Town Council recap: zoning bylaws and fee schedule changes

To recap the Town Council meeting held on Wednesday, Nov 16 I have the following:

• The Cub Scout pack 17 lead the Pledge of Allegiance
• Two were appointed to the Cultural Council (Barbara Gardner and Rob Coutillo)
• The next Economic Development Committee meeting is scheduled for Nov 30 at 5:30. The key item on the agenda will be the proposed plastic bag bylaw.
• Three citizens spoke against the proposed re-zoning of the area along Washington St that would allow Hillside Nursery to create a 'Country Store". Without any acknowledgement of these comments and concerns, the Council voted to approve the set of 6 bylaws by unanimous votes. In the Council comments, those who did mention this item spoke of adding more to the current bylaw to enable further expansion of the retail opportunity. 
• There was a map rezoning proposal for a section along Summer St that was referred to the Planning Board. Bissanti recused himself from this discussion and vote. The change would allow approx 40 units to be built instead of 7 or 8.
• Up for a first reading is the revision and simplification of the Town fee bylaw. Over 100 fees were removed from the schedule in the first major cleanup in 20 years. The bylaw will come back for a second reading at a future meeting.

Cub Scout pack 17 get applause after leading the Pledge of Allegiance

The full text of the fee bylaw can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/11/we-tried-to-make-sure-they-reflected.html

• Live reporting: Closing
• Live reporting: Washington St re-zoning and other ...
• Live Reporting: Town Council - November 16, 2016
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"we tried to make sure they reflected the cost of the service"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The town has taken action to simplify its fees. 

The Town Council, at its Nov. 15 meeting, heard and decided to move forward on bylaw changes that would remove 116 fees or categories of fees. The matter will be brought up for a second reading at a future council meeting, where the councilors will take a final vote on it. 

Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen said the fees bylaw was due for modernization. 

"The old bylaw hadn't been reviewed for 20 years, though certain fees have been amended at different points in time," he said. "Through the years, the Town Council has addressed fees and costs, but hadn't looked at the bylaw in its entirety."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161118/franklin-looking-to-simplify-fees


Note: the Town Council meeting was held on Wednesday, Nov 16 not 15 as shown in the MDN article.

The cover letter to the Town Council and the full text of the revised town fees bylaw is shown here

work continues along Chestnut St to add new sidewalks

"lower the trash fee by $16, from $220 to $204"

Under the state option, board members who intend to use remote participation must explain their absence under certain categories, such as military service, illness or geographic distance. 

The town will test remote participation first with speaker phone, instead of video conferencing, and restrict use to one member per meeting and only within the Council chambers, on the second floor of the municipal building. Members must notify the chairman of their committee at least four hours before the meeting, and subcommittees will not be allowed to use remote participation.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1014038517/Remote-meeting-attendance-approved-for-Franklin#ixzz1oWJr9Qgf

Great News on Solid Waste Fees

You may recall that the new single stream trash and recycling process began in July 2010. The new system has been such a success that the purchase of the new totters which was projected to be done over 5 years is actually proposed to be done now.

The totters can be paid off now accompanied by a reduction in the fee from $220 to 204.

Bulk items currently picked up for no charge but paid for by all (via the quarterly fee) will now be paid for by the individuals scheduling the bulk items for pickup at $10 per item.

This is scheduled for the Town Council agenda on Wed March 7, 2012.

A copy of the significant portion of Town Administrator Jeff Nutting's letter to the Council outlining this proposal is attached:

"70 percent of school systems have such charges"

The Milford Daily News covers the increase in fees being charged by school districts for sports and other activities. This is one key reason that drew my attention to the Franklin budget problem as my daughters were going through the Franklin schools.

Hawkins’ survey shows a range of approaches to fees in Massachusetts. While some districts charge flat fees, some vary charges depending on the cost of a particular activity or sport. 

“Some communities have family caps on fees, others do not,” Hawkins said. 

Franklin charges $200 per sport, $175 for track and $450 for hockey with no family cap, and a $325 bus fee with a $975 family cap for that per year.

The fees were much less back when my girls were going to school here. They graduated from FHS in 2004 and 2006. The forecast is for a continued and gradual increase.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x255285967/Area-schools-trying-to-rein-in-student-fees#ixzz1jcpcPSc0

In the News - school use fees, copper thief caught, beautification day

Franklin may raise rates for using school facilities

by Brian Benson, Daily News staff

Franklin man caught stealing copper

by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin Beautification Day set

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin, MA

athletics can act as "an extension of the classroom"

Nearby Franklin also rejected an override in June that would have raised about $3 million for municipal and school expenses. The high school has since increased user fees to $200 from last year's $125, Athletic Director Brad Sidwell said.

"It's like everything in education," he said. "You have costs that are rising, and a lot of them are contractual."

Cross country, indoor and outdoor track athletes in Franklin pay $175 per season.

It was too early to measure this year's participation rates, Sidwell said. The track programs, which cover the students' physical education requirement, are having growing popularity last year.

The percentage of the athletic program's annual budget funded through athletic fees and game receipts "has certainly gone up," Sidwell said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1985977005/Fees-increase-for-high-school-students-to-make-up-for-budget-cuts

Franklin, MA

Solid Waste Pros/Cons - Updated

I received two emails this morning in response to my posting here. I provide answers to them as follows:

The first:

The new trash fee will be $233 (MAYBE it will go down to $220, but no guarantee).  However, all cost bases are going off the $220 number.  I feel that is a big mistake.  There is no $20 savings per resident.  There is only $7, based on the assumed current cost of trash pickup being $240.  So stickers to the dump will cost $20 now, which means the residents net cost is $13 for those wishing to use that service.  It is not a wash.

Do you know where they are getting the 800,000 from?

Let's walk through this step by step. It can be confusing and easy to mix up the numbers to end up with incorrect math. I caught one of my own mistakes as I went through this.

1 - The current annual is $244. That is 4 quarter charges of $61 dollars per quarter.
The proposal on Wednesday 2/10/10 was shown as $233
So the savings of this proposal would be $11.

Considering the Beaver St Sticker fee would increase from $10 to $20, the net savings for the approx 2500 folks considering the $11 savings for the annual curbside fee would be $1.

2 - The original proposal of the new system would $220. This does still require a Council vote but I think would be likely. More likely than not. The further savings of $24 dollars would come from use of a surplus of the Solid Waste enterprise account. Jeff Nutting has mentioned this a couple of times. Application of the surplus against the curbside fee would allow for the $220 annual fee for the next two years.

You may argue that the application of the surplus would be better used elsewhere. Those could be options to consider. Considering the cast flow and time value of money, the savings provided by the reduced fee to Franklin residents today would be better.

However, assuming the $220 becomes the new system fee, the resulting savings is $24 per resident per year.

Applying the $24 savings to the increase in the Beaver St fee it becomes better than a wash which I did claim earlier. The resident now saves $14.


Annual Curbside fees  
Current         244
Proposed 1    233
Savings 1       11
  
Current         244
Proposed 2    220
Savings 2       24

   
Beaver St sticker  
Current          10
Proposed        20
Increase       -10

3 - The $800,000 is the gross amount required to fund the totters/bins required (with some spares). Jeff Nutting has said a couple of times that the full amount may not be needed. Historically, an amount authorized for borrowing if not fully utilized can be rescinded and has been rescinded. You can check the actions for the Town Council meeting on February 3rd, where two prior bond authorizations were rescinded as no longer required.

Per Jeff it is $45 per totter/bin and we need 2 for each resident. $90 per resident at 8600 residents comes out to $774,000 or $800,000 in round numbers.

The $800,000 would be borrowed against the enterprise account to finance the purchase of the totter/bins over a five year period. This amount is included in the calculations that would still result in either the $11 savings or the $24 savings.
   
4 - As I went back through my notes and the Town video archives, the presentation to the Council at the January 20th meeting showed a $3 over flow sticker. Assuming the $24 savings, this would allow residents to obtain 8 overflow stickers and still break even for the year ($3 x 8 = $24).


The second:

You refer to a $20 savings in your article, but I thought the savings is only $11. Which is correct?

Actually based upon the above, my "savings of $20" is an incorrect calculation. It should be $24. It currently is $11 until the Town Council approves the budget which as I mentioned above is likely to bring it to $24.

I hope this helps to clear up some confusion around the numbers, some of which I contributed to with my own math error. 

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For additional information:

1 - You can review the Town Council meetings on the video archive here
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Webdocs/videoarchive


2 - You can review the solid waste presentation to the Town Council on 1/20/10 here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-solid-waste.html


3 - My summary of the recent Town Council meetings covering this topic
2/10 -> http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/town-council-021010.html
2/03 -> http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/town-council-mtg-smry-020310.html
1/20 -> http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/town-council-mtg-smry-01202010.html

Solid waste - pros/cons

While it is a done deal with the Town Council approving to set the new trash fee at $233 per year (with future action to possibly reduce it to $220 per year) let's recap the impact on the average homeowner.

My typical trash day:

What it could be with the two new tooters:

Approx 2,500 people get stickers at Beaver St to dump trash there. The cost for the sticker will go up $10 to a total of $20. But the annual curbside pickup service rate drops from $240 to $220 so it is a break-even situation for those 2,500 folks. They pay $20 for the Beaver St sticker but save $20 $24 on the annual curbside rate. For the other approx 6,000 Franklin trash users, they all save $20 $24 per year. Franklin has a net savings.

Franklin residents currently would need to buy and maintain their own trash barrels. The Town does supply the current recycle containers. In the new system, the Town will buy and maintain new 65 gallon tooters or bins or trash barrels with wheels. The wheels should allow for easier movement from garage or wherever to the sidewalk or curbside. If a wheel comes off, call the DPW and they'll get it repaired. All this is included in the $20 $24 per year savings.

The totters (bins, barrels, etc) would be purchased from the enterprise account. With current interest rates, the financing cost will be minimal and after a projected five year payback, the Town owns the totters. The annual rate can drop as the financing is complete. The Town could elect (and probably should elect at that time) to put some of the project $19 savings aside in the enterprise account for future purchases to replace the totters as they wear out after ten years. All this would be done with the existing $20 $24 per year savings and a possibility for more after five years.

Some fear that the large totters with wheels will be too hard to navigate from the garage/shed/wherever to the curbside. Well it seems to me something can roll a whole lot easier than it can be carried even if the ground is uneven. The Town has committed to give the 65 gallon containers a trial period. At different times it was talked of from 3-6 months, after which if someone really needs a smaller container, they can have one. There would be no reduction in fee for the smaller size. They would still benefit from the overall $20 $24 annual savings.

Some fear that the 65 gallon container would not be sufficient for their normal trash usage. This might be a good opportunity to look at your trash usage and perhaps try to recycle more, or change your purchases to avoid creating so much trash. For those few times a year (holidays and special parties, in particular) where the 65 gallon container would not be enough, the resident could obtain (in some not completely specified manner) a sticker to put out an additional bag (at presumably an additional cost). It could also be an opportunity to be careful about what goes into the container when it would be anticipated to get too full and hold some of the trash for the following week when there would be more space. It could also be an opportunity to put some in with a neighbor (assuming they have room). It could also be cause for the resident if this happens on too frequent a basis, to actually obtain an additional 65 gallon trash container and pay the additional fee for it. How many residents would fit into this category on a regular basis? Good question, I don't believe anyone knows. 

Given the one uncertainty and the more compelling cost savings considered above, I think the Council made a good choice. The final result will clearly be known overtime as the new system gets implemented.

Updated - I caught a math error of my own that was replicated throughout this posting. Subtracting 220 from 244 is 24 not 20.

Both measures would only affect sewer fees

For the first override, Medway's share of next fiscal year's budget would rise 23 percent to about $327,000, for example, according to information provided by the control district. The override, which would be the district's first since 1988, is mainly needed because the state has required two more people be hired at the treatment plant, and to pay for higher maintenance and chemical costs.

The debt exclusion override would raise Franklin's capital payments in 2015 from $102,000 annually to $1 million a year for the next 20 years. In Medway, the increase would be from $25,000 to $260,000 per year.

The Charles River Pollution Control District's treatment plant mainly serves Franklin and Medway, but also handles Bellingham's and Millis' sewer systems and septage tanks from Dover, Sherborn, Norfolk and Wrentham.

Only Franklin and Medway have votes on the increases. Their representatives on the district's commission unanimously approved them last month. District officials presented the plan to Medway selectmen last week, though they have not yet voted on it. The Franklin Town Council will hear a similar presentation in the next few weeks, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.

Read the full article on the proposed Charles River fee increases in the Milford Daily News here

Parking fees increase at MBTA

The MBTA's oversight board voted yesterday to raise parking rates by $2 at all of its lots and garages beginning Nov. 15 as part of a plan to pay back wages owed to union employees.

For many daily riders, the increase will have the same effect as a $10-per-week fare increase, or about $500 per year. Rates currently vary, from $1 per day at ferry yards, to $2 at commuter rail station lots, up to as much as $5 at the four most expensive garages.

"That's doubling it," said Margie Katz, a record supervisor at the University of Massachusetts at Boston who takes the commuter rail to work from the Campello station in Brockton, where daily rates had been $2. "It will be an extreme hardship."

Read the full article here in the Boston Globe

"it's an investment in our town"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jul 30, 2008 @ 11:10 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

Property owners could be charged an annual fee of about $40 under a stormwater management plan proposed by the Department of Public Works.

DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi said the fee would raise about $500,000, which could be used to pay for infrastructure repairs and retrofits, additional catch-basin cleaning, street sweeping and maintenance of stormwater facilities to comply with federal mandates.

Establishing a stormwater utility would provide a stable source of dedicated funding, assist with making long-term improvements, and give a more equitable apportionment from different land uses than the tax base does, he said.

Another goal in the stormwater management plan is to keep water in Franklin, rather than letting it flow into the Charles River, Cantoreggi said.

However, there is a hitch to the proposed plan: It may not be legal.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Listen to my recap of the 3 things you should know from the Town Council meeting 7/23/08

Pay to Ride or 20 Teachers? (audio)

A segment from the Franklin School Committee FY09 budget discussion during the 2/26/08 meeting, one option to save some teachers (instead of cutting 45 positions) would be cutting instead the entire pay-to-ride program. Supt Wayne Ogden explains.

Time: 2 minutes, 4 seconds



MP3 File

The full segment from which this piece was taken can be found here.

The full meeting summary can be found here.