Saturday, June 12, 2010

Hi ho, Hi ho - an update on the raised gardens

On the food and nutrition front, remember the raised garden beds? Yes, they are still around and growing.


The pictures above and below are from the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School. Look closely and observe that the plant sign is in French. They have worked the foreign language curriculum into the garden process.


I met with Deb Schwab and four students to discuss using a blog to post the journal of their gardening activities and observations. I set one up for them. They need to complete their account set up and hopefully we'll get to do that before school breaks for the summer.


And what is this item? A tool worthy of hoeing the garden with! Ken Norman proudly shared this with the group. It has about a three foot handle so this was the best I could do with my camera phone at the time.

One tip I took away from the recent raised garden group meeting was in regards to weeding. If the weed has seeds, pinch the seeds and take them out of the garden area. If the weed doesn't have seeds, just hoe it back into the ground. The greenery will return the nutrients to the earth naturally.

And for your viewing pleasure: Rachel Ray was recently on Capitol Hill to help work on this issue




Hi ho, hi ho, off to blog I go!


Prior articles on the raised garden beds can be found here

Just after the raised gardens were put in
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-raised-garden-beds-in.html

At the Franklin Food Pantry
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/franklin-food-pantry.html


Franklin, MA


Strawberry Festival - Third Thursday - 6/17/10

The Franklin Downtown Partnership’s eighth annual Strawberry Festival will be held on Thursday, June 17, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For the first time the Partnership is combining this popular event with its Third Thursday line-up, and the group’s famous strawberry shortcakes won’t be the only draw this year.

Live music at five locations, games and balloons for kids, a sidewalk sale, museum tours and face painting are just some of the activities designed to give families plenty to do throughout the downtown.

“We want this festival to be all about families,” says Lisa Piana, executive director of the Partnership. “This is our big kick-off to summer and our Third Thursday events. We have more businesses participating this year than ever before, offering something for everyone.”

Some of those offerings include a fitness demonstration by Team Fitness, chocolate covered strawberries and a “strawberry pedicure” at Salon Sorella, and food specials at various restaurants. Emma’s Quilt Shop invites everyone to stop in and participate in the 1 Million Pillowcase charity sewing event.

The Historical Museum will offer tours and old-fashioned lemonade on the porch with entertainment by Jack Murray from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Rick’s Restaurant will sponsor a classic car “Cruise Night” and feature a live R & B band. An artist’s reception at Jane’s Frames will highlight the Franklin High School 2011 AP Portfolio Class and entertainer Jamie Barrett.

John Kinney will perform at the festival municipal parking lot on West Central Street from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Jamie Barrett will play from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Dave Navikas will entertain patrons on the Café Dolce Patio from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Parking is available in the municipal lots downtown. In addition, the “Strawberry Express” GATRA bus will ferry visitors from the town common on High Street to various event locations downtown.

The festival is made possible through generous donations by Silver sponsors NHS Print, Garelick, Dean Bank, Dean College , Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation and Middlesex Savings Bank, as well as Bronze sponsors Ever So Humble, CVS Pharmacy, ReMax/Eileen Mason and Doherty, Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon, P.C.

If you would like to volunteer or want more information about the Strawberry Festival, contact Chairperson Nicole Fortier at nicolefortier@deanbank.com. For more information about the Franklin Downtown Partnership please contact Executive Director Lisa Piana at downtown.franklin@yahoo.com or call (774) 571-3109.


Photos from last year's Strawberry Festival can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/06/strawberry-festival.html


Friday, June 11, 2010

people buy why you do it

Simon Sinek has an answer by asking the question, Why? Maybe the golden circle can help explain how some overrides pass and some fail.



What do you think about this?


Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video

Franklin, MA

Looking for work? Considering entrepreneur or franchise?

If you are looking for work or are considering going into business for yourself either as an entrepreneur or with a franchise, the speaker at the Hopkinton Networking Group meeting Friday, June 11 is one to catch.

Suzanne Gray gave a presentation on this topic at the recent Job Search Jam Sessions and it was well received.

If you missed that, you get another chance today!

When: 10:00 AM - Noon
Where: St John's Evangelist Parish Center, 20 Church St, Hopkinton
Cost: $1


Note: this was also posted on the Job Search Jam Session site here

Franklin, MA

Farmers Market - today - noon to 6:00 PM

The Farmers Market opens today from noon to 6:00 PM on the Town Common


Fresh local produce!


 Franklin, MA

In the News - Senior expo, budget, Gianotti


Franklin Senior Expo is today




Franklin OKs $88.1 million budget


Franklin, MA

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Live reporting - Town Council - FY 2011 Budget Hearing - Part 2

Present:  Kelly, Jones, Vallee, Whalen, Mason, Pfeffer, Powderly
Absent: McGann, Zollo


Jeff Nutting, Susan Gagner, Jim Dacey

no questions or comments before going through the budget line items, items can be held for discussion

Hold on police expenses - Vallee
My priority is health, safety and education
We are down to 45 with a population of 33, 000
I don't feel comfortbale with that

Vallee - how many on a shift?
Williams - I try to run 6-8 on a shift
Sooner or later we are going to get caught, I don't want anyone pointing fingers
We do 42,000 incidents, almost 6,000 - 911 calls
When the economy turns down, the activities turn up
There are more stress levels in the home environment, it takes an officer longer to resolve the issues
Am I comfortable, no

Vallee - I think we should have cut other departments to maintain staff here

Williams - We are also loosing three dispatchers this year, I will only have two people during the peak times
there will be times when citizens will call and they will wait, can't be helped

Vallee - Hold on fire salaries
McCarragher - with 12 per shift, and one off, we could still staff two vehicles
with 11 on shift, and one off, we can only staff one vehicle
it is a very complex event, 50% of our calls are coming in back-to-back
we need to figure out how to staff and not tax our surrounding help, it won't help them and it won't help us
What's going to happen on July 1, I still don't know yet

Vallee - I am getting complaints about too many people showing up on an ambulance call
McCarragher - the most important service is responding to the next one, we are living within the means we are given, we are relying upon partners and we are trying to figure this out

Vallee - I am unhappy with the situation, it is getting worse every year
McCarragher - yes, I can agree with you on that point

Jones - Is there a standard
McCarragher - we are staffed for 2 minor emergencies to handle at once, or one major emergency
With the budget being voted on tonight, I have nine instead of ten


Kelly - Hold on OPEB
our responsibility is a whole lot more is this just a place holder?
Nutting - yes, this is a start, I will be coming back with a more complete analysis we can transfer other monies there and invest a little more aggressively

-----
Resolution on Elected Officials Salaries
Motion to approve, passed 7-0
MA general law have to be voted separately, they deferred their salaries last year and this get them whole this year like everyone else

(see document on link for full details of resolution)
Resolution on Town Budget for FY 2011
motion to approve, passed 7-0
Sewer rate increase likely next year

-----
Council Comments
Powderly - Bellingham police office struck on traffic duty
Fire statistics are showing a decline in response

Vallee - can we take some money from the Stabilization fund to provide more safety
Nutting - the Council can do that at any time with a two thirds vote, taking money for one time events will create further problems down the road

Whalen - with regards to the Police and Fire budget cuts they should not be a surprise to anyone
They were well notified during the recent discussions
Taking money from the stabilization fund, we should not take that for operational deficits
If we did so, as we eventually go for financing the high school renovations, that would on an out of pocket calculation about a $2 million increase that we can avoid.

Mason - I spoke to a gentleman today who thought the best idea was to reduce the overtime
when staff goes down the overtime goes up, coverage is still required


The Budget hearing document for Thursday can be found here (PDF)
 http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06102010budgethearing.pdf



Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Budget Hearing 6/10/10

The Town Council met on Wednesday and will meet again today (Thursday, 6/10/10) to finalize the budget for fiscal year 2011. The Finance Committee has already held their budget hearings to prepare for these meetings. The decision to hold an override vote to help balance the budget given the shortfall projected and real had been made. The vote was held on June 8th and there won't be additional tax revenue from the residents to work with for FY 2011.

The budget hearings will finalize the budget cutting personnel and services.

The Budget hearing document for Thursday can be found here (PDF)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06102010budgethearing.pdf

My notes on the hearing Wednesday can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/live-reporting-town-council-fy-2011.html


For reference the Finance Committee budget hearings can be found here:
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 Budget Workshop held on January 25, 2010 can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html

Franklin, MA

In the News - layoffs, FHS renovation

Franklin plans for layoffs

from The Milford Daily News News RSS 

Franklin High renovation plans progress

from The Milford Daily News News RSS 


Franklin, MA

"you need to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable"

In this 12 minute video clip, John Perry Barlow says:

the internet is enabling the possibility of collective human thought
it was going to be a difficult road
it was going to question every system of authority

political process, you need each other
you need to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable
all politics is local

it is possible to see the future where money didn't matter in an election

the internet has made it practically impossible to govern something like the nation

we have to use the same mechanism where we ran a campaign from the bottom to run the government from the bottom



A worthy lesson given the recent events around the override vote

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video clip.

Franklin, MA

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Live reporting - Town Council - FY 2011 Budget Hearing

Present: Kelly, Jones, Whalen, Mason, Pfeffer, McGann, Powderly, Zollo
Absent: Vallee

Jeff Nutting, Jim Dacey, Susan Gagner

Part one of two part budget hearing, Wednesday and Thursday
Thanks to Susan and Jim for their work on preparation, the FINCOM also reviewed this, thanks to them for their help

Revenue side
The budget starts in the Fall and as we go through the year
We are always looking ahead to see what we are facing.
As bad as this is, we will be wishing next year that this year is back.
We are already thinking about that.

Revenue up a couple million, allowed to increase up to 2.5 percent - $1.8 million
Interest income, excise taxes, state aid loss again this year (lost in excess of $3 M in last three years)

May have to ask for the Council to change the budget procedurally in July
We are using the House budget, the Senate budget is different
We won't know exactly until the State makes their decision final.

We did take advantage of the meals tax, we have $300,000 from that which helps this year

We will start a $1.2 Million in the hole next year due to one time stimulus funds this year not available next year.

Expense side
All budgets reflect a deferment of the wages from last year's budget
They are in effect this year

The health care changes the employees agreed to and that has saved jobs

Overall the budgets are supressed
The Town loses nine positions, the Schools lose 15 and other changes that they'll will elaborate on as this goes
The DPW loses three people, there will be delays in lawn cutting, etc.
The Police are losing three dispatchers so that will delay some calls, hopefully not 911 calls

Q - Pfeffer
What are the increases reflected in this budget?
A - Nutting
There is no fiscal 2011 increase in this budget
Most of the contracts remain to be negotiated

Q - Pfeffer
I just hope whoever is going into negotiation knows that there is 0%
A - Nutting
Yes

Hold on Police Salaries - Whalen
Hold on unemployment compensation - Nutting
Hold on OPEB - Nutting


1 - Hold on Police Salaries - Whalen
The vast majority is the three dispatchers


2 - Hold on unemployment compensation - Nutting
Putting the Council on notice to add money to this account, with more layoffs coming, we will need more in this account, add $100,000 from free cash

3 - Hold on OPEB - Nutting
If money is put into this account, we can invest it more aggressively 
We need to look at this to meet our unfunded liability

Motion to close hearing, approved 8-0

Council comments
Powderly - thanks for all the activities, those who voted and those who did not vote also counted
The issues are not going to change next year

Zollo - thanks for all the effort
we will respect the will of the voters
As the overrides continue to come, as they will, I hope the increase


Pfeffer
the Fire station, needs to be taken care of, why can't the fireman take care of it
The trees need to be taken care of, they are living trees

Jones
Thanks to all of those who came out to vote
We are going to make some cuts that will hurt

Mason
Overrides tend to bring out the worst in people
I wrote a letter that is posted on Franklin Matters, I am a better writer than speaker, so I urge you to go read the letter

Motion to adjourn, passed 8-0



Franklin, MA



Letter from Scott Mason

Dear Franklin Citizens,

As I write this, I am trying to clear my head after a very long day at the polls yesterday.

Nearly 40-percent of our registered voters exercised their constitutional right to vote in a special election that asked voters to approve a $3 million tax override. The question failed.

Several members of the Town Council, School Committee, Finance Committee, as well as many private citizens, worked very hard over the past month in an attempt to present the facts behind the need for this extra money. We held a public forum, spoke to PCC’s and met with folks in their homes. Many of us used vacation time from work, sacrificed time with families, and postponed personal plans to provide this service. We did this willingly and with enthusiasm for a cause we truly believe in – the Town of Franklin.

Along the way, we met people who welcomed us into their homes, invited their friends to hear us, and were genuinely concerned with the troubles our community faces.

We also met and heard from citizens who don’t believe in what we are doing. We were told that Franklin overspends, that Franklin must live within it’s means; that because private businesses are not providing raises to it’s workers, Franklin too, must continue to cut personnel and services. In some cases, we as the town government were blamed for problems at the state and federal level. Some of these citizens engaged us in polite, civil conversation, and some, unfortunately, made their feelings known in less mature ways.

Franklin has always benefited from a below-average tax rate and above-average services. Our employees work very hard with very limited resources. It is my deepest hope that despite these next round of cuts, they can somehow continue to do so. We enjoy great “bang for the buck” in this town. Unfortunately, seeing the cuts that have been made over the years, the effects on our schools and municipal infrastructure, I know that we are in for a very rocky road.

I want to thank the folks that gave so much of their time to fight for this cause, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote, either for or against the override. Let’s never forget the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedom. Democracy works.

Perhaps the best aspect of Proposition 2 1/2, is that it gives citizens the opportunity to determine the destiny of their community. This was played out in Franklin yesterday, and was and will be played out in many cities and towns in Massachusetts this spring. We as a Town Council will work with what we have as we have always done, and I as the Council Chairman will continue to do my best to represent the best interests of all our citizens.

Sincerely,

Scott Mason
Town Council Chairman



Franklin, MA


School Committee - 06/08/10

Notes from the School Committee meeting conducted on June 8th can be found here:


These notes were reported on from the video archive as I was at the high school for the election results.
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=CMrOAys1pDEl0YEVhOcHuA%3d%3d


Franklin, MA

School Committee - closing items

4. Action Items

a. I recommend adoption of the Facilities MOU as detailed.
Motion to approve, passed 6-0


5. Information Matters

Superintendent’s Report
a. Foreign Language
b. Enrollment Comparison

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
Cafasso - advertising moving to the field, local businesses are expressing interest




School Committee Liaison Reports - none

6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.


thanks to the community for another successful All night party
thanks to the  DPW custodial staff for a wonderful job preparing the buildings for the graduation, the all night party, etc.



7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations


motion to enter Executive session, no intention to return to open meeting
approved, 6-0 via roll call


Franklin, MA

School Committee - discussion only items - part 2

  • Data Assessment & Resource Tool (DART)
  • MSBA Architect Selection Representative (already covered)
 DESE has now provided some of the comparison reporting that the District used to do manually
viewable from the DESE website
select the district
DESE selects 10 comparable districts automatically (exactly how they did so, is not yet defined)
scroll down, to chose other districts

schools working with the new data to determine the updates to their strategic planning process
data and fields still in process of updating
changes almost daily, if you download, check back for updates


Franklin, MA

School Committee - discussion only items - part 1

3. Discussion Only Items

  • Facilities MOU
  • Foreign Language
MOU - memorandum of understanding
covers the agreement for the Town providing the maintenance of the school buildings and grounds
only significant change is term of agreement, proposing to go out five years
still maintains a yearly review with an option for either side to come back and re-do the agreement

Foreign Language
exploring changes to the program
Elementary (K-5) has been cut each year since 2005
eliminate K-5 Spanish and replace with additional programs on health/wellness
students would have PE/Health twice a week
pilot programs with YMCA on food and nutritional items
i.e. addressing the bullying and increase the physical activities
data from MetroWest Foundation reports show need for more foundational work in this area
The "Let's Be Honest" programs held this year were well received

teaching kids about good decision making
start small and gradually develop a full K-5 program
Open Circle would still continue, it is a reactive program, a problem resolution system
we would be adding an instructional piece to enhance that

Yes, we are loosing something. What we are putting back is not what we had sometime ago
It saddens us to make these choices

The Kennedy students who came earlier and showed what they were doing with food, that is a result from the grant work with the Y

We used to say "we are really proud of the Spanish program", now it is all gone

I didn't feel it was responsible for us to take data without providing some guidance to the students on the choices they can make

Middle School foreign language
proposing to eliminate Latin as a foreign language
we have struggled to find certified and qualified teachers in this area
we have had 8 teachers in 4 years, we have looked at different areas to bring the best qualified teachers
maybe this is the time to focus on the high school Latin program and just have Spanish at the middle schools
we tried to work it with one Latin teacher across the Middle schools and the schedule just doesn't work
of the nine applications we found, only three we would bring in for interviews
elementary Spanish teachers would transfer into other positions in the elementary schools

This is a slippery slope that we have been going down with the foreign language programs
The top 10 percent of students were the ones qualifying for the Level 2
It was not a great situation for anyone involved

Maybe an after school or summer school but trying to do it piecemeal wouldn't get real gains from it

I think we need a meeting on the foreign language program as there are pieces flying away
Maybe the meeting wouldn't help us, it is a big change and deserves more attention

We had dropped French to put Latin because it helped in other areas
There is difficulty in finding qualified and certified Latin teachers especially in the middle school area
We would still prefer to have Latin but we can find the right folks to provide the service

230 Latin students in 6th and 7th grade would go into next year as a first year in Spanish?
How to handle them remains to be detailed.



Franklin, MA

School Committee - building committee update

d. FHS Building Update 


Tom Mercer,  Sean Fennel

Daedelus worked on the Annie Sullivan School, Fire Station, Senior Center and Horace Mann projects. Have now been selected to work on the FHS renovation project.

22 firms showed up for a walk through of the high school
9 submitted proposals for the first phase of the project

Projected timeline, best guess at this point
midway through architect selection
July 13th going before the MSBA board (target date)
Town will have option to interview firms at that meeting, interviews would be scheduled later
Coming out of the interviews would be a leading firm and contract negotiations by mid-August

MSBA Board needs to vote on the feasibility study, which is targeted for March 2011
Schematic design approval is required and targeted in Sept/Oct 2011
Then within 120 days of the MSBA approval, the Franklin voters need to approve their portion (i.e. Nov 2011 vote for the debt exclusion as mentioned earlier)

MSBA Board and three designated representatives to chose the architect
One each from the School Dept, Town, and School Committee
This group would be the ones to conduct the interviews and make the final decision on the architect

Q - when and where would the interviews be?
Interviews would be held two weeks later (after the July 13th meeting), in Boston, in the same room
All meetings are public

Q - are you reviewing the proposals now?
Yes, they are being reviewed. The Board is responsible for the decision on the proposals. The MSBA Board has 12 members plus the 3 designated reps as outlined above.

Q - when would be the debt exclusion?
According to the timeline, likely Nov 2011

Q - when would the construction be completed?
Too early to tell, we don't know what the work will be at this point


Franklin, MA

School Committee - Maggie Streeter

c. Maggie Streeter (Annie Sullivan Middle School) John F. Kennedy Make A Difference Award


recognized for work on the Best Buddies program



Franklin, MA

School Committee - community service

b. Annie Sullivan Middle School (ASMS) Communiteen Club


Pennies for Patients 
Raised over $5,000 for Leukemia Research among other projects.



Franklin, MA

School Committee - Retirees

2. Guests/Presentations

a. Retirees

  • Anne Bergen, HMMS Principal
  • Judi Bassignani, Parmenter Elementary Principal
  • Joyce Bardol – ASMS Teacher
  • Unable to attend: Linda Chelman, Jane Sveden, Elizabeth LaPlaca



Franklin, MA

School Committee - routine business

Present: Douglas, Cafasso, Rohrbach, Mullen, Roy, Trahan
Absent: Glynn

1. Routine Business

Citizen’s Comments - none
Review of Agenda - noneMinutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the May 25, 2010 School Committee Meeting and the Executive Session minutes from the June 1, 2010 Negotiations Strategy Session.
motion to approve, passed 6-0

Payment of Bills - Mr. Glynn (next time)
Payroll - Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives

Correspondence:

1. Letter from Mary Fallon
2. Letter from Mrs. Hildman
3. Budget to Actual
4. Letter from Mrs. Mitchell



Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Budget Hearing 6/9/10

The Town Council meets on Wednesday (6/9/10) and Thursday (6/10/10) to finalize the budget for fiscal year 2011. The Finance Committee has already held their budget hearings to prepare for these meetings. The decision to hold an override vote to help balance the budget given the shortfall projected and real had been made. The vote was held on June 8th and there won't be additional tax revenue from the residents to work with for FY 2011.

The budget hearings will finalize the budget cutting personnel and services.

The budget hearing document for Wednesday can be found here (PDF)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06092010budgethearing.pdf

The Budget hearing document for Thursday can be found here (PDF)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06102010budgethearing.pdf


For reference the Finance Committee budget hearings can be found here:
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 Budget Workshop held on January 25, 2010 can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html


Franklin, MA

Now what?

Good question.

The numbers are in, the majority has ruled and as a result town services will continue to deteriorate.

For those that voted "No', this appears to be just fine for them. Calling for an emergency may get you an answering machine. One less ambulance will be available for that life critical support. Children in school will get challenged by higher class sizes and less teacher attention to prepare for the MCAS tests that will make or break their future.

For those that voted "Yes", the same results will apply equally.

40% turnout is the issue for me. With over 19,000 voters, only 7,966 bothered to vote (297 by absentee ballot).

Where were the other 11,000?

These are the folks for whom the issues (town services) apparently don't matter.

What's in it for me? is the major question most folks ask. From the comments on the Milford Daily News, there is an angry anti-tax group. That is no surprise given the override history in Franklin. The "Invest in Franklin" message did gain some traction in that there was an increase in overall votes from 2008 and mostly amongst the "Yes" crowd, but it wasn't enough.

The 11,000 must go about their life without any significant town services. They may not have children in schools (otherwise they should care). The conditions of the roads they travel on don't matter to them. They may see the quarterly tax bill (or maybe their mortgage company pays it for them) and it doesn't matter much. They get their trash picked up on the curbside weekly and that may be about the only town service they directly get on a regular basis. (Which is paid for from the solid waste/'trash' enterprise account and not the operational budget.)

How do I reach out to the 11,000? That is my challenge.

How do I get to their attention?
How do I let them know that trend of deteriorating services in Franklin should matter?

Maybe that is the answer.

Maybe the real and continued deterioration of services will eventually strike them enough so that they'll get informed to take action and vote.



Franklin, MA

In the Globe - election results

"Our option is to carry out the mandate of the voters, which was to preserve the lowest possible tax rate and accept eroding services," said Stephen Whalen, vice chairman of Franklin's Town Council, of the 4143 to 3820 vote defeating the tax hike. About 40 percent of local voters turned out to cast ballots, he said.
Whalen said, among other cuts, his town would likely slash teaching jobs, be reduced to a single ambulance crew, and be forced to raise high school athletic fees "significantly," a move that worried him.
" I think the mark of a great community is that every kid has access to top-notch public education, and raising fees like that turns us into a town of haves and have-nots," he said.

Read the full article in the Boston Globe here
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/budgetblues/2010/06/concord_upton_voters_approve_o.html

Franklin, MA

In the News - election results

"I'm surprised it didn't pass, and I'm surprised the turnout wasn't higher," Feeley said. "... There is no waste, and cuts will be made."
He said claims that children of override opponents were mistreated at school are false and insulting to teachers.
"If it (were true), someone needs to step forward," Feeley said.

Read the full article here:

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1932553637/Franklin-voters-say-no-to-override



Franklin, MA

Creative Commons explained

This neat little video explains copyright and the creative commons license.



My work here is for non-commercial use, share-alike, modification with attribution.

Thanks to FreeTech4Teachers for the pointer to this video.

Franklin, MA

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

More 'Yes' than 2008, but not enough

In comparison to the 2008 failed override, there was a gain in Yes votes and less No votes as the margin narrowed.

In 2008, the override failed by a vote of 4290 to 3382.
In 2010, the override failed by a vote of 4143 to 3820.



Precinct Yes Chg No Chg
1 103 -26
2 22 -27
3 74 -22
4 42 -23
5 58 -7
6 52 -33
7 60 -29
8 7 20

418 -147


A comparison of the 2010 to 2007 and 2010 to 2008 is shown below:


Franklin, MA

Override fails by 323

7966 voters cast their ballots, 4143 against and only 3820 for the override hence failing by 323 votes. (Yes, 3 people went to vote but their ballot did not count. Either they did not fill in the circle one way or another or they filled in both circles.)


Precinct Yes No Blank Totals
1 491 512 0 1003
2 402 505 2 909
3 300 631 1 932
4 610 538 0 1148
5 413 464 0 877
6 395 520 0 915
7 697 431 0 1128
8 512 542 0 1054

3820 4143 3 7966


Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: special election ballot

This is what the ballot looks like. I hope all registered Franklin voters get to see one of these today.

One question, requires a circle on the 'yes' or 'no'

Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to assess an additional $3,000,000.00 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of the operating budget for which monies from this assessment will be used for the fiscal year beginning July 1, two thousand and ten?

If you haven't yet, please go VOTE!

Franklin, MA: Vote June 8th

All the discussion on the pros and cons has lead to this day

It is time to vote

Go to the high school field house between 6:00 AM and 8:00 PM

to cast your ballot









Leenhouts at Northeastern

From the Boston Globe Sports section I find:


The sophomore left-hander from Franklin struck out 88 batters in 71.2 innings and earned Colonial Athletic Association first-team honors.
A three-sport athlete at Franklin High, Leenhouts was 3-4 in 11 starts with three of the losses coming in games decided by two runs or fewer.
His 11.05 strikeouts per nine innings was best among conference starters, and ranked 14th among NCAA Division 1 pitchers. His strikeout total was the fifth best in program history.


Read the full article here:
http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/baseball/articles/2010/06/06/franklins_leenhouts_excels_as_northeastern_starter/

Franklin, MA

In the News - Big Y, Van Roon


Franklin planners OK Big Y




Franklin, MA

Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee Meeting - Agenda

Proposed Agenda for June 8, 2010
Location: Franklin YMCA 45 Forge Hill Road
Start Time: 7:30PM


I. Call to Order / Introductions of New Attendees
A. Introduction of new attendees
B. Review of minutes of previous meeting
C. Approve previous meeting minutes


II. Report from our representative from DCR
A. Eagle Scout Kiosk Project
B. Gates & Grading
C.

III. Membership Committee Report (Denison, McKeown, Sawyer)
A. Committee to report on membership activity

IV. Report from Finance Committee (Rossetti)
A. Report from Treasurer

V. Report of Fund Raising Committee (Sawyer)
A. Report on fund raising activities
a. Report Road Race Committee by Dave Labonte

VI. Report from Grant Writing Committee (if any)
A. Extend committee with more members & participation

VII. Unfinished Business
A.

VIII. New Business
A. Need volunteers to work on the 2nd edition brochure

IX. Set Date and place for Next Meeting and Adjourn



Franklin, MA

Monday, June 7, 2010

Budget - Override Collection - FY 2011

The following links provide access to information on the budget for Fiscal Year 2011

Additional items will be added here as they are found/prepared.
If you are looking for something in particular regarding the budget and don't find it, please let me know.

Now what?


Letter from Ed Cafasso

Joint Statement on Override - June 8th
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/joint-message-on-june-8th-special.html

Scott Mason Interview on the whole gamut of topics around the vote on June 8th
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/fm-69-scott-mason-part-1-of-2.html
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/fm-69-b-scott-mason-part-2-of-2.html

Town Fiscal Year 2011 Budget document and cover letter
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Admin/FY%2011%20Budget/

Budget Workshop (held Jan 25, 2010) to prepare for the budget
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html

Finance Committee budget hearings
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

Town Forum at Horace Mann School Auditorium (video)
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=mGsI6gdlM4Tf2oFU7LAn9g%3d%3d


Town Council budget hearings
June 9th - meeting notes can be found here
June 10th

Franklin budget for FY 2010
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Admin/FY%2010%20Budget/

Franklin budget documents for years prior to 2010
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Admin/previous

Financial audit reports for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Admin/Audits/

School Department/School Committee budget book
http://www.franklin.k12.ma.us/co/supt/budget/FY2011Budgetbook.pdf (PDF)

School Department proposed cuts to the level service budget (assuming override does not pass)
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/franklin-ma-school-budget-possible.html

School Committee override page
http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/

Schools presentation on budget and need for override
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/franklin-ma-choice-we-have.html

Financial Planning Committee report (long term plan) and documents
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_BComm/financial%20planning%20committee%20report/

A series of posts on State Education Mandates (unfunded mandates)
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/state-education-mandates-collection.html

Invest in Franklin: http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/

The June 8th Special Election Flyer can be found here

The forums and events calendar to hear and discuss information on the Special Election June 8th can be found here

Franklin's override and debt exclusion history
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-override-debt-exclusion.html

Frequently Asked Questions




Significant comment discussion is also found in these articles on the Milford Daily News website

http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x1372400798/Franklin-puts-money-aside-to-pay-laid-off-workers

http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x1602636112/Franklin-proceeds-with-layoffs

http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x1602634672/Franklin-plans-for-layoffs

http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x682904107/Franklin-votes-on-tax-override-today

http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x682904075/Franklin-planners-OK-Big-Y

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x88774700/Case-made-for-Franklin-tax-override

http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x457996868/Franklin-schools-discuss-cuts

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x88775036/Franklin-principals-say-cuts-have-been-harmful

http://www.milforddailynews.com/newsnow/x644095507/GUEST-COLUMN-Vote-yes-on-Franklin-override



Franklin, MA