Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Live reporting - legislation for action
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 11-65:Classification Tax Allocation– Residential Factor
motion to approve - passed 8-0
2. Resolution 11-66:Classification Tax Allocation – Open Space Exemption
motion to approve - passed 8-0
3. Resolution 11-67:Classification Tax Allocation – Small Businesses Exemption
motion to approve - passed 8-0
4. Resolution 11-68: Classification Tax Allocation – Residential Property Exemption
motion to approve - passed 8-0
Live reporting - Tax hearing
E. APPOINTMENTS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
2 minute break to get to 7:10 for the scheduled hearing start
F. HEARINGS - Annual Tax Classification Hearing – 7:10 PM
Ken Norman, Chair Board of Assessors
Kevin Doyle, Director of Assessors
Chris Feeley, Vincent DeBaggis - board members
Jeff Nutting, what you see tonight in 15 minutes is the result of over 2,000 hours of work
the State has already provided a preliminary assessment in approval of the process
Thanks for all the work done
Kevin Doyle -
providing an overview of the package
page 2 a summary of the status change in valuations
Pages 6 - 10 a listing of the commercial and industrial properties
page 11 - shows the calculation for the residential vs commercial industrial class
Page 12 - shows the calculation to get to the tax base valuation - new growth valuation
personal property - one time growth, not expected to repeat
a large account that was unanticipated
What is personal property?
personal property- business assets that are taxable locally (furnishings, computers, etc.)
Page 14 - calculates the levy limit
Page 21-22 what if scenarios? answers the questions on shifts if a split tax rate was chosen
Page 23 - from the DOR website
Page 24 - shows the tax rate against an "average" value
Page 25 - shows the tax rate against the "median" value
Page 26 - the levy as applied against the different classes and percent change from last year
page 27 - a summary page showing the major classes over the years, depicting changes year to year
Roy - question on Franklin Village getting a mortgage of $44M with an assessed value of $46M?
Doyle - the deed sometimes provides detail and the mortgage can sometimes provides more detail. This is some speculation. What we did do, we engaged a consultant to assist in the valuation, gathered income and expense information for review by us and by the DOR to confirm if we were using appropriate schedules
Norman - it is a national company and they could be doing something with the property and taxes that we don't know
Nutting - can you explain the data used?
Doyle - We are using last year's data as this year is not yet complete.
Jones -
Doyle - most property is owner occupied, communities that typically go with the residential exemption are larger cities or more seasonal resort type areas where the buildings are not generally owner occupied. What you have to understand, is that the residential exemption would be taken from the other residences. With a high level of owner occupied, a residential exemption would provide little offset practically
Norman - Your other question is basically with prop 2.5%
Doyle - the 2.5% is there pretty much automatically, my main goal day to day is to be fair and equitable. The adjustments need to be made in the same way.
Bissanti - congratulations on a good package, what do you see?
Doyle - We have looked ahead but those are part of the test group. The first six months of 2011 were similar to the market closing at the end of 2010. We don't predict future value
Feeley - our job is as historians, we are not here to predict the future
Powderly - we did not say what the new tax rate is yet, it would go from 12.79 to 13.73. Where do vacancies stand? mostly in the Commercial industrial piece
Doyle - we do have an allowance for vacancy and collection loss, historically if you look out over a 10 year period, some properties have never been vacant and others are frequently so.
Powderly - it is obviously a lag
Doyle - we receive information confidentially so we can't share some specifics with others
Jones - how do you compare Franklin to surrounding towns?
Doyle - probably want to turn to the realtors for that, DOR would have that.
Nutting - remind folks of the way the system works in the commonwealth, you need to compare the total year to total year, the first two bills are estimates
Powderly - with a single rate versus a split tax rate, if we were to go with a split rate, to take one dollar from the residents would raise the commercial rate by $4.
Hearing closed
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
2 minute break to get to 7:10 for the scheduled hearing start
F. HEARINGS - Annual Tax Classification Hearing – 7:10 PM
Ken Norman, Chair Board of Assessors
Kevin Doyle, Director of Assessors
Chris Feeley, Vincent DeBaggis - board members
Jeff Nutting, what you see tonight in 15 minutes is the result of over 2,000 hours of work
the State has already provided a preliminary assessment in approval of the process
Thanks for all the work done
Kevin Doyle -
providing an overview of the package
page 2 a summary of the status change in valuations
Pages 6 - 10 a listing of the commercial and industrial properties
page 11 - shows the calculation for the residential vs commercial industrial class
Page 12 - shows the calculation to get to the tax base valuation - new growth valuation
personal property - one time growth, not expected to repeat
a large account that was unanticipated
What is personal property?
personal property- business assets that are taxable locally (furnishings, computers, etc.)
Page 14 - calculates the levy limit
Page 21-22 what if scenarios? answers the questions on shifts if a split tax rate was chosen
Page 23 - from the DOR website
Page 24 - shows the tax rate against an "average" value
Page 25 - shows the tax rate against the "median" value
Page 26 - the levy as applied against the different classes and percent change from last year
page 27 - a summary page showing the major classes over the years, depicting changes year to year
Roy - question on Franklin Village getting a mortgage of $44M with an assessed value of $46M?
Doyle - the deed sometimes provides detail and the mortgage can sometimes provides more detail. This is some speculation. What we did do, we engaged a consultant to assist in the valuation, gathered income and expense information for review by us and by the DOR to confirm if we were using appropriate schedules
Norman - it is a national company and they could be doing something with the property and taxes that we don't know
Nutting - can you explain the data used?
Doyle - We are using last year's data as this year is not yet complete.
Jones -
Doyle - most property is owner occupied, communities that typically go with the residential exemption are larger cities or more seasonal resort type areas where the buildings are not generally owner occupied. What you have to understand, is that the residential exemption would be taken from the other residences. With a high level of owner occupied, a residential exemption would provide little offset practically
Norman - Your other question is basically with prop 2.5%
Doyle - the 2.5% is there pretty much automatically, my main goal day to day is to be fair and equitable. The adjustments need to be made in the same way.
Bissanti - congratulations on a good package, what do you see?
Doyle - We have looked ahead but those are part of the test group. The first six months of 2011 were similar to the market closing at the end of 2010. We don't predict future value
Feeley - our job is as historians, we are not here to predict the future
Powderly - we did not say what the new tax rate is yet, it would go from 12.79 to 13.73. Where do vacancies stand? mostly in the Commercial industrial piece
Doyle - we do have an allowance for vacancy and collection loss, historically if you look out over a 10 year period, some properties have never been vacant and others are frequently so.
Powderly - it is obviously a lag
Doyle - we receive information confidentially so we can't share some specifics with others
Jones - how do you compare Franklin to surrounding towns?
Doyle - probably want to turn to the realtors for that, DOR would have that.
Nutting - remind folks of the way the system works in the commonwealth, you need to compare the total year to total year, the first two bills are estimates
Powderly - with a single rate versus a split tax rate, if we were to go with a split rate, to take one dollar from the residents would raise the commercial rate by $4.
Hearing closed
Live reporting - Citizens comments
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
Ken Norman
1 - recommending the continuation of a committee to help coordinate the efforts for the seniors
2 - recommendation on better visibility to law suits pending with the town particularly in getting exposure to the expense associated with such
Live reporting - Town Council
Present: Dellorco, Kelly, Powderly, Vallee, Pfeffer, Jones, Bisanti, Roy
Absent: Mercer
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- This meeting is being recorded by Verizon, Comcast, and Franklin Matters.
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
Haley Goulet - for leading the dog park effort
Budget workshop - Jan 11
Workshop on Dec 14th for Town Council, public invited
Absent: Mercer
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- This meeting is being recorded by Verizon, Comcast, and Franklin Matters.
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
Haley Goulet - for leading the dog park effort
Budget workshop - Jan 11
Workshop on Dec 14th for Town Council, public invited
Franklin Area Blogs
One of the features here at Franklin Matters is to provide links to other blogs in the Franklin area. The listing can be found in far right column. Scroll down below my Flickr photos of Franklin, the logos for the United Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Franklin Downtown Partnership to find the listing of Franklin Area Blogs.
The listing is updated every time each site posts on their site. In this way, you can always see the most current item they have shared. You can click through to read that item and then linger on their site to explore what else they have shared.
There are three updates to make you aware of today:
Two on the Holiday Stroll from 02038 and Berry Ins:
Holiday Stroll this Thursday in Franklin, MA
The listing is updated every time each site posts on their site. In this way, you can always see the most current item they have shared. You can click through to read that item and then linger on their site to explore what else they have shared.
There are three updates to make you aware of today:
Two on the Holiday Stroll from 02038 and Berry Ins:
Holiday Stroll this Thursday in Franklin, MA
"When the time comes, we'll be as generous as we can"
Both last night and next Tuesday's training are held in executive session, as the training process includes applying the negotiating style to real examples of issues within the community, Mullen said.
"We will be talking about actual Franklin situations, so we can really practice going through the motions," Mullen said.
Sabolinski added that, while decisions will not be made on contracts in the training, the topics the group will tackle in the upcoming project will be identified.
Union president Chandler Creedon said he worries that a new negotiating process could be worthless without support from Town Council.
"One of the things interest-based bargaining is based on is trust, and I'm not sure we have any trust in Franklin at this point because of what the Town Council did," Creedon said, referring to a late-October decision by the council to cut $350,000 from the School Department's budget.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/education/x2042556270/Franklin-school-officials-get-training-in-new-union-negotiations#ixzz1fBX5Sw81
Holiday News from Jane's Frames
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Jane's Frames | 11 East Central Street | Franklin | MA | 02038 |
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Food Elves and Partnership "12 Days of Donating"
Franklin Food Elves Launch '12 Days of Donating' Campaign
The Franklin Food Elves and the Downtown Partnership will launch the "12 Days of Donating" food drive to benefit the local food pantry at the third annual Holiday Stroll on Thursday, December 1, at the 4 p.m. tree-lighting ceremony.
The charitable community service group's goal is to collect 1,200 pounds of food and $1,200 in 12 days to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry. The campaign will run from December 1 through December 12. Along with a food bin set up at the tree ceremony on the Dean College campus, the Elves are placing bins at six downtown locations where people can drop off non-perishable food items.
According to the Franklin Food Pantry, more than 1,000 residents use its services. Recent Census data shows the need is greater; more than 3,000 Franklin residents, or 9% of the town's population, are struggling. That need increases in winter due to the cost of heat.
If the Food Elves reach their goal and collect 1,200 pounds of food, participating businesses pledge an additional $1,200 in matching funds. Franklin Food Elves co-founders Melissa and Cameron Piana and the FDP hope that the community will support the Food Pantry by helping them reach this goal. What will 1,200 pounds and $1,200 do for Franklin? 1,200 pounds of food can provide 923 meals to those in need. The $1,200 can provide an additional 6,000 meals.
Look for food donation bins at these locations:
• Franklin Downtown Partnership office, 9 East Central Street
• Jane's Frames, 11 East Central Street
• Printsmart Office Supplies, 20 East Central Street
• Berry Insurance, 9 Main Street
• Dean Bank, 21 Main Street
• Dean College, Campus Center
For more information about the Franklin Food Elves and the "12 Days of Donating" campaign, please contact the Franklin Downtown Partnership at downtown.Franklin@yahoo.com or at (774)571-3109. For more information about the Franklin Food Pantry and what items are needed, please go to their website, www.franklinfoodpantry.org/.
What is turquoise?
What to find out something? Google it.
It is fascinating when you stop and look back at how search has evolved.
Google search is enabled on this site to help you find things once you are here. More than half of you have arrived here via a search result!
Welcome. I hope what you find here is useful.
It is fascinating when you stop and look back at how search has evolved.
Google search is enabled on this site to help you find things once you are here. More than half of you have arrived here via a search result!
Welcome. I hope what you find here is useful.
Dean College: "Blinking"
The Dance program at Dean College will be putting on a show called "Blinking" Dec 10th.
Elizabeth Warren - House Party - Dec 3
Christine Manns is holding a house party for US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren on Saturday, Dec 3 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. Seating is limited so please RSVP early. You can RSVP by calling Christine at 508-528-7905.
Monday, November 28, 2011
FM #101 - Tax Rate Info
This is #101 in the series for Franklin Matters. This covers tax rate information to prepare for the hearing set for the Town Council meeting on Weds Nov 30, 2011.
Time: 11 minutes, 15 seconds
Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0b02d48e-eb09-4412-8eb1-f82cc308a8da
The presentation to view along with the audio:
Show Notes:
This internet radio show or podcast is number 101 in the series for Franklin Matters.
In this session, you give me about ten minutes and I'll fill you in on what matters in Franklin.
In particular, we'll prepare for the Town Council meeting Wednesday, Nov 30th, where the big item on the agenda will be the annual tax classification hearing beginning at 7:10 PM.
This is the time and place where the Town Council determines (1) to keep a single tax rate or decides to implement a split tax rate and (2) sets the actual rate.
I have reviewed the data provided by the Board of Assessors for this hearing. I have also spent some time on the Dept of Revenue website updating my files with historical data on Franklin's budget, tax rate, etc.
I have updated the slides to share information that I think will help us all understand the overall situation.
Page 2 shows how the tax rate is calculated. Starting with the levy limit from 2011, 2.5% is added. Based upon Prop 2.5%, up to this amount can be added without a special override vote. The growth from last year is added. This provides a subtotal. Any prior debt exclusions are added and this provides the maximum levy limit. We can technically achieve this due to rounding factors on the rates. So we have what they call an “excess levy capacity” of $9,341. This leaves us with the tax levy, the amount that Franklin is authorized to raise this year. The amount is divided by the total assessed values of all the residential, commercial, industrial and personal property.
The tax assessors package for the Town Council meeting has a number of pages devoted to the property analysis of the residential, commercial/industrial (CIP) to get to this value. The major factor to remember is that due to the overall economic conditions, property values are declining. Divide any number by a declining number and the percent will increase.
Page 3 shows the tax rate as it has varied throughout the years from 1988 to 2012. I really shouldn't use a line to depict the point in time number for each year, but it is much easier to view the data this way. The tax rate high point was in 1997 when it was 14.21% and the low point (in the period shown) was 8.86% in 2007. I find it interesting that the tax rate dropped for ten years in a row (from its peak in 1997), has gone up for the past 5 years, and yet all you hear about is our tax problem?
There are many reasons for the increases shown. I don't have all the information to explain nor do I have the time this week to do so. What I can show on Page 4 is how the assessed value effects the tax rate. The blue bars in this case depict the NET change in assessed total value of all the properties in Franklin. From 1997, the peak tax rate, the overall assessed values rose and the tax rate dropped each year until the values peaked in 2007 (when the tax rate hit its low point). Since 2007, the assessed values have dropped and the rate has risen. With less of a tax base upon which to levy the expected tax revenue, guess what, the tax rate will increase. Simple math.
Well, Page 5 more clearly shows what our 'tax problem” is. The numbers on this chart depict the average tax bill for the period 1988 through 2012. As you can see from the red bars, in no year did the average tax bill decrease. The tax rate line from Page 4 is also shown here. Clearly, the tax rate whether it goes up or down seems to have little effect on the tax bill. It is always going up.
One alternative to increasing the single tax rate is to consider a split tax rate. On Page 6 - the table depicts the residential vs. commercial/industrial property mix since 1999. It has varied a little each year but generally around 80% residential and 20% commercial/industrial. The high point for residential was 82.12 in 1988 and the low point was 77.04 in 1993.
Page 7 shows the same numbers in a chart format. As there is so little variance, I think this more clearly depicts the small range that the commercial/industrial and residential split has had over the years.
Why did I spend time on the CI vs Residential split? I can hear some folks now saying “let's go with a split tax rate”. With kind of property mix we have, a split tax does not solve our problem. See, the split tax does not increase overall tax revenues, it only shifts the proportion of the pie that each party pays as shown on Page 8. For a single dollar decrease in residential property tax, the CI increase would need to be $4. I have said it before and it bears repeating again: We don't need to shift the tax burden from one class to another. We need to grow the overall tax base. We need a bigger pie.
The best opportunities for grow come from the underutilized CI space we have. You should be aware of the efforts of Bryan Taberner and others in the Department of Planning and Community Development. There are scheduled additional bylaw proposals to increase the zoning for biotechnology. This would be one potential area for good growth. We don't need additional residential properties which would further burden the school system. In particular, the residential growth we have seen recently has been mostly in the rental unit arena and that is even worse for Franklin than a single family home. We need healthy growth in CI properties to provide tax revenues and provide some jobs for local residents.
Page 9 provides information on the sources of the data that I used to prepare this.
Page 10 provides my contact information if you have any questions or would like to review this further.
---- ---- ----
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can use your help.
How can you help?
If you like this, please tell a neighbor.
If you don't like this, please let me know.
Thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
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!
New MassBudget Report on State Education Funding
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Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108
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Eat at Pizzeria Uno on Tuesday December 6th and Support Franklin Music Boosters, Inc.!
On Tuesday, December 6th, UNO Chicago Grill in Bellingham (205 Hartford Ave.) will donate up to 20% of your check to benefit the Franklin Music Boosters. Dine-in or Takeout! A coupon is required for the Music Boosters to receive this benefit. Please visit their website at www.FranklinMusic.org to print one out.
Franklin Music Boosters is a parent organization which supports the entire Franklin Public School Music Program grades 6-12. Through volunteer support and fundraising, the Music Boosters help provide transportation for performance trips, competitions and outings; sponsor concerts and special events; finance the purchase of musical equipment and uniforms; fund private lessons and scholarships, as well as support the music department with volunteer help. For more information about getting involved with the Franklin Music Boosters, contact Amy Czuba, amyczuba@gmail.com.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Santa arrives on the Franklin Town Common
Yes, Sunday afternoon promptly at 4:00 PM
A good time was had by all!
A good time was had by all!
Santa on the Town Common: 4:00 PM
Santa is scheduled to arrive at the Town Common this afternoon at 4:00 PM.
Photo from 2010. Additional photos can be found here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2010/11/santa-arrives-on-franklin-town-common_29.html
The video of Santa's arrival in 2010 can be found here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2010/11/santa-arrives-on-franklin-town-common.html
Photo from 2010. Additional photos can be found here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2010/11/santa-arrives-on-franklin-town-common_29.html
The video of Santa's arrival in 2010 can be found here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2010/11/santa-arrives-on-franklin-town-common.html
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