Friday, April 24, 2009

Columbine lessons still resonate

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

via Franklin School Committee by Jeffrey Roy on 4/24/09
My vacation week read this year was Dave Cullen's excellent work entitled Columbine. It's an indelible portrait of the killers, the victims, and the community that suffered one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century. This book was released nearly 10 years after the event, and is a riveting page turner which [...]

Things you can do from here:

"the problem is real, it's growing, and it's perpetual"

Milford Daily News
Posted Apr 23, 2009 @ 11:49 PM

FRANKLIN —

At its last meeting before presenting its report to the public, the long-range financial planning committee's top concern was making sure they can draw a large crowd.

In an effort to ensure people attend the forum at Horace Mann Middle School on Monday at 7 p.m., committee members debated using the townwide calling system to invite residents to come.

Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting argued that the system must only be used for emergencies. If it is used for announcements, nobody will listen when a "real emergency comes," Nutting said.

Councilor Stephen Whalen emphatically insisted that there is no more important issue in town than its recurring deficit and the damaging impact it can and has wrought.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.


Financial Plng Comm 04/23/09

The live reporting from the Financial Planning Committee meeting of 4/23/09 can be found here


Thursday, April 23, 2009

Live reporting - FPC

Clarification on average annual debt versus actual.

Page 5 of the executive summary, remove the reference to "outsource", it hasn't really been done to amount to much. There has mostly been elimination not outsourcing.

Need to adjust the deficit to ensure the forecast agrees with FY 10. Jeff and Doug to finalize the numbers as close as they can. The numbers may still change but we want to be to in the ball park and not an order of magnitude off.

Medical trends go at double digit growth so we still need to forecast accordingly.

The one-time savings are primarily associated with what was forecasted versus what can get into the budget.

Should we address the teacher retirement as it is not funded by the town? Yes, need to find a place appropriately.

Need to assign responsibilities for computer, screen projection (Jeff)
Microphone one at stage, one each aisle (Jeff)

Go through the executive summary

Discussion on using the connect-cty to notify the town of the meeting Monday night. School system will likely be used to notify the school community.

Discussion on confirmation of broadcasting via cable. Not confirmed yet.

Whole object here is that the problem is real, it is growing, it is systemic.

Use a dashboard on the web to show what the numbers are, they may change over time. It needs to be reflected as what changed and why, not that they "found money".

Live reporting - Financial Plng - 4/23/09

Attending: Roche, Bartlett, Hardesty, Nutting, Cameron, Trahan, Whalen, Wilschek
Absent: Kelly, Ogden, Zollo

Approved minutes of 4/2/09, 4/9/09 meeting

Review of new numbers to show decline in town employees since 1999 versus population increase since that same time.

Discussion on new slide which tries to get at the projected deficit for this year. Too much is still in float, leave out the revenue numbers. Focus on the one-time adjustments because that puts us in the hole to start out in FY 2011.

Discussion on freeze versus deferral. Deferral is more accurate.

Live reporting - Financial Planning Committee - 4/23/09

The meeting was rescheduled to start at 7:30 PM.

fuel assistance


Seniors, veterans, all it takes

Is one phone call with Bob
To get it started

What is a sherku?


Call Bob who?

You can call Bob Fahey at the Franklin Senior Center. He and I had a good fact filled conversation on Wednesday and I'll have more to write about the assistance he provides guidance on for Franklin's seniors and veterans over the next several days.

For other sherku celebrating this National Poetry Month you can visit quiet poet here