Franklin Matters

Friday, May 1, 2009

Monument Mosaic

In addition to the World War I monument on the Town Common, the other war monuments also have a place.

A new monument to honor the veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan conflict will be unveiled on Memorial Day, 2009.

Monument: World War I

The WW I "doughboy" has been cleaned up. The bronze looks brand new.

Actually since this photo was taken, the small trees directly behind the monument have already been removed as the preparation for the new monument to be unveiled on Memorial Day continue.

If you haven't visited the monuments on the Town Common, please consider doing so.

"car crash in Bellingham"

Jenna L. Pasquino, 20, of Franklin died early this morning when the car she was driving crashed into a telephone pole, police said.

Pasquino was traveling south on North Main Street at about 2:19 a.m. when her 1998 Toyota Avalon crossed the double line, hit a telephone pole on the opposite side of the road, and flipped over, police said.

Read the remainder of the article in the Franklin Gazette here

Thursday, April 30, 2009

"it is the library's slowest day"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Apr 30, 2009 @ 12:23 AM

FRANKLIN —

This year's budget crunch will mean the public library will be closed on Fridays beginning the first week of July, but no staff members will lose their jobs, Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting told the Finance Committee last night.

Following the hearing, Library Director Felicia Oti left with a big smile - most likely, Nutting said, due to the fact that the library got a better deal than anyone had expected.

Initially, he and Oti feared the library would have to lay off staff and reduce hours even further - possibly leaving the library open only three or four days a week.

Friday was chosen because it is the library's slowest day, Oti said. Monday, then Saturday, are the busiest days, she said.

The library avoided layoffs because the union volunteered to defer salary increases, one employee asked to reduce her hours from 35 to 18 per week, the assistant director's hours were cut from 35 to 15, and because two people retired, Nutting said. Those positions will not be filled.

Read the full article on the Library budget in the Milford Daily News here

Slidecast: Strategic Plan Overview (audio)

The Strategic Planning Overview is now available as a slide cast. The slide show has been synchronized with audio to create a complete listening and viewing experience.

This was the presentation to the Town Council on Wednesday, April 15th.

Strategic Planning Process Overview (audio) 4/15/09

View more presentations from Steve Sherlock.

The slidecast without audio is available here

If you have any questions, you can contact me via email (see link on right column) or via a comment.

Updated the survey is available here

FY 2010 Budget schedule

The Town website has not been updated with agendas or meeting minutes for the current series of the Finance Committee FY 2010 budget hearings. During the meeting Wednesday 4/29/09, I was able to confirm that:

There was a budget hearing on Tuesday 4/28/09 that covered the Police, Fire, Planning and Recreation budgets.

The meeting currently scheduled for next Tuesday 5/5/09 will review the School Dept, Tri-County, and IT budgets to complete the FY 2010 hearings.

The committee has their regular meeting scheduled for the first Tuesday in June at which, depending upon the State revenue numbers, they may be able to vote on the final FY 2010 budget.

If that happens, the Town Council is scheduled to do their budget hearings on June 10th and 11th. Worse case, the Town Council may need to meet on June 24th to finalize a balanced budget before June 30th.

This schedule is subject to change. The State revenue numbers are still very fluid.