Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts

Monday, March 4, 2024

Town Council spends 2 hours and takes "no action" on zoning proposal (audio)

FM #1150 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1150 in the series. 


This session of the radio show shares the Town Council meeting held in Council Chambers on Wednesday, February 18, 2024. All 9 members  of the Council participated in the Council Chambers. 


Most of the first 2 hours was spent on a healthy conversation around the proposed zoning change from residential to business for two lots on King St near the Fire station. 


The Council after spending almost 2 hours listening to the proposal (no specific business use was proposed) (the real question was should the lot be residential or business?), the Council decided to take "no action". This move allows them to refer the zoning change back to the Planning Board which while they had a quorum discuss this previously, the recommendation came back with only 3 votes, not the full 5 of the Board (due to the recent election).


Quick recap:

  • Brownie troop 64085 led the pledge as part of the work on the Democracy badge

  • The minutes for the Jan meeting were approved

  • The OPEB financial report was presented and reviewed, we are in a better position than we were previously

  • FY24 Capital Improvement Plan was approved

  • associated transfers to account for the funding approval were also approved

  • The Council voted to support the Pending State Legislation Entitled “The Municipal Empowerment Act”

  • The Revised 2024 Town Council Meeting Schedule was approved

  • Gift Acceptance - Veterans’ Services Dept. ($2,900), Senior Center ($200), Police Dept. ($50)  were approved with thanks

  • Designation of “Special Municipal Employee” Under State Ethics Law were approved for newly create committees not previously covered by this move (housekeeping)

  • Cable Funds in Support of PEG Service and Programming per MGL Ch. 44, §53F3/4 actually 2 resolutions were approved. If the "empowerment Act noted above becomes law, this kind of approval would disappear from Council agendas

  • Council entered executive session to not return to open meeting for discussion of a matter regarding a real estate purchase

  • Joint Budget SubCmte meeting on March 6 will begin work on how to resolve a $10.5M budget deficit across town and school budgets. Agenda and budget details to be released Friday March 1


The recording runs almost 3 hours. Let’s listen to the Town Council meeting on Feb 28, 2024.  Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1150-franklin-ma-town-council-mtg-02-28-24



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The Franklin TV video is available for replay ->  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqa0QHtahmQ 


Town Council agenda doc ->  

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_2.28.24.pdf 


My full set of notes captured via Twitter during the meeting are collected in a single PDF for easier reading  ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CBubvtPzSJSvQakhmMx1X7M44cCPu7W_/view?usp=drive_link 


Photos captured during the meeting can be found in one album ->   https://photos.app.goo.gl/sH38Yj6iD5yE6KPQ9


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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.


If you have interest in reporting on the various Town and School meetings, let me know. Training and mentoring is available.


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"


Brownie troop 64085 led the pledge
Brownie troop 64085 led the pledge

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Franklin, MA: School Committee Meeting, Tuesday, Mar 5 at 7 PM

Franklin School Committee
March 5, 2023 - 7:00 PM
Municipal Building – Council Chambers


A G E N D A

“The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.”
Call to Order Mr. Callaghan
Pledge of Allegiance
Moment of Silence

I. Routine Business
A. Review of Agenda
B. Payment of Bills Mr. Callaghan
C. Payroll Mr. McNeill
D. FHS Student Representative Comments
E. Superintendent’s Report

II. Guests/Presentations
A. Superintendent’s Recommended FY25 Budget

III. Discussion/Action Items
A. Policy - First Reading
I recommend moving policy CA - Administrative Goals to a second reading as
detailed.

IV. Discussion Only Items
A. none

V. Information Matters
A. School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
B. School Committee Liaison Reports

VI. Consent Agenda
A. Approval of Minutes
I recommend approval of the minutes from your February 13, 2024 meeting as
detailed.
B. JF Kennedy Gifts
I recommend acceptance of two check totaling $1471.50 from the JFK PCC as
follows:
$125.00 for Field Trips
$1346.50 for Supplemental Supplies
C. Parmenter Gifts
I recommend acceptance of two checks totaling $1970.00 from the Parmenter
PCC for field trips as detailed.
D. FHS Scholarship
I recommend acceptance of a check for $5,000.00 from Thomas A. Wagner for a
FHS Scholarship as detailed.
E. FHS Gift
I recommend acceptance of a check for $93.01 from Ohiopyle Prints, Inc. for
supplemental supplies as detailed.

VII. Good of the Order

VIII. Citizen’s Comments

IX. New Business
To discuss any future agenda items

X. Adjournment

The agenda doc contains remote participation info

Franklin, MA: School Committee Meeting, Tuesday, Mar 5 at 7 PM
Franklin, MA: School Committee Meeting, Tuesday, Mar 5 at 7 PM

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Reminder: Town Council meeting February 28 at 7 PM

Among the key items for the Town Council meeting scheduled Wednesday, February 28 at 7:00 PM, are the following:


6. PUBLIC HEARINGS - 7:00 PM
a. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 24-901 (formerly 23-901): Zoning Map Changes from Single Family Residential III to Business an Area On or Near King Street, A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Section 5, Zoning Map
i. Legislation for Action #9a.

8. PRESENTATIONS / DISCUSSION
a. Discussion: OPEB Actuarial Report - Dan Sherman, Sherman Actuarial Services

9. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
b. Resolution 24-03: FY24 Capital Improvement Plan
(Motion to Approve Resolution 24-03 - Majority Vote)

Agenda doc also contains remote participation info ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_2.28.24.pdf


Thursday, February 22, 2024

Schools reduce capital budget request, Capital Budget Subcmte approves all votes (but one) by 4-0 (audio)

FM #1146 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 978 in the series. 


This session of the radio show is the audio recording of the Franklin, MA Town Council Capital Budget Subcommittee meeting conducted on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. All four members of the subcommittee were present: Chair Debbie Pellegri, Vice Chair Bob Dellorco, Ted Cormier-leger, Brian Chandler. 


Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Deputy Administrator Amy Frigulietti, Treasurer/Collector Kerri Bertone, Superintendent Lucas Giguere, along with almost all of the Town Department leaders (at least those with capital budget requests).


This meeting covered the first round of capital budgeting. As noted during the session, there is about $1.5M remains of “Free Cash” to be allocated during round 2.


You can follow along with the agenda as each department section was covered and line item by line item, votes were conducted (with a few exceptions) on each line item. Only one vote did NOT finish 4-0. That being the vote to fund the town/school website upgrade which passed 3-1 (Cormier-Leger cast the “no” vote). 


As noted when I shared the agenda, while this proposal was reviewed by the Finance Committee on Feb 7, it has been modified since then. It was also adjusted further during the meeting with School Supt Lucas Giguere reducing their school capital request from $1.2 M to $900+K. The capital budget as adjusted now moves forward to the full Town Council for their meeting on February 28.


The recording runs about just over 2 hours minutes, so let’s listen to this capital budget discussion. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1146-town-council-capital-budget-subcmte-mtg-02-21-24



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Agenda document ->   

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/capital_budget_subcommittee_agenda_-_feb_21_2024.pdf 


My notes via Twitter ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_3lpxnItRZ54gVEfc06Gu4F5FIGydByY/view?usp=drive_link 


Franklin TV video for the Finance Committee meeting of Feb 7 -> https://www.youtube.com/live/ULrmiu9zaew?si=tdKlf5BEx86wnl55


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

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"


Capital Budget Subcmte to adjustment to what FinCom already approved - Feb 21 at 10:00 AM
Capital Budget Subcmte to review adjustment to what FinCom already approved - Feb 21 at 10:00 AM

Monday, February 19, 2024

Capital Budget Subcmte to review adjustment to what FinCom already approved - Feb 21 at 10:00 AM

Capital Budget Subcommittee Meeting
Agenda & Meeting Packet
February 21, 2024 - 10:00 AM


Discussion:

1. FY24 Capital Plan “Round 1”
a. Town Administrator Memo
b. FY24 Department Summary Requests & Capital Plans
c. Quotes
2. Next Meeting Date

Full agenda doc (note, no remote participation scheduled for this meeting)

Capital Budget Subcmte to adjustment to what FinCom already approved - Feb 21 at 10:00 AM
Capital Budget Subcmte to review adjustment to what FinCom already approved - Feb 21 at 10:00 AM

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

School budget subcommittee gets preview of the 4 scenarios being worked for FY 2025 budget (audio)

FM #1141 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1141 in the series. 


This session shares the Franklin, MA School Committee Budget Subcommittee meeting held on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2024. The meeting was conducted in the 3rd floor training room. 


Chair Dave McNeill opened the meeting. School Committee members Dr Paul Griffith and KP Sompally participated. Superintendent Lucas Giguere and Business Manager Dr Bob Dutch, Asst Business Administrator Janaina Vasconcelos-Melotti also participated. 


Quick recap

  • Subcommittee meeting starts a few minutes late. Supt Giguere provides an overview of the capital budget process and then expands upon the preview we're about to see. There is a budget workshop on Friday with the school principals, another update planned for February. 

  • Dr Dutch walks through the details of the budget development process. Key slide provides a preliminary look at the various budget scenarios. Lots to digest within this slide. More info coming as the budget workshop (mentioned earlier) and further work through Feb leading to the view at the Feb 13 School Committee meeting

  • Four basic scenarios reviewed; 

    • (1) “less than level service” this would require cuts and reductions, exactly what will be fleshed out over the next weeks. 

    • (2) “level service” or survive mode, what would this be like? Feedback also asked “Ok if this is ‘survive,’ what happens next year? 

    • (3) “Level service plus” to stabilize the level service and partially restore programs previously cut (i.e. middle school activities and the late bus to support them), 

    • (4) “level service and programing thrive” this builds upon #3 restore more positions previously cut and create bandwidth to innovate.

  • Meeting ends with additional questions and discussion unasked as it was time to get downstairs for the full committee meeting opening at 7 PM (which actually started late due to this being late)


The show notes contain a link to the agenda and to my notes.


The recording runs about 27 minutes, so let’s listen to the Budget Subcommittee meeting of Jan 23, 2024. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1141-franklin-ma-school-cmte-budget-subcmte-mtg-01-23-24




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Budget Subcommittee agenda

https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/1-23-24_agenda-budgetsubcom.pdf


The current operating budget or FY 2024 Budget information -> https://www.franklinps.net/fy24budget 


The FY 2025 budget info being developed with this set of meetings and a new link will be added here https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-district-budget 


Photos of the slides discussed -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/z7kg8bYxECezQ86v8 


My notes in this ThreadReader PDF -> 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1efrAyKeGBJSIck0d1wXRdnmg_w3bhdFq/view?usp=drive_link 


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

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial


This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

  • If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

  • If you don't like something here, please let me know


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"




Tuesday, January 23, 2024

In this Chalkboard Chat, we recap 3 meetings on 1 busy night (audio)

FM #1140 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1140 in the series. 


This session of the radio show shares my recorded conversation with Franklin School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan and Vice Chair Dave McNeill. We had our conversation virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. 


The School Committee had their regular meeting and two subcommittee meetings before that on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. We take one meeting at a time to provide a recap. 


The recording runs about 43 minutes so let’s listen to my “chalkboard chat” with School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan and Vice Chair Dave McNeill. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1140-chalkboard-chat-callaghan-mcneill-01-16-24


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Contact info for Dave Callaghan -> callaghand@franklinps.net 


Contact info for Dave McNeill -> mcneilld@franklinps.net


School Committee page => https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee 


1/16/24 meeting Agenda doc  ->  https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/files/1-9-24-agenda 


Meeting packet folder ->  https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/january-9-2024-school-committee-meeting-packet 


Franklin TV video for replay ->  not yet available but will be found in the YouTube playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNyv0AkVasIR_a80hAfFnQoFngebCICow 


Audio & notes for the budget subcommittee meeting

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/01/school-committee-budget-subcommittee.html 


Audio & notes for the MASC superintendent review workshop

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/01/school-committee-takes-masc-workshop-on.html 


Audio & notes for the regular meeting -> 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/01/school-committee-hears-about-oak-st-fhs.html 



The “Chalkboard Chat” image was the result of a joint collaboration with Mickayla Callaghan. Thank you!


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


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"


In this Chalkboard Chat, we recap 3 meetings on 1 busy night (audio)
In this Chalkboard Chat, we recap 3 meetings on 1 busy night (audio)