Agenda for Town Council meeting Wednesday, Oct 28 at FHS Auditorium

Franklin Town Council

Agenda & Meeting Packet

October 28, 2026, 6:00 PM

Franklin High School Auditorium - 218 Oak Street

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR

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.

c. Upcoming Town Sponsored Community Events.

2. CITIZEN COMMENTS

a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. In compliance with G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 20 et seq, the Open Meeting Law, the Council cannot engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Council may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter. Nothing herein shall prevent the Town Administrator from correcting a misstatement of fact.

3. COUNCILOR COMMENTS

4. SUBCOMMITTEE & AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS

a. Joint Budget Subcommittee (next meeting: TBD)

b. Economic Development Subcommittee (next meetings: October 29, 6pm; November 12, 6pm, December 10, 6pm)

c. Communications Subcommittee (next meeting TBD)

d. Town Charter Ad Hoc Committee (next meeting: October 26, 10am)

e. Town Administrator Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee (next meeting: October 26, 4:30pm)

5. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

6. PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS

a. Retirement Proclamation: Police Chief Thomas “TJ” Lynch

b. Police Department Promotion Recognitions:

i. Chief of Police, James West

ii. Deputy Chief of Police, Eric Copeland

7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

a. October 14, 2026  https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11477/October-14-2026---TC-Meeting-Minutes-for-Approval

8. APPOINTMENTS

a. Election Workers  https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11480/8a-Appointments---Election-Workers

9. PUBLIC HEARINGS - 6:00 PM - None Scheduled.

10. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

a. Farmer-Winery Farmers Market License - Blisspoint LLC d/b/a Blisspoint Meadery  https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11486/10a-1---LICENSE-TRANSACTION---Farmers-Market---Blisspoint-Meadery---Google-Docs_2_combine

11. PRESENTATIONS / DISCUSSION

a. Tax Rate Workshop #2

i. Town Administration Memorandum  https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11487/11a-i---MEMO---Tax-Rate-Workshop-2

12. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION

a. Resolution 26-56: Town Council’s Support for Restoration of Full-Service Acute-Care Hospital Services at 800 Washington Street, Norwood (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-56 - Majority Vote)  https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11483/12-26-56---Letter-of-Support-Norwood-Hospital-

b. Resolution 26-57: Gift Acceptances (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-57 - Majority Vote)  https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11482/12c-26-57---Gift-Acceptances---Senior-Ctr

13. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

14. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled.

15. ADJOURN

Note: Two-Thirds Vote: requires 6 votes

Majority Vote: requires majority of members present and voting

The agenda also contains remote participation info

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10282026-2583 

Town Council hears student intern report in first of 3 tax rate workshops (video)

The Franklin Town Council met as scheduled on Wednesday, Oct 14 in Council Chambers. All 9 members were present.

Franklin TV video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUfX3OGpgM

The agenda doc and released supporting material

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2560 

Quick recap

• need more info on how the split would work for Franklin (The calculation is actually one page in the annual tax rate hearing documentation provided by the Board of Assessors)
• aside: the tax rate is a result of a calculation and not a decision or a toss of darts to a board the authorized budgeted amount divided by the total assessed valuation results in the tax rate as the residential evaluations have increased recently (due to the increased price war for housing), the ratio of residential vs CIP has generally been in a tight range until the last couple of years

PDF version of this memo to the Council as part of the Oct 14 agenda

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11284/11a-i---MEMO---Tax-Rate-Workshop-1 

Tax rate package for FY 2026 - https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/7790/6a-Tax

Student presentation doc 

https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11278/11a-ii-1---Franklin-Tax-Rate-Council-Presentationpptx---Google-Slides

Comparison Report (details upon which the presentation was drawn from) - https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11277/11a-ii-2---Franklin-Tax-Rate-Study-Single-vs-Split-Rate-Analysisdocx

Complete agenda for Oct 14 session

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2560

In addition to the info brought forth by the FHS students for the tax rate discussion tonight at the Town Council meeting, I offer the following.

Item 1 

For the chart the students offered in the Comparison Report, I

1 - added the total assessed valuation per community

2 - sorted by the CIP%

3 - highlighted the exceptions in both sections of the sort

The same chart in PDF format

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MhtZaxxPYhk_2o35ETje_1G-7CLsfq0M/view?usp=drive_link

The Excel workbook used for this

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/118r4s31jOLdPMBJ_FuWj3XE47vhQ6WlI/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=101938843903614700481&rtpof=true&sd=true

Item 2

Content in context is important. While the research produced the chart with 17 communities, what is the view across the Commonwealth? The Dept of Local Services has a great data bank to provide the info. 2026 was chosen as the data for 2027 is not fully populated across the 351. 2022 was chosen simply as the first year before the housing crunch from COVID.

In 2026, 129 of the 351 communities had split tax rates

In 2026, 37 had a CIP% less than 20%  (92 had more than 20%)

In 2022, 118 of the 351 communities had split rates

In 2022, 49 had a CIP% less than 20%  (70 had more than 20%)

Why the change in 4 years? Oh, the residential valuations have increased significantly more than the commercial valuations changing the ratio between the two.

Has the residential demand (or valuations) slowed down yet? Not likely given what we are seeing in the market.

Item 3

From the FY 2026 tax rate hearing (and decision to confirm the single rate as calculated)  

While it is regularly mentioned during the tax rate hearings, the move to a split rate does not add a single dollar to our revenue. All it does is shift the burden from one property class to another.

I'd also add, no matter the single or split rate, no matter the rate rising or falling, the tax bill is always going up.

Additional charts posted in Dec 2025

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/12/annual-tax-rate-hearing-for-fy-2026.html

The full agenda doc for the Town Council meeting October 14, 2026

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2560

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 ???

Wednesday, October 14

1:00pm     Writer's Group (Franklin Senior Center)

4:00pm 7th Annual Pumpkin Patch (St John's Episcopal Church)

6:00pm France 2027 Travel Presentation (La Cantina Winery)

6:30pm Franklin Elks Bingo Night (Franklin Elks Lodge #2136)

7:00pm Smarty Pants Trivia (Raillery Public House)

7:30pm The Skin of our Teeth (Dean College Main Stage Theater)

***  Town Meetings today ***

Charles River Pollution Control Meeting

Wednesday, October 14, 2026   Time = 3:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2561 

Board of Assessors Regular Meeting

Wednesday, October 14, 2026  Time = 5:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2562 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, October 14, 2026  Time = 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2560 

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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

3 items to add to the single vs. split tax rate discussion scheduled for the Town Council meeting Oct 14, 2026

In addition to the info brought forth by the FHS students for the tax rate discussion tonight at the Town Council meeting, I offer the following.

Item 1 

For the chart the students offered in the Comparison Report, I

1 - added the total assessed valuation per community

2 - sorted by the CIP%

3 - highlighted the exceptions in both sections of the sort

The same chart in PDF format

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MhtZaxxPYhk_2o35ETje_1G-7CLsfq0M/view?usp=drive_link

The Excel workbook used for this

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/118r4s31jOLdPMBJ_FuWj3XE47vhQ6WlI/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=101938843903614700481&rtpof=true&sd=true

Item 2

Content in context is important. While the research produced the chart with 17 communities, what is the view across the Commonwealth? The Dept of Local Services has a great data bank to provide the info. 2026 was chosen as the data for 2027 is not fully populated across the 351. 2022 was chosen simply as the first year before the housing crunch from COVID.

In 2026, 129 of the 351 communities had split tax rates

In 2026, 37 had a CIP% less than 20%  (92 had more than 20%)

In 2022, 118 of the 351 communities had split rates

In 2022, 49 had a CIP% less than 20%  (70 had more than 20%)

Why the change in 4 years? Oh, the residential valuations have increased significantly more than the commercial valuations changing the ratio between the two.

Has the residential demand (or valuations) slowed down yet? Not likely given what we are seeing in the market.

Item 3

From the FY 2026 tax rate hearing (and decision to confirm the single rate as calculated)  

While it is regularly mentioned during the tax rate hearings, the move to a split rate does not add a single dollar to our revenue. All it does is shift the burden from one property class to another.

I'd also add, no matter the single or split rate, no matter the rate rising or falling, the tax bill is always going up.

Additional charts posted in Dec 2025

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/12/annual-tax-rate-hearing-for-fy-2026.html

The full agenda doc for the Town Council meeting October 14, 2026

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2560

Town Administrator Jamie Hellen's memo to the Town Council on Tax Rate Workshop #1

"October 8, 2026

To: Town Council

From: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator

Michelle Monsegur, Deputy Town Administrator

RE: Tax Rate Workshop #1

A central goal for the Town Council in 2026-27 is to evaluate the tax rate.

October 14th is the first in a series of three tax rate workshops and public discussions to be held this fall. The second and third workshops will be held on October 28th and November 18th respectively. The annual tax classification hearing is planned for December 2nd.

On October 14th we will kick off the public discussion with a presentation by three Franklin High School students, Shravan Dev, Arnav Garg, and Saumy Jani, who recently completed a summer internship in the Town Administration Department. They have done an incredible amount of tax rate research with a focus on comparing single vs split tax rates, and we look forward to seeing the outcome of their outstanding work. Their presentation and analysis report is included in the agenda packet for the October 14, 2026 Town Council meeting.

The goal for workshop #1 is to get direction from the Town Council on what information and analysis they would like to see for the following workshops in October and November, ahead of the tax classification hearing in December. It is our recommendation that the Council also allow public comment on this issue during the second and third workshops.

The Assessors’ FY26 tax rate packet from last year’s tax classification hearing is included in the agenda packet as an additional reference."

PDF version of this memo to the Council as part of the Oct 14 agenda

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11284/11a-i---MEMO---Tax-Rate-Workshop-1 

Tax rate package for FY 2026 - https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/7790/6a-Tax

Presentation doc (as referenced above)

https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11278/11a-ii-1---Franklin-Tax-Rate-Council-Presentationpptx---Google-Slides

Comparison Report (details upon which the presentation was drawn from) - https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11277/11a-ii-2---Franklin-Tax-Rate-Study-Single-vs-Split-Rate-Analysisdocx

Complete agenda for Oct 14 session

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2560

Presentation embedded here:

Town Council starts set of 3 workshops to understand split vs. single tax rate issue

📢 UPCOMING TAX RATE WORKSHOPS

The Town Council will hold three workshops to discuss whether Franklin should maintain a single property tax rate or adopt a split tax rate.

🏛️ Residents and business owners are encouraged to attend and share their feedback!

📅 View workshop dates and Town Council meeting agendas: https://buff.ly/599jiS9

Agenda for the first session, Wednesday,  October 14

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10142026-2560 

Agenda for the Joint Budget Subcommittee Meeting - Wedsneday, Oct 7, 2026

Joint Budget Subcommittee Meeting

(Members of the Town Council, School Committee, and Finance Committee)

Agenda & Meeting Packet

October 7, 2026, 6:00 PM

Franklin Municipal Building: Council Chambers

355 East Central Street, 2nd Floor

Agenda

1. Call the Meeting to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

a. August 13, 2026

3. Vote on Joint Budget Subcommittee Goals

4. Discussion of Franklin Finances 101 Educational Video Series

5. Kitchen Table Discussion: FY27 Financial Baseline

6. Revenue Ideation - Initial list of revenues to research

7. Future Agenda Items/Next Meeting Date

a. Revenue Ideation follow up

b. Massachusetts Municipal Association A Perfect Storm and Navigating the Storm reports

8. Adjournment

Agenda document contains remote participation info

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/11250/2026-10-07-JBSC-agenda-packet

The Franklin 250th Anniversary Celebration Cmte updates the Town Council - 09/16/26

This session shares a key segment of the Franklin (MA) Town Council meeting held on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The Council held this session as scheduled beginning at 6 PM. 9 members participated in Chambers, 1 left not feeling well.  

The key segments of the meeting recording are divided into 4 parts

Part 1 - Franklin Food Pantry Update - Tina Powderly, Executive Director, Franklin Food Pantry; presentation slides  https://photos.app.goo.gl/2f1TjPBcXfMxVthM8  

Part 2 - State Rep Roy and Senator Rausch with a legislative update

Part 3 - Jen Levine with an update from the SAFE Coalition slides being captured to share via photo album - https://photos.app.goo.gl/1rD2MyGQg6hkdjC97g 

*** Part 4 - The 250 anniversary celebration committee, the slides captured https://photos.app.goo.gl/bN3cFQPgHFQLCWm46 

Quick Recap:

The recap and my notes can be found

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/town-council-approve-west-as-police.html 

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1834-250th-anniversary-cmte-update-to-town-council-09-16-26/

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

Follow along with the agenda here

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09162026-2512

The full meeting is available via the FRANKLIN TV video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfKg2tTQll8&

my notes in one PDF - 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WVXQJLaaFx2VZBVvIaNSlHYpN4KVt1PW/view?usp=drive_link 

Photos of the recognitions and retirements

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zj3u5xQ78VKyvEcs6 

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

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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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"

Jen Levine, provides an update on the SAFE Coalition to the Town Council - 09/16/26 (audio)

This session shares a key segment of the Franklin (MA) Town Council meeting held on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The Council held this session as scheduled beginning at 6 PM. 9 members participated in Chambers, 1 left not feeling well.  

The key segments of the meeting recording are divided into 4 parts

Part 1 - Franklin Food Pantry Update - Tina Powderly, Executive Director, Franklin Food Pantry; presentation slides  https://photos.app.goo.gl/2f1TjPBcXfMxVthM8  

Part 2 - State Rep Roy and Senator Rausch with a legislative update

*** Part 3 - Jen Levine with an update from the SAFE Coalition slides being captured to share via photo album - https://photos.app.goo.gl/1rD2MyGQg6hkdjC97g 

Part 4 - The 250 anniversary celebration committee, the slides captured https://photos.app.goo.gl/bN3cFQPgHFQLCWm46 

Quick Recap:

The recap and my notes can be found

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/09/town-council-approve-west-as-police.html 

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1833-safe-coalition-update-to-town-council-09-16-26/

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

Follow along with the agenda here

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09162026-2512

The full meeting is available via the FRANKLIN TV video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfKg2tTQll8&

my notes in one PDF - 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WVXQJLaaFx2VZBVvIaNSlHYpN4KVt1PW/view?usp=drive_link 

Photos of the recognitions and retirements

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zj3u5xQ78VKyvEcs6 

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

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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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"