FM #1437 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1437 in the series.
This session shares the Finance Committee meeting conducted Tuesday, April 29, 2025. All 8 members of the Committee were present in the 3rd floor training for the second of the series of Budget Hearings for FY 2026. This session covered Public Safety (police, fire, dispatch and inspections) and Public Works (DPW, water, sewer, roads, etc).
Quick recap:
Police Chief TJ Lynch started his update. Basically the same as last year with some minor adjustments. If the override were to fail, he would loose 2 officers. He is hiring to backfill for retirees and transfers. When as ked to elaborate on that, he provided the details on the 5 recent departures, with one being sworn in at Council meeting and one still to be hired.
Deputy Chiefs Klich & Barberi provided the update in lieu of Chief McLaughlin out this week on vacation.
Similar to the police update, very little change in totals. If the override fails, they would lose the staffing for the 3rd ambulance. The 3rd ambulance responded to over 100 calls last year and resulted in over 70 hospital transports during its 40 hours of weekly coverage. The community would notice the difference in slower response times as mutual aid would be providing more coverage than they do today
Discussion on vehicle replacement both costs increasing and lead times lengthening. A new ambulance ordered in 2022 is scheduled for delivery in August. The Tower truck ordered in 2023 is scheduled for delivery this summer. The current Tower would stay in the fleet and move to back up status, as would the older of the ambulances when the new one arrives.
Brutus Cantoreggi, DPW director and Kathy Mooradd, Administration and Budget manager presented initially. Doug Martin, Water/Sewer Superintendent stood up along the way to cover water and sewer updates.
Similar to the police and fire updates, a level funded budget being presented. Note, not a level service budget. The dollar remains about the same but the materials cost across the DPW departments account for 65% of the total budget (35% of the personnel cost). The same amount of money is getting less to work with. A failed override will also be noticeable but not right away. Water will still run, sewers will still operate, other maintenance and road repairs, etc. will be delayed or take longer.
There were other budget items discussed; Building & inspection, MECC dispatch.
The meeting total only runs 90 minutes so it should be easy enough to catch up to. The audio and transcript will come out also (audio Thursday, transcript on the weekend).
The recording runs about 90 minutes, so let’s listen in. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1437-tof-finance-cmte-budget-hearing-2-04-29-25/
--------------
Franklin TV video available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHPuafjzDg
The agenda doc for this session -> https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04292025-1699
My notes captured during the meeting via Twitter
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocIK4PjauaMMklMFVxkybmp4eTf5716K/view?usp=drive_link
-------------
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
2nd FY 2026 budget hearing confirms what happens if June 3 override fails for Police, Fire, DPW services (audio)
No comments:
Post a Comment