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| What's happening at the Senior Center this week? |
"#whatshappening this week at the #franklinseniorcenter
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!!
Come in and join us for a meal, activity, or event."
Shared from -> https://www.instagram.com/p/C_8R7GsRm6r/
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| What's happening today in Franklin? |
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| Pumpkin Patch Set for Sep. 29 - Oct 31 |
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.
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 askthe Town Administrator to review the matter.
a. DPW Infrastructure Presentation - DPW Staff
b. Street Signs Policy - Brutus Cantoreggi
a. Resolution 24-57: Town Council’s Support of Pending State Legislation Entitled “An Act to Modernize Funding for Community Media Programming” (Motion to Approve Resolution 24-57 - Majority Vote)b. Resolution 24-58: Chapter 61B – 1st Refusal Option - Property Located in Franklin off of Maple Street (Property Owner: Maple Gate Realty Trust) (Motion to Approve Resolution 24-58 - Majority Vote)c. Bylaw Amendment 24-914: A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 82, Fees, Municipal Service - First Reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 24-914 to a Second Reading - Majority Vote)d. Bylaw Amendment 24-915: A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 139, Sewers - First Reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 24-915 to a Second Reading - Majority Vote)e. Bylaw Amendment 24-916: A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 147, Snow and Ice, Removal Of - First Reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 24-916 to a Second Reading - Majority Vote)f. Resolution 24-59: Gift Acceptance - Veterans’ Services Department ($350), Senior Center ($125), Police Dept. ($1,000), Fire Dept. ($1,000) (Motion to Approve Resolution 24-59 - Majority Vote)
a. Capital Budget Subcommitteeb. Economic Development Subcommitteec. Budget Subcommittee/Joint Budget Subcommitteed. Master Plan Committeee. Police Station Building Committeef. GATRA Advisory Board
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| Franklin, MA: Town Council Agenda for their Sep 18, 2024 meeting |
FM #1281 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1281 in the series.
This session shares the Franklin (MA) Joint Budget Subcmte meeting held on Wednesday, Sep 11, 2024. 11 members participated, 9 in chambers, 2 were remote (Frongillo, Griffith).
Quick recap:
Chair Tom Mercer opened the session with a review of the committee charge (linked to below), and a round of introductions, as well as explanation of why only 3 members of the School Committee vs. 4 each of Finance Cmte and Town Council. Finance and Council have 9 on the full body, hence 4 is the most to avoid a quorum; Schools have only 7, hence the 3 keeps within the quorum rules
Town Administrator Jamie Hellen in his opening remarks said this budget situation is not unique to Franklin, Jamie using his time at Mass Municipal Assoc (MMA) to advocate for state funding at local levels esp. for schools, Lt Gov hearing this message not just from Franklin; this is the norm not the exception
Supt Lucas Giguere in his intro remarks wants us all to learn from last year, getting together and starting early is good, how do we work together to solve this. Redistricting planning is underway, the reorganization is not going to solve the budget issues, it will make us more sustainable... Think about big picture of town and schools together
Hellen continued to walk the group through the revenue projects as shared in the agenda (link below)
Budget timeline overview (linked below) Capital budget due Dec 1, Ops budget first pass due Dec 20. They do get refined as the process works along
Dr Dutch explains revolving account usage for schools, akin to the enterprise funds on the town side; money collected by the specific area is used to pay for the costs incurred by that area. If any excess within, can not be used elsewhere, only within that space. Transportation for transportation, etc.
Q - on grants and where it might be in the projections as shown? A - we do get grants but they are not shown in this. Grants are special revenue and are not in the operational budgets, there are a couple of exceptions with reoccurring grants for Senior Center, Board of Health
Q - Will the same level of budget document be shared with the folks? A - yes, last year's docs are posted, this year's will be when available. Go to and click the Budget button to get last year's budget details https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget
Q - on turnover for school district A - 56 resignations and 8 since the Aug 27 meeting. HR status report for the SchCmte meeting yesterday. The report can be found -> https://coredocs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/4824938/September_10__2024_HR_Staffing_Report.pdf
Items not explicitly covered in this first pass of the budget
Contract negotiations also with all the unions (9 or so) are not factored in (other than the automated 2.5 already in the forecast)
Savings or cost regarding redistricting
health care (as mentioned) numbers usually ready in March
inflation not explicitly covered
There is no anticipated relief on the expense side. With expense increase coming, modeling to see where we can get to stabilize the budget or we end up cutting additional services and staff. We are already starting at a deficit ($3m) and we need to work together to solve it
Per Chief Lynch - No one (municipal side) will sign a contract until the teachers are signed. He goes further to clarify the situation that happened 3 years ago when former Supt Ahern approved the 4-4-4 for teachers
Q - Raises the possibility of getting some tax assistance, or subsidy, what is the legal ramifications, other Towns do it, we need to look at it. A - We already do most of the state tax abatements. Take discussion offline to get more details on the proposal
The recording runs about 2 hours & 35 minutes, so let’s listen in. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1281-joint-budget-subcmte-mtg-09-11-24/
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Franklin TV video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR7RPb5Q66Q
1. Committee Charge
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/joint_budget_subcommittee_charge.pdf
2. Annual Budget Calendar for Town Departments
3. Town Administrator Budget Memo & Five Year Fiscal Forecast packet https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/3_0.pdf
a. Sample borrowing schedules for Remington-Jefferson and Horace Mann capital projects. https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/estimates.pdf
4. Next Steps/Meetings
a. October 23, 2024 - JBSC
My notes in one PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-PKZkOitZwrzJ31d1F4ygeuQzJoFjWGv/view?usp=drive_link
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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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| Joint Budget Subcommittee starts the long road to the FY 2026 budget, override likely but what, when determined next year (audio) |
a. A.J. Rebecchi - Scope, Strategy & Goals
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| Marketing and Branding efforts to simplify the multitude of Franklin logos |
"I’m proud to announce that I’ve finished working on my second documentary! A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. Be sure to watch the premiere of Brotherhood: A Franklin High School Lacrosse Documentary on September 21st at 7 PM on my YouTube channel."
Editor Var's YouTube channel -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoMilmtihBI
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| "Brotherhood: A Franklin High School Lacrosse Documentary" on September 21 at 7 PM |
"Have you ever wanted to be a State Senator – even for a day?
You’re in luck! The Citizens’ Legislative Seminar is a chance to learn from Senators and participate in a simulated hearing and Senate session.
Interested and able to attend on Oct. 29 & 30?
Contact me! becca.rausch[at]masenate.gov"
#mapoli
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| Consider taking part in the next Citizen Legislative Seminar on Oct 29-30, 2024 |
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| MyFM’s Quest for the Best |
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 |
