Concerned about Franklin's Finances? GET THE FACTS
Long-Range Financial Planning Committee
Monday, April 27th
7 PM Horace
Mann School
(Mercer Auditorium)
IT’S TIME WELL SPENT
You can view the report here
Showing posts with label FPC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FPC. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2009
Concerned about Franklin's finances?
Concerned about Franklin's Finances? GET THE FACTS
Long-Range Financial Planning Committee
Monday, April 27th
7 PM Horace
Mann School
(Mercer Auditorium)
IT’S TIME WELL SPENT
You can view the report here
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Financial Planning Report - available
Click through to the Franklin Town website to view and download the draft report of the Financial Planning Committee here
The summary of the FPC meetings this year as well as the Focus Group's feedback can be found here:
This report will be the subject of the open forum meeting Monday at 7:00 PM at the Horace Mann/Mercer Auditorium.
The summary of the FPC meetings this year as well as the Focus Group's feedback can be found here:
- Financial Plng Comm 01/15/09
- Financial Plng Comm 02/05/09
- Financial Plng Comm 02/19/09
- Financial Plng Comm 03/05/09
- Financial Plng Comm 03/12/09
- Financial Plng Comm 03/26/09
- Financial Plng Comm 04/02/09
- Financial Plng Comm 04/23/09
- Focus Group Collection
This report will be the subject of the open forum meeting Monday at 7:00 PM at the Horace Mann/Mercer Auditorium.
Friday, April 24, 2009
"the problem is real, it's growing, and it's perpetual"
Milford Daily News
FRANKLIN —
At its last meeting before presenting its report to the public, the long-range financial planning committee's top concern was making sure they can draw a large crowd.
In an effort to ensure people attend the forum at Horace Mann Middle School on Monday at 7 p.m., committee members debated using the townwide calling system to invite residents to come.
Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting argued that the system must only be used for emergencies. If it is used for announcements, nobody will listen when a "real emergency comes," Nutting said.
Councilor Stephen Whalen emphatically insisted that there is no more important issue in town than its recurring deficit and the damaging impact it can and has wrought.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.
Financial Plng Comm 04/23/09
The live reporting from the Financial Planning Committee meeting of 4/23/09 can be found here
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Live reporting - FPC
Clarification on average annual debt versus actual.
Page 5 of the executive summary, remove the reference to "outsource", it hasn't really been done to amount to much. There has mostly been elimination not outsourcing.
Need to adjust the deficit to ensure the forecast agrees with FY 10. Jeff and Doug to finalize the numbers as close as they can. The numbers may still change but we want to be to in the ball park and not an order of magnitude off.
Medical trends go at double digit growth so we still need to forecast accordingly.
The one-time savings are primarily associated with what was forecasted versus what can get into the budget.
Should we address the teacher retirement as it is not funded by the town? Yes, need to find a place appropriately.
Need to assign responsibilities for computer, screen projection (Jeff)
Microphone one at stage, one each aisle (Jeff)
Go through the executive summary
Discussion on using the connect-cty to notify the town of the meeting Monday night. School system will likely be used to notify the school community.
Discussion on confirmation of broadcasting via cable. Not confirmed yet.
Whole object here is that the problem is real, it is growing, it is systemic.
Use a dashboard on the web to show what the numbers are, they may change over time. It needs to be reflected as what changed and why, not that they "found money".
Page 5 of the executive summary, remove the reference to "outsource", it hasn't really been done to amount to much. There has mostly been elimination not outsourcing.
Need to adjust the deficit to ensure the forecast agrees with FY 10. Jeff and Doug to finalize the numbers as close as they can. The numbers may still change but we want to be to in the ball park and not an order of magnitude off.
Medical trends go at double digit growth so we still need to forecast accordingly.
The one-time savings are primarily associated with what was forecasted versus what can get into the budget.
Should we address the teacher retirement as it is not funded by the town? Yes, need to find a place appropriately.
Need to assign responsibilities for computer, screen projection (Jeff)
Microphone one at stage, one each aisle (Jeff)
Go through the executive summary
Discussion on using the connect-cty to notify the town of the meeting Monday night. School system will likely be used to notify the school community.
Discussion on confirmation of broadcasting via cable. Not confirmed yet.
Whole object here is that the problem is real, it is growing, it is systemic.
Use a dashboard on the web to show what the numbers are, they may change over time. It needs to be reflected as what changed and why, not that they "found money".
Live reporting - Financial Plng - 4/23/09
Attending: Roche, Bartlett, Hardesty, Nutting, Cameron, Trahan, Whalen, Wilschek
Absent: Kelly, Ogden, Zollo
Approved minutes of 4/2/09, 4/9/09 meeting
Review of new numbers to show decline in town employees since 1999 versus population increase since that same time.
Discussion on new slide which tries to get at the projected deficit for this year. Too much is still in float, leave out the revenue numbers. Focus on the one-time adjustments because that puts us in the hole to start out in FY 2011.
Discussion on freeze versus deferral. Deferral is more accurate.
Absent: Kelly, Ogden, Zollo
Approved minutes of 4/2/09, 4/9/09 meeting
Review of new numbers to show decline in town employees since 1999 versus population increase since that same time.
Discussion on new slide which tries to get at the projected deficit for this year. Too much is still in float, leave out the revenue numbers. Focus on the one-time adjustments because that puts us in the hole to start out in FY 2011.
Discussion on freeze versus deferral. Deferral is more accurate.
Live reporting - Financial Planning Committee - 4/23/09
The meeting was rescheduled to start at 7:30 PM.
Concerned about Franklin's Finances?
Concerned about Franklin's Finances? GET THE FACTS
Long-Range Financial Planning Committee
Monday, April 27th
7 PM Horace
Mann School
(Mercer Auditorium)
IT’S TIME WELL SPENT
Thursday, April 16, 2009
over-reliance on state aid "sounds like a ticking time bomb,"
Milford Daily News
FRANKLIN —
After 10 months of meeting, researching, and creating a five-year financial outlook, the long-range financial planning committee presented its report to Town Council last night, cautioning Franklin's finances will keep spiraling into the red if all remains status quo.
In his presentation, Vice Chairman Doug Hardesty, a resident and auditor by profession, also warned that Franklin is teetering on non-compliance status with the state in regard to net school spending. The town is on track to fall below the warning level - defined as 5 percent above the minimum - next year, which means the state will intervene and force Franklin to give more money to schools.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Read the live reporting from the Town Council meeting here
Concerned about Franklin's Finances?
Concerned about Franklin's Finances? GET THE FACTS
Long-Range Financial Planning Committee
Monday, April 27th
7 PM Horace
Mann School
(Mercer Auditorium)
IT’S TIME WELL SPENT
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Live reporting - Fin'l Plng Comm - cont'd
Page 7
Peer comparison - towns listed in appendix
spent time validating the peer group, we feel as a group it is a very good peer comparison
Avg peer town - 18% State aid vs Franklin 31%
taxes 58% town contribution vs 45% in Franklin
We are #1 in receiving State Aid, we are #29 in percent of our taxes paying for what we need
6.2% of the household in the peer towns from tax support
5.3% for Franklin
We rank 27 out of 31 towns in term of per capita municipal spending
Franklin spends 22% less than the State Avg
Looking at the efficiency at the top down side, when we rank near the bottom on almost every category, we have to be. While other towns are reacting to the crisis by cutting fat, we are close to cutting to the bone.
Page 10 in the Executive Summary, key slide on school spending and state minimum
Red line - warning line, once below you could be in trouble
Once we hit the minimum, the town will bear the burden of the deficits
Capital budget addressed on Page 11
The debt service is low, Franklin amongst the 31 towns ranks 22
We are not taking on a lot of debt even in the perception of "lots of capital" spending
Forecasted Deficit in 2014 could be 7.7 M or 11.3 M depending upon the assumptions used
The numbers don't include the high school renovation. There is a placeholder for its inclusion and it will need to be once the numbers become more real.
Inflation currently at an avg of 3.3% is different from getting to a 7-8 percent rate of inflation. The deficits would grow dramatically
Recommendations are in full report, page 21
issues can be polarizing, we want to agree on the problem
solutions can be discussed
need to develop a comprehensive multi-year plan
regionalization may be a huge opportunity but in the Northeast it has not currently been successful
Influence the legislative process, whether prop 2.5, pension reform, etc. there are legal barriers to obtaining a solution
Services are people driven, the people account for 70-75 percent of the budget
they need to be paid at a market competitive rate and yet at a sustainable rate
increase tax revenue - it would be nice to find non-Franklin sources
recreation, schools offering courses over the internet
carefully and thoroughly consider property tax overrides
override is inevitable, it will have to happen
the amount and when remains to be determined
what would be the proper timing
complex issue but it needs to be considered
there can be a credibility gap, residents can make decisions upon impressions and not upon fact
can make decisions that perhaps they wouldn't have made if they were better informed
Ownership for improving the flow of information
make it more user friendly and accessible
community forum at Horace Mann
When we can just sit down and talk with folks, now that I have talked it through, I have a better understanding and trust
tried to just present the facts
deficits will continue, there is no flexibility to deal with them as we have before
we have additional risks, i.e with the level of state aid
let's focus on agreeing on the problem
we would like the Town Council to publicly endorse the report.
we would like to see a unanimous endorsement
Doak - thanks, this has been a great deal of work
It helps us get closer to addressing the problem
our reliance on State funding, is there anything that we can do?
the forumla is calculable but the discretionary part is hard to calculate
Ramsey Curdy - part of the focus group, reviewed and commented on the Executive Summary
formed an accurate picture of the issues, the document must be quickly and effectively distributed to the town residents, discussion with those who may have a different view
this is not an abstract comment, this is about where we live
Peer comparison - towns listed in appendix
spent time validating the peer group, we feel as a group it is a very good peer comparison
Avg peer town - 18% State aid vs Franklin 31%
taxes 58% town contribution vs 45% in Franklin
We are #1 in receiving State Aid, we are #29 in percent of our taxes paying for what we need
6.2% of the household in the peer towns from tax support
5.3% for Franklin
We rank 27 out of 31 towns in term of per capita municipal spending
Franklin spends 22% less than the State Avg
Looking at the efficiency at the top down side, when we rank near the bottom on almost every category, we have to be. While other towns are reacting to the crisis by cutting fat, we are close to cutting to the bone.
Page 10 in the Executive Summary, key slide on school spending and state minimum
Red line - warning line, once below you could be in trouble
Once we hit the minimum, the town will bear the burden of the deficits
Capital budget addressed on Page 11
The debt service is low, Franklin amongst the 31 towns ranks 22
We are not taking on a lot of debt even in the perception of "lots of capital" spending
Forecasted Deficit in 2014 could be 7.7 M or 11.3 M depending upon the assumptions used
The numbers don't include the high school renovation. There is a placeholder for its inclusion and it will need to be once the numbers become more real.
Inflation currently at an avg of 3.3% is different from getting to a 7-8 percent rate of inflation. The deficits would grow dramatically
Recommendations are in full report, page 21
issues can be polarizing, we want to agree on the problem
solutions can be discussed
need to develop a comprehensive multi-year plan
regionalization may be a huge opportunity but in the Northeast it has not currently been successful
Influence the legislative process, whether prop 2.5, pension reform, etc. there are legal barriers to obtaining a solution
Services are people driven, the people account for 70-75 percent of the budget
they need to be paid at a market competitive rate and yet at a sustainable rate
increase tax revenue - it would be nice to find non-Franklin sources
recreation, schools offering courses over the internet
carefully and thoroughly consider property tax overrides
override is inevitable, it will have to happen
the amount and when remains to be determined
what would be the proper timing
complex issue but it needs to be considered
there can be a credibility gap, residents can make decisions upon impressions and not upon fact
can make decisions that perhaps they wouldn't have made if they were better informed
Ownership for improving the flow of information
make it more user friendly and accessible
community forum at Horace Mann
When we can just sit down and talk with folks, now that I have talked it through, I have a better understanding and trust
tried to just present the facts
deficits will continue, there is no flexibility to deal with them as we have before
we have additional risks, i.e with the level of state aid
let's focus on agreeing on the problem
we would like the Town Council to publicly endorse the report.
we would like to see a unanimous endorsement
Doak - thanks, this has been a great deal of work
It helps us get closer to addressing the problem
our reliance on State funding, is there anything that we can do?
the forumla is calculable but the discretionary part is hard to calculate
Ramsey Curdy - part of the focus group, reviewed and commented on the Executive Summary
formed an accurate picture of the issues, the document must be quickly and effectively distributed to the town residents, discussion with those who may have a different view
this is not an abstract comment, this is about where we live
Live reporting - Financial Planning Committee report
Note: Bartlett has arrived (so McGann no show, Mason left)
Jim Roche introduces the Financial Planning Committee report
Doug Hardesty will do the actual presentation
A copy of the presentation will be made available as soon as possible.
Pitch for Monday April 27th Town-wide forum at Horace Mann/Mercer Auditorium 7:30 PM
Doug had much experience within the town with coaching sports but had not much idea on the town finances or operations. Having gone through this process I am happy with what I have learned.
Doug is a professional auditor. It is fact based, not what is felt.
They have tried to keep bias out of this. Telling the pinata story.
This report can stand up to the toughest test.
The executive summary and the draft of the full report will released in the next couple of days for all to review.
The reason we call this a "draft", while we have been diligent in obtaining feedback, we want the town council and citizens to weigh in, and potentially incorporate into the document as we go forward.
We get a lot of aid from the state, have low property taxes relative to peer towns
In every measurable category, the town and schools are low
We go into a deficit and manage our way through it somehow
It is a structural deficit. It will continue unless we take action
The projected deficits are real and significant, they will continue to occur
There are a whole host of things to do so that it is most effective
There is a premise that most citizens will not allow continued cuts
Federal and state mandates are not funded but are costly and are required
Teacher compensation; a cost of living raise and commensurate with experience, masters required within first five years
It is just the way the market is for compensating teachers, we need to get to the inflection point, we need to calculate that
Cash reserves, 7.5 million used since 2005 has been a big help, we can't do that nay more
Since 2000 we have grown 1300 students and dropped over 100 personnel
-----
Jim Roche introduces the Financial Planning Committee report
Doug Hardesty will do the actual presentation
A copy of the presentation will be made available as soon as possible.
Pitch for Monday April 27th Town-wide forum at Horace Mann/Mercer Auditorium 7:30 PM
Doug had much experience within the town with coaching sports but had not much idea on the town finances or operations. Having gone through this process I am happy with what I have learned.
Doug is a professional auditor. It is fact based, not what is felt.
They have tried to keep bias out of this. Telling the pinata story.
This report can stand up to the toughest test.
The executive summary and the draft of the full report will released in the next couple of days for all to review.
The reason we call this a "draft", while we have been diligent in obtaining feedback, we want the town council and citizens to weigh in, and potentially incorporate into the document as we go forward.
We get a lot of aid from the state, have low property taxes relative to peer towns
In every measurable category, the town and schools are low
We go into a deficit and manage our way through it somehow
It is a structural deficit. It will continue unless we take action
The projected deficits are real and significant, they will continue to occur
There are a whole host of things to do so that it is most effective
There is a premise that most citizens will not allow continued cuts
Federal and state mandates are not funded but are costly and are required
Teacher compensation; a cost of living raise and commensurate with experience, masters required within first five years
It is just the way the market is for compensating teachers, we need to get to the inflection point, we need to calculate that
Cash reserves, 7.5 million used since 2005 has been a big help, we can't do that nay more
Since 2000 we have grown 1300 students and dropped over 100 personnel
-----
Long Range Financial Planning Committee reports tonight
Milford Daily News
FRANKLIN —
Tonight, the Long-Range Financial Planning Committee will present its report to Town Council, which couldn't be better timing, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.
"The report explains why the cost of existing town services is expected to grow faster than revenue for the foreseeable future," said Douglas Hardesty, vice chairman of the long-range committee.
"It also offers recommendations for addressing this problem. The committee believes the report will help residents trust that the problem is real and recognize that Franklin's future is tied to how we respond as a community to this crisis," said Hardesty, who is going to make the presentation.
read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
For all the reporting on the Financial Planning Committee meetings check the "Meeting Summaries" section on Franklin Matters.
For a summary of the focus group feedback used to prepare this report check here
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
FM #37 - Focus group recap
This is #37 in the series of podcasts on what matters in Franklin, MA. In this session I recap the feedback from the two Focus groups that the Financial Planning Committee held on 4/2/09.
Time: 14 minutes, 14 seconds
MP3 File
Session Notes
I spent some time going back through the Focus Group notes that were published here and here to try and come up with a summary. The multiple pages of the two sets of notes can be overwhelming. Of course, the report the Financial Planning Committee is putting together is at the root of this. As much as there is in the report, it needs to be as simple as possible and answer as many questions as possible. That is the challenge!
Why were there two sessions?
To simplify the feedback, one group was given the Executive Summary and the other group was given the detailed report. Each session handled one section of the report.
Initial reactions
What does this tell me?
Across both sessions, the initial reactions were similar. The responses were similar whether they saw the Executive Summary or the detailed report. The numbers are staggering but they are what they are.
Interesting to find out that this (five year plan) has been done before. One indicated at least three times but each time the information was not maintained and hence obsolete quickly.
Other key comments
While Jeff Nutting is fond of saying "There are no secrets here", there are quite a few folks who don't believe that. Transparency is not just a good thing. Transparency is a requirement.
A unified front will help dispel the inaccurate perceptions. If the Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee join together in saying with one voice, this is what needs to be done, then there will be some credibility. If there are disconnects, there will be problems.
As much as there were comments about "there is too much information", what ever is published needs to be accurate and simple. One page needs to tie to another. Some basic information and terms need to be explained. We (deliberately, the "collective we") need to set the table for the discussion with the proper definitions and explanations so that the discussion can proceed around the same set of facts.
--------------
This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music
Time: 14 minutes, 14 seconds
MP3 File
Session Notes
I spent some time going back through the Focus Group notes that were published here and here to try and come up with a summary. The multiple pages of the two sets of notes can be overwhelming. Of course, the report the Financial Planning Committee is putting together is at the root of this. As much as there is in the report, it needs to be as simple as possible and answer as many questions as possible. That is the challenge!
Why were there two sessions?
To simplify the feedback, one group was given the Executive Summary and the other group was given the detailed report. Each session handled one section of the report.
Initial reactions
- There was fear in reading this, we moved here because the school system was good, now that it appears to be going down hill, what will it be like when my kids get there (into school)?
- This is information never really seen together, the facts are good, also left (me) with a lot of questions.
- It's scary that this hasn't been done before.
- I am shocked to see how much disproportionately we are dependent upon the state compared to other towns. This raises some concerns that we can do what we think is right but that the state can change and we don't have control.
- Gee, we are getting an extraordinary value for what we are getting.
What does this tell me?
Across both sessions, the initial reactions were similar. The responses were similar whether they saw the Executive Summary or the detailed report. The numbers are staggering but they are what they are.
Interesting to find out that this (five year plan) has been done before. One indicated at least three times but each time the information was not maintained and hence obsolete quickly.
Action - Franklin does need to maintain this plan, period!
Other key comments
- Call to action, unified communications will be key
- Perception is that the town is always finding money.
- One of the first things that struck me was one of the last things you say on Page 9; “our forecasts excludes certain future costs” I understand why you need to say that but will anyone of those blow up and destroy what we have done in this report?
- I think our town needs to look at this at the community as a whole, I think there are parts of the town that look at one department or the other, there is a perception of that, starting from the top,
- With all the issues that Franklin has, it does come down to school, it is a big part of town,we are talking of the future of this town, it drives the property values, if we don't come together now and fix it, we are talking of the future of the town.
While Jeff Nutting is fond of saying "There are no secrets here", there are quite a few folks who don't believe that. Transparency is not just a good thing. Transparency is a requirement.
A unified front will help dispel the inaccurate perceptions. If the Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee join together in saying with one voice, this is what needs to be done, then there will be some credibility. If there are disconnects, there will be problems.
Choice: United, we will stand. Divided, we will be conquered.Additional Explanations Needed
- Charts need to be fully labeled
- How do we explain the State Aid formula?
- Tri-County funding, what do we pay per student compared to Franklin?
- Need a better explanation of the DOE numbers where the line was added to ensure a total.
- Can we compare the % of the Franklin school, fire, police budget to the other communities?
- Explain tax levy (what it includes, excludes).
- What about the consolidation efforts on the Town side, not very visible.
- Explanation of capital versus operational dollars
- Review pages (eg. Page 4, 5, 17) to see if graphs or pie charts would make the information easier to read.
- Page 21, it says “what can we do about it?” but there is not enough detail here to make a decision. "Improving process efficiency" What does that mean?
- Split tax rate, needs an explanation of why or why not.
- Explain debt service as a part of operational dollars
As much as there were comments about "there is too much information", what ever is published needs to be accurate and simple. One page needs to tie to another. Some basic information and terms need to be explained. We (deliberately, the "collective we") need to set the table for the discussion with the proper definitions and explanations so that the discussion can proceed around the same set of facts.
Action: Some minor tweaks remain to tighten up the numbers and explanations.
--------------
This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music
Inside the Focus Groups
I spent some time going back through the Focus Group notes that were published here and here to try and come up with a summary. The multiple pages of the two sets of notes can be overwhelming. Of course, the report the Financial Planning Committee is putting together is at the root of this. As much as there is in the report, it needs to be as simple as possible and answer as many questions as possible. That is the challenge!
Why were there two sessions?
To simplify the feedback, one group was given the Executive Summary and the other group was given the detailed report. Each session handled one section of the report.
Initial reactions
What does this tell me?
Across both sessions, the initial reactions were similar. The responses were similar whether they saw the Executive Summary or the detailed report. The numbers are staggering but they are what they are.
Interesting to find out that this (five year plan) has been done before. One indicated at least three times but each time the information was not maintained and hence obsolete quickly.
Other key comments
While Jeff Nutting is fond of saying "There are no secrets here", there are quite a few folks who don't believe that. Transparency is not just a good thing. Transparency is a requirement.
A unified front will help dispel the inaccurate perceptions. If the Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee join together in saying with one voice, this is what needs to be done, then there will be some credibility. If there are disconnects, there will be problems.
As much as there were comments about "there is too much information", what ever is published needs to be accurate and simple. One page needs to tie to another. Some basic information and terms need to be explained. We (deliberately, the "collective we") need to set the table for the discussion with the proper definitions and explanations so that the discussion can proceed around the same set of facts.
Why were there two sessions?
To simplify the feedback, one group was given the Executive Summary and the other group was given the detailed report. Each session handled one section of the report.
Initial reactions
- There was fear in reading this, we moved here because the school system was good, now that it appears to be going down hill, what will it be like when my kids get there (into school)?
- This is information never really seen together, the facts are good, also left (me) with a lot of questions.
- It's scary that this hasn't been done before.
- I am shocked to see how much disproportionately we are dependent upon the state compared to other towns. This raises some concerns that we can do what we think is right but that the state can change and we don't have control.
- Gee, we are getting an extraordinary value for what we are getting.
What does this tell me?
Across both sessions, the initial reactions were similar. The responses were similar whether they saw the Executive Summary or the detailed report. The numbers are staggering but they are what they are.
Interesting to find out that this (five year plan) has been done before. One indicated at least three times but each time the information was not maintained and hence obsolete quickly.
Action - Franklin does need to maintain this plan, period!
Other key comments
- Call to action, unified communications will be key
- Perception is that the town is always finding money.
- One of the first things that struck me was one of the last things you say on Page 9; “our forecasts excludes certain future costs” I understand why you need to say that but will anyone of those blow up and destroy what we have done in this report?
- I think our town needs to look at this at the community as a whole, I think there are parts of the town that look at one department or the other, there is a perception of that, starting from the top,
- With all the issues that Franklin has, it does come down to school, it is a big part of town,we are talking of the future of this town, it drives the property values, if we don't come together now and fix it, we are talking of the future of the town.
While Jeff Nutting is fond of saying "There are no secrets here", there are quite a few folks who don't believe that. Transparency is not just a good thing. Transparency is a requirement.
A unified front will help dispel the inaccurate perceptions. If the Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee join together in saying with one voice, this is what needs to be done, then there will be some credibility. If there are disconnects, there will be problems.
Choice: United, we will stand. Divided, we will be conquered.Additional Explanations Needed
- Charts need to be fully labeled
- How do we explain the State Aid formula?
- Tri-County funding, what do we pay per student compared to Franklin?
- Need a better explanation of the DOE numbers where the line was added to ensure a total.
- Can we compare the % of the Franklin school, fire, police budget to the other communities?
- Explain tax levy (what it includes, excludes).
- What about the consolidation efforts on the Town side, not very visible.
- Explanation of capital versus operational dollars
- Review pages (eg. Page 4, 5, 17) to see if graphs or pie charts would make the information easier to read.
- Page 21, it says “what can we do about it?” but there is not enough detail here to make a decision. "Improving process efficiency" What does that mean?
- Split tax rate, needs an explanation of why or why not.
- Explain debt service as a part of operational dollars
As much as there were comments about "there is too much information", what ever is published needs to be accurate and simple. One page needs to tie to another. Some basic information and terms need to be explained. We (deliberately, the "collective we") need to set the table for the discussion with the proper definitions and explanations so that the discussion can proceed around the same set of facts.
Action: Some minor tweaks remain to tighten up the numbers and explanations.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Financial Planning Committee - Focus Group - Part 2
These are the notes from the second session of the Focus Group held Thursday night by the Financial Planning Committee. The first session was spent reviewing the detailed 30-odd page report. This session covered the Executive Summary (approx. 10 pages). This session you won't read about in the Milford Daily News.
The same conventions mentioned for the first session are used here.
The same conventions mentioned for the first session are used here.
Second session – Focus Group
Financial Planning Committee - observers (Gwen Wilschek, Matt Kelly, Jim Roche, Rebecca Cameron)
Facilitator - Doug Hardesty
Focus Group participants (note, I tried to come close to spelling your name correctly based upon the round of introductions. If there are mis-spellings, please let me know and I will correct them.)
Tom Duval (?)
Ramsey Kurdy (?)
Kaitlyn Cronin
Sara Lawrence
Liz Kennedy
Louis Landry
Joe Cappels (?)
Jim Schliefke
Jean Silba (?)
Mark Scurella (?)
Doug's opening comments -
Good honest, unbiased information on where we are and outlook for next 5 years
Come to the table with the same set of facts.
How to digest all that we hear and come to a conclusion.
What are your 2 or 3 key takeaways or messages?
As we all know, the expenses of the Town have outpaced the aid from the state. We have to figure out a way to bring them closer together. That's the main gist of this.
I agree, then add that “gee we are getting an extraordinary value for what we are getting.”
I have to say I am shocked by the amount of state aid we get compared to our peers.
That is also disconcerting, it is a risk, what happens next year or year after? What is the strategy, what are our other options?
I can remember a long time ago, when my son was very young, Jim Vallee said this (the state revenue) is great but at some point we are going to have to pay our fair share. My son was 18 months old and Jim was saying this is going to be a problem, now my son is 17.
Five years ago, no one wanted to burst the bubble, we started taking from the stabilization instead of looking at the discrepancy.
We are efficient with what we do have, how do we increase, we are limited by prop 2.5.
What if we raised the commercial tax a buck? Doesn't that mean only that our residential tax goes down a buck? There isn't really an increase overall.
We have a single tax rate, not a split tax rate. We did comparisons carefully to ensure we were comparing apples to apples not apples to oranges.
When I look at some of these towns, Medfield, look at, Natick, Foxboro.
I can't imagine all of these towns have the same amount of corporate taxes as we have.
We picked towns with single tax rate, took into account the mix, tried to get clear peer comparisons.
Are towns with dual tax rates, in the same circumstances?
I think it might be good to point out you still get the same amount of revenue. It can't increase it more than 2.5%
There are people in this town that are facing a decision about staying here or not.
Consider the split tax, as one of the options? Exploring. The answer might be no. If we did that and lost EMC that would be a consideration.
Do the due diligence.
Page 2 - Spending levels are low. Look at the debt and when it will be paid off, compare the debt service. I'd like to see that compared to the other towns. Is that part and parcel to the debt. We have built the Senior ctr, two fire stations, schools, when is that being paid off, will that free up some cash for future use?
Did you have a reaction as you went through this? What was it?
The projections for 2014, that more than anything drives home that something needs to be done
The one that jumped out at me was the 31 percent contribution, that is a concern.
When we see the school deficit at 3.5 million, is there a town side, why don't we see that?
Teacher population relatively young, income rises quicker. Teachers required to get masters within five years. State wide, nation wide teacher salaries will increase at a faster rate.
Can we clarify pension costs esp. on the teacher side? What surprised me was the lack of surprises, kudos to those who have been saying this for years, to me, it is nothing new.
The pensions for the teachers are self funding, the town does not pay towards teacher pensions. I know that last year some town leaders said otherwise and that is not true.
Well then, why did the article last week talk about the teacher who would be retiring and complaining about not getting 2,000?
You get your pension determined by the last three years of your salary, and then you get 80% of that. So if she took the freeze for one year, she would lose that amount for the rest of her life.
That article was not well reported, you can't only read the newspaper.
I had to read the article three times to understand it.
For many years I only lived and slept here, never read the Gazette, checked out the pictures to see if there was someone I knew, never recognized anyone. I read the Globe but there is very little coverage in the Globe. I just started reading the Gazette to find out if they are going to take away full day kindergarten. Talk to another reporter at the Globe, maybe you will pick up a different set of people in the Globe to spread the word.
Do you feel this is accurate and unbiased?
I think you can. Nothing here surprises me, I have been waiting for this for 20 years. This is an excellent document. I don't know how to get people to read it, or to just ask one more question. They seem set, angry about some one thing. I don't know how to get passed that.
As an example. Jefferson/Remington, when it was opening, we sent out 1000 letters to pre-school parents, one person came. We tried to get the Globe, they wouldn't come. How do you get people to have the conversation?
That is a problem, I don't know where people are getting their information. My perspective is relatively uninformed. The “found money” is coming back to bite us, the numbers appear to conflict.
Where has this document been? Should it not be mailed to every home every week? I'll take it myself, forget giving it to the post office. I think it is really important to get this.
Should we have their mother sign off?
They should!
What are the next steps?
The goal of the exec summary is to not have to read the 30 page report. The goal is to get the right information into the hands of the citizens. We have a community forum planned for April 27th. It is not realistic that even if we get in it to every hand, that they will read it understand.
I would really consider mailing it to every home. There is a certain segment of the population that are not given the facts.
And understanding what the implications are of this, we say it at a high level, but what are the specifics?
We are up to the part of solving the problem. We haven't done that. It is clear that we need to take action. The last page gets into these are the some of the levers we have at our disposal. Does it appear that we are advocating or downplaying?
You are downplaying the override. That is fine. It is the last item on the page, we need to explore it.
We always seem to go through the steps before we have the override. The steps don't get us to where we need to be, so the override comes up. It seems like we go through the steps,
I had a good assessment, it increased and the taxes went up, override raised more (I voted for it), and the taxes went up again. Then you cried wolf again for another override. I didn't vote for that one. I wanted to see how it played out. I don't have kids in the schools. We give the impression that this is what it is.
The high school seemed it was like a huge debacle, you couldn't get a decent contractor, or you got the highest priced one. The library is falling apart, they are trying to fix it but it is fallen down. Every year here, you have asked for more money.
Never gets done, keeps sucking the tax payers dry.
That is the perception. In the area of Franklin that I live, there are houses going up every where, McMansions everywhere with families, there are houses that weren't here 9 years ago, how are you not getting more money? A lot of people in those homes don't have eight kids, they have one child, maybe.
I actually wrote that down, has the infrastructure has been surpassed by the growth of the Town?
They haven't increased to support those new neighborhoods. There are more roads to plow, more trash to pick up, don't need police to go there, no gangs there. I could be naive.
There is gap between what we see and what we are being told related to finances. What are the What are the horror stories you hear and see.
Everything in the schools has been getting cut three years in a row, the town side of the budget is mismanaged. It seems like the town has made the choice to invest in the town, not the schools.
The town gets to set the budget and they have made the choice to invest in the capital and not in the schools, that is a choice. People see the new buildings and don't understand the difference between the capital and operations.
The newspaper doesn't help. We are loosing 60 teachers and then the paper says we have a million dollars of “free cash”. Doesn't make sense. Using stabilization funds for re-curring cost before set precedent. Perception is that the town is always finding money. It is very hard to understand, extremely complicated for the average person to understand the process, very hard.
We are below everyone, those are real numbers, they are not made up.
A few years ago, there was an override and it all went down in flames. Yet they went ahead to buy a special ed van to provide the support for the kids. It was cheaper than going out for the service. We get a great bang for our buck but the rubber band is going to snap. I don't know how we are going to do it without raising tax. This has been happening since 2000. While other towns are cutting fat, we are cutting hearts and lungs.
In bigger numbers we have to come out and ask questions. Then if you vote, no that is your right. I just don't know how we get the folks to understand and ask the questions.
I think this is a good first step, look at the tax base, we are going to have to consider this
Everyone in the room has a question. Do you think given what is in the executive summary, people are going to be able to make a decision?
You need to explain capital versus operations.
The dual tax would come up, capital versus operations will come up.
I look in the Gazette and see this listing of great things for the Seniors to do. Seniors going by bus to Foxwoods for 4 bucks. How does that happen? Rather than spending town money to have my kid in a class with less than 30 kids? And my mother told me that most senior centers get grants to fund that, so I shouldn't pick on the seniors. Duh, grants and not Town spending. So you need to explain the grants. It's a perception thing.
I have young children coming into the school system. You can't set 'us versus them', those with kids vs without, these are two of the more vocal camps.
I was at a kindergarten registration session. A mother came in with six kids and said 'I am not giving this town another red cent'. I don't know how she comes to that.
I have a question: on Page 5, when I add 31 and 45, what makes up the other percents? Where is the rest of the money?
On Page 6, the school spending per pupil by town and the state average. The Globe did this, with the 31 towns in comparison to the other towns. I still have it and should have brought it.
On the next page, Page 7, does it or does it not include state subsidies? (in the state minimum spending).
I don't believe it is looking to the source, it is simply looking at the total spend.
On Page 8, I am not a big fan of rankings anyway, it says, our ranking is likely to fall, well other towns are in the same situation, so it may not really change a whole lot.
Is there a perspective that we are missing?
It always comes to the bottom line, schools, you're not going to change anybody's mind. There is more accuracy in the annual Town report than this. There is a copy on the desk down by the door. Pick one up. It is good reading.
Make due with what you have, you got to spend within your means. Franklin should be run like a business, they never did and never will, so it is cut, cut, cut. They have had enough of taxes, enough of spending, they have had it. If the job is hundred thousand, take a cut, if they don't like it, have them go elsewhere. Can't take a 15% cut in pay, go elsewhere, businesses are doing that out there.
They should look at salary structure in Franklin vs other towns. You know that Franklin is much more higher than some of these other towns. I am just saying from what you hear out there. From what you hear, get the town report and see how ridiculous it is
One of the first things that struck me was one of the last things you say on Page 9; “our forecasts excludes certain future costs” I understand why you need to say that but will anyone of those blow up and destroy what we have done in this report? By 2014 with projected expenses, by 2014 with the high school something should have been done, what does that do to the numbers? It is concerning.
There were somethings we couldn't do the forecast for when it would hit. We do need to look at the precision in the numbers. Even if we take draconian measures and cut, cut, cut, there is still a structural issue. The basic economic of 2.5% revenue and inflation without waste, it doesn't work. Does it matter?
We already pay enough taxes, it doesn't matter, you can't ask, people can't afford it. The way the economy is.
Franklin probably will change then: how? Where? When?
I really like living here. It is a nice place, I hope as a community we can figure it out.
People that are working for the town and schools are killing themselves. They are giving a lot. That is a part I wish was recognized more. I just wish it was.
I understand but every community is in the same boat.
I know, our plane is a little lower than the other's. You can only do so much with what you have.
You should be very thankful you don't live in NY. It is so much more expensive there. My father pours over the Town report, “How do you do it with that?” he asks.
I know someone with a little garrison, $6,000 in taxes. Yet they come in to take the trash out of the garage and put the barrels back.
You mentioned what we can do? The last six bullet points. You said the committee hadn't been charged with figuring those out. Do you know if there is a phase that would figure it out before asking for an override?
Town council meeting is on April 15th
The community forum is on April 27th
Could you provide a short summary of your final comments?
I think we are all in this together, we have to approach it from that stand point.
I agree, everyone needs to be open minded and ask one more question.
I think our town needs to look at this at the community as a whole, I think there are parts of the town that look at one department or the other, there is a perception of that, starting from the top,
You mentioned leadership, from the School Committee, to the Town Council, they need to get this information as widely dispersed as possible so people can make an informed decision, whether it is an override or not, get the information out there so people can make an informed decision.
Communication is key, I have had my head in the sand for a long time, once you begin to look at it, it is really bad. You can't see any other way other than to chip it. I hear that there is a Calculus class with 35 kids. I can't fathom how anyone can learn Calculus in a class that size.
I would just hope people come to this with an open mind. There are some huge divisions in this town. I have lived elsewhere and this is segregated, us and them, not seen elsewhere, not a good feeling, we picked here out of every town surrounding.
With all the issues that Franklin has, it does come down to school, it is a big part of town,we are talking of the future of this town, it drives the property values, if we don't come together now and fix it, we are talking of the future of the town.
They said it all!
Doug thanked all for their participation and feedback!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Financial Planning Committee - Focus group - Part 1
Observing: Gwen Wilschek, Jim Roche, Deb Bartlett, Rebecca Cameron
First focus group: (long section of the report)
Vincent Dibaggis
Bob McLaughlin
Mike Taylor
Elise Nulton
Caren Lee
Cindy Kozil
Eric Polito
Judy Teixeria
Bill O'Neil
John O'Neill
Facilitator: Doug Hardesty
The session opened with a round of introductions. There is a mix of long timers and some “newbies” to Franklin. Doug explained the committee's purpose to take a longer term look at financial matters, separate what is true from not true, start with same set of facts, and make sure they have provided a chance for citizens to react to the product as it comes together.
Note: Doug's questions and comments as the facilitator will be in bold. All other focus group comments will be in normal type.
Can you understand it in the written form?
This is information never really seen together, the facts are good, also left with a lot of questions.
It's scary that this hasn't been done before.
There was fear in reading this, we moved here because of the school system was good, now that it appears to be going down hill, what will it be like when my kids get there?
We actually have done this years back. This is good info, how are you going to disseminate it? We have a chronic structural problem. What are the next steps?
I am shocked to see how much disproportionately we are dependent upon the state compared to other towns. This raises some concerns that we can do what we think is right but that the state can change and we don't have control.
I think you are on the right track. Franklin had a very low tax base when Prop 2.5 came in. I applaud the committee.
The forecasted deficits are shocking, more than scary it is unbelievable.
I think you have to an override, that is one of your only solutions. The town has been well run. People are going to have to come up with more money.
I don't disagree, without a year long campaign you won't get it passed.
Is there anything in the report that was biased? Or suggestive?
I found it informative. I got halfway through and had to leave to get here. The town has done 5 year plans before, by the time we got to three it was already out of date, not maintained. This needs to be updated each year, for the five years out.
Page 11 – very good looking chart, but some of the bars are not labeled so I am not sure what they are telling me. I found it confusing.
I wasn't quite clear. In terms of State Aid, how is the decision made at the state level, I didn't get it from the report. I have 2 students in the high school, we hear we spend less, we see the testing scores, do we feel that the kids still getting a quality education?
You expect that state aid will go down, as a practical matter with Jim Vallee and his new role, we may not have much of a decrease, time will tell.
We have gotten a lot of state aid with the lottery money and that is down.
What will happen with the stimulus money? We should get a piece of that too.
What is the formula that determines the state aid? Chap 70 is complicated, not a stable figure.
I don't think there is any bias here. I know there will be an executive summary, that we don't have yet. There is a lot of info here, almost too much. The exec summary is separate, would be good to see what that is.
Was there a reaction on what you were reading? One or two pages that jumped out.
The 1.4% for Tri-County should be explained, what do we actually pay 5K or 16K per student to Tri-County?
That line item in the budget deserves more of an explanation.
Page 13 can see the dramatic difference, below the state average.
Page 14 caught my attention, there is a very bad trend going on.
There is nothing in here comparing our tax rate to other towns around. That might be a helpful figure. There is still some internal capacity for an override based upon what we have vs. comparable towns.
What is an example of what the NA category would include?
These numbers are from the State DOE chart. This row is not included in their chart, so this was added to make the numbers total.
Page 5 -What % of the school vs fire, police, etc. relative to the other communities.
Page 4 -Tax levy is from property taxes only.
Page 7 -School salaries are 38% of the total. It looks like the schools are taking more than the 38% of the cuts. It appears that the town put the schools at the bottom. It concerns me that it is an underlying theme that is not visible but it's there.
Also on Page 7, what about the consolidation efforts? There have been efforts to do so. You will hear about the fat issue, where in the report is the town taking credit for that?
It would be helpful to see where those fiscal responsibilities are put into place. We are doing it in small business but how is the town doing. We are all being asked to make sacrifices, it would be good to know what is being done all around.
How has the town done?
For a bunch of volunteers, they have done an excellent job. there will always be a tension between needs and wants, given what we have, we have done well. Would I like to see better, yes, but we have done well.
I think that joint budget committee is positive. You can sit down and look overall at the town, to decide a path to pursue without being too contentious hopefully.
As a point of reference, for the last time there was an override, the entire group Town Council, Administrator, School Committee, everyone was out, working as a unit to spread the word, willingness to cooperate will help. The level of trust goes up when there is agreement amongst the town leaders. When there is agreement amongst the town leaders, then this is in our best interests.
Transparency is a wonderful thing.
I don't think the average resident see that, there is a lot of distrust out there. The override was written for the schools, what will the Town Council do with it? They don't know, so they make assumptions
They don't think Franklin has done much cutting except for the schools because that s all that is seen and heard. What the Town has done is not heard about.
Reading this has been very helpful, not visible to the average resident
What I see are cuts in schools, don't see the town cuts, you see construction, capital being used but you don't see the town being shut down in the center with buildings that can't be finished, services are being cut that are vital, we're paying for the infrastructure.
Several years ago, they repaved Lincoln St, 3-4 months later dug up to put in some sewer lines. Why? Is there anybody watching out for things like that. It was a waste of money.
The other thing that has been talked about, capital money can't be used for operational. But capital for a larger building does require additional operational expenses. Is there a long range, five year plan for capital and roads as well.
In 1989, there were 8-9,000 parcels in town with 3 assessors, and 3 clerks. Now there about 11,000 parcels, 3 professional assessors and one clerk (versus three clerks before) due to automation, other departments have done the same.
The average citizen is feeling the effects, schools are doing more fund raisers, these are tough times. The bus fees are up, athletic fees are up, everyone is paying more for everything, and I've already given the town more in behind the scenes ways.
The more information you give, they can make a decision on that. If they don't have the information, they can hear the rumors, or whatever.
It has to be done in a clear and concise way, there is a short attention span, we are a sound bit society today, trying to convey all the good coupled with all the facts.
Give them the summary, tell him again, in the military way, they won't read it all but they should get it.
The executive summary for those who want the short version, the full report for those who want all the details.
One message, one voice is needed, knocking on doors was effective, that education plan is critical. You have to find various paths to get into the household. The education plan will be critical.
This is MA. Maybe I'm being cynical. The assumption is someone to out to take our money. What do you think of your rep; good guy. What do think of the legislature; pack of thieves.
Get the word out there, concisely available, the easier it is to see, the better they will be able to get it.
That is the watch word, get it out there, get to the various organizations here; sports, school PCCs, senior center. The avg person doesn't have time to come to the open meetings.
If we assume that the Town is fairly well managed, is there an easy way to figure out how we got here?
Is there a more concise way to show that?
It is a structural issue, revenue is capped, expenses even just rising from inflation, 10 years from now it will be worse, one percent is higher than the other. How do you communicate that reality?
Page 4, 5, 17 should be graphs or pie charts to make it easier to read.
Page 21, it says “what can we do about it?”
There is not enough detail here to make a decision, improving process efficiency what does it mean? Other than the library and recreation departments that were in the paper, what else is there?
The committee charge was not to develop the full plan. These are some of the levers that the Town can use to develop the plan. Do we lose credibility when we don't have all the answers?
I read this and went back to the charge two times, to see what it read. This is a transition to the next steps. The plan needs to include us, title – the next step.
I think you did identify the areas. Some of them are going to require some hurdles. Consolidating operations, benefits, public vs private sector, can they come into alignment? That will require negotiations. Someone will say we can't go there. Well, maybe we should.
Is this an action oriented document?
If I were presenting this, I would do the summary, four,/five key slides provide the general understanding, at least those pieces get across before they start tuning out.
You could convey this in a five minute discussion? 90% of the issues
Yes, I would ask more questions, talk to others about this, with people that had opinions.
My colleagues will be able to go with you and answer additional questions.
I think it is great info needs to get out.
I agree, not sure if it is a call to action, this is the problem, not a call in and of itself.
Call to action needs to include the residents.
Need to get this out, some people don't believe us. I still say we will need an override.
Great doc, great info, needs to be consolidated, not everyone will understand, the call to action will be to learn more. This is a good first step.
Great info, requires a longer discussion, would love to go through with a fine tooth comb to really get it clarified, how we got there, dependent upon state aid, people will have some good ideas
I have questions and will be happy to stay after
Having two young kids, the school are a concern, dependency upon the state is an issue. I am not from the area so just coming in not heavily aware of what's going on.
You got to take care of your own, info, concise, get it out, got to look for info other web sites, I am sure you're thinking of that.
I think a lot of work went into this, instead of getting this all at once, do it as a series of articles in the Gazette.
Very eye opening, it will be surprising how many people are not fully aware of the situation that we are in, it is very necessary.
Friday, April 3, 2009
"people are really hungry for information and facts"
GHS
FRANKLIN —
A focus group of 10 residents last night called a report on municipal finances produced by the long-range fiscal planning unbiased, "scary," and an "eye-opener."
Fiscal Planning Committee members invited a cross-section of the public to give feedback on their report to ensure it is accessible, relevant, and provided all the elements residents want examined. The group included several seniors, a teacher, a small-business owner, and parents.
They all said they found the report informative, and told committee Vice Chairman Doug Hardesty, who ran the meeting, that the report made them want to go out and clear up some misconceptions among friends and others who believe the town is spending its money unwisely.
People need to read the report to get a true picture, the group told Hardesty.
"It's very eye-opening," said Eric Polito, who owns EcoSystems Pest Management in Franklin and Hanover.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Financial Planning Committee 4/2/09
FYI - Tonight's meeting will not be covered by my "live reporting". This session is specifically for a focus group to provide some feedback on the report. I have been asked by the committee to take notes and record the conversation. Not all the committee members will be present. My notes and the recording will enable them to review what transpired during the session.
I will publish my notes when I send them to the committee so that you will all be able to review what happened. The publishing will be delayed and not "live reported" so that I can concentrate on taking good notes. I don't want to be distracted by publishing at the same time.
I will publish my notes when I send them to the committee so that you will all be able to review what happened. The publishing will be delayed and not "live reported" so that I can concentrate on taking good notes. I don't want to be distracted by publishing at the same time.
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