Blizzard watch issued for eastern Massachusetts; 12-24 inches possible

By all accounts Friday afternoon into evening is going to be the toughest time with the most snow fall. According to what is being shared by the various news and weather outlets this morning, the snow will last into Saturday.

Stay tuned for a decision on the Franklin Food Pantry phone-a-thon which has been scheduled for this Saturday (Feb 9) and next (Feb 16). We may decide to not make any calls this Saturday. The Food Pantry Board of Directors should have a decision to share on Friday morning.

Be safe!

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Blizzard watch issued for eastern Massachusetts; 12-24 inches possible

via The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc. on 2/6/13

The National Weather Service office in Taunton has issued a blizzard watch for eastern Massachusetts for late Thursday night through Saturday morning.

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In the News: charter amendment, culinary competition, Governor's case

Franklin council considers charter amendments

by Matt Tota/Daily News staff

Town Council on Wednesday night mulled amending the charter to pave the way for a November ballot question on whether the treasurer/collector job should be appointed.

Tri-County prepares for state culinary competition

by Matt Tota/Daily News staff

For more than a month, Seamus Geehan spent hours after school cutting smoked salmon into paper-thin slices, then rolling them into the shape of petite pink orchards.

Governor makes case for tax hikes, spending

by David Riley/Daily News staff

Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday said consensus is building around his major new transportation initiatives, but his equally ambitious education plan could prove to be a "harder lift."

Live reporting - Closing

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT 

L. OLD BUSINESS
none

M. NEW BUSINESS
Pfeffer - has the Senior Center had another leak?
Mercer - There have been three different freeze ups since the Senior Ctr opened, all due to design flaws, there are fixes being put into place to avoid this in the future

Vallee - I got a call from the Globe about another community that is withdrawing from the Norfolk County Association
Nutting - we pay a lot of money to belong to the County. I can't really comment without fully understanding what the reporter was saying. I don't know how to get rid of a County. The assessment comes on the Cherry Sheet

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Pfeffer - a number recieved anonymous letters, if you can't put a name to the letter we can and won't respond

Mercer - we are starting to go vertical, exactly on schedule

Kelly - we seem to be getting more of them than ever before, we also have a microphone here, without a name on it, we cannot respond to it

Vallee - parking meters, she is giving tickets 24x7, is what she is saying,please look at this issue
Bissanti - does she have a uniform?
Nutting, yes in winter it is covered


O. EXECUTIVE SESSION 
Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

P. ADJOURN
motion to adjourn

Live reporting - Legislation

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS 
none

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 13-05: Hoffmann Farms, A Private Definitive Subdivision Acceptance of Covenant with Owner
motion to approve, passed 8-0

2. Resolution 13-06: Appropriation: Town Clerk - Advertising
motion to approve, passed 8-0

3. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 12-695:Changes to § 185-31. Site Plan and Design Review – 2nd Reading
motion to approve, passed 8-0 via roll call

streamlining the site plan for the developers and the Town

4. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 12-696:Changes to § 185-20. H. Signs. Sign Approvals - 2nd Reading
motion to approve, passed 7-1 via roll call (no - Vallee)

5. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 12-697:Changes to § 185-45. N. Administration and Enforcement. Design Review Commission - 2nd Reading
motion to approve, passed 7-1 via roll call (no - Pfeffer)

Live reporting: Audit for 2012

Melanson Heath & Co., 2012 Audit

up to Page 12, MD and A, management discussion and analysis
Page 13
summary of future view

Page 15
unassigned fund balance $4,289
modest improvement over prior year, about 4.2% of general fund, auditor look at that number

stabilization accounts, fund increases due to actions voted but not yet spent

$15M vs. a year ago of $11M, $3M of that was committed 

Page 17 helps to understand why the increase in unassigned fund balance
change in fund balance seen here, majority of this is timing

there is a good deal of info in the footnotes
there is interest in OPEB, if you choose I could talk for hours on it

In the management letter, recommendations begin on Page 3
follow up to prior year, more formal risk process, formal = written

The Town has provided responses to the issues raised, we think what has begun is off to a good start

On Page 4 - issues 2 and 3 will be addressed collectively, billing collection and assessment of funds, no segregation of duties present

on Page 5
Policy on handling fund balances, deals with spending prioritization
there are different constraints on the source of funds, determine which buckets of money shold be used first, would help provide guidance on what to do, what to use

Page 6 - prepare for GASB 68
the handling of the Norfolk County unfunded liability would need to be added to the books
an informational comment, I can not anticipate what that number would be
it is likely to be a large number, liabilities will go up, assets will go down

Powderly - yes,I did notice the quicker turnaround
does this happen often? 

Nutting - we didn't have staffing, one clerk was doing both, we can resolve that with staffing and the outsourcing being looked at.

Risk assessment,the small towns will consider and accept the risk

Gagner, the risk assessment will be a multi year process, we have looked at the Treasurer and Comptroller depts, and once we have ours down, we'll expand to others

Nutting - eventually every department will go through the process, 

Many more appointed treasurers

Live reporting: Treasurer/Collector

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS 
Jim Dacey, Treasurer-Collector

Discussion on current proposal as drafted to start the work to move the position to an elected one

Kelly - can we handle this as we do the school principal?
Nutting - that is the recruitment process, does the council start getting involved every time something comes up. When I recommended the promotion of the current chief, we did that local as we had a candidate

Nutting - when someone comes in from the outside it is a different story, as soon as you get a committee it becomes an open meeting

Powderly - this is changing in general terms, the fine details of the process remain to be defined. While it is an elected position in some communities, the size of the budget does become the determinant?
Dacey - yes, the size of the budget is a key factor

Mercer - you get to choose the candidate and bring it to us?
Nutting - yes, there is a check in balance, we need to keep politics out of it. That would be true of any appointment

Dacey - to get the best possible candidate then we need to have it appointed

Jones - I think we need to let the voters determine this. I don't think we should take a position from the public.

Bissanti - do you feel that on a day to day basis, that you need to be in the trenches?
Dacey - my role is very hands on, there are things I do that no one else in the office does. Tax taking, investment choices, it is very hands on. My assistant is buried right now with the work that she has to do. If she would be the one to support the new treasurer, she would be hard pressed

Powderly - while moving from elected to appoint, the residents don't loose their voice. The Councilors hear from folks all the time. That won't change. I will always favor a Franklin resident, if I have to choose between three Franklin resident and some one who is very well qualified, for the stability of town I would go outside. It is a hard choice. No one can tell us more accurately than you what is needed. That is the most convincing argument. It can be seen as taking power away from people but I don't see that.

Jones - I think the voters are smarter than we think

Dacey - the problem is when someone is in for a week and messes things up, you won't be able to recover from it. It was almost three years before I go the job down pat.

Live Reporting - Town Council - Feb 6, 2013

Present: Mercer, Dellorco, kelly, Powderly, Vallee, Pfeffer, Jones, Bissanti,
Absent: Roy

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
November 28,2013, December 19, 2013, Executive Session
motion to approve, passed 8-0

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon channel 29.This meeting may be recorded by Franklin Matters.

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
none

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
none

E. APPOINTMENTS
none

F. HEARINGS
none

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
none