Showing posts with label ONE Franklin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ONE Franklin. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Franklin residents: Why is it worth spending some time with the Joint Budget Subcommittee?

Hello fellow Franklin residents:

I'm reaching out because as some of you have heard and others should hear, Franklin Public Schools is (once again) approaching a fiscal cliff.  In other words, Franklin already doesn't have sufficient resources to competitively support our children's education and it's going to get worse unless we do something about it.

 A group of concerned Franklin residents have officially registered a ballot question committee called "One Franklin 2023" aka One Franklin.  We are piggy backing off of efforts originally started in 2019 after many saw 100+ Franklin teachers standing with pink slips on Route 140.  

I believe that federal funds received during the pandemic helped delay even deeper cuts to school resources in the interim.  Those funds are going away.  We have amazing services in town that are stretched thin, and we need to band together as a community to resolve this issue. 

I took notice earlier this year when my rising 8th grader came home in tears when she was told that a beloved teacher could not be retained.  I attended a school finance committee meeting to try to understand where the funds were going. 

To my surprise, what I saw was a committee stuck making difficult choices to cut school resources most of us would consider essential because of insufficient funding.  My concern is that I see a funding shortfall that is quickly going to get worse despite the fact that we already trail the vast majority of school districts in Massachusetts.

**Note: 80% of districts in Massachusetts spend more on education, per pupil, than Franklin (as of 2021 - latest available data)

The One Franklin committee is a group of engaged citizens who are working with elected leaders to pass a tax override in Franklin to raise revenues to strengthen Franklin Public Services including the school system while broader funding reforms are investigated and implemented.

A Joint Budget Subcommittee (JBSC) Meeting is scheduled for August 2. Town Administrator Jamie Hellen will present a 5-year forecast of our town's budget for all departments. This is an important starting point that will allow committee members of the JBSC to begin working with town departments to identify specific line items they would request in an override.

Thank you for your time and for caring about Franklin,

Ken Ojukwu

Treasurer, One Franklin

 

What can you do?

  1. Save the date:  Your attendance is requested at the Joint Budget Subcommittee Meeting on Wednesday August 2, 2023 @ 7 pm Municipal Building 2nd floor, Council Chambers 355 East Central Street.  I cannot stress enough that engagement at this meeting is essential to gain momentum for any effort to solve our town's financial issues. Please recruit everyone you know to attend, whether they are pro-override or not. All citizens need to be informed and this is a first step.  There will be opportunity for public comment toward the end of the committee's agenda discussions.
    1. All citizens are welcome to attend public board and committee meetings in person. Meetings are also live-streamed (and archived) by Franklin TV on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channel. ->   https://www.youtube.com/@franklintownhalltv8887/streams
    2. Zoom Link contained in the agenda document 

  1. Spread the word!  Please feel free to forward this email and start/continue conversations with other Franklin residents (parents or not) to help us continue to find ways to improve our schools and keep Franklin a preferred place to live and raise a family.

 

  1. Consider joining One Franklin. The One Franklin committee is a group of engaged citizens who are working with elected leaders to pass a tax override in Franklin. One of the initiatives of One Franklin is to educate the community as to why we support an override. Please learn about and then consider joining our efforts! The email to get involved is OneFranklinVolunteers@gmail.com.  I've added more information below.  Also, let me know if you are interested in a One Franklin bumper magnet - it's the newest must-have car accessory!

Franklin Matters: What is the One Franklin group doing?

One Franklin Override Info Hub - What is an Override?



Saturday, July 29, 2023

Preliminary Five-Year Fiscal Forecast Budget Model for the Joint Budget Subcommittee - Aug 2, 2023

To: Joint Budget Subcommittee 

From: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
Amy Frigulietti, Deputy Town Administrator

Re: Preliminary Five-Year Fiscal Forecast Budget Model


Attached is the latest five-year fiscal forecast for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) through Fiscal Year 2029 (FY29). This is a preliminary model based on a series of assumptions outlined below. These assumptions are based on Proposition 2 ½, trends, market conditions and a couple strategic initiatives (mainly capital facility and infrastructure costs).

This forecast is only intended to be a guideline for strategic budget development and discussion. It is important to emphasize that if the Town has further needs for bond rating evaluations, items will need to be cut out of the budget in order to demonstrate to the ratings agencies a solvent, balanced budget.

The current FY24 Budget baseline is highlighted in light yellow. The five-year forecast is highlighted in light blue. The sections highlighted in light green will be the center of the discussion at the meeting and represent the most challenging areas in the next five years.

Revenue assumptions

The model makes the following revenue assumptions:

New Growth - The model assumes $1,100,000 in annual New Growth revenue from year to year. Town policy is to use a ten-year aggregate average for annual new growth calculations. While this number will fluctuate, the town has seen a drop in private sector and residential homeowner property improvement investments in recent years. There is a lot of risk in the marketplace due to supply chain uncertainty, high interest rates, inflation, and increasing costs. The model assumes an increase in New Growth. In FY24, New Growth revenue is expected to decline. FY25 could see a similar decline.

For those interested in reading analysis about the Massachusetts economy, please take a look at the UMass Donahue Institutes’ MassBenchmarks series here. This publication represents a coalition of economic experts, including our state's most preeminent financial and academic  
institutions, who publish their independent analysis of the Massachusetts economy.

Tax Levy - The anticipated tax levy growth increases by 2.5% per year. Staff anticipates a reduction in the tax levy of approximately $630,000 over the next five years, due to debt exclusions “sunsetting” off the tax rolls as projects are paid off.

Local Receipts - The model assumes a 2% growth in local receipts per year.

State Aid - The model assumes a 1% growth in state aid per year. Education aid from the state has been well documented by the town for a decade. The public should not expect a large infusion of state education aid in the foreseeable future.

Other Revenues - The model assumes a 2.5% increase in indirects per year. The model assumes a 2% increase in state assessments per year.

Expenses Assumptions

The model makes the following expenditure assumptions:

Assumes a 2.5% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all municipal personnel line items each year for five years. Please note most union contracts, including FEA, Police, Fire, DPW, Custodian, and Library expire Summer of 2025. A 2.5% increase is modeled to stay within the tax levy.

The Franklin Public School district budget increases 2.5% per year, or approximately $1.8 to $2 million per year.

All municipal expense budgets increase 2.5% per year.

Norfolk County Retirement System budget assumes a rate of growth at 5% and health care costs are projected at 7%.

A full year assessment of $1.5 million for regional dispatch in FY25 and a rate of growth of 2.5% each year thereafter.

Tri-County Vocational School building project estimated assessment of $2.1 annually for 30 years at an interest rate of 4.25%. The Town will have to consider funding this project through a debt exclusion vote at the ballot. A debt exclusion will increase taxes for citizens over the next 30 years in order to pay for the new school building. Tri-County is entering the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process now and a districtwide authorizing vote (on the project, not the financing) is scheduled for October 24, 2023. The financial forecast illustrates in the light green section an increase of almost $2.1 million in FY27 for this building and a 2.5% increase in the following years. Given the construction and planning processes, this will likely not be the funding schedule. However,it is important to put this project in the model as a placeholder to illustrate costs as well as competing demands. It is important to note that if a debt exclusion is not passed or another financing mechanism is not found, the town will see structural cuts of about $2.1 million in FY27 and beyond.

Includes anticipated borrowing for projects that were authorized by the Town Council in 2020, which includes the Washington Street sidewalk ($3 million), High School improvements ($2.5 million, including visitor bleachers), Remington-Jefferson remodel ($4 million), and recycling center ($4 million). These project estimates will need reauthorization to accommodate for a 25% increase in costs from the original 2020 authorization. Of note, these numbers are preliminary and could be greater, once finalized. Staff anticipated a 4+% interest rate for these projects, even with our AAA Bond Rating.

There is also $1 million authorized to borrow for the Parmenter School’s mechanical upgrades. This is NOT included in the model. A review of the costs to rehabilitate Parmenter needs to be explored at a deeper level, as Parmenter will need a new roof, mechanicals, and other improvements. If Parmenter is to maintain its use as a school for the foreseeable future (meaning 20-30 years), then the community should expect a complete upgrade of approximately $5 million. The Town will need to borrow for this project as well.

It is also important to reference that our staff capacity may not be able to coordinate this number of capital projects in such a short time. Also, the debt and interest line items have quickly decreased the last two fiscal years due to sunsetting debt exclusions and other borrowing coming off the books. The community is going to have to make some judicious decisons and prioritize projects in the coming years.

Includes the borrowing for the Fire Department ladder truck, authorized earlier in the year.

What does this model NOT include?

A short list of items that have been discussed publicly in some variation (not in this order):

Costs associated with the Police Station and Davis-Thayer Building. These projects will each cost tens of millions of dollars and will certainly require debt exclusion votes of the public to raise taxes (and then sunset).

Additional strategic investments toward Franklin Public Schools.

Additional public infrastructure costs for roads, sidewalks, parking lots, trails, and green energy commitments.

$500,000-$1,000,000 in additional annual capital needs that have been requested to be put into the operating budget as annual operating costs, such as public safety protection gear, equipment, fleet, vehicles, and school curriculum.

Funding relative to an increasing demand and reliance on technology. Whether it's cyber security, computers for students and/or employees, the proper recruitment and retention of exceptional technology staff, or required fiber and equipment upgrades, technology is a necessary cost driver. This is an area of significant underfunding, and the Town has not invested nearly enough in what is needed to build a sustainable technology environment.

New investments in social services, regional transportation investments, personnel, clean energy, or any of the other requests the community may have.

Off-budget accounts, such as utilities and community preservation.
 
Where do we go from here?

The community has several choices to address public school finance:

1. The municipal and school departments must live within the means of 2.5% revenue and expenditure growth. Ultimately, this presents challenging choices, but is the most sustainable option at the current time.

2. Work toward an override ballot question to permanently raise property taxes to pay for a defined set of service investments.

3. Shift resources from the municipal departments to the Franklin Public School Department.

4. Redesign the service delivery of the School Department. In other words, the District will reevaluate what services it offers, what is required, and what are the projections moving forward with cost drivers. One exercise that would prove valuable for the Franklin Public School District is to create a five to ten year strategic financial plan that addresses the balancing and shifting needs in public education with considerations given to the district's declining enrollment.

The model, as shown, illustrates a significant structural deficit in FY26 and beyond. FY25 also shows a deficit, but appears manageable, due to healthy local receipts and stable new growth. Barring any unforeseen global circumstance, FY25 will likely be manageable.

The community has a flood of expensive projects and competing demands coming up in a very challenging market to borrow money. The Town does not have any unused tax levy capacity, and has rebuilt its reserves to a baseline level in order to obtain a AAA Bond rating. Town and School reserves should not be withdrawn. While it may feel like a rainy day, it is not. The future likely holds more turbulent waters given the geopolitical state of our world.

The Town of Franklin (and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) currently enjoys some of the best overall quality of life in the United States. As demonstrated again this month, it is rated as one of the safest communities in the country against violent crime. The community has an elite school district with exceptional teachers and educators, incredible special education services, championship athletics, and diverse extracurricular and recreational opportunities, a vibrant and jam-packed senior center, and a public library that is second to none. The community has worked hard to rebuild its most critical infrastructure over the past 2 decades to ensure quality and clean drinking water, great roads and sidewalks, exceptional parks and grounds, and to ensure the community has plenty of sewer capacity for the next several generations; hopefully another 100 years! The Town has preserved over 200 acres of open space in the last two years and has been awarded the highest bond rating at AAA for incredible financial management for the first time in the Town’s history.

The community enjoys a healthy, strong and supportive social fabric with events for all ages, economic classes and tastes. The Town has a robust diversity of retail shopping, restaurants, basic needs, social services support, and amenities. Franklin also enjoys a government that shows its citizens that it can act in compromise, humility and a dedicated focus on decisions that enhance the quality of life in the community. While many very difficult decisions will be here for the rest of the decade, we also think it is important that the community recognizes, and does not take for granted, the current state of the town.

The numbers to support this narrative along with the remainder of the package released for the August 2 meeting can be found ->

Preliminary Five-Year Fiscal Forecast Budget Model for the Joint Budget Subcommittee - Aug 2, 2023
Preliminary Five-Year Fiscal Forecast Budget Model for the Joint Budget Subcommittee - Aug 2, 2023

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

This Talk Franklin episode introduces Deputy Town Administrator Amy Frigulietti - 07/13/23 (audio)

FM #1021 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1021 in the series. 


This session of the radio show shares my "Talk Franklin" session with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen. We had our conversation in person at the Municipal Building on Thursday, July 13, 2023. New Deputy Town Administrator Amy Frigulietti joins us for the first time.


Topics for this session

Introduce Amy Frigulietti, new Deputy Town Administrator

Recap of FY 23 close, FY 24 budget

Joint Budget Subcmte – Aug 2 the start of discussions around what is needed to be sustainable going forward. Head’s up, the Aug 16 Town Council meeting will feature update on campaign law requirements 

Town Council – July 19 

Legislative delegation visits to provide update (Rep Roy, Senator Rausch)

Accessory dwelling legislation up for second reading & vote

Farmers Market & Concerts on the Common - Friday’s the Common is busy 


The recording runs about 43 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie & Amy on Thursday, July 13, 2023


Audio file -> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letstalkfranklin/episodes/Introducing-Amy--FY-23-Budget-Recap-e2735qs/a-aa4ut23



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Town FY 2024 budget page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/webforms/fy-24-budget-materials 


Town Administrator page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/administrator


Talk Franklin podcast page -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin 


Town Council agenda for 07/19/23 meeting ->   

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/july_19_2023_tc_agenda.pdf 


Brookline override & campaign violations -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/07/school-officials-likely-violated.html 


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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


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!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"


Amy M. Frigulietti
Amy M. Frigulietti

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

What is the One Franklin group doing?

via One Franklin
We have officially registered a ballot question committee called "One Franklin 2023" aka One Franklin. (Ruthann O'Sullivan, Chair and Ken Ojukwu, Treasurer) We are piggy-backing off of the efforts originally started in 2019 after many of you saw over 100 Franklin teachers standing with pink slips on Route 140.
The original committee was led by then School Committee Chair Dr. Anne Bergen, as well as Roberta Trahan, Chair and Jim Roche, Treasurer.
When the federal covid relief money was given to Franklin, our public schools were given a temporary band aid. This federal money plus the chaos ensued by managing covid, stalled the progress of that original committee.
However, that federal relief money is gone and this is why once again our schools are back facing a "fiscal cliff". With the original committee's blessing, we have reignited the efforts to solve this problem. More importantly, One Franklin is for ALL of our community! We do not want the health of our public schools to come at the expense of other departments. We have amazing services in town, they are all stretched thin, and we need to band together as a community.
To summarize:
The One Franklin committee is a group of engaged citizens who are working with elected leaders to pass a tax override in Franklin.
The community's engagement is the absolute most important factor. We have a ton of ways to be involved regardless of your bandwidth. We also don't expect folks who have not been closely watching the history of Franklin's budget process to know immediately that this override is necessary. One of the initiatives of One Franklin is to educate the community as to why we support an override.
Please join our efforts! The email to be involved is OneFranklinVolunteers@gmail.com
We also have a Facebook page, but often cross post on this Support for Franklin Public Schools page as well.
Citizen's engagement motivated our Town Council to reconvene the Joint Budget Subcommittee, which meets Aug 2. Please attend and recruit as many in the community as possible to learn what's happening and engage.
We thought it would be helpful to summarize our expectations of how this process will unfold.
Since our school budget is at such a critical tipping point, by default it will be a significant portion of what will be the amount asked for on the override ballot question. The School Committee, and specifically the members from School Committee's Finance Subcommittee as well as the members of School Committee on Joint Budget Subcommittee will work with school administration to put together line items which they will then bring forward as a request for an override.
Those line items seem to be what folks in this thread refer to as a "proposal". These School Committee members and our school administrators are the best people to draft this request.
One Franklin is committed to remaining engaged, motivating and supporting those efforts to get this done.
From there, One Franklin will engage, motivate and support the other non-school departments to submit their needs so that our joint budget subcommittee and TC can discuss/debate in open meetings.
The Town Council will ultimately vote on a number they believe the community will support.
Once that number is specified and outlined so that citizens know precisely where money will be allocated, the town attorney will draft the ballot question.
One Franklin will have many many open meetings and resources available above and beyond what you get to hear during Town Council, School Committee, and Finance Committee meetings. We have over 200 active volunteers and the list is growing. So whether you just want to dip your toe in the water, or host an educational event, we want you!

Franklin values our town services, let's work together to make sure they're not just efficient, they're excellent!
General Update from the One Franklin group
General Update from the One Franklin group

Friday, July 14, 2023

"This year were the “Tier One” cuts ... "Tier Two" cuts next year will be more severe"

Via School Committee Chair Denise Spencer:

Franklin Public Schools has been ringing the alarm bell for 15+ years.

2020 was going to be the swift kick in the rear, but the covid money came in and served as a band-aid. And for the last three years we've been warning people - the money is running out. I don't see another global pandemic happening anytime soon. There are no more handouts. I can't even say the day is here because we've passed the point of no return.

This year were the “Tier One” cuts (see photos in separate post), as discussed at the budget subcommittee meetings, Finance Committee, Town Council, regularly scheduled School Committee meetings…

Tier Two cuts next year will be more severe (read: think programs such as Music, Arts, Foreign Language, not to mention Sports - freshman, froshman JV, Extracurricular Activities, Small Class Sizes, etc. etc..)

The information is out there. Do some research and spend some time to reflect on what you want your community to be.

If you have questions, you can go back and watch some meetings… 

Here you can find meeting packets, agendas, budget information and more

I encourage folks to attend the August 2nd Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting.

Linking historical articles that show this is NOT a new problem
Going forward from FY 2024, what is sustainable? (audio)
Going forward from FY 2024, what is sustainable? (audio)

Friday, July 7, 2023

Going forward from FY 2024, what is sustainable? (audio)

FM #1020 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1020 in the series. 


This session of the radio show shares the conversation with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Town Council Chair Tom Mercer, School Superintendent Lucas Giguere, and School Committee Chair Denise Spencer. 


We had our conversation at the Municipal Building on Tuesday June 27,2023. Tom Mercer joined via Zoom.  


Now that the major FY 2024 budget decisions are behind us, how we will go forward becomes the topic. The next steps start with the Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting scheduled for Aug 2. 


Over the next several months, lots of conversations, and planning discussion should result in a plan to go forward that the ad-hoc residents committee can then spread the word on for a potential override decision by the Town.


The conversation runs about 54 minutes. Let’s listen to the recording of the way forward discussion on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1020-fy2024-going-forward-06-27-23



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Town FY 2024 budget page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/webforms/fy-24-budget-materials 


School FY 2024 budget information -> https://www.franklinps.net/fy24budget 



--------------

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


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"


Going forward from FY 2024, what is sustainable? (audio)
Going forward from FY 2024, what is sustainable? (audio)

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Joint Statement ONE Franklin

As the Chairs of the Town Council and School Committee, respectively, we believe it's crucial we speak as ONE to the community regarding recent misinformation in various community dialogue circles about the Town’s budgetary and fiscal situation.

We want to assure every citizen in the Town of Franklin of our commitment to work through these challenging fiscal times as ONE. We expect significant setbacks to core services in both the School Department and the Municipal Departments over the coming year. 

This is not new news. COVID-19 unquestionably expedited the already difficult financial picture the community has been facing for several years. The news this week regarding possible staff reductions at the School Department is just the beginning of what will be a very turbulent and fluid year.

Despite whatever challenges come our way, we remain steadfast in our commitment to stand by one another and support one another throughout. We can only succeed as a community if we work together; and we intend to! We believe in ONE Franklin and hope this week's news will encourage more citizens to become informed and participate in the financial decisions that will be made over the course of the next year for all of our municipal and school departments.

For those who wish to learn more facts about the Town’s fiscal situation, a next step is the Town Council budget hearings on June 17 and 18. Agendas will be posted soon on the Town Calendar at www.franklinma.gov

You may also read Town budget materials on the Town Budget website.
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget

Thank you for joining us in this fight to preserve our community!

Dr. Anne Bergen, Chair, Franklin School Committee
Tom Mercer, Chair, Franklin Town Council 


You can also find a PDF version on the Town of Franklin page
 https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/uploads/unity_redacted_2.pdf