you need to try to help someone identify strategies to learn, Cagegory 2 - build vocabulary, Category 3 - how to assess students on their English proficiency, Category 4 a great deal of vocabulary development and visual cues to connect the language with what they already know

Glynn
How is this going to work with increases in class size?

Kingsland-Smith
Your concern is the driving force behind the DESE requiring all the teachers to be prepared for all four categories. These kids need to have equal access. This is going to be a challenge.
Category 1 is a two day training, Category 2 and 4 are four day classes with course credit

Glynn
do the guidelines still work for teacher student ratio under these new guidelines? Rhetorical question for now.

Roy
These are statutory requirements? Sound expensive, how much of this is reimbursed by the State and Federal government/

Kingsland-Smith
zero

Sabolinski
When I had asked Sally, Beth and Michelle to put this together, it was a real opportunity, they came together quickly and have done very well

Franklin, MA

Live reporting - School Committee

Present: Douglas, Cafasso, Rohrbach, Mullen, Roy, Trahan, Glynn
Absent: none

1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda - adding MSBA letter being added as an action item
Minutes: I recommend approval of the Open Session minutes from the April 27, 2010 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payment of Bills - Mr. Glynn   motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payroll - Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
What does OSKEY stand for - "Our School Key"

Night of the Arts at the high school at 7:00 PM, art show in the hall, all the bands and chorus will perform as well

Pat Slight - went in early for cross country
was well prepared for school, tested out of some Math classes
He did watch some meetings, couldn't top Brittany's return to the School Committee meeting
He is now class president


Franklin, MA

Override History updated

I met with Treasure/Collector Jim Dacey today to get into some of the stories around the overrides and debt exclusions. I ended up making an update to the spreadsheets to correct:
  • one typo (5/22/1998 should have been 5/2/1998) 
  • changed 6 election categories from "overrides" to "capital exclusions". All 6 occurred in 1991.

The history now shows only one override has passed of 6 put forward with the 7th override scheduled for June 8, 2010.


The updated spreadsheet can be found here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdDVWaFU0N2ZsTEE2TUVuWHk5NURvQWc&hl=en



Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Fire Dept presentation

This is the presentation document used by Chief Gary McCarraher and Paul Sharpe, Jr for the Budget Hearing at the Finance Committee meeting on May 10, 2010:



The discussion notes as captured live during the meeting can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/live-reporting-finance-committee_10.html

Reminder: Special Election - Precinct 2, 3, 4 only

SPECIAL STATE ELECTION
May 11th
Precincts 2-3-4 only
Franklin High School
6:00am – 8:00pm


If you have any questions please call

Deborah L. Pellegri, CMC

Town Clerk/Election Administrator 508-520-4900



Finance Committee 05/10/10

The collection of posts that were live reported from the Finance Committee meeting on Monday, May 10th can be found here:



Franklin, MA

Franklin Food Pantry - Stamp Out Hunger drive

About 40 volunteers got really organized to help the Franklin Food Pantry to process the receipts from the US Post Office letter carriers on Saturday, May 8th. As the letter carriers finished their routes, they drove by the Food Pantry to drop off the bags of food items they collected. Prompted by post cards and TV advertisements, as well as word of mouth, Franklin residents left out bags of non-perishable food to be donated.


With the new Food Pantry location in the middle of downtown, it was a convenient drive through operation. The trucks pulled up. A group took out all the bags of food stuffs.

Individual bags were put into letter boxes.

The bags and boxes were weighted.


The bags/boxes were opened and checked for "freshness dates". The good items were passed along to the sorters. The older items went into a waste box. Items that could not be determined by date when into a 'check later' box.

The sorters put like items together.


"flats" of similar items then stocked the shelves.


The shelves were completely empty early Saturday afternoon and filled up as the processing took place.

For those who did leave out a donation, the letter carriers left a thank you card:


Thanks to the many hands for helping to process over 5.000 pounds of food!

Weight In4746.7

Spoils877.2
18.48%




Net3869.5

Strictly speaking, since the food was handled going in and then the spoils (waste) was handled again going out, we did go over 5,000. Which also excludes the multiple touches on a single item as it moved along the process.


Visit the Franklin Food Pantry online here: http://franklinfoodpantry.org/

In the News - middle school football, military supply


Franklin Middle school makes play for football

from Wicked Local Franklin News RSS 


McGovern impressed with Franklin military supply company




Franklin, MA

Election costs reimbursed

Franklin will get about $12,000 back from the State for their costs in running the special election on Dec 8th and Jan 19th.

The full article can be found in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/newsnow/x1920415040/Local-towns-get-money-back-for-special-election


Franklin, MA

Monday, May 10, 2010

Live reporting - Finance Committee endorses the override

Rebecca Cameron provides an update on the Long Range/Financial Planning committee report
brought the 2 1/2 override to the Council and to the voters for a vote
we need to be on the same page to help the process

Roche
The plan was right on target except for the items that weren't on the planning horizon
the forecast has been reconciled to the original report
the Town Council has a $3 M override budget
to use $1.8 M for schools, $300,000 for the Town, and $900,000 for the roads to get started in addressing that problem
we have a way to go with $15 M to fix the worst 30 miles of roads and only $900,000 to start with

Goldsmith - I feel very comfortable asking the Town's people to consider coming forward, the increase are warranted to provide the services to the Town

Roche - There is not a lot of waste out there, the department heads are doing their job and we are getting to lean

Quinn - If you look at the five year plan, it gets worse. Police down, Fire down, DPW, Schools (hundred lost teachers, 1,000 more students). It is unfortunate, times are tough but I think failure to pass the prop will be an issue

Rivera - one of the most important things we can do is to educate the residents as much s we can, if we don't do something what will it look like in a few years, if they have questions, the info is on the website

Roche - Town wide forum on May 24th at 7:00 PM at Horace Mann/Thomas Mercer Auditorium

Cataldo - We can't keep going this way, personal safety is important, this money is not going to be slopping in a trough, this is to provide services that we have had , not increases but the same services

Q
Nutting - Est $255 per average bill for the $3 M override

Quinn - It is important to say, 10 failed overrides with one passed, we are asking for a tax increase because some of the others haven't been passed with growing expenses. Got to make ends meet.

Feldman - we can see some signs of improvement in the economy here and there, hopefully things will continue to improve

Cameron - the important thing is that everyone comes out and vote, the votes need to be cast, we understand the impact it can have on certain people. I get the feeling that this group understands the override is necessary to keep the services. I would like to make a recommendation to support the override.

Motion to recommend $3 M override, passed 8-0

meeting for 1st Tue in June (Jun 1) to be kept for now

motion to adjourn, passed


Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Water/Sewer Enterprise funds

Solid waste

The rate was as high as 300 then 280, now coming down. It includes buying the totters and financing the cost to supply them as we go forward

The enterprise funds are self-sustaining, they are maintained by the fees

motion to approve, passed 7-0 (Cameron recused herself)

Nutting was remiss to thank Mr Dacey, we paid .005% when we went to bond the totters

Sewer
can't continue to draw down our fund balance to zero,
they also certify our fund balances when they do free cash
folks should expect a sewer rate increase due to the 19M increase in a required plant upgrade

motion to approve, passed 7-0 Cameron recused herself)

Water
budget trimmed, mandated by state can sell more than 65 gallons per person per day
continue to need capital improvements, long run will need to comeback for funds to continue those programs
we have some cast iron pipe that needs to be replaced, and asbestos lined pipes that need to be replaced
appealing permit now, trying to put in a new well for 12 years and haven't been able to do so

Q
chemical increase
we bid it out when we can, the prices are very volatile
limited choice on supply

A water permit is given for a five year period, we are appealing some of our differences of opinion

motion to approve, passed 7-0 Cameron recused herself)

Franklin, MA

Live reporting - DPW, continued

Street lights
we own ours, electricity we don't control the price
most of this is a rate increase


Q
tax law change on charging for the utilities

Q
we don't add many, we have a contract for replacements

motion to approve, passed 7-0 (Cameron recused herself)


Franklin, MA

Live reporting - DPW

DPW, Water/Sewer enterprise accounts
Brutus Cantoreggi
Paula Lombardi


Nutting overview
budget is up, staffing is down, less folks to do the same amount of work

Cantoreggi
no additional funds added to snow and ice removal for this year
reduced .5 for a non-union employee for environmental affairs
one full-time mechanic was reduced
800 man-hours were eliminated
$100,000 reduced in a number of small items (i.e. weed control for the sidewalks)
major concern for the loss of personnel
where there will be a delay in responding will be in the mundane things like potholes
we don't have the people like we used to, why are trash barrels getting emptied
Storm water is a huge thing and the town does not have an identified funding source for this
this is a big thing and you'll hear from me again

60% of my budget is based upon expenses, how to forecast and budget for this
it is like a tumor, i don't know when it will burst
we are very lean right now, I can answer specific questions about the budget

Q
we look at reducing impervious areas, it doesn't work everywhere
snow plowing is probably a minor thing, minor to plow around it, reducing road width
moving road width down to 26 feet from 30-36 feet

Q
is there an unfunded liability on storm water
EPA is identifying Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin to reduce and it would cost $70 M
The $100,000 is just to get their permit to start

Nutting
The process is going on and on, a minimum would be about $500,000 per year
subdivision retention ponds have never been cleaned
street sweeping may need to be twice a year instead of once

$15 M would just fix the roads that cover the first 30 worst miles, we have 200 miles of road

Q
salt is continuing to be a high expense
Are there other technologies to look at?

Nutting
actually salt only works down to 20 degrees, below that we have to add something that is more expensive
we are in a consortium to improve our buying power
we are buying $1.90 per gallon of gas, but it won't be that it is also going up

Q
Nutting
when storm water comes full throttle, we'll need help there but that is not anything immediate

motion to approve, passed 7-0 (Cameron recused herself)

Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Building Inspector

Building Inspector
Dave Roche

most of the budget is payroll, staffing is about the same, we lost an inspector last year
we seem to be maintaining, if things get busy it could get interesting
inspecting yearly for license renewals
economy off, inspections have been steady, permits should be close to what we had last year
not asking for any more by way of expenses

Q
has there been a fee increase?
building inspection fees have been the same for the last six years

Q
steady, but was there a dip?
there was a dip but it has been picking up, compared to other towns we are doing more
some are doing much, we are doing well
we are still building houses, building over 55's, others have stopped

motion to approve, passed 8-0

Appeals

Nutting
the same $5,000 for advertising we ask every year

motion to approve, passed 8-0


Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Finance Committee (Fire)

Present: Messere, Cataldo, Cameron, Roche, Quinn, Goldsmith, Feldman, Rivera
Absent: Maire, Huempfner, Teixeira,

Fire Dept
Chief McCarraher, Paul Sharpe

Recognizing the hard work and service of the member of the department
They are truly the source of all the success of the organization

Mission statement
(see document attached)

second year not meeting on time response
experiencing more requests for service in the north area of the town where they can not reach in time

monthly response time audit to identify barriers on a call-by-call basis, about 6% of the overall call basis

from a public safety stand point, busy is not good, ready is better for prompt response
1600 man hours of training last year, down 50% from 2008 due to budget constraints

GIS Data charts, 2007, 2008, 2009

Items not funded in FY 2010 are also currently not funded in FY 2011
Goals adjusted due to decreased staffing levels

Honor Guard not reconstituted
Hazardous response plan updated
Software upgrades completed to provide improve building and facility data

The FY 2010 budget plan document can be found here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Fire/Fincom%20Budget%20FY10.pdf

The document being used tonight is an updated version of the one above

Leaves 3 firefighter paramedic positions unfulfilled
reduces minimum daily staffing of firefighters and paramedics

reduction in overall responses from 84% to about 75%
response systems at 70% are deemed to be "in crisis"

a decrease in quality of service is not the fault of the men and women who are attempting to provide the services

2 in an ambulance, 3 in a truck
with on four on staff, there can't be four vehicles staffed

Q
with people sent out of Town (i.e. carrying a patient to a hospital)
we loose the response
if we use the mutual aid transport, we loose the revenue associated with the ambulance run, est. at about $200,000-300,000 in revenue.

Q
training was stopped in January to keep the overall budget whole and dept operating
going much longer will really hurt the training as it will be longer and more expensive to recover

Q
discussion underway with surrounding towns to try and cover the northern area, they are anxious about the issue as their budgets are hurting and may not be able to provide service

Q
the downtown 2-way plan could achieve about a minute improvement in response time to the northern area

Q
this is the last year of the data plan, the largest building in the industrial park is vacant
the loss in volume from the empty building is taken up by an increase in civilian calls
our system should be 70-80 percent resting, in order to get a better response rate
to improve response, you either stop going to some calls or add additional resources

medical emergencies are the highest hitter in volume
bench mark on 8 minutes for medical emergencies due to standards, each minute after that, the response declines
for fires, once a room hits flash-point, no one survives in the room
in fire emergencies, there are usually more people involved

fire and other - covers alarm activations but none flame/medical related
the greatest risk is in the nest major emergency, I have staffed for one but when the second comes in right way, that we are at risk for

Q
As long as our mutual aid partners don't increase their calls, then we can handle those.
If we have a very quiet year, it will be okay
If we all expect to have someone else cover for us, we'll be tight

Q
national data shows fires decreasing, yet our own numbers are slightly increasing

Q
Monthly response time audit, prompted by?
the inquisitive in us, want to know; our folks take it to heart
we are in the opportunity business, we need to get their quickly, not recklessly but quickly

Q
difficult to estimate
coverage widely varied, one building fire, a piece of equipment was a $10 M loss
when do you measure the patient outcome, there is no clear consensus in the industry

Q
regionalization, dispatch?
it is an easy buzz word, you can polarize the room quickly
shared services makes more sense, how can we, what makes sense to share
you have to have a partner, candidly we don't have partners, there is resistance to that

we are 13 of 16 in communities we benchmark against so we don't have a whole lot to loss

Q
meetings, etc.
mostly training, contractors to do the training, not a great line for that

motion to approve, passed 7-1

we are back to 2007 level

Franklin, MA

State education mandates - the collection

From time to time, in particular around the budget period, reference is generally made to Franklin Public Schools having to support "unfunded mandates." I managed to find a listing of such compiled by the Massachusetts Association of School CommitteesThe series of posts on State Education Mandates can be found here:

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-1.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-2.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-3.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-4.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-5.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-6.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-7.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-8.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-9.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-10.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/04/state-education-mandates-part-11.html



Franklin, MA