Live reporting - Finance Committee - Apr 2, 2013

Present: Smith, Dufur, Feldman,  Roche, Dewsnap, Aparo, Huempfner
Absent: Goldsmith, Quinn

Susan Gagner, Jeff Nutting and Jim Dacey (from right to left as you watch the video broadcast)

motion to approve meeting minutes, approve 7-0


Begin by reading the budget line by line, if any one hold a dept that should be acknowledged
those questions can be answered, then they can go and approve the budget as a single item

Holds

Fire Dept

Dufur - recognition for the excellent Fire Dept presentation. Recommending one part-time addition, recognizing the aging of the department, the growth of the community would increase additional pressure on the service level performance. Overall creates a compelling agrument

Roche - one guy will help but...

Nutting - reviewing additional info in regards to the injuries, last Fri had a graduate from the Academy, a second person coming back in July, another person is being planned for hiring in July, yet another anticipated coming back from injury. Not currently in the budget but planning ahead for a disability retirement, exactly when will it happen, hard to say. Increasing three new people will help shift the burden. The runs have not yet increased but it is anticipated they might. 14 -15,000 hours of OT averaged. Need to think about the burden above the salary to cover the benefits and insurances required. It is not easy but we should be able to hold our breath for another year.

Nutting - still don't have a collective bargaining agreement with the Fire Fighters union, about to go to arbitration. Would you save some money via reduction in overtime in short term maybe, but the overall costs salary and benefits is a lot of money

Dufur - it is manageable

Feldman - looking at the outlook, it doesn't get rosier

Nutting - scheduled for 91 tours, with the overtime it gets to about 95 tours. Going to the 24 hour shift has had some effect versus what they did with the 10-14 hour shifts

Motion to approve the budget
general fund 95 million etc.
approved 7-0

motion to approve the budget
enterprise budget 10 million etc.
approved 7-0


Old business - none

New business  -
Jeff has submitted a five year forecast "The sky is not falling but it is getting lower"
forecast based upon best estimates, forecast has not really changed over time
"we have eliminated 20% of the workforce"
we don't get 2.5% increase in our revenues
"The only thing that fixes roads is money" I think we need a dedicated override for the roads
it can only be spent on what it was funded for, i.e. roads
as opposed to a general override where it goes to the general funds after the first year

(a copy of the letter will be posted here later)

We are working regionally for safety dispatch, it may come in about 18 months and save us about $100,000. It is the right thing to do and we are doing it. It is hard to get people to come to the table. We share recreation, dog services, and sewer. We tried the library and they left.

Our general fund debt outside of Prop 2.5% is dropping, as our old debt gets paid off. Some of the buildings get paid off over the next couple of years as the high school comes on

I have level funded the state funding and am very concerned about that especially with whatever happens at the Federal level increasing pressures on them

How did the snow and ice come out?
Knock on wood, we should be just under the amount budgeted ($900,000). it is very unpredictable

Has OPEB made it to the state house agenda?
No, it is woefully inadequate. They started on lengthening the requirements for eligibility

Question on auditors report
In the management report, working on a plan to address the recommendations
Fraud risk assessment

Franklin Fire Dept: FY 2014 Budget Presentation

The presentation document as used by Chief Gary McCarraher and Deputy Chief Paul Sharpe for the budget hearing last week can be viewed here:




The notes from the Budget hearing last week can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/live-reporting-finance-committee-budget.html

The notes from the first two budget hearings can be found here

• Finance Committee - Budget hearing - 03/14/13
• Finance Committee - Budget hearing - 03/13/13

Finance Committee - Agenda - Apr 2, 2013

The agenda for the Finance Committee (FinCom) meeting on Tuesday, April 2 is shown below. They will conclude their budget hearings with their vote on the budget. The budget voting doc is not yet posted to the Franklin webpage. When it is, I'll update the link.



Information on the three budget hearings can be found here:

• Finance Committee - Budget hearing - 03/28/13
• Finance Committee - Budget hearing - 03/14/13
• Finance Committee - Budget hearing - 03/13/13

The overall budget summary can be found here
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Admin/FY%202014%20Proposed%20Budget/FY%2014%20Proposed%20Budget.pdf

Finance Committee - Agenda - Mar 28, 2013

The Finance Committee continues the FY 2014 Budget hearing with a meeting scheduled for Thursday, Mar 28 at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers. (The Conservation Commission normally meets in this room on Thursdays, their meeting was re-located to the 3rd Floor Training Room).



Action Items 
Elections: $12,400 Source of Funds: Free Cash

Budget Hearing 
Tri County C-2
Veterans E-15
Planning A-40
Animal Control B-72
Human Resources A-23
Town Clerk A-33
Elections A-36
Historical F-11
Library F-1
Fire B-14
Facilities A-192
Debt G-1
Benefits G-6
Liability Ins G-16
Memorial Day F-13
Cultural Council F15
Norfolk Aggie C-3


The full agenda for this meeting can be found here




Notes from the first two budget hearings for FY 2014 can be found here

• Finance Committee - Budget hearing - 03/14/13
• Finance Committee - Budget hearing - 03/13/13

"Our human resources are our most important asset"

The Milford Daily News reported on the School Committee budget review on Tuesday in part as follows:

School Committee Vice Chairwoman Sue Rohrbach commended Goodman and other administrators for presenting a clear, well-developed budget. 

"Every year we have a budget presentation … and you walk away saying, ‘We should have done this a little differently,’" Rohrback said. "But this is the first year where I think we really hit the nail on the head." 

Sabolinski said officials built the budget conservatively, attuned to the state of the town’s "economic climate." 

"We are calling this a level-service budget," she said. "This is our third consecutive year of not reducing any teacher positions."

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1433795577/Franklin-School-Committee-reviews-FY-14-budget#ixzz2NPZu3P6k

The detailed budget package can be found here.
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/fy-2014-franklin-public-schools.html

The school budget will move to be reviewed by the Finance Committee in a budget hearing on Thursday, March 14 before moving to the Town Council for their budget hearing and final approval. The budget needs to be approved by Jun 30 and will begin with the new fiscal year July 1, 2013.

The current budget hearing schedule for the Finance Committee (Wed Mar 13 and Thu Mar 14)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/spring-green-for-budget-season.html

Note the fiscal year (FY) is usually referred to with the year ending in Jun. So this current budget is called FY 2013. The new budget for next year is called FY 2014 because it begins July 2013 and ends in June 2014.

Spring green for the budget season

Doesn't exactly feel like spring with so much snow around. It is March. The Ides of March approach on Friday. St Patrick's Day on Sunday. There should be lots of green around this weekend.

Community garden bed

There will be green on the minds for some Franklin discussions this week beginning with the School Committee meeting Tuesday evening. The school budget is proposed to be $54,307,969 an increase of $1,597,969 or 3.03% over the current year budget.

The full set of budget documents for the school budget can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/fy-2014-franklin-public-schools.html

The Finance Committee opens its series of budget hearing with meetings on Weds and Thurs. Both nights beginning at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers on the 2nd Floor of the Municipal building.

I find the Finance Committee budget hearings to greatly insightful. They tend to be more collegial and more informational than the Town Council budget hearings (sorry Councilors!). If you really want to find out what goes into the budget, the interviews with each of the department managers during the series of budget hearings, I think is the very best time to do so. I learn so much from each of these sessions.


Budget Hearing (3/13/13)

Assessors - 141             A-10
Board of Health - 510    E-1
Public Health - 525         E-6
Planning - 175                A-40
COA - 541                    E-7
Recreation - 630            F-7
Town Council - 111       A-1
Town Admin - 123        A-2
Fin Comm - 131            A-4
Comptroller - 135          A-5
Treasurer - 147             A-14
Legal - 151                   A-21
Central Services - 196  A-53

Action Items (3/14/13)

Request for Funds: Pedestrian Safety Signal - Parmenter School $35,000
Request for Funds: Del Carte Recreation Improvements $395,000

Budget Hearing

Inspection - 240                  B-67
Appeals - 177                     A-39
Police - 210                         B-1
Parking Meters - 293           B-74
DPW - 422                          D-1
Streetlights                          D-21
Enterprise Funds                 H-1
School Dept - 300               C-1
Information Systems - 155   A-30

The full agenda for the FinCom meeting on Wednesday
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczQnhKQ2pzN29Jdjg/edit?usp=sharing

The full agenda for the FinCom meeting on Thursday
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczeHhORXRxbHRsTjQ/edit?usp=sharing

FY 2014: Franklin Public Schools - proposed budget

The proposed budget book for the Franklin Public Schools is a large PDF file with 23 sections. You can read each section individually by clicking on the appropriate links here

1. Executive Summary
2. District Improvement Plan
3. District Achievement Profile
4. FY 2014 Proposed Budget Overview
5. FPS School Enrollment Feb, 28, 2013
6. FY 2014 Frequently Asked Questions
7. ECDC
8. Davis Thayer
9. Jefferson
10. Kennedy
11. Oak St
12. Parmenter
13. Keller
14. Sullivan
15. Remington
16. Horace Mann
17. Franklin High School
18. Central Office
19. Curriculum/Instruction
20. Pupil Personnel Services
21. Transportation
22. Special Revenue Funds
23. Revolving Accounts

The budget is scheduled for review at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 12. It will also be reviewed during a budget hearing by the Finance Committee and then by the Town Council.

The School Committee agenda for March 12 can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda.html

Franklin Public Schools: Capital Plan FY 2014

Here are the documents outlining the proposed capital plan for FY 2014 for the Franklin Public School District. These items are scheduled for discussion at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, Nov 27th and assuming they are approved will then be part of the capital planning process for the Town.

The proposed Facilities capital plan




The proposed Technology capital plan




The full agenda for the School Committee meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/11/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-nov.html