A light snow dusted the sculpture this morning.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
WASTED 12/2/08 - Slideshow
A slide show of photos from the substance abuse information session put on by W.A.S.T."E".D at Franklin High School on Tuesday, December 2, 2008.
"Everyone helps out, it's a team effort. "
GHS
FRANKLIN —
Police officers, dispatchers, administrators, the deputy and the chief took their mission "to serve" to heart, and spent yesterday morning cooking a full turkey meal and serving more than 200 senior citizens, to their great delight.
The Franklin Police Association, which sponsors the holiday dinner every year for seniors, even hand-delivered meals to housebound elders who made the request.
"They are exceptionally wonderful to all of us - we love them all, and may God bless them always," said senior Vivian Brown, who has lived in Franklin for 47 years.
She and her friend, Franklin senior Priscilla Chesmore, were all smiles as they sat with the large Christmas centerpieces they won in the police association's raffle.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
"an effort that could net roughly $30,000 per year"
GHS
Several years ago, the School Committee in Hopkinton turned down a company offering a free softball scoreboard branded with its corporate logo, ruling that ads did not belong on school property.
This week, however, members reviewed a mailing that will let businesses know they can buy space on the indoor and outdoor scoreboards and on the concession stand, a move being watched by other area school committees.
"I think given what's happening with the state budget and local aid currently, people are thinking a little differently about that now," said Dave Stoldt, a Hopkinton School Committee member. "We're trying to do it in an orderly fashion and a tasteful fashion."
Part of a financial working group's larger effort to increase revenue and trim expenses, school ads won the School Committee's approval earlier this year.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
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Friday, December 5, 2008
Alina Ostrow wins Franklin Junior Miss title
FRANKLIN -
Alina Kathryn Ostrow was awarded the title of Franklin’s Junior Miss 2009 at the Franklin program on Nov. 29, Along with her title, she received a $1,000 cash scholarship, the official Junior Miss Medallion, and a one-year full tuition scholarship to Dean College. Alina is a student at Franklin High School.
A panel of five judges selected her from a field of seventeen high school seniors competing in the 41st annual Franklin Junior Miss scholarship program.
In addition to being named Franklin’s Junior Miss, Ostrow also won a preliminary Scholastic award, for a total of $1,100 in cash scholarships.
Ostrow will go on to compete in the Massachusetts Junior Miss finals in Franklin, on Feb. 21 and 22, at the Thomas D. Mercer Auditorium.
Read the full article in the Gazette here.
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Financial Planning Committee - meeting notes 12/4/08
Attending: Roche, Bartlett, Zollo, Cameron, Trahan, Hardesty, Nutting
Absent: Whalen, Wilschek, Kelley
Review of the planning scenarios
a – level service for 3 years
b – “the gap”; between maintaining status quo and the available revenues
c – restored services; add backs to staff, what would it cost
The notion of what “level service” means needs to get out there. Is level service what we see this year or what it was last year before the 40 teachers were cut? The school cuts were teachers this year. Some teachers and other personnel have been cuts since 2003, totaling 80+ positions. Police and Fire still under. DPW has not added personnel in 20 years compared to what changes there have been in the Town over these last 20 years.
How do you forecast salary increases? Contracts are mostly set through 2010 but would be open for negotiation after that. If economy is down, that will be a factor to hold down increases; if economy starts turning around, that would be a factor to go for more than the 2.5/3 percent increase that there have been. Pick a number that is historically accurate and justifiable. For the model do a sensitivity analysis to show the impact range.
Fair assumption to have a stable town and school population
Assumption for salaries to be competitive
Develop listing of all the assumptions that drive the model
Break out the step and level salary changes in the school budget from the salary rate (cost of living) increase
Identify the unfunded mandate costs, i.e. fixed cost – like special education (SPED), where the costs are determined by Dept of Education at the State level and not at the local level
For next meeting 12/18/08
Hardesty has surveyed the other cities and towns that have done a similar long term planning effort. He will send out that info for review. Pick out 3-5 things from what the others have used in their presentations to say that this is something we should consider using in our package for Franklin.
How do we address innovation? A lot is already being done in small ways. Each small way adds up. We need to tell the story that innovation and creative thinking is being done all the time. If we don’t, the folks in the street will never know.
Perhaps consider an “innovation advocate” or subcommittee. Anyone could present them with their cost savings idea. The subcommittee would work with whomever it was appropriate to do so to provide an answer back. In some cases, due to legal obligations (i.e. union contract) some things can’t be done. This would at least provide someone outside the Town Administration to do the vetting of the ideas and report back.
Looking for an open forum, hearing type presentation sometime late January, early February 2009. Committee would provide a summary of what has been done thus far, based upon the tentative model and the facts to date. Lay that information out and ask for input. Incorporate that into the “final” presentation, recommendation that would be brought back to the Town Council.
If there are cuts to be made, you can equate approx 20 jobs to each million dollar shortage in the budget. Where would the budget cuts come from? There really are only 5/6 places where cuts can be made; Schools, Police, Fire, DPW, Library. Most of the Town Administration functions are state requirements and we only have one or two people doing the work required.
The minutes for the 11/20/08 meeting were accepted via vote.
The minutes for the September meetings have been posted to the website but not yet voted on as accepted. Action for next meeting.
Absent: Whalen, Wilschek, Kelley
Review of the planning scenarios
a – level service for 3 years
b – “the gap”; between maintaining status quo and the available revenues
c – restored services; add backs to staff, what would it cost
The notion of what “level service” means needs to get out there. Is level service what we see this year or what it was last year before the 40 teachers were cut? The school cuts were teachers this year. Some teachers and other personnel have been cuts since 2003, totaling 80+ positions. Police and Fire still under. DPW has not added personnel in 20 years compared to what changes there have been in the Town over these last 20 years.
How do you forecast salary increases? Contracts are mostly set through 2010 but would be open for negotiation after that. If economy is down, that will be a factor to hold down increases; if economy starts turning around, that would be a factor to go for more than the 2.5/3 percent increase that there have been. Pick a number that is historically accurate and justifiable. For the model do a sensitivity analysis to show the impact range.
Fair assumption to have a stable town and school population
Assumption for salaries to be competitive
Develop listing of all the assumptions that drive the model
Break out the step and level salary changes in the school budget from the salary rate (cost of living) increase
Identify the unfunded mandate costs, i.e. fixed cost – like special education (SPED), where the costs are determined by Dept of Education at the State level and not at the local level
For next meeting 12/18/08
Hardesty has surveyed the other cities and towns that have done a similar long term planning effort. He will send out that info for review. Pick out 3-5 things from what the others have used in their presentations to say that this is something we should consider using in our package for Franklin.
How do we address innovation? A lot is already being done in small ways. Each small way adds up. We need to tell the story that innovation and creative thinking is being done all the time. If we don’t, the folks in the street will never know.
Perhaps consider an “innovation advocate” or subcommittee. Anyone could present them with their cost savings idea. The subcommittee would work with whomever it was appropriate to do so to provide an answer back. In some cases, due to legal obligations (i.e. union contract) some things can’t be done. This would at least provide someone outside the Town Administration to do the vetting of the ideas and report back.
Looking for an open forum, hearing type presentation sometime late January, early February 2009. Committee would provide a summary of what has been done thus far, based upon the tentative model and the facts to date. Lay that information out and ask for input. Incorporate that into the “final” presentation, recommendation that would be brought back to the Town Council.
If there are cuts to be made, you can equate approx 20 jobs to each million dollar shortage in the budget. Where would the budget cuts come from? There really are only 5/6 places where cuts can be made; Schools, Police, Fire, DPW, Library. Most of the Town Administration functions are state requirements and we only have one or two people doing the work required.
The minutes for the 11/20/08 meeting were accepted via vote.
The minutes for the September meetings have been posted to the website but not yet voted on as accepted. Action for next meeting.
School budget cuts likely for Milford
GHS
MILFORD —
The School Committee will soon start crunching numbers for next year's budget, and Chairwoman Lori Baranauskas last night told members not to get emotional about the prospect of cuts.
In October, Baranauskas warned the district's $36 million budget may be level-funded next year if the cash-strapped state hacks local aid as feared.
Contractual obligations and other uncontrollable expenses are expected to drive up the schools' fiscal '10 budget by about $1 million.
"I just want to caution, it could be a touchy year," Baranauskas said last night. "We're going to have to talk about cuts, I'm hoping to keep it as low-key and unemotional as we can."
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
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