This is part one of a conversation with Town Council Chair Scott Mason. We sat on the Town Common and talked for 50 minutes covering the whole gamut of issues around the Special Election Override vote scheduled for June 8th.
Time: 28 minutes, 7 seconds
Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-69-a-scott-mason-part-1-of-2
Show Notes and Quotes:
This internet radio show or podcast
Number 69 in the series for Franklin Matters.
This is a special edition and divided in two parts for ease of listening. I sat on the Franklin Town Common to catch up with Town Council Chair Scott Mason. We spent about 50 minutes covering the whole gamut of issues around the special election coming up June 8th
As we did sit out in the open on the Common, there will be some background noise from a passing police car siren and then one of the groundskeepers finishing up some of the mowing getting ready for Memorial Day weekend. I was able to remove most of the mowing noise without hindering the conversation with Scott.
Notes and quotes from the first segment
busy with the informational meetings
what does it mean to services if the override passes or if the override fails
there are some people only peripherally aware of the election
there are some people who no matter what the issue is they don't want to hear about tax increases
there are some people who appreciate the information being provided
Long term planning committee, developed the five year outlook for Franklin
there is an over-reliance on state aid, we are a well run community
need to increase the tax base one way is to increase taxes
Prop 2 ½ specifically gives the voters the choice on the level of services to be provided
An opportunity to invest in Franklin and see the direct benefits from your tax dollars
We have had to be creative with less
I hear “We are poorly managed” and that is far from the truth
we get a lot of bang for the buck here in Franklin
Lost 100 teachers over last five years, yet increased 1,000 students in the same period
if we lost so many, how can there be waste?
We have lost 50 Town employees in the same period
Observation that the schools are quicker now, calling a snow day due to the time it takes to clear the sidewalks and roads, because it takes longer these days
“Rumor dejour” “everybody in DPW got new trucks” it is just not true
The vehicles are well taken care of
the Bucket truck was purchased used and came with a paint job
Instead of $130,000 brand new it was purchased for about $30,000
the police dispatchers, if override doesn't pass, could be an issue
if we get two calls at the same time, or back to back, there could be an extra wait
if that is for a health issue, that could be a real problem with response
Council not happy with creating that situation
Schools 'have too many administrators'
we are below average in all eleven categories for those tracked by the DESE
for the administrators, we are under the state avg by 52%
class sizes will increase to 28 and to 30
the level of interaction with the teachers goes away
the high performing students won't be affected as much but the vulnerable one will see it
“our most vulnerable citizens stand to suffer the most if this override doesn't pass”
As the schools accounted for over half of the overall town budget
80% of the budget is teachers – due to all the other cuts made over the years
class trips cut, books cut, they are provided by PCC or other means but not by the Town
teacher cuts are not the only place the pain will be felt
athletic fees will increase to $175 and be on a tiered scale up to $450 for hockey
activity fees will increase to $50
“Jeff Roy has said we are supposed to be in the business of providing a free education but it is no longer free”
for parents, particularly with kid sin high school, it should be cheaper pay for the override versus the athletic and activity fee increases
eliminate three buses, longer commutes
truncating one day by an hour or so at the elementary schools to save three teachers
“it has been a general philosophy around the world to increase the length of the school days and here we are in Franklin shortening the day”
if the override doesn't pas this year, next year they'll be looking at more teacher layoffs, they'll look at full day kindergarten possibly going to half day, they'll look at athletics again
“I can't imagine a high school sports tradition like Franklin has and having to cut it”
“At the end of the day,the voters are going to decide what type of town they want to live in”
Thank you for listening!
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/
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!
Part 2 can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/fm-69-b-scott-mason-part-2-of-2.html
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to listen to the audio recording
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Frequently asked questions: "Can’t we keep using money from the stabilization fund"
Can’t we keep using money from the stabilization fund to get rid of our budget deficits?
No. Using one-time monies to pay for ongoing costs is what leads to deficits. The funds we have set aside now are the minimum we need to have on hand in the event of a disaster or serious emergency. If we use any more of this revenue to pay for annual costs, the money won’t exist to help the town through a crisis. And once the money is spent, how would the town continue to pay for important services year after year? If the town decided to use the entire $5 million rainy day fund in the town’s fiscal 2011 budget, how would it find that same amount when it came time to pay for the fiscal 2012 budget?
One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html
------------
The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:
Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)
Or
Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children
I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:
You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!
Additional information on the override can be found here:
Franklin, MA
No. Using one-time monies to pay for ongoing costs is what leads to deficits. The funds we have set aside now are the minimum we need to have on hand in the event of a disaster or serious emergency. If we use any more of this revenue to pay for annual costs, the money won’t exist to help the town through a crisis. And once the money is spent, how would the town continue to pay for important services year after year? If the town decided to use the entire $5 million rainy day fund in the town’s fiscal 2011 budget, how would it find that same amount when it came time to pay for the fiscal 2012 budget?
One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html
------------
The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:
Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)
Or
Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children
I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:
- Make your choice
- Vote on June 8th
You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!
Additional information on the override can be found here:
- http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/index.html
- http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
- http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html
Franklin, MA
Frequently asked questions: "Will the override affect the Charter School?"
My children are in a Charter School. Will the override affect them?
Yes, Charter Schools are funded based on a per pupil expenditure. In other words, tuition for each Franklin student sent to a charter school is the same amount Franklin spends on education per student. So if Franklin spends on education per student than they would if the override passes, charter schools would also receive less tuition for each Franklin student that attends.
One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html
------------
The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:
Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)
Or
Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children
I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:
You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!
Additional information on the override can be found here:
Franklin, MA
Yes, Charter Schools are funded based on a per pupil expenditure. In other words, tuition for each Franklin student sent to a charter school is the same amount Franklin spends on education per student. So if Franklin spends on education per student than they would if the override passes, charter schools would also receive less tuition for each Franklin student that attends.
One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html
------------
The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:
Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)
Or
Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children
I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:
- Make your choice
- Vote on June 8th
You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!
Additional information on the override can be found here:
- http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/index.html
- http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
- http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html
Franklin, MA
Friday, May 28, 2010
Frequently asked questions: "The town officials have found money"
The town officials have found money in the past. They’ll find it again this time, won’t they?
Town and school leaders have done what they could to protect services for the community. The most critical issue facing Franklin is its dangerous reliance on state aid. We rank 1st out of 30 peer communities in the percent of town revenue that comes from state aid. But state aid is a revenue source over which we have no control. In fact, our over-reliance on state aid was cited by Moody’s Investors Service as a reason for downgrading Franklin’s bond rating in late 2009. The state aid we have come to rely on is estimated to decrease in the years ahead.
In the past, Franklin was able to protect core services by annually tapping into additional sources of revenue to avoid the need for property tax overrides. Those funding sources are no longer available. Franklin also has used legal settlement proceeds (which have been spent), incremental property tax revenue associated with rapid population growth (which has dried up almost completely), one-time revenues such as federal stimulus funds (which are set to expire after this year), and money from our emergency fund. We cannot continue to rely on one-time wind falls or state aid. It’s time to decide the type of community we are willing to fund as citizens and taxpayers.
One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html
------------
The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:
Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)
Or
Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children
I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:
You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!
Additional information on the override can be found here:
Franklin, MA
Town and school leaders have done what they could to protect services for the community. The most critical issue facing Franklin is its dangerous reliance on state aid. We rank 1st out of 30 peer communities in the percent of town revenue that comes from state aid. But state aid is a revenue source over which we have no control. In fact, our over-reliance on state aid was cited by Moody’s Investors Service as a reason for downgrading Franklin’s bond rating in late 2009. The state aid we have come to rely on is estimated to decrease in the years ahead.
In the past, Franklin was able to protect core services by annually tapping into additional sources of revenue to avoid the need for property tax overrides. Those funding sources are no longer available. Franklin also has used legal settlement proceeds (which have been spent), incremental property tax revenue associated with rapid population growth (which has dried up almost completely), one-time revenues such as federal stimulus funds (which are set to expire after this year), and money from our emergency fund. We cannot continue to rely on one-time wind falls or state aid. It’s time to decide the type of community we are willing to fund as citizens and taxpayers.
One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html
------------
The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:
Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)
Or
Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children
I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:
- Make your choice
- Vote on June 8th
You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!
Additional information on the override can be found here:
- http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/index.html
- http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
- http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html
Franklin, MA
Joint message on the June 8th special election
A joint message from Scott Mason, Town Council Chair; Jim Roche, Finance Committee Chair; and Jeffrey Roy, School Committee Chair to all the citizens of Franklin, MA:
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io
How busy are the Police in Franklin?
If the three dispatchers do get cut, there is a chance that when you call 911 in the off hours instead of talking directly to someone, you will end up hearing a recording something like "You have reached the Franklin Police, please leave a message after the beep".
How busy are the police in Franklin? They post their Daily Log of activity, call by call each morning for the prior day. The weekends tend to be a shorter report; the week days a busier report.
Let's just pick Wednesday of this week for your review:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Police/may2010/may252010.pdf
You can choose a daily log from the monthly selection here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Police/newlogs
Franklin, MA
How busy are the police in Franklin? They post their Daily Log of activity, call by call each morning for the prior day. The weekends tend to be a shorter report; the week days a busier report.
Let's just pick Wednesday of this week for your review:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Police/may2010/may252010.pdf
You can choose a daily log from the monthly selection here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Police/newlogs
Franklin, MA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)