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| Agenda for First Meeting of the newly elected Franklin (MA) Town Council - Nov 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM |
Section 15. Election of Director by the Membership (a) Members shall be notified by the Clerk of the election of a director by the Membership at the Annual Meeting. Said notice shall be in accordance with the notice provisions of Section 4 of this Article IV. (b) Any eligible voting Member may be nominated for election to the position of Director by:
(i) Written notification to the Clerk no later than seven (7) days prior to Annual Meeting; or (ii) By nomination from the floor of the Annual Meeting made and seconded by no less than three (3) eligible voting members.
And – as always –Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.And, thank you for watching.
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| Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA |
a. Resolution 23-60: Adoption of the Procedures Manual of the Franklin Town Council (Motion to Approve Resolution 23-60 - Majority Vote)
a. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.b. Chair to identify members participating remotely.
a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. The Council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Town Council will give remarks appropriate consideration and may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter.
a. October 18, 2023
a. Agricultural Commissioni. Cynthia Garboski
a. Presentation: Franklin Elks Riders Donation to Veterans’ Services Departmenti. Legislation for Action #9fb. Discussion: Open Meeting Law, Public Records, Ethics and Conducting a Public Meeting - Mark Cerel, Town Attorney
a. Capital Budget Subcommitteeb. Economic Development Subcommitteec. Budget Subcommitteed. Master Plan Committeee. Davis-Thayer Reuse Advisory Committeef. Police Station Building Committeeg. GATRA Advisory Board
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| Franklin, MA: Town Council agenda for Nov 15, 2023 meeting |
Join us, Saturday, August 19th at 3:00 PM.
If you plan to attend, please RSVP by August 12 to: info@franklin.tv
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| Franklin TV Open Board Meeting |
Section 15. Election of Director by the Membership (a) Members shall be notified by the Clerk of the election of a director by the Membership at the Annual Meeting. Said notice shall be in accordance with the notice provisions of Section 4 of this Article IV. (b) Any eligible voting Member may be nominated for election to the position of Director by: (i) Written notification to the Clerk no later than seven (7) days prior to Annual Meeting; or (ii) By nomination from the floor of the Annual Meeting made and seconded by no less than three (3) eligible voting members.
See you then. And – as always –Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.And, thank you for watching.
"Several Brookline school officials likely violated campaign finance law by sending out emails to parents with information about ballot questions ahead of the May election, according to Brookline town counsel Joseph Callanan.By sending “unsolicited” emails to various school email lists about the operating override and Pierce school rebuild ballot questions, Superintendent Linus Guillory and four principals improperly used public resources, Callanan wrote in a report published July 7.Callanan was investigating because a Brookline resident, Joslin Murphy, filed a complaint to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance after the election. Callanan sent his report to the state agency, which does not publicly comment on investigations."
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| public employees can take a position on a campaign but not advocate for it on official time |
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| Master Plan Update Committee met June 28, 2023 beginning at 6:42 PM |
On March 29, 2023, Governor Healey signed into law a supplemental budget bill which, among other things, extends the temporary provisions pertaining to the Open Meeting Law to March 31, 2025. Specifically, this further extension allows public bodies to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of the public body physically present at a meeting location, and to provide "adequate, alternative" access to remote meetings. The language does not make any substantive changes to the Open Meeting Law other than extending the expiration date of the temporary provisions regarding remote meetings from March 31, 2023 to March 31, 2025.
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| Governor Healey signs "temporary provisions pertaining to the Open Meeting Law to March 31, 2025" |
It was Business as Usual – Almost.
Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 9/4/2022
If you say, “Who wants to attend a board meeting – ?” (Crickets chirping – )
If you say, “ Who wants to come to our Block Party?” (That’s more like it. )
Great food, music and weather. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
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| a view of the participants |
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| Ben Gardner's Boat provided musical entertainment |
And – as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.
And, thank you for watching.
Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
FM #732 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 732 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Special School Committee meeting held Wednesday, Feb 16, 2022.
There are two items on the agenda, one a response to an Open Meeting Law violation claim, and the second, the school district mask policy now that DESE has ended their state rule effect Feb 28, 2022.
Scheduled for 5 PM, the meeting actually begins at 5:26 PM and runs 55 minutes.
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Meeting agenda-> https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/scagenda_2-16-22_special_mtg.pdf
My notes -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/recap-school-committee-meeting-responds.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!
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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
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| School Committee Special Mtg - 02/16/22 (audio) |
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| Recap: School Committee meeting - 2/16/22 |
Based on the
foregoing, there has been no violation of any law as
alleged by your
Complaint
and
the Committee does not intend to take further
action in
response to your requests. In accordance with the Open Meeting Law, a copy of your complaint and this response
are being sent to the Attorney General's Office. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Denise Spencer, Chair
Franklin School Committee
Office of the Attorney General, Division of Open Government
Franklin School Committee statement in regards to OPML complaint
A. Response to Open Meeting Law complaint against public officers, namely themembers of the School Committee, filed with the Committee by Kyle Thompsonand dated February 3, 2022.
A. Policy EBCFA – Face Coverings
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| Ben's guide to mask wearing - #DoYourPartFranklin |
a. October 13, 2021b. November 10, 2021
a. Sample CPA Plansb. Sample CPA Applications
Please find the agenda and links for the upcoming Finance Committee meeting posted here: https://www.franklinma.gov/node/51/agenda/2021
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| Finance Committee Meeting - Agenda - Dec 8, 2021 |
From the MA Attorney General's Office on Open Meeting Law Guidance:
Guidance Spotlight: Subcommittees and Sub-quorum Communications
This month we offer guidance on the creation of subcommittees under the Open Meeting Law, and permissible communications among members that constitute less than a quorum of a public body. We recognize that public body members want to conduct business efficiently and effectively. However, public body members must exercise caution when communicating and carrying out the public body’s responsibilities outside of a properly posted meeting. The Open Meeting Law prohibits deliberation outside of a posted meeting. “Deliberation” is communication among a quorum on a matter within the public body’s jurisdiction. Because the Open Meeting Law focuses on communications among a quorum, there is no prohibition on communications outside of a meeting that do not involve or reach a quorum of members—as long as the members are not also a quorum of a subcommittee. Therefore, it is important to understand whether members of a public body may constitute a designated subcommittee.
The Open Meeting Law defines “public body” as any “multiple-member board, commission, committee or subcommittee within the executive or legislative branch or within any county, district, city, region or town, however created, elected, appointed or otherwise constituted, established to serve a public purpose.” G.L. c. 30A, § 18. The Law further defines a “subcommittee” as “any multiple-member body created to advise or make recommendations to a public body.” Id. A public body forms a subcommittee when the body formally authorizes multiple members of the public body to advise or make recommendations to the public body. Whether a subcommittee was created hinges on the public body’s action and whether it intended to create a multiple-member body, or whether it intended to assign the task to one person, even if another member of the public body subsequently volunteers to assist. Therefore, if a single member undertakes a task, or multiple members decide on their own to communicate about a matter or prepare a recommendation without having been designated to do so, no subcommittee is created. Furthermore, the name of a group—whether called a subcommittee, a “working group,” a “task force” or something else—will still be subject to the Open Meeting Law if it is a multiple-member body created to advise or make recommendations. Even subcommittees that have members who are not part of the public body will be subject to the Open Meeting Law if they meet the Open Meeting Law’s definition of “public body.”
Subcommittees are public bodies in their own right, which means they must follow all of the Open Meeting Law’s requirements applicable to public bodies. Subcommittee members should be particularly careful about any communications they have with their fellow subcommittee members in order to avoid deliberating outside of a posted meeting, as the subcommittee has its own (smaller) quorum. The quorum of a public body, including a subcommittee, is a simple majority of its members, unless otherwise provide by law. Therefore, although it is generally permissible for public body members to communicate amongst themselves outside of a posted meeting as long as the communications do not involve or reach a quorum (whether concurrently or serially), public body members must always be cognizant of the makeup and quorum of the public body, including any subcommittees on which they serve.
Determinations Regarding Subcommittees and Sub-quorum Communications:
OML 2021-176: Finding no violation of the Open Meeting Law because text message conversations did not contain or reach a quorum of the Board. In all cases, the Board members engaged in one-on-one text exchanges during the meeting. In addition, we find no evidence of serial deliberation among a quorum of the Board.
OML 2021-115: Subcommittee deliberated outside of a posted meeting, in violation of the Open Meeting Law, when a quorum of the Subcommittee discussed the status of a matter that was clearly within the Subcommittee's jurisdiction outside of a posted meeting.
OML 2018-128: Board did not create a subcommittee where the Board took no vote after one member offered to research a topic and another member of the public body subsequently volunteered to assist.
OML 2017-111: Board did not create a subcommittee where the Board clearly intended to assign a task to one person and another member of the public body subsequently volunteered to assist.
OML 2016-96: Working Group did not create a subcommittee where two members of the Working Group, on their own initiative, worked on projects for the benefit of the Working Group, without the Working Group taking any official action to delegate that responsibility to the two members.
For more info on Open Meeting Law visit -> https://www.mass.gov/the-open-meeting-law
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| Open Meeting Law Guidance Spotlight: Subcommittees and Sub-quorum Communications |
FM #657-658-659 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 657-658-659 in the series.
This session shares part of the Franklin, MA Town Council meeting held on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.
The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: members of the Town Council and Town Administration personnel were in the Council Chambers, some members of the public participated in person, some via the Zoom conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
I’ve split the just about one hour and fifty minutes (1:50 total elapsed time) into three (3) logical segments:
Part 1 -> covers the opening, Town Clerk swearing in, Town Council swearing, organization vote to select Chair, Vice-chair and Clerk, citizen comments, appointment approvals of four for the Cultural Council and multiple license transactions (~34 mins) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/f43eaefe-d2ea-4926-a275-074746a41c9f
Part 2 -> covers the Open Meeting Law, Ethics, and Records presentation and Q&A session led by Attorney Mark Cerel (~ 43 minutes) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e54c21c9-2901-4d32-8ab3-b87e725b095e
Part 3 -> covers the Legislation for Action, Council Comments, then they enter Executive Session not to return to open meeting (~ 33 minutes) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0ebadfc4-56b9-4ac7-8a40-57f0e4479b08
The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda. Let’s listen to this segment of the Town Council meeting of Nov 10, 2021
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Agenda document -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/franklin-ma-town-council-meeting-agenda.html
My notes from the meeting -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/recap-town-council-reorganizes-sort-of.html
Town Council Quarterbacking session (a short recap with Council Chair Tom Mercer) -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/town-council-quarterbacking-111221-audio.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 www.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"
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| Chair Tom Mercer, flanked by Vice Chair Bob Dellorco (left), Clerk Glenn Jones (right) |
