Franklin Town Administrator Jeff Nutting's letter to the Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee with the "Five Year Fiscal Forecast: The sky is not falling (but it is getting lower)"
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Mosquito spraying scheduled for April
The official notification from Norfolk county on the mosquito spraying to be conducted in April. The target dates are between April 16 and 26th.
Recycling Center open on Tuesday
Effective April 2, 2013 the Recycling Center on Beaver Street will also be open on Tuesdays from 12-3.
The Center will be open on Tuesday through November.
Remember, only Visa, Mastercard, Discover and checks are accepted.
Stickers can be purchased at the
DPW office - 257 Fisher St.,
Town Hall - Clerk's office - 355 East Central St,
the Recycling Center - 445 Beaver St.
and phone by calling 508-553-5500.
This was posted to the Franklin, MA webpage
Franklin Library: Minute to Win It
Minute to Win It
4:26 PM
Posted by Franklin Public Library at
Franklin Public Library - 118 Main Street Franklin MA 02038 - 508.520.4940
In the News: OUI arrest, mosquito spraying
Franklin man arrested on second OUI in 3 years
Helicopter mosquito spraying to take place in April
Officer Louis Marguerite put the pieces together: the car’s underbelly bleeding transmission fluid, the liquid trail, the tire marks right before the sidewalk at the end of Echo Bridge Road.
Helicopter mosquito spraying to take place in April
The Norfolk County Mosquito Control District will be conducting helicopter applications of the biorational larvicide BTI (bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) to control mosquito larvae.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Live reporting - Finance Committee - Apr 2, 2013
Present: Smith, Dufur, Feldman, Roche, Dewsnap, Aparo, Huempfner
Absent: Goldsmith, Quinn
Susan Gagner, Jeff Nutting and Jim Dacey (from right to left as you watch the video broadcast)
motion to approve meeting minutes, approve 7-0
Begin by reading the budget line by line, if any one hold a dept that should be acknowledged
those questions can be answered, then they can go and approve the budget as a single item
Holds
Fire Dept
Dufur - recognition for the excellent Fire Dept presentation. Recommending one part-time addition, recognizing the aging of the department, the growth of the community would increase additional pressure on the service level performance. Overall creates a compelling agrument
Roche - one guy will help but...
Nutting - reviewing additional info in regards to the injuries, last Fri had a graduate from the Academy, a second person coming back in July, another person is being planned for hiring in July, yet another anticipated coming back from injury. Not currently in the budget but planning ahead for a disability retirement, exactly when will it happen, hard to say. Increasing three new people will help shift the burden. The runs have not yet increased but it is anticipated they might. 14 -15,000 hours of OT averaged. Need to think about the burden above the salary to cover the benefits and insurances required. It is not easy but we should be able to hold our breath for another year.
Nutting - still don't have a collective bargaining agreement with the Fire Fighters union, about to go to arbitration. Would you save some money via reduction in overtime in short term maybe, but the overall costs salary and benefits is a lot of money
Dufur - it is manageable
Feldman - looking at the outlook, it doesn't get rosier
Nutting - scheduled for 91 tours, with the overtime it gets to about 95 tours. Going to the 24 hour shift has had some effect versus what they did with the 10-14 hour shifts
Motion to approve the budget
general fund 95 million etc.
approved 7-0
motion to approve the budget
enterprise budget 10 million etc.
approved 7-0
Old business - none
New business -
Jeff has submitted a five year forecast "The sky is not falling but it is getting lower"
forecast based upon best estimates, forecast has not really changed over time
"we have eliminated 20% of the workforce"
we don't get 2.5% increase in our revenues
"The only thing that fixes roads is money" I think we need a dedicated override for the roads
it can only be spent on what it was funded for, i.e. roads
as opposed to a general override where it goes to the general funds after the first year
(a copy of the letter will be posted here later)
We are working regionally for safety dispatch, it may come in about 18 months and save us about $100,000. It is the right thing to do and we are doing it. It is hard to get people to come to the table. We share recreation, dog services, and sewer. We tried the library and they left.
Our general fund debt outside of Prop 2.5% is dropping, as our old debt gets paid off. Some of the buildings get paid off over the next couple of years as the high school comes on
I have level funded the state funding and am very concerned about that especially with whatever happens at the Federal level increasing pressures on them
How did the snow and ice come out?
Knock on wood, we should be just under the amount budgeted ($900,000). it is very unpredictable
Has OPEB made it to the state house agenda?
No, it is woefully inadequate. They started on lengthening the requirements for eligibility
Question on auditors report
In the management report, working on a plan to address the recommendations
Fraud risk assessment
Absent: Goldsmith, Quinn
Susan Gagner, Jeff Nutting and Jim Dacey (from right to left as you watch the video broadcast)
motion to approve meeting minutes, approve 7-0
Begin by reading the budget line by line, if any one hold a dept that should be acknowledged
those questions can be answered, then they can go and approve the budget as a single item
Holds
Fire Dept
Dufur - recognition for the excellent Fire Dept presentation. Recommending one part-time addition, recognizing the aging of the department, the growth of the community would increase additional pressure on the service level performance. Overall creates a compelling agrument
Roche - one guy will help but...
Nutting - reviewing additional info in regards to the injuries, last Fri had a graduate from the Academy, a second person coming back in July, another person is being planned for hiring in July, yet another anticipated coming back from injury. Not currently in the budget but planning ahead for a disability retirement, exactly when will it happen, hard to say. Increasing three new people will help shift the burden. The runs have not yet increased but it is anticipated they might. 14 -15,000 hours of OT averaged. Need to think about the burden above the salary to cover the benefits and insurances required. It is not easy but we should be able to hold our breath for another year.
Nutting - still don't have a collective bargaining agreement with the Fire Fighters union, about to go to arbitration. Would you save some money via reduction in overtime in short term maybe, but the overall costs salary and benefits is a lot of money
Dufur - it is manageable
Feldman - looking at the outlook, it doesn't get rosier
Nutting - scheduled for 91 tours, with the overtime it gets to about 95 tours. Going to the 24 hour shift has had some effect versus what they did with the 10-14 hour shifts
Motion to approve the budget
general fund 95 million etc.
approved 7-0
motion to approve the budget
enterprise budget 10 million etc.
approved 7-0
Old business - none
New business -
Jeff has submitted a five year forecast "The sky is not falling but it is getting lower"
forecast based upon best estimates, forecast has not really changed over time
"we have eliminated 20% of the workforce"
we don't get 2.5% increase in our revenues
"The only thing that fixes roads is money" I think we need a dedicated override for the roads
it can only be spent on what it was funded for, i.e. roads
as opposed to a general override where it goes to the general funds after the first year
(a copy of the letter will be posted here later)
We are working regionally for safety dispatch, it may come in about 18 months and save us about $100,000. It is the right thing to do and we are doing it. It is hard to get people to come to the table. We share recreation, dog services, and sewer. We tried the library and they left.
Our general fund debt outside of Prop 2.5% is dropping, as our old debt gets paid off. Some of the buildings get paid off over the next couple of years as the high school comes on
I have level funded the state funding and am very concerned about that especially with whatever happens at the Federal level increasing pressures on them
How did the snow and ice come out?
Knock on wood, we should be just under the amount budgeted ($900,000). it is very unpredictable
Has OPEB made it to the state house agenda?
No, it is woefully inadequate. They started on lengthening the requirements for eligibility
Question on auditors report
In the management report, working on a plan to address the recommendations
Fraud risk assessment
Franklin Fire Dept: FY 2014 Budget Presentation
The presentation document as used by Chief Gary McCarraher and Deputy Chief Paul Sharpe for the budget hearing last week can be viewed here:
The notes from the Budget hearing last week can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/live-reporting-finance-committee-budget.html
The notes from the first two budget hearings can be found here
The notes from the Budget hearing last week can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/live-reporting-finance-committee-budget.html
The notes from the first two budget hearings can be found here
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