What's happening in Franklin, MA: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 ???

Tuesday, November 12

7am Fiber Art Installation (Franklin Public Library) 

10:30am CANCELED - new date TBD - Ribbon Cutting for Senior Center new Van

11am Community Closet (Franklin United Methodist Church)

6pm Family Game Night  (Franklin Public Library) 

7pm FBRTC Rail Trail Cmte Mtg (Franklin TV and Radio 102.9 FM) 

7pm Musical Bingo (Raillery Public House) 

**  Town Meetings today   **

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting (virtual meeting)

Event Date:  Tuesday, November 12, 2024 - 10:00am

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/november_12_2024_agenda.pdf

School Cmte: Policy Subcommittee agenda  (3rd floor training room)

Event Date:  Tuesday, November 12, 2024 - 6:00pm

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/events/11_12_24_policy_subcommittee_agenda_.pdf

Design Review Meeting Agenda  (virtual meeting)

Event Date:  Tuesday, November 12, 2024 - 7:00pm

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/design_review_11-12-2024.pdf

Franklin School Committee Meeting  (Council Chambers & broadcast)

Event Date:  Tuesday, November 12, 2024 - 7:00pm

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/events/fps_meeting_1.pdf

What's happening today in Franklin? 

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Why are there multiple calendars?

Respectfully, the Library and Senior Center calendars are too full of events to include all their events so we tend to focus on the major events. Town and School meetings are also kept separate. Links for all the calendars are shared here:

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 Library calendar of events ->    calendar link

The Senior Center calendar of events ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/node/39/events/upcoming

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

How to find local news you can trust

A News Literacy Week workshop

NewsLiteracyWeek.org Don't miss out on our free virtual events! How can we determine whether news sources are credible? Local news outlets help us make informed decisions as engaged participants in a democracy, but the process of creating the news isn't always clear. During National News Literacy Week 2024 — Jan. 22 to 26 – we are hosting a free webinar, How to find local news you can trust, which will provide an overview of the news literacy concepts you need to be reliably informed, with a spotlight on local news. We'll pull the curtain back on the practice of quality, ethical local journalism. Thursday, Jan. 25 How to find local news you can trust 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT A free virtual workshop that provides an introduction to news literacy skills you can use to determine whether a source is credible. Register There's more! We have a full lineup of events planned for National News Literacy Week. Monday, Jan. 22 Extra, extra: How to solve the local news crisis 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT Catch the livestream of our National News Literacy Week kickoff event! We've invited a panel of distinguished journalists, media critics and educators to help us shape our thinking on addressing the local news crisis. Featuring Sarabeth Berman of the American Journalism Project, author and media columnist Margaret Sullivan, Steven Waldman of Rebuild Local News and Kimi Yoshino of The Baltimore Banner. Moderated by Tracie Potts of the Eisenhower Institute. Set reminder Wednesday, Jan. 24 How student journalists are filling the gap in local news 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT A student-led virtual panel discussion about how young people are making a difference in local community news coverage. Featuring Sara Maloney of The Eudora Times, Ashlyn Myers of TheStateHouseFile.com and Harsidak Singh of The Arlington Amp. Moderated by Darragh Worland, host of the News Literacy Project podcast Is that a fact? Register   We hope you will be a part of National News Literacy Week in 2024! Now in its fifth year, National News Literacy Week underscores the vital role of news literacy in a democracy and provides people of all ages with the knowledge and tools to become better informed and more civically engaged. Presented by the News Literacy Project and The E.W. Scripps Company, this year's event turns a spotlight on local news and its role in a healthy democracy. View more NNLW events and resources For a future founded on facts, The News Literacy Project   NewsLiteracyWeek.org JAN. 22-26, 2024 Support news literacy by donating today. Visit us at newslit.org, checkology.org, newslitnation.org and rumorguard.org. The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy. The News Literacy Project 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015

Franklin (MA) Police Department Community Service Results & Action Plan

Community Survey Results and Action Plan                     October 11, 2023

The Franklin Police Department conducted a Community Survey from July 25, 2023 – September 3, 2023.  This survey was anonymous and it was looking for community feedback in order to gauge how the department was doing in several different areas including community involvement, safety, procedural justice, performance and satisfaction of officer contact.  This survey was posted on all of our social media platforms and our web site with the intent of reaching as many citizens as possible.

There were 315 responses to this survey.  The results of the survey are below and can also be found on our web site at: https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/pages/2023_community_survey_results_data.pdf

The command staff at the police department have looked at this data and have found the following:   

Franklin (MA) Police

Community Involvement

• Although most people feel we do a good job at interacting with the community, we feel we can do better at making it easy for community members to provide input to the department.  We are working on ways for people to be able to provide information and suggestions using social media platforms or other communication platforms.

Safety

• The top three issues identified by the public as the greatest problems in the community are the same, we, as a department, have also identified as top priorities.  They include:
  • Traffic Issues (49.2%)
  • Mental Health Issues (44.4%)
  • Drug Abuse (31.7%)
• Here are the things that the police department have been and will continue to do regarding these issues:
  • Traffic: 
    • We have hired three of the four additional officers that the town has appropriated and once filled will bring us to a total of 58 sworn officers.  These officers have been assigned to our operations division and will be assigned to uniformed patrol.  This will increase the ability to conduct traffic enforcement during times between calls for service.
    • Our patrol division has increased traffic stops in FY23 by approximately 79.4% (3,348 stops) from the year before (FY22 – 1,868 stops).  With the addition of the four new officers, we have directed our operations division to continue this trend and expect an additional 25% increase of traffic stops and directed patrols this year.
  • Mental Health:
    • The department has started its own Co-response Mental Health Program to continue its good work that began with Advocates.
    • We have hired a team of mental health clinician who works directly for the Town of Franklin.  We have hired a FPD Co-response Program Manager and we are in the process of hiring two additional clinicians.  These clinicians will ride with officers to calls for service where mental health issues are a factor.  These clinicians are trained to recognize the problems, they understand the challenges, and can assist officers in real time, while on scene, by getting the individual the services they need quickly.  The new clinicians will start in November of 2023.
  • Drug Abuse:
    • We have one detective that is assigned to narcotics investigations.  All other detectives are crossed trained in narcotics investigations and can assist when needed.
    • Our detectives and clinicians conduct follow up investigations after drug overdoses in order to provide information and support services.
    • Our department participates in a county overdose database in which information is shared between member departments.  This allows us to follow up and provide services to those who are Franklin residents but may have overdosed in another jurisdiction.
    • We have a working partnership with the SAFE coalition and other organizations to provide support services to individuals and families suffering from drug addiction.

Procedural Justice

• We are happy to see that a majority of respondents trust the police, find us respectful and find us fair.  We will continue to strive to meet those expectations the community deserves.

Performance

• Although most found the overall performance of our agency satisfactory, we can improve on proactivity and addressing community concerns.
• We will encourage officers to get out of their cars while on patrol and engage more with the community.
• We will continue to encourage more community engagement through use of special vehicles such as bicycles, motorcycles and foot patrols of high pedestrian areas (i.e. Downtown, malls, etc.).

Conclusion

First of all, we would like to thank the community members who took the time to complete the survey.  Your feedback is extremely important to gauge what the community thinks of our performance.  We take all of this feedback extremely seriously and will do our best to improve.  Our goal is to provide the best possible service that we can, the level of service that our residents deserve. 

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/police-department-community-service-results-action-plan

Franklin Police join Trust Building Campaign

The Franklin Police Department is pleased to announce that they have completed a pledge to enhance trust and collaboration between police and the communities served. The pledge is part of an initiative called the Trust Building Campaign which was started by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the world’s largest and most influential professional association for police leaders. To join the Trust Building Campaign, law enforcement agencies must pledge to implement 25 key policies and leading practices within a 36-month period.

Chief Thomas Lynch made the decision to join the Trust Building Campaign as a means to enhance the trust and partnership the department has with the community.

By completing the Trust Building Campaign Pledge, the Franklin Police Department established policies and trainings, conducted assessments, and developed strategies within six focused areas (bias-free policing; use of force; leadership and culture; recruitment, hiring, and retention; victim services; and community relations) designed to encourage positive community-police partnerships that promote safe, effective interactions, create strategies to prevent and reduce crime, and improve the wellbeing and quality of life for all.

The IACP is encouraged by the efforts of agencies as they incorporate the pledge’s concepts into their everyday operations. When trust building is prioritized, community members and the police benefit from relationships focused on unified visions, goals, and values. Building and rebuilding trust in the community and around the world is critical, and must remain a primary objective.

The greatest benefit in taking the Trust Building Campaign Pledge has been reinforcing the policies and procedures that the department has established through the accreditation process and looking at them through the lens of community trust building and partnerships.

Chief Lynch states, “I feel the police department has a great relationship with the community but we are always trying to do better, to do a little more. The Franklin Police Department is constantly looking for ways to connect with and enhance those partnerships. The IACP Trust Building Campaign gave us a mechanism to review and improve our policies, procedures, and training with the goal of increasing the community’s trust and create additional positive relationships”.

For more information about the Trust Building Campaign, visit the IACP’s website at https://www.theiacp.org/iacp-trust-building-campaign.

Trust Building Campaign

Town of Franklin, MA: Affordable housing opportunity - 1st come, 1st serve

Affordable Housing Opportunity Alert! 

You can learn more about the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust here: https://t.co/mD62awSRBL  or  https://www.franklinma.gov/municipal-affordable-housing-trust

Details on the 67 Palomino Drive – Dover Farms – Franklin, MA - $310,500 – First Come, First Serve - Resale

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/news/flyer_1_0.pdf

Shared from Twitter -> https://t.co/TwqjPb9L4n  or https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1645435228742197249

Town of Franklin, MA: Affordable housing opportunity - 1st come, 1st serve

How to find news you can trust - 3 session webinar series in April, 2023

Save the date for our webinar series.

Hi Franklinites! You probably read, watch or listen to the news every day, and chances are you often do so online. How do you know whether news sources are credible? How do you know what to trust? The News Literacy Project is offering a free three-part webinar series to help you navigate the increasingly crowded and rapidly changing information environment. We'll meet at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on April 12, 19 and 26 for about 45 minutes, and we'll invite journalists to join the discussions to help us understand how they think about trust and credibility as they report the news. April 12: Session 1 | What is quality journalism? News outlets help us make informed decisions, but the process of creating news isn't always transparent. This session will pull the curtain back on the practice of quality, ethical journalism and its mission to inform us accurately. April 19: Session 2 | Understanding news media bias People frequently perceive and allege bias in news coverage, but what does this really mean? What makes a piece of news biased, and who decides? This session will empower you to evaluate the fairness, accuracy and objectivity of news coverage. April 26: Session 3 | How fact-checking works With the deluge of digital information, it's getting harder to know what to trust. Fact-checking organizations are taking up the charge to combat the spread of misinformation, debunking some of the most viral content springing up social media. We'll learn about the work professional fact-checkers do and skills we can use to do our own fact-checking. You can find more information and register for the series here. We look forward to learning with you! If you have questions about this series, please respond to this email. For a future founded on facts, The News Literacy Project

Visit us at newslit.org, checkology.org, newslitnation.org and rumorguard.org. The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy. The News Literacy Project 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015

The News Literacy Project: 2 webinars scheduled on Public trust & Misinformation

(1) Jan. 23, 6pm ET: We regret the error: Public trust & media accountability

Audience: All invited
In-person (@PressClubDC, D.C.)
🔗 to register: https://t.co/HAReDQwdpS

Newsroom leaders discuss past mistakes & what they've learned to build greater trust with their audiences https://t.co/er1meLeEbq

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/NewsLitProject/status/1615399445813944320

We regret the error: Public trust & media accountability

(2) Jan. 26, 2pm ET: Your brain & misinformation: Why people believe lies & conspiracy theories (@APA)

Audience: All invited
Virtual 🔗 https://t.co/aBNaAG1oO9

Untangle the threads in our heads & hearts that can cause us to accept & spread falsehoods even when we should know better https://t.co/qJLttRxB03

Your brain & misinformation: Why people believe lies & conspiracy theories

Annual Report Of The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust - FY 2021

Note: FY 2021 is last year (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021). The report was prepared to cover the business for the FY 2021 period. This year’s report FY 2022 (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022) is in preparation now and is normally available for distribution at the polls for the November election.

The Franklin Municipal Affordable Housing Trust fund was established on May 18, 2005 by Bylaw Amendment 05-567. The Trust Fund can receive, hold, invest or expend funds for the rehabilitation, renovation, construction, financing or refinancing of property within the Town of Franklin making these residential properties available to low and moderate income families looking for an affordable home.

The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) establishes the Median Income for the area annually (currently $120,800). Income limits are set at 80% of the Median Income based on household size. The “Affordable” sales price for a home is set assuming a household earning 80% of the median income can obtain a mortgage.

“Affordable” homes must have a “deed rider” attached to the deed of the home. The deed rider will preserve the resale value of the home so that it will remain as affordable in perpetuity. “Affordable“ homes must be purchased by income and asset qualified households.

Having the deed rider ensures that all the affordable units will be included on the “Subsidized Housing Inventory” (SHI). The goal is to have an affordable housing inventory of at least 10%. Franklin’s SHI is at 12%. This number allows the Town leeway to support only those developments that it feels benefit the community.

In FY2020, interest rates continued to be at historic lows and the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust processed 5 refinances and re-sold 1 home.

Progress is continuing on the Franklin Ridge senior housing project to be located off of Veterans Memorial Drive and behind Eaton Place. The project will include 60 new senior apartments that will be affordable to income and asset qualified seniors. The Trust has earmarked up to $550,000 in support of this project.

This year, as always, we look forward to pursuing innovative ways to produce affordable housing in the Town of Franklin. It is our pleasure to submit this annual report for your review.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Vericker, Chairman 

Mary Anne Bertone 

Christopher Feeley

Jamie Hellen 

Maxine Kinhart 

Judith Pond Pfeffer

The full Annual Report for 2021 can be found

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2021_annual_report.pdf

The collection of Annual Reports can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/town-franklin-annual-reports

Annual Report Of The Town of Franklin - FY 2021

MA Senate Passes Legislation Supporting Special Needs Trusts for Disabled Seniors

The Massachusetts State Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to promote the wellbeing of senior citizens with disabilities by clarifying their right to create and access pooled trusts while also receiving MassHealth benefits. Pooled trusts can provide funding to help seniors with disabilities to pay for items and services which are not covered by MassHealth, such as home care services, uncovered medical, dental and pharmacy costs, transportation, clothing, and household items.

 

“MassHealth serves some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “Senior citizens and people with disabilities deserve to be able to save and make smart financial decisions for their living expenses without having to worry about their eligibility for MassHealth. I want to thank Senator Jehlen for pushing for this legislation and Senator Rodrigues for his committee’s review.”

“The passage of this legislation today strengthens our support for our older disabled population by improving their quality of life and makes aging in Massachusetts a more caring experience for this population in need,” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “I would like to thank the Senate President for her continued support, along with Senator Jehlen and others for their advocacy, ensuring we help to preserve funds for this vulnerable population, while protecting their eligibility for public benefits.”

 

"For decades, disabled people have been able to use special needs trusts to pay for important services not covered by MassHealth," said Senator Patricia B. Jehlen (D-Somerville), lead sponsor of the bill. "The trusts allow them to qualify for MassHealth while preserving enough assets to pay for items not allowed by Medicaid rules, such as home care, transportation, dental care, clothing, and personal care items.  When the beneficiary of a special needs trust dies, any remaining assets are returned to the Commonwealth.  Millions of dollars are recovered from these trusts each year."

 

Pooled trusts, which are managed by nonprofit organizations, combine the resources of many beneficiaries for the purposes of administrative cost-effectiveness and investment optimization. In Massachusetts, they have been used to give people with disabilities a way to access health care benefits, such as those offered by MassHealth, while depositing additional funds into the trust to pay for items and services not covered by those benefits.

 

Historically, disabled individuals of any age have been permitted to join pooled trusts without interfering with their MassHealth eligibility. In 2019 however, a federal court decision held that a Medicaid penalty may be imposed on a senior who creates a pooled trust account which is not regarded as a ‘fair-market value’. This makes it possible for MassHealth to penalize disabled individuals aged 65 and over who set up a pooled trust. This legislation would prevent this by requiring MassHealth to regard all pooled trusts as ‘fair-market value’.

 

Having passed the Senate this legislation now goes on to the House of Representatives for enactment.

Link to legislation -> https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H4792

MA Senate Passes Legislation Supporting Special Needs Trusts for Disabled Seniors