Capital Budget Subcommittee Meeting - Agenda - Feb 16, 2022 - 5:30 PM

Capital Budget Subcommittee Meeting

Agenda & Meeting Packet

February 16, 2022 - 5:30 PM

Meeting will be held at the Municipal Building
3rd Floor, Training Room, 355 East Central Street

Discussion:

1. FY22 Capital Plan

a. Proposed Town Administrator FY22 Capital Plan.

i. Technology Department

ii. Town Clerk’s Department

iii. Facilities Department

iv. Fire Department

v. Police Department

Agenda and supporting documents ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2022-02-16_capital_budget_subcommitee_meeting.pdf

The recording of he Finance Committee is available. They heard this presentation on Weds, Feb 9 (normal process flow, FinCom gets to it, then the subcommittee then the full Town Council)
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/finance-committee-approves-fy22-capital.html

Finance Committee approves FY22 Capital Plan and revisions to ToF fiscal policy - 02/09/22 (audio)

Finance Committee approves FY22 Capital Plan and revisions to ToF fiscal policy - 02/09/22 (audio)

FM #729 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 729 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Finance Committee meeting held on Wednesday, February 9, 2022. 

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: 7 members of the Finance Committee were in the Council Chambers along with some of the public, 1 member was remote along with some members the public via conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period. (1 member was absent to complete the accounting of the 9 member committee)

• Chair Bill Dowd opens the Finance Committee, 8 members participating (1 absent; 1 remote, hence roll call votes req'd)

• They heard the proposed revisions to fiscal policy doc, as marked up, minor change suggested to include the enterprise accounts specifically under the heading, rather than listed separately; approved to send to Town Council

• They heard the proposal for the FY 22 capital plan, clarification questions asked along the way before approving $2+M to send to Town Council

• Joint budget subcommittee scheduled to meet March 10, next meeting of FinCom scheduled for March 9, canceling the April meeting as they will be meeting over four nights in May for the budget hearings

The recording runs about 45 minutes, so let’s listen to the Finance Committee meeting Feb 9, 2022. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-729-finance-cmte-mtg-02-09-22

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Meeting agenda =>   

https://www.franklinma.gov/finance-committee/agenda/fin-com-agenda-20 

Link to Finance Committee => https://www.franklinma.gov/finance-committee 

My notes for the meeting =>  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/recap-finance-committee-gets-walk.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 your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

 

Finance Committee approves FY22 Capital Plan and revisions to ToF fiscal policy - 02/09/22 (audio)

Recap: Finance Committee approves Capital Plan for FY 22 and revisions to fiscal policy

Quick Recap:

• Finance Committee, 8 members participating (1 absent; 1 remote, hence roll call votes req'd)
• heard proposed revisions to fiscal policy doc, as marked up, minor change suggested to include the enterprise accounts specifically under the heading, rather than listed separately; approved to send to Town Council
• Heard proposal for capital plan, clarification questions asked along the way before approving $2+M to send to Town Council
• Joint budget subcommittee scheduled to meet March 10, next meeting of FinCom scheduled for March 9, canceling the April meeting as they will be meeting over four nights in May for the budget hearings

The Twitter thread for my notes missed the first two but the others can be found in one PDF  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZDbo-UYyinDJtMyjX8GAHd7EK9EFZ8Ay/view?usp=sharing

You can also find the Twitter thread looking for the hashtag -> #fincom0209

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fincom0209&src=recent_search_click 

Audio recording should be available in couple of days

• live reporting about to commence for the #FinCom0209 meeting, one member remote, one absent so a total of 8 participating tonight
• Agenda doc can be found -> https://franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2022-02-09_fincom_agenda.pdf  #fincom0209
• policy review (policy on page 2) proposing to remove the open space accounts as CPA is available. Req to adjust the enterprise accounts indented under the Enterprise account header (water, sewer, trash) #fincom0209
• Q on host community agreement - what it is and how long it lasts, $300K / year (not to exceed 3% of gross sales) - currently set at 5 years for Franklin #fincom0209 this completes the review of the policy, motion to approve, via roll call 8-0
• FY 22 capital plan (see agenda doc) total free cash $4.4M a high amount, maybe a record, won't likely be repeated. proceeding section by section or the separate capital plan doc here ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NmZGJ1f4Z8FiEpvZTVFUbRRZgkujzwxD/view?usp=sharing #fincom0209
• with $4.4M as starting point, set aside for snow/ice, and to debt stabilization, leaves us with $2+M for the capital plan, first pass now, after snow/ice confirmed, to come back for a second pass #fincom0209
• Dept level: School Department, School Technology, School Facilities - $701,000 multiple items covered in the details in agenda doc #fincom0209 Q - to clarify on text books, yes it is both materials and Chromebook licenses
• one of the Senior Center requests is for a pavilion outside to provide some shade. If you have ever seen it, it is exposed, the bocci court is covered (at either end) but the chairs/tables are totally exposed. #FINCOM0209 hopefully to have Tri-County students build
• fire alarm system upgrade, the vehicles were in the plan for several years and have risen to the top this year; grant to assist for the clothing request #fincom0209
• 5 replacement vehicles for police, vehicles were hybrid but not available so they would go gas; NationalGrid doing a fleet analysis to help determine the economics would take approx. a year #fincom0209
• on to enterprise accounts: water treatment plant analysis; tank replacement analysis for the hill behind Dean. #fincom0209 sewer enterprise, general improvements to whole system; Federal ARPA fund guidance being changed, may now qualify for ARPA, want to get it done either way
• did apply for SRF funding for the Beaver St connector, set to bid in late August and then 2 year construction; loan will be paid out of sewer enterprise fund; can tell how much it could be now, too early. #fincom0209 will need to get the bids, SRF gets a 0% loan
• check out the listing of all the other items that are on the wish list for future consideration #fincom0209 approve what has been submitted for, via roll call 8-0
• approval of Jan 12 minutes, motion, second, passes 8-0 via roll call #fincom0209
• stabilization account update, listed at the end of the capital and capital memo #fincom0209
• future agenda items, DPW deep dive, next month (March 9); may cancel the April meeting - they will be meeting multiple times in May 2022 (budget hearing)
• Joint Budget subcommittee meeting March 10, approx. 6:30 or 6 #fincom0209 motion to adjourn, second, passes 8-0 via roll call

Finance Committee Meeting - Feb 9, 2022 - agenda to review the FY 2022 Capital Plan

Finance Committee Meeting - Feb 9, 2022 - agenda to review the FY 2022 Capital Plan

From Town Administrator Jamie Hellen's memo to the Finance Committee: 

"Please find the attached Capital Plan for FY22, as well as the five-year capital plan from each department as required by the Town Charter. Included with this memo is a sheet with the 20-year free cash history. The average is $3.19 million over the past ten years and $2.72 Million over the past 20 years. FY22 is an unusually large year in excess, unspent revenue due to the second pandemic year.

From the certified total, there are several policy commitments that eat into the total right off the bat, most notably contributions to stabilization accounts (per town policy) as well as the usual recommendation from staff to hold revenue for annual snow and ice removal. See narrative below for more specifics.

These recommendations are Round 1 of the FY22 Capital program. Once we know the final totals of the winter costs for snow removal, if there are remaining funds, staff will propose a “Round 2” Capital later in April, which we have traditionally used to fund road and infrastructure projects."

Capital Plan memo ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NmZGJ1f4Z8FiEpvZTVFUbRRZgkujzwxD/view?usp=sharing

Full FinCom agenda and supporting documentation (127 pages)

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2022-02-09_fincom_agenda.pdf

Finance Committee Meeting - Feb 9, 2022 - agenda to review the FY 2022 Capital Plan

"all heavily qualified with discussions of uncertainty"

"Despite a persistent public health emergency, the Commonwealth’s fiscal outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2022 and looking ahead to fiscal 2023 remains strong, but not without some uncertainty. 

Tax collections far exceeded benchmarks in fiscal 2021, leading to a substantial state surplus, and they are on track to do the same in fiscal 2022. 

Still, during the annual Consensus Revenue Hearing convened today by the House and Senate Ways and Means committees and the governor’s budget office, the Department of Revenue and other fiscal experts and economists offered cautious outlooks for the economy and state revenues over the second half of fiscal 2022 and for fiscal 2023."

Continue reading the article online
https://www.mma.org/budget-outlook-for-fy23-is-a-balance-of-strong-revenue-and-uncertainty/ 

We enter the FY 2023 budget season. The Town of Franklin departments are working on their department level operational and capital requests. The capital budget will be first reviewed via the Finance Committee before going to the Town Council capital budget subcommittee and eventually to the full Council for approval. As with prior years, the capital budget is likely to be addressed in two phases: the first utilizes the available free cash less some amount held to cover additional snow/ice expenses this winter; after the winter expenses are finalized, then the second portion of free cash is utilized for the capital budget.

The Town budget process and documents can be found 

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget

The School budget follows a similar timeline

https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-district-budget

"all heavily qualified with discussions of uncertainty"

Mapped | The U.S. States with the Top Tech Salaries in 2021 💵 MA is #5

In America, tech jobs pay about 61% more than the average salary. Here's a look at which states have the highest tech salaries.

FEATURED STORY   The U.S. States with the Top Tech Salaries in 2021 In America, tech jobs pay about 61% more than the average salary. Here's a look at which states have the highest tech salaries. > Read more   View the Map Check out the article -> https://www.visualcapitalist.com/us-states-top-tech-salaries-2021/

FM #535 - Capital Budget SubComm Mtg - 05/05/21 (audio)

FM #535 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 535 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Town Council Capital Budget Subcommittee meeting held on Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: the Capital Budget SubCommittee members, Town Administrator and key personnel, were in the Council Chambers; the public was remote via conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

Quick Recap:

• The capital budget round two was reviewed, questions answered and vote conducted on each item along the way. At the there was another vote on the grand total which effectively recorded a second vote of approval for the items.
• Funding for a study of the police station options was approved. Long a discussion item, now the growth of the department is forcing the issue be faced as the space doesn't meet the needs of the staffing. The options of renovate, build new, including where, all need to be sorted out before a decision can be made. Good timing to study now with School also looking at their facility master plan along with updated population numbers to help with the planning.

Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents are included in the show notes. The recording runs about 50 minutes, so let’s listen to the Capital Budget Subcommittee meeting. 

Audio file => https://player.captivate.fm/episode/778d2959-c06c-4a05-ac9a-14efc4a252be

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Capital Budget agenda  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/5-5-2021_capital_subcommittee_meeting_agenda_1.pdf 

Town of Franklin budget page  https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget 
Franklin Schools budget page  https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-district-budget 

My notes captured during the meeting 
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/05/recap-town-council-capital-budget.html 

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

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm). 

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"

FM #535 - Capital Budget SubComm Mtg - 05/05/21 (audio)

Recap - Town Council Capital Budget Subcommmittee Mtg - May 5, 2021

Quick Recap:

• The capital budget round two was reviewed, questions answered and vote conducted on each item along the way. At the there was another vote on the grand total which effectively recorded a second vote of approval for the items.
• Funding for a study of the police station options was approved. Long a discussion item, now the growth of the department is forcing the issue be faced as the space doesn't meet the needs of the staffing. The options of renovate, build new, including where, all need to be sorted out before a decision can be made. Good timing to study now with School also looking at their facility master plan along with updated population numbers to help with the planning.

----

As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting reporting in real-time via the virtual session.
 
The Twitter hashtag can be found online  #cbsc0505
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23cbsc0505&src=typed_query 

The agenda doc contains connection info:
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/5-5-2021_capital_subcommittee_meeting_agenda_1.pdf

Photos captured during the meeting and shared as part of the Twitter stream can be found in one album  https://photos.app.goo.gl/zNKdgi9TKxDckLyB7

 

• Shifting (from real time reporting of the Board of Health Meeting) to capital budget Subcommittee #cbsc0505 - round two of capital, picking up with technology as Tech Director wasn't available first time.
• Paying now, we save $100k over the life of the software licenses; #cbsc0505 sonic firewall gateway for the internet for all the schools. Upgraded to 10g line, need to upgrade the firewall to go along with it. 5 year access is for the wireless access points.
• Q why isn't this in the regular budget. If we could save by paying up front ( the $100k), this makes sense. 
• Approx. $250k annually for access points. Using this vendor for many years, makes the upgrades easier. #boh0505 affordable and versatile
• Q on support for the access points, licensing covers failures if they do, the management of the devices is important. #cbsc0505 vendor only comes in when we call for support.
• Q does anything here help with the scam issue we had earlier. No technology was involved in that, we are doing training and process stuff to address that but there is no technology to prevent that. It is human engineering. #cbsc0505 
• Motion for wireless approval, second, ->
• Firewall approval, second passes 4-0 as well as the first one by same vote #cbsc0505
• Finance Committee did approve the amount for the rainy day fund, did not approve the policy. That is coming for discussion in their May meeting. #cbsc0505 
• Bellingham runs animal control, we donate the building space and split the capital.  #cbsc0505 motion on rainy fund, second, passes 4-0
• Animal control truck, second passes 4-0  Munis conversion, second passes 4-0  Roads, second, passes 4-0   55" of snow this season (48" in Boston) per Brutus  #cbsc0505 snow and ice, second passes 4-0
• Highway grounds truck, second passes 4-0  School dept, security upgrade at JFK elementary interior and common areas. Second, passes 4-0
• Facilities, police station feasibility study for new or renovated station. This starts the process, need to do this now, to help determine what the options are and should be considered with dollars for further discussion #cbsc0505
• Looking to the future of Franklin population, requirements, female locker room has limited spots, need to tie this in with the other studies (school facilities) and figure out what our options are to prepare #cbsc0505 currently built in 1991, wetlands behind and around
• Parking is at a premium right now, even if we expanded would we still have enough parking? The study could help figure the details #cbsc0505 the challenge will be the wetlands; maybe a HQ and substation? The study can provide the options
• We have done a lot in the town since this was built in '91. Senior Ctr, Library, schools, fire stations, etc. We can reuse the old station if we build a new one. #cbsc0505 motion to approve, second, passes 4-0
• FinComm approved 7-0 the $765k #cbsc0505 votes again to approve the whole amount
• Motion to adjourn, second, passes 4-0  See you in a bit for Town Council meeting at 7 

Audio file to be available in a couple of days

Police Chief TJ Lynch discussing the needs for the study of the police station options

FM #531 - Finance Cmte Budget Hearing #4 - 05/04/21 (audio)

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: members of the Finance Committee, selected guests, and Town Administration personnel were in the Council Chambers, the remainder were remote along with the public via the Zoom conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda including documents released for this agenda. 

Let’s listen to this budget hearing on the three school budgets Franklin K-12, Tri-County, and Norfolk Aggie

Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/7caf826b-e92e-401c-923b-d6e3391c7961

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

• May 4 Agenda  = Schools

 https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/_2021-05-04_finance_committee_agenda_.pdf

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

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm). 

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"

 

FM #531 - Finance Cmte Budget Hearing #4 - 05/04/21 (audio) 

Capital Budget Subcommittee Meeting - May 5 - 5:30 PM

Capital Budget Subcommittee Meeting
Agenda & Meeting Packet
May 5, 2021 = 5:30 PM 

 

Discussion:
1. FY20 Capital Budget Round 2

 

 

The agenda doc contains connection info:

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/5-5-2021_capital_subcommittee_meeting_agenda_1.pdf

 

Note: The agenda doc shows a 5:00 start, yet the calendar and prior meetings have started at 5:30 so 5:30 is what is shown here. If it changes, I'll update accordingly.  Agenda doc updated to show 5:30 PM Start time

 

 

Capital Budget Subcommittee Meeting - May 5 - 5:30 PM

Finance Committee - Budget Hearing #1 of 4 -> 2nd pass at Capital approved, General Government budgets heard

Quick Recap:

• $765,547 approved in this second pass at the Capital Budget. Recall that the first pass was done earlier, waited until the snow/ice expenses were tallied before taking this second pass. Now goes to Town Council for approval
• Policy on setting aside stabilization amount from free cash deferred to  May meeting for a more full discussion on theory/principal and then amount or percent
• Review of the highlights in the budget narrative, then pretty much page by page through the General Government sections; questions asked and answered
• Part 2 scheduled for Weds to include Public Safety, Part 3 for Thursday to be all DPW (including storm water), Part 4 next Tuesday (May 4) for the School budget
  

Worthwhile tidbits of info

• There are 611 wireless access points throughout town and school buildings
• New growth calculated at the 10 year average (as opposed to an increase, this is really more conservative)
• While Norfolk County pension reqs will increase over the next several years, after 2028 (i think) those funds will have been covered (by law) and then the pension funding can then be diverted to cover the OPEB requirements. Hence OPEB is not as bad a problem as it was through to be
• Melanson and Heath coming to Town Council meeting May 5 to report on the FY 20 audit (interesting to see what if anything would be mentioned of the spear phishing incident as it was an FY 2021 item, not FY 2020 item - hence may not be 'in scope') 
• Passports processing left the Town Clerks office due to potential conflict of interest/span of control problem. A Town clerk controls birth and death notices, hence could create a person and grant a passport for someone 
• Passport processing resumes one day a week, after July a new part time position will be filled and add photos as part of this service
  
• MA general law requires a paper bill to be physically be mailed; you can receive a PDF electronically but Town would need State legislation to take action to go full paperless
• Senior Center runs on less than $250k per year, they can do so due to the grants and gifts from various organizations
• Debt financing currently below the target of 3.5%, slightly growing the space to be used in the next couple of years   

----

As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting reporting in real-time via the virtual session.

 

The Twitter hashtag can be found online  #fincom0427

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fincom0427&src=typeahead_click

 

Photos captured during the meeting and shared via Twitter can be found in one album  https://photos.app.goo.gl/gxyCEPR6zYMoYEGj9

The agenda for this meeting can be found

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/4.27.21_fin_com_agenda.pdf

 

The Town budget documents for FY 2022

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/pages/fy-22-budget-materials

• Finance committee meeting opens #fincom0427 minutes for 2 prior meetings approved, 7-0 vote not roll call as those are in Chambers. Who is missing remains TBD? Should have 9 so 2 missing.

Capital Budget

• First up, second pass on the capital budget. 611 wireless access points across town/school buildings. #fincom0427 1.3m sq ft and the bulk are school buildings, by using capital, saves money overall, and 2 saves ops budget in Schools
• The details on the 2nd pass for capital along with the remainder of tonight's agenda can be found https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/4.27.21_fin_com_agenda.pdf  #fincom0427 Police building only one D'Angelo hasn't built or renovated
• Q on wireless access? Licensing for the wireless to work. Q on how much of the free cash is committed? Long answer but will need to tally to get total, some of it is fixed amount, some a percent of what is available. #fincom0427 $765,547 in addition to capital budget
• Passes by 7-0 vote; question on the policy of setting aside amounts for rainy day, fields, trucks, OPEB and ? Missing one, will update later #fincom0427

FY 2022 discussion

• Page 10 of the meeting packet shows the policy that was discussed and then tables until the May 19 session for further discussion, pros, cons, etc. #fincom0427
• CPC budget a separate budget item with nuances of the CPA funding as the process gets underway here in Franklin. Can use the $66k for some assessment estimates before getting the full funding in Oct 2022. Motion to approve, interrupted by question, then to vote passes 7-0
• Note: holding off on vote until all the budgets have been heard (will not be voting as they go dept by dept). #fincom0427 check the budget narrative for the highlights https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2021-04-16_fy_2022_budget_message_narrative_working_document_1.pdf
• New growth calculated at the 10 year average (as opposed to an increase, this is really more conservative). #fincom0427 and friendly reminder on those who want to see the SchComm change channel per info in image
• While pension reqs will increase over the next several years, after 2028 (i think) those funds will have covered the pension reqs and can then be diverted to cover the OPEB reqs #fincom0427 this was covered in prior Council and FinComm meetings
• Note, the website has current and accurate info, prior versions did contain some errors per TA go to appendix A1 to follow along #fincom0427 moving along literally line by line. https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2021-04-16_fy_2022_budget_message_narrative_working_document_1.pdf
  
• Melanson and Heath coming to council meeting May 5 to report on the FY 20 audit. #fincom0427 legal expanse item tends to go up when collective bargaining is in, cable, solar and other special needs do bring in legal consulting
• Proposing $25k for a complete nonunion market study for staff salaries/benefits, needs to be done to be competitive. #fincom0427 HR reviewing and adjusting with concurrence the collective bargaining agreements, almost done
• Adding a resource, split between town and school budgets, other IT staff all in school side of budget although Town does pay it's share. #fincom0427 similar to facilities which resides on town side but supports both town/school.
• Additional resource for Town Clerk office as mail ballot and early voting are likely here to stay, Legislation pending to set the process. #fincom0427 passport processing one day a week, after July a new part time position will be filled and add photos as part of this
• Passports processing left the town clerks office due to potential conflict of interest. A clerk controls birth and death notices, hence could create a person and grant a passport for someone. #fincom0427 was in TA office and then moved again
• Anticipating buildings fully operational as of July 1, also includes minimum maintain of Davis Thayer building #fincom0427 Central services mostly postage for the mailings on town business
• MA general law requires paper bill you can receive a PDF electronically but would need legislation to take action to go full paperless #fincom0427 Health Dept increasing nursing service (by statue req'd) examine other scenarios (including a grant for regional approach)
• Senior center runs on less than $250k per year, can do so due to the grants and gifts from various orgs. #fincom0427 trying to invest in center org due to use of funds for people previously tied to revolving funds Page 102 outlines budget details  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2021-04-16_fy_2022_budget_message_narrative_working_document_1.pdf
• P 104 Veterans services, mostly reimbursement from state and federal funding. #fincom0427 Library some folks repurposed to help with elections during closure. Do not need to seek waiver with this funding. Recreation coming back with restoration of budget, will be busy
• With the gradual reopening in progress during summer and fall. #fincom0427 reference to the historical museum Instagram account - https://www.instagram.com/franklinhistoricalmuseum/
• Debt financing currently below the target of 3.5%, slightly growing the space to be used in the next couple of years #fincom0427 benefits only up $800k, could be worse. Some new hires are still on parent's health coverage (until 26).
• Q where is the OPEB expense? we are paying for the total liability, the current requirements are covered by today's contributions #fincom0427 68/32 spilt town and employee for benefits. Q would the study cover benefits? Salary or total compensation? Remote work, etc.
• Family leave, will likely be items of discussion for employee recruiting. #fincom0427 future agenda item for more discussion on the HR nuances of salary, benefits etc. Liability insurance for both property and casualty, not for workers comp, reward checks come later
• Motion to adjourn, second, passes 7-0 See you for part 2 of the 4 meeting series on Weds. #fincom0427 

 

Finance Committee - Budget Hearing #1 of 4 -> 2nd pass at Capital approved, General Government budgets heard

FY 2022 - Town of Franklin budget proposal

The Town of Franklin FY22 Town Administrator's Proposed Budget materials are available on our website.  

Find all of the Proposed Budget information posted here 

https://franklinma.gov/town-budget/pages/fy-22-budget-materials 

Shared from Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1383109138587222016

FY 2022 - Town of Franklin budget

This will be the first of a series on the FY 22 budget. Each part of the series will focus on a part of the process or an aspect of the budget. All in preparation of the Finance Committee budget hearings Apr 27-28-29 and May 4; as well as the Town Council budget hearings May 26-27. The final vote on the budget is scheduled for the May 27 meeting.

Recap: Town Council meeting - Apr 7, 2021 - capital budget approved, streets accepted, DPW presentation, complete streets policy

Quick Recap:

• Public hearing on street acceptances for four streets, two of which were in the 'normal' process timing and were approved. Two were part of the backlog, coming through on a revised process and not approved as they lacked Planning Board approval. The full process will be needed for these two so they'll come back for approval some time TBD
• Enlightening and fact filled presentation by DPW on their operations.
• Lengthy set of legislation for action. The capital budget (previously approved by FinComm and Capital Budget subcommittees) a set of separate actions all passed
• The stormwater bylaw technical adjustments were finally approved after once again being challenged as something nefarious to force the stormwater fee into operation (no, this item has nothing to do with the fee itself. That is scheduled for discussion during the budget hearings and likely will be a long and challenging discussion.)
• The food truck permit for private property was approved (yahoo!)

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As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting reporting in real-time via the virtual session.

Photos captured during the meeting and shared via Twitter can be found in one album:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/9A7nKejgy9p44DuUA

The Twitter hashtag can be found online  #tc0407
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23tc0407&src=typeahead_click 

• Town Council meeting coming up, real time reporting for this about to begin. Follow along with the agenda here #tc0407  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/agendas/2020-04-07_town_council_agenda.pdf  Connection info in doc
• Meeting opens, #tc0407 20+ on Zoom to open with.
• 2 councilors not present (Pellegri and Kelly), Hamblen remote via Zoom. #tc0407 citizen comments, none tonight Approval of minutes of Mar 17, second, passes 7-0 via roll call 
• A little early for public hearing to start. Subcommittee reports: capital budget did meet …
• Budget meeting april 12, 5:30 Joint budget Subcommittee EDC just met earlier tonight, talked about the ladybug trail, discussed the business guide as developed, #edc0407 Community planning grant and other items to be covered in next meeting

Public hearing

• Public hearing on street acceptance opens: https://franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/agendas/2021-03-24_web_street_acceptances_2_-_milford_daily_news_legal_notice.pdf… #tc0407 next set of non-accepted streets (over 100 to be done) Town Administrator Jamie Hellen provides overview
• Bissanti questioning why these 'newer' ones are coming in where others could be here and aren't. These are in the regular process and currently being done - others lack plans and/or data and require more work. #tc0407 general process assumes acceptance unless a special item
• #tc0407 street acceptance does chap 90 funding, pavement management plan, $40m backlog of those to bring up to quality. If we did not accept, legally we wouldn't need to clear snow etc. That is a safety issue and a systemic issue on overall funding and priority
• #tc0407 laws are written in favor of developers and also Municipal entities are not able to add fees for road acceptance to recover funds. Chap 90 is the only revenue we gain on roads. We have a legal obligation to accept (assuming I special items)
• Q on gas tax funding roads, it goes to the Commonwealth, the allotment we get is Chap 90. Hotel tax is a local option revenue collected through the State then to us, mostly appropriated to roads, this year due to pandemic and decline in hotel occupancy #tc0407
• Moving to Brandywine and Charles Drive for the acceptance process. #tc0407 Attny Cerel provides some background on the acceptance process for subdivisions which weren't covered in the original legislation. Planning Board didn't recommend to accept hence can't proceed tonight
• #tc0407 Brandywine et al had not been originally thru planning board so they did not want to recommend. Public hearing closes. Moving to DPW presentation, doc to be added later.

DPW presentation

• Slides on overview #tc0407
• 60 acres of playing fields to manage and take care of #tc0407 35 flags maintained; 102 trash, recycling barrel sets;
• 1813 signs in town, street line striping along with parking lots, 30 traffic lights, 328 crosswalks in Town; central motors for all town vehicles 167 road vehicles with registration #tc0407
• #tc0407 grew from 1200 customers to over 3,000 at the recycling center, Beaver St.
• #tc0407 with 23 lift stations, some refuse gets lifted 7 times before it gets to where it needs to, would have been nice to have a master plan for sewer; elevated tanks to provide water pressure dropped from 3.1 to 2.6 million gallons due to water conservation measures
• #tc0407 second water treatment plant (off Grove St) coming online later this year.
• #tc0407 it is cost efficient to do much of the vehicle maintenance inhouse some stuff does make sense to send out, however we are 1st responders and would need to get a truck or police car turned around quickly
• DPW "the work they do touches everyone in Town". They are short staffed and doing more with what they have. #tc0407 you give us the money, we get to spend it. Could add fencing to create a small dog zone at the dog park.
• Trash vs recycling mix is bad if over a 10% mix (bad in with the good), audit just done and we came in low at 7% #tc0407

Legislation for Action

• Moving to legislation for action: https://franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10a._web.pdf… capital appropriation for FY 2022.  #tc0407 motion to approve, second, passes 7-0 (2 absent) to use $1.5m free cash. There is a large backlog of items for future.
• Next up, funding OPEB trust fund  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10b._town_council_resolution_21-14_free_cash_opeb_fy21.pdf … #tc0407 Motion and second, 10% of free cash per TC policy, update next week for the overall OPEB status and Q&A. Passes 7-0 (2 absent)
• Field stabilization funding https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10c._town_council_resolution_21-15_free_cash_stabilization_transfers_fy21.pdf  … #tc0407 motion and second; annual transfer to save for future. Passes 7-0 (2 absent)
• Water enterprise fund, to approve use of retained earnings per capital expense as authorized https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10d._town_council_resolution_21-16_fy21_water_retained_earnings_to_water_line_resolution.pdf  #tc0407 motion and second, passes 7-0 (2 absent)
• Next up easement for approval https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10e._web_0.pdf … #tc0407 motion and second; passes 7-0 (2 absent)
• Next up street acceptance, motion to waive reading, second, passes 7-0; motion and second on resolution, passes 7-0 (2 absent) #tc0407
• Complete streets policy #tc0407 https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10h._complete_streets.pdf … motion and second; first step in process for a master plan for transportation via all modes, enables us to gain grants, admin policy likely to be adjusted overtime more easily than a bylaw, passes 7-0, (2 absent)
• Moving to next item special regulations https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10j._web.pdf … #tc0407 motion to move to a second reading, no change to stormwater fee, a technical clean up, needed to go to planning board, which approved 5-0; Bissanti is this the mechanism for the billing? No …
• ... need to be clear this is not a trojan horse. It has nothing to do with the billing. Technical clean up on verbiage of the permit. When will we get to the billing? During the budget hearing. #tc0407 passes via roll call 6-1 (Bissanti no, 2 absent).
• New permit fee for food truck on private property, https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10k._web.pdf #tc0407 this is second reading, already passed before, this is second time around for adoption, passes 7-0 (2 absent)
• Sewer bylaw adjustments   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/10l._web.pdf
• #tc0407 motion and second to move to second reading, this is a technical clean up re: Charles River Pollution control district, separate org - passes 7-0 (2 absent)

Town Administrator report

• That is the end of the Legislation for tonight, first aggregation report posted to Town page, we are saving money. #tc407 
• May 5th passport renewals will resume at municipal bldg.  Verizon is exercising option to remain in Franklin. $200k grant for affordable senior housing
• Continue the TA report: fire dept grant - $188k popup store grant for downtown for this summer partner with Wrentham, citizen discount one page guide posted to Town page (and shared) #tc0407  Town opening more likely after Memorial Day. Still under capacity limits ..
• Likely to look at some reservation system. #tc0407  Comments: Dean returned request to pay for vehicle as a "pilot" payment. Disappointed. Police reform had great conversation, girl up at high school also had good conversation. Scam attempt today. Stay vigilant.
• ... homeless feedback/info coming from Bissanti (from webinar he attended)
• #tc0407 thanks to Franklin fire for their burn session, quite informative. Thanks to the staff for the beginning of the capital program. A grueling task. Motion to adjourn, second, passes 7-0 (2 absent)
• That's all for tonight, catch you next time! #tc0407

DPW overview presentation doc
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/uploads/dpw_town_council_presentation_4_7_2021.pdf

 

Town of Franklin: DPW Overview 04/07/21 from Franklin Matters

one page of the DPW overview on Central Motors