Finance Committee - Budget Hearing #2 of 3 - Public Safety & Public Works - May 8

Finance Committee Meeting 

Agenda & Meeting Packet 

Wednesday, May 8, 2024 7:00 PM 

Agenda

1. Call to Order

2. Public Comments

3. FY25 Town Administrator Operating Budget Hearing continued...

FY25 Town Administrator Budget Materials website

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/webforms/fy-25-budget-materials

Follow along with the voting doc ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/fy25_ta_budget_book_v2.pdf

a. Public Safety:

i. 210 Police Department

ii. 220 Fire Department

iii. 225 Regional Dispatch

iv. 240 Inspection Department

v. 292 Animal Control

b. Department of Public Works (DPW):

i. Departments: 422 Public Works

ii. Enterprise Funds:

1. 450 Water

2. 440 Sewer

3. 434 Solid Waste

4. 460 Stormwater

4. Adjourn

Agenda doc contains remote participation info ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/_2024-05-08_finance_committee_agenda_.pdf

Finance Committee - Budget Hearing #2 of 3 - Public Safety & Public Works - May 8

What's happening May 6, 2024?

Monday, May 6

7:00 pm    Planning Board  3rd floor Trng Room

• Agenda doc (includes remote participation info) 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/may_6_2024.pdf

7:00pm    Finance Cmte: Budget Hearing #1 of 3 - General Gov't

• Agenda doc (includes remote participation info) 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/fin_com_agenda_may_6.pdf

What's happening this weekend in Franklin? 

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Why are there multiple calendars?

There is a Cultural events calendar upon which other community events are layered to create the Community calendar.

Respectfully, the Library and Senior Center calendars are too full of events to include all their events so we tend to focus on the major events. Town and School meetings are also kept separate. Links for all the calendars are shared here:

The Cultural calendar displays only the cultural events      https://www.franklinculture.org/things-do/pages/calendar

Find the full Community event calendar  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Library calendar of events ->    calendar link

The Senior Center calendar of events ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/node/39/events/month/39/2023-12

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar
The School district calendar is found  https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26 

The Franklin Art Association Art Gallery remains open for viewing (and purchasing the art displayed) during business hours at Escape into Fiction (Main St, Franklin)

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee Meeting - FY 2025 Budget Hearing - Part 1 of 3 - May 6 at 7 PM

Finance Committee Meeting

Agenda & Meeting Packet

Monday, May 6, 2024 = 7:00 PM

Meeting will be held at the Municipal Building

2nd floor, Council Chambers

355 East Central Street

Agenda

1. Call to Order

2. Public Comments

3. Approval of Minutes

a. April 17, 2024

4. “A Citizens Pledge to the Residents of Franklin”

a. Pledge document ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/override_memorandum_of_understanding_final.pdf

b. Town Administrator/Superintendent of Schools Slideshow  -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/2024-05-01_override_pledge_presentation.pdf

5. FY25 Town Administrator Operating Budget Hearing:

FY25 Town Administrator Budget Materials website  https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/webforms/fy-25-budget-materials

a. General Government -

i. Departments: 111 Town Council, 123 Town Administrator, 131 Finance Committee, 135 Comptroller, 141 Assessors, 147 Treasurer-Collector, 151 Legal, 152 Human Resources, 155 Information Technology, 161 Town Clerk, 164 Elections & Registration, 171 Conservation Commission, 176 Appeals Board (ZBA), 177 Planning & Growth Management, 184 Agricultural Commission, 192 Public Properties & Buildings, 196   Purchasing & Central Services.

b. Human Services -

i. Departments: 510 Board of Health, 535 Disability Commission, 541 Council on Aging, 543 Veterans Services, 535 Disability Commission.

c. Culture & Recreation -

i. Departments: 610 Library, 630 Recreation, 690 Historical Museum, 691 Historical Commission, 693 Arts & Culture, 695 Cultural Council, 696 Cultural District Committee.

d. Debt & Interest -

i. Departments: 710 Debt Service - Principal, 750 Debt Service - Interest.

e. Employee Benefits:

i. Departments: 910 Retirement & Pension, 945 Risk Management (Liability Insurance).

6. Future Agenda Items

7. Adjourn

Remote participation info included in Agenda doc ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/fin_com_agenda_may_6.pdf

The #8 episode in the Franklin For All series gets into Zoning and New Growth - 06/05/23 (audio)

FM #1014 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1014 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the audio recording of the housing and zoning discussion with Brad Chafee, Melanie Hamblen, and Cobi Frongillo. We were joined by Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Town Council Chair Tom Mercer for this discussion on new growth. Most of us were in the Franklin TV Studio on Monday, June 5, 2023. Tom joined us via the Zoom conference bridge.

Consider this a continuation of the downtown zoning discussion from the “Franklin For All” project which is underway with review and discussion at the Economic Development Subcommittee Plus meetings that Melanie Chairs and for which Cobi is Vice-Chair.  

The conversation centered on new growth and how the zoning decisions have a relationship with the budget. 

The recording of our conversation on zoning runs about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let’s listen in. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1014-franklin-for-all-8-new-growth-06-05-23

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The collection of Franklin For All zoning discussions can be found here ->

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/02/franklin-for-all-housing-zoning-podcast.html

The value-per-acre visual that Cobi mentioned 

https://twitter.com/CobiFrongillo/status/1569899170042978304 

The "Growth Ponzi Scheme" Cobi mentioned

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/8/28/the-growth-ponzi-scheme-a-crash-course 

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

Town Council budget hearings for FY 2024

• May 24 & 25 (budget hearings) - recap & audio links ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/audio-recordings-for-1st-of-2-budget.html       https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/town-council-approves-fy-24-budget_01384873643.html     

• recap & video links ->   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/town-council-approves-fy-24-budget.html  

Finance Committee budget hearings for FY 2024

• May 11 - (FY 2024 budget hearing) public safety (police, fire, dispatch) -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/finance-cmte-completes-fy-2024-budget.html 

• May 10 - (FY 2024 budget hearing) schools (FPS, Tri-County, Norfolk Aggie) recap, audio & video links -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/finance-committee-budget-hearing-2-gets.html 

• May 8 - (FY 2024 budget hearing) general government and DPW (enterprise accounts (sewer, water, solid waste & stormwater) - recap, audio & video links ->    https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/fincom-gets-fy-2024-summary-from-town.html 

The “must listen’ intro as mentioned with the 30 minute overview of the revenue projections https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/franklinites-spend-few-minutes-with.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!

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

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

The #8 episode in the Franklin For All series gets into Zoning and New Growth - 06/05/23 (audio)

School Committee member Dave Callaghan talks about the school budget & hard choices - 05/31/23 (audio)

FM #1003 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1003 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my recorded conversation with Franklin School Committee member Dave Callaghan. We had our conversation in person in the Franklin TV Studio on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. 

Our primary topic was the school budget for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 2024). The Finance Committee meetings are done, the Town Council held their budget hearings and approved the budget. Coming up at the June 7 are a couple of resolutions to add another approx. $700K to the schools budget. This still leaves the School budget short of what they were asking for and hard choices remain.

One bright spot coming out of the hearing is that there appears to be agreement on trying to do something to address the systemic issues in the school and town budget.

The recording runs about 40 minutes so let’s listen to my conversation with Dave Callaghan. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1003-school-cmte-dave-callaghan-05-31-23

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

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

Town Administrator’s budget ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/webforms/fy-24-budget-materials 

  

Town Council budget hearings (video & audio links)

• May 24 & 25 (budget hearings) - recap & audio links ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/audio-recordings-for-1st-of-2-budget.html       https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/town-council-approves-fy-24-budget_01384873643.html 

• recap & video links ->   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/town-council-approves-fy-24-budget.html 

Finance Committee budget hearings (video & audio links)

• May 11 - (FY 2024 budget hearing) public safety (police, fire, dispatch) -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/finance-cmte-completes-fy-2024-budget.html 

• May 10 - (FY 2024 budget hearing) schools (FPS, Tri-County, Norfolk Aggie) recap, audio & video links -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/finance-committee-budget-hearing-2-gets.html 

• May 8 - (FY 2024 budget hearing) general government and DPW (enterprise accounts (sewer, water, solid waste & stormwater) - recap, audio & video links ->    https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/fincom-gets-fy-2024-summary-from-town.html

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

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"

School Committee member Dave Callaghan talks about the school budget & hard choices - 05/31/23 (audio) 

Town Council approves FY 24 budget after 9 hours over 2 nights, plan for schools to get $700K more (audio)

FM #1000 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1000 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Town Council meeting held in Council Chambers on Thursday, May 25, 2023. All 9 members of the Council were present in the Council Chambers.

The first budget hearing did not complete on Wednesday evening, so Thursday's session opens to complete the first hearing and then starts the second hearing. When the second hearing completes, the legislation for action commences to record the various approvals as noted below.

Quick recap

• Police to add to their staff to alleviate a scheduling issue that should help reduce the overtime cost and help moral by reducing the amount of forced overtime

• Fire to add to their staff to help provide a third ambulance for coverage during four days of peak call volume. The staff increase is partially offset by additional ambulance revenues

• Senior Center gets approval for a van driver for half the year as a step towards full time 

• Town administration gets approval for a shift from an assistant town administrator to a Deputy Administrator along with a half year funding for an Arts & Culture Director

• The Franklin school budget gets an increase of approximately $700K over the $1.1m initially allocated. These funds will be part of a two resolution vote being scheduled for the June 7 Council meeting. 24 school personnel positions were cut this week by the School District to meet their expected budget shortfall of over $2M. Some of those are due to the continued declining enrollment, some of those can be restored with the additional funds being allocated. As was made clear a few times during the hearings, the Town Council only provides a line item of funding to the Schools. The School district and School Committee have the full responsibility for choices on how that money is spent

• The Joint Budget Subcommittee will begin meeting (schedule TBD) to work on a strategic plan to address the systemic issues across both the Town and Schools budget requirements. There was consensus on increasing the revenue. Some of the increase can come from a variety of measures (storm water fee, sewer rate increase, zoning changes to increase density, etc.) as well as consideration of a possible override ballot question. In order to get to the override question, the amount of increased revenue (i.e. property taxes revenue) needs to be explored and agreed to put before the taxpayers for their approval. There are already a number of increases planned (or expected) and that needs to be part of the consideration.

Planned

• storm water begins July 1, 2023

• sewer rate increase for next three years beginning July 1, 2023 to pay for the Beaver St interceptor replacement. Construction along RT 140 begins later this year

• possible debt exclusion for Tri-County RVTHS building replacement (amount expected in Aug 2023, vote anticipated in Oct 2023)

Expected

• water rate increase to pay for PFAS mitigations

• potential debt exclusion for renovation of Davis Thayer (DT) for town use (to make it ADA accessible). Decision on potential use anticipated by Dec 2023 from subcommittee appointed to determine recommendations

• potential debt exclusion for new Police station or renovation of existing, committee appointed and soon to begin work on this; their work will include the DT decision as applicable

• potential operational override to address systemic revenue issues

The recording runs about 3 hours and 42 minutes. Let’s listen to the Town Council meeting on May 25, 2023.  Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1000-town-council-fy-24-budget-hearing-2-05-25-23

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The full agenda and documents associated with it can be found online ->    https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/may_25_2023_town_council_agenda_1.pdf

The Fy 2024 budget document folder ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/webforms/fy-24-budget-materials 

The Franklin TV video replay for both sessions is available

• Wednesday -> https://www.youtube.com/live/P5MzuZ7r7gA?feature=share 

• Thursday -> https://www.youtube.com/live/BLXhaMDHJDk?feature=share 

My Twitter notes captured during the meetings can be found here

• Wednesday ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hmk9G_oo0RXsmkV0KOiHADAXXgXbNGxk/view?usp=drive_link 

• Thursday ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1haEf0ELqCsOMNlz0labwYxe8yBtqsoN9/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"

Town Council approves FY 24 budget after 9 hours over 2 nights, plan for schools to get $700K more (audio)