Finance Committee spends over 5 hours reviewing and questioning the FY 2027 budget (video)

The Finance Committee spends over 5 hours reviewing details of the general government portions for the FY 2027 budget on Monday, April 6. This is the first of 3 or 4 sessions this week to review and question the details of the budget.

8 of the 9 members of the committee were present in Council Chambers for this session.

The Franklin TV video is available for replay - https://www.youtube.com/live/Y7KSV5MTfHs?&t=140

Agenda doc including links to the FY 2027 budget 

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04062026-2219 

My full set of notes in one PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jmG8Vn97Cemo5YjonVvLtr72hkqHHM26/view?usp=drive_link

Franklin TV schedule for Tuesday, April 7, 2026 (Your local Public, Education & Government "PEG" station)

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = TUESDAY

7:00 am Historical Museum: Randy LaRosa and Krishna Swain

7:30 am     Once Upon A Town: Town Pool

9:00 am Metrowest Symposium: Equity & Access in Arts & Culture

10:00 am Frank Presents: Jason Poulos

12:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Meatballs

12:30 pm Cooking with Linda: Breakfast

1:30 pm      Pizzapalooza: Margherita Pizza

2:00 pm New England Candlepins: Summer 2019 Show 1

3:00 pm Candlepin New Generation: Show 3

3:30 pm Winning Ways with the MIAA: Referee Shortage 2

5:30 pm Celebrate with Pride 2025: Toby

9:00 pm Metrowest Summit: World Cup 02-26-26

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel        (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = TUESDAY

7:00 am Middle School 6th Grade Concert

8:30 am Lifelong Music: Strings School 01-22-25

10:00 am Metrowest Symposium: Equity & Access in Arts & Culture

11:00 am FHS Winter Music: Chorus and Orchestra

1:00 pm FHS Varsity Softball v King Philip 03-30-26

3:00 pm FHS Varsity Swimming v Taunton 01-09-26

8:30 pm Winning Ways with the MIAA: Referee Shortage Pt1

9:30 pm Franklin Footlighters: High School Musical Jr

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) = TUESDAY

8:00 am School Committee 03-24-26

12:00 pm Economic Development 04-02-26

2:00 pm School Committee 03-24-26

6:00 pm  Finance Committee  CHAMBERS  872 7549 9947

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Monday, April 6, 2026 ???

Monday, April 6

For additional details on Library events -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/942/Calendar-of-Events

For additional details on Senior Center events ->   

https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar.aspx?CID=37,24&showPastEvents=false

Note: Senior Center checking on why their events are suddenly being shown as "All Day". You can use the monthly newsletter for specific program/event times

***  Town Meetings today   ***

Finance Committee Meeting - Budget Hearing

Monday, April 6 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04062026-2219 

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, April 6 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04062026-2231 

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Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar

Franklin TV schedule for Monday, April 6, 2026 (Your local Public, Education & Government "PEG" station)

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = MONDAY

7:00 am Aging Boldfully: Jenn Goebel

8:00 am SAFE Coalition: Task Force

9:00 am Metrowest Summit: World Cup 02-26-26

11:30 am Cooking Thyme: Spring

12:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Meatballs

12:30 pm Cooking with Linda: Breakfast

1:30 pm     Pizzapalooza: Margherita Pizza

2:30 pm New England Candlepins: Summer 2019 Show 1

3:30 pm Candlepin New Generation: Show 3

4:30 pm Winning Ways with the MIAA: Referee Shortage 2

6:00 pm Celebrate with Pride 2025: Toby

7:00 pm Frank Presents: Jason Poulos

8:00 pm The Black Box: A Magical Night of Disney Classics

10:00 pm Circle of Friends: Garnet Rogers

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel        (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = MONDAY

7:00 am Middle School 6th Grade Concert

8:30 am SAFE Coalition: Task Force

9:30 am Winning Ways with the MIAA: Referee Shortage Pt1

10:30 am Lifelong Music: Strings School 01-22-25

12:00 pm Jazz Cafe 03-06-26

1:30 pm     FHS Girls Varsity Lacrosse v Oliver Ames 03-30-26

7:00 pm FHS Varsity Baseball v Durfee 06-01-25

9:00 pm Franklin Footlighters: High School Musical Jr.

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) = MONDAY

8:00 am Planning Board 03-23-26

12:00 pm Economic Development 04-02-26

2:00 pm Planning Board 03-23-26

6:00 pm  Finance Committee  CHAMBERS  830 0707 6934

7:00 pm Planning Board  FLOOR 3  847 1470 5664

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA

Franklin TV: Freedom of Assembly

“Some Assembly Required’ –  Indeed.

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 04/05/2026

Getting All the Pieces to Fit. It’s a 3-hour tour in patience while divining assembly pictogram instructions that have no words. I was tasked with assembling a toddler-sized kitchen set.

‘Some assembly is required’ – is invariably a necessary, difficult challenge.

I don’t think this is the type of ‘freedom of assembly’ that the Founding Fathers intended to enshrine as the first of all human rights as amendments in Our Bill of Rights.

Freedom of Assembly –

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,”

It recognizes that a person’s faith – whether it commands them to kneel toward Mecca, light candles for the Sabbath, or pray in a language older than the ruins of Rome – deserves neither derision nor suspicion – whether it be Easter, Passover, Eid or – nothing at all. And it is this simple undeniable fact that the right to exist in peace doesn’t hinge on anyone else’s comprehension – or opinion. We don’t need to understand someone to offer respect. We need only be decent – as compassionate human beings. Respect is the simple daily act of tendering the same dignity to others that we expect for ourselves. As we all assemble in worship this weekend – or anytime common faith and ideals bring folks of like mind together – let’s also respect the first ‘instruction’ in the Bill of Rights.

In these notably authoritarian times ‘Some assembly is required’ – and is invariably our necessary, difficult challenge. And – through respectful abiding assembly, perhaps we can get all the pieces to fit. (We just need the right tools.)

And – as always –

Thank you for watching. 

Thanks for listening to wfpr●fm,

and staying informed at Franklin●news

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf   

The Economic Development Subcommittee met for the first time Thursday (video)

The Economic Development Committee met for the first time in this new Council term. Committee Chair LeBlanc, members Morrongiello, Griffith & Malloy present for this session.

Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Building Commissioner Gus Brown, and Planning and Community Development Director Morena Zelaya were also present

Franklin TV video is available for replay - https://www.youtube.com/live/EStN4ZeBYow?&t=112

The agenda here - 

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04022026-2223

My full set of notes taken during the meeting - 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n0qTNv-eqTy85Vqdu3aJvo59fGJzHAwu/view?usp=drive_link

Quick recap:

• 300 Fisher is scheduled to present at a July session, an EPA brownfield, does have economic value down the line
• NuStyle with grant is advancing and that can be a valuable property given it's location
• The no cap on restaurant alcohol licenses is an untapped advantage, we could do more on it.
• Morena talks of the 600 page doc for Somerville as too much, a recent conference talked of "form based lite" and might be more workable here
• The Town has done a lot downtown but what have the property owners done? How do we engage them to find out what their plans are? There is a gap there, they didn't do much in the Franklin For All project.  We need them to tell us what they are looking for.
• Possible student class with a college graduate level project could help develop a vision or model of what the downtown could be, could incorporate the networking with the owners as part of it, UMass Boston could meet sooner to set the class for the fall.
• LeBlanc economic development is an area where you spend money to make money

The Secrets and Lore of the "License Plate" - March 8,. 2026 (video)

Second Sunday Speaker Series: Alan Young

"Alan Young was first introduced to license plate collecting by his father, more than 25 years ago and "never looked back." What started with an interesting plate or two has grown into a wide range of (mostly) New England license plates as well as research into who the early plates once belonged to.  

Young will share some of his collection and discuss the development of plates over the past 120 years. He has also promised to reveal the first automobile to be registered in Franklin!. "

video link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e23hSRwaAaA

Franklin TV schedule for Friday, April 3, 2026 (Your local Public, Education & Government "PEG" station)

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = FRIDAY

7:00 am Franklin Art Association: Rachael Diamond Calow

8:30 am Frank Presents: Daniela Masters Pt 2

10:00 am Aging Boldfully: LiveStrong

11:00 am Senior Connection: Kitchen Gadgets Pt. 2

12:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Scones

12:30 pm Cooking with Linda: Pies

1:30 pm     Pizzapalooza: White Pizza

2:00 pm New England Candlepins: Summer 2019 Show 1

3:00 pm Candlepin New Generation: Spring 2019 Show 2

3:30 pm Winning Ways with the MIAA: Referee Shortage Pt1

4:30 pm The Black Box: A Magical Night of Disney Classics

5:30 pm Metrowest Summit: World Cup 02-26-26

9:00 pm Circle of Friends: Garnet Rogers

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel        (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = FRIDAY

7:00 am FHS Winter Music: Chorus and Orchestra

8:30 am Metrowest Symposium: Equity & Access in Arts & Culture

9:30 am All-Town Chorus & Orchestra 2026

11:00 am FHSTC - Flowers for Algernon

2:00 pm Lifelong Music: Strings School 01-22-25

4:00 pm FHS Varsity Baseball v Durfee 06-01-25

8:30 pm FHS Theater Company: Legally Blonde

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) = FRIDAY

8:00 am Zoning Board of Appeals 03-05-26

2:00 pm Zoning Board of Appeals 03-05-26

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA