Sunday, October 26, 2014

Ballot Question 5 - Dedicated Override to fund repairs to Roads and Sidewalks for Franklin

Ballot question 5 has been in discussion for several years with the discussion finally moving to action this year. The DPW has been updating their inventory of road conditions and coordinating the rebuilds with water/sewer work for the roads at the same time. 

A good number of the 200+ miles of roads in Franklin are all coming due for repairs around the same time. not surprising for those who were here to witness the explosion of Franklin's growth during the 1980's and 1990's.

The Town Council voted in June to put the question to the votes at the November 4th election. The 'official' explanation for the vote and associated links covering the details behind the question can be found here:

This question requests the voters to consider a $1,500,000 dedicated override specifically for the improvements to roads and sidewalks and the extension of sidewalks in Franklin. A dedicated override means that the funds can only be spent on roads and sidewalks and for no other purpose without the approval of the voters at a future election. The dedicated override is a permanent increase in your taxes unless the citizens vote to reduce or eliminate it. The Town Council cannot appropriate the money for any other purpose. 
The $1,500,000 will help address the nearly $50,000,000 backlog in road and sidewalk repairs as outlined in the 2012 BETA Engineering Study. If the voters approve the dedicated override, then starting in fiscal year 2015, the annual cost to the average single-family home assessed at approximately $360,000 would be $130 per year.

This text can also be found on the official Franklin webpage here
http://franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_News/01EC7020-000F8513



Ballot Question 5 text

***      ***      ***

Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to assess an additional $1,500,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding a stabilization fund as provided in GL Chapter 40 Section 5 B, said funds to be expended solely for roadway, sidewalk and related drainage work for the fiscal year beginning July first, two thousand and sixteen?



The text was included in the Town Council resolution approved on June 4, 2014
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/resolution-14-45-dedicated-override-to.html

***      ***      ***

Lincoln St road work during Aug 2014
Lincoln St road work during Aug 2014

Related posts

Road updates around town this year (2104)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/07/road-updates.html

The "Initiative 2014 Plan" as presented to the Town Council June 2014
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/Town_Council_Presentations/June_4_TownCouncilmeeting.pdf

DPW Upcoming projects updated for 2014
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/DPW_Upcoming_Projects.pdf

The road condition inventory as of Jan 2013
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/01/franklin-road-conditions-from-worst-to.html

From Apr 2013, DPW work planned for 2013 - 2015
http://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/council-dpw-upcoming-projects-april-13

From Aug 2013, the initial proposal
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/08/live-reporting-dpw-proposal-on-road.html

The presentation document from the Aug meeting
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/2013%20Roadway%20Presentation.pdf

From Mar 2014, the updated listing of road projects already being planned
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-dpw-update-road-projects.html

No comments:

Post a Comment