Live reporting - Finance Committee - Budget Hearing - Mar 25, 2014

Present: Dowd, Conley, Fleming, Smith, Dewsnap, Dufour, Aparo, Heumpher, Quinn
Absent: none

Nutting, Gagner, Dacey

Starting with Town Clerk budget
adjustment in salary for competitive reasons
transfer of passport processing from Town Clerk to Town Administrators office; no change in hours, just shift from one account to another

Q - do we still microfilm?
A - yes, for storage

Q -what elections this year?
A - two, primary and secondary

Q - room in new high school for the election?
A - yes, we'll be there in Sep for the primary election. more may come out to see the school, also be fore the open house

Q - where do we store all the election stuff?
A - we have space set up outside the new school for tat, also in the capital budget is new election booths that would be on rollers

Historical Commission
more stuff going on with the museum, getting small already, looking for additional shelving in the capital budget

Q - volunteers are staffing?
A - Yes, and you can join the Friends of the Mueseum, a non-profit


School Dept
Paula Mullen, Sally Winslow, Miriam Goodman

school budget starts with the foundation budget
state determines the foundation and then the local amount to be supported, the difference is covered by Chap 70

$87M from all sources
28.5% of our population under 18
11,131 per pupil state official number of expense

if you are spending at the minimum, it is not a good education
grants and revolving accounts also provide some income

$4.3M in this budget is being used from these revolving accounts

$55,600,000 is targeted amount
$1.2M over FY 2014 a 2.32% increase

FHS 6
ASMS 2
RMS 2
total of 10 new teachers

potential traffic issues once school opens (as the old school gets demolished)

professional development for Common Core, particularly for elementary math program funded in the capital budget (hopefully)

pilot testing PARCC next week, preliminary to help make the decision on adopting the PARCC standard to replace MCAS, DESE has not made a decision yet

difference between what we spend and what the state average is has been widening

while we are spending less, the test scores are very good

(hopefully we can get a copy of the presentation to add)

Q - on line item
A - educational assistance, movement of teachers out of grant funding and into regular budget, the intent of the grant is to supplement the education; EA's came out and teachers went in

Q - what is the difference between the net school spending and the total
A - the capital budget for one is the major, the 11,000 average is only the major 11 categories counted in the State number.

Q - on discretionary funding to the schools
A - the principals agreed to reduce the 120,000 from the line item to other after school activities and substitutes (for common planning time)

Q - medical health services, up by 7.8% but up by 13%
A - those are nurses and LPNs in the schools, contractual obligations account for the increase

Q - re: enrollment, what assumptions did yo make for 2015?
A - anticipating an increase in high school, incoming freshman class may be larger than the 8th grade class we have; additional classes proposed at middle school, anticipated that K going down based upon births from 5 years ago

Q - influx from private to public?
A - yes, due to the new high school

Q - 1.6M in grants, what is our success rate in seeing those continue
A - detail on the grants in special notes in the budget; tied to enrollment data in certain categories; i.e. special education pupils = 1.1M for IDEA. Those are expected to continue, there are reductions from time to time, anticipating to be level funding next year. State K grant is unknown at this time.

Q - moving teachers from middle to elementary?
A - positions would move, the teachers may or not move depending upon the requirements; retirements expected to help provide the shift

Q - I'd like to echo that this presentation is a great package. is the presentation up on the website.
A - If it is not, it will be


Part 2 of the meeting notes continues here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-budget-hearing-contd.html

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee - Budget Hearing #4

The Finance Committee is scheduled to hold its fourth and maybe last budget hearing Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.

The budget items scheduled for discussion are as follows

Dept  - Budget  - Page
Town Clerk   161 - A-31
Elections   164  - A-34
Historical Commission   691 - F-10
School   300 - C-1
IT   155 - A-28
COA   541 - E-8
Tri-County   390 - C-2
Norfolk Aggie   395 - C-3

Franklin Municipal Building, 355 East Central St

Budget hearing #3
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-finance-committee-budget_20.html

Budget hearing #2
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-finance-committee-budget_13.html

Budget hearing #1
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-finance-committee-budget.html

audio version (was not recorded by Franklin TV)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/fincom-budget-hearing-mar-11-audio.html

Franklin Downtown Partnership: Emmons Street Property Update

Dear FDP Members: 

Thank you for your e-mails and phone calls regarding the Emmons Street property.  After talking with so many of our members the FDP Board of Directors sent the attached letter to the Town Council asking them to please give the community time to continue to develop their ideas and concepts that were presented at the March 4th town workshop. 

Franklin Downtown Partnership

The Emmons Street property is on the agenda for the April 2nd Town Council meeting at 7:00 pm and the Economic Development meeting at 5:30 pm. We encourage our members to attend and voice their opinions.  If you are unable to attend, please send us your thoughts and ideas and we would be happy to present them to the Council next week. 

Please e-mail or call the FDP office if you have any additional questions. The FDP Board always likes to hear from members on these important downtown decisions.

Link to the letter to the Town Council as referenced above

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/downtown-partnership-letter-to-town.html

Open letter and current petition to postpone the decision on Emmons St
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/franklin-voices-open-letter-to-franklin.html

Local veteran to receive high honors at Charity Gala for Huntington’s Disease

On Thursday, The Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA) and the Massachusetts State House will honor local veteran, Jose Valdivieso, for his brave military service and courageous struggle with Huntington's Disease (HD). A 2003 Medway High School Graduate, Jose retired honorably from the U.S. Army shortly after being diagnosed with the disease in 2011. Jose will receive the HDSA Person of the Year Award and State Representatives Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin), John Fernandes (D-Milford) and James Cantwell (D-Marshfield) will present Jose with a joint citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives. 

Huntington's Disease Society of America

"I am honored to represent Jose and his family in the House of Representatives and delighted that the Huntington's Disease Society is recognizing him as its person of the year," said Representative Jeffrey Roy (Franklin – D).  "It's the dedicated and noble service of individuals like Jose who answered the call of duty and served in harm's way so that we could be free. Jose is a local hero who carried on that tradition of service and set himself apart through meritorious achievement. While he's living with an impossible disease he perseveres with a smile on his face and enriches the lives of others." 

Joining the military promptly after high school, Jose completed a 15 month tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan totaling 18 months. He received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained as a gunner when his Humvee was struck by an explosive device. Jose was also awarded the Army Commendation Medal for heroism and meritorious achievement, and honored with other veterans from the Wounded Warriors Project on a segment of Good Morning America in 2011.

HD is a devastating, hereditary, degenerative brain disorder that results in a loss of cognitive, behavioral, and physical control. The disease was passed down to Jose from his father, who died from the disease when Jose was 10 years old. Jose's older brother, Patricio, also suffers from HD. Along with the physical injuries and post traumatic stress from combat service, Jose copes with HD symptoms like loss of balance and coordination, sleep disorder, and speech impairment. Slowly diminishing his ability to walk, think, talk, and reason, Jose will eventually become totally dependent upon others for his care. More than 30,000 people in the United States are currently diagnosed with HD.  Each of their siblings and children has a 50 percent risk of developing the disease, therefore 250,000 are at risk.   "I join Representative Roy in expressing the honor it is to represent a person of such courage," stated Representative Fernandes.  "Jose's dedication to service on behalf of our country and his strength in taking a lead in the effort to show others how to live through and with Huntington's is inspirational."
Jose often turns to laughter to cope with the challenges of Huntington's. As he says, "joking and laughing helps in staying positive. You just have to keep on smiling." Like any good soldier, Jose perseveres, and his courage serves as a model for those who cross his path.  He currently lives in Medway with Patricio and his younger brother, Javier, a local Police Officer and member of the Coast Guard.

The Huntington's Disease Society of America is the largest 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by Huntington's Disease. Founded in 1968 by Marjorie Guthrie, wife of folk legend Woody Guthrie who lost his battle with HD, the Society works tirelessly to provide help for today and hope for tomorrow. HDSA supports 21 Centers of Excellence at major medical facilities including Massachusetts General Hospital, funds research into the biology of the disease to facilitate the development of treatments and cures, hosts more than 170 support groups for people with HD, their families, caregivers and people at-risk, and is the premiere resource on Huntington's disease for medical professionals and the general public. To learn more, about Huntington's disease and to get involved in HDSA, please visit www.hdsa.org or call 1-800-345-HDSA.

MassBudget: Unlocking Potential: The Cost and Availability of Juvenile Detention and its Alternatives in MA

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. Unlocking Potential: The Cost and Availability of Juvenile Detention and its Alternatives in Massachusetts MassBudget's new KIDS COUNT report explores budget trends for juvenile detention over time. It looks at newer alternative programs for kids entering the juvenile justice system, and compares costs across the detention continuum. Juveniles are in "Detention" when they are in custody of DYS before trial or before a probation violation hearing. Many such children are charged only with misdemeanors, and there is significant evidence that for many juveniles placement outside of a jail-like facility is at least as effective from a public safety perspective -- and better for the child. The report finds that there are significantly different costs for different types of placements: Placement in a jail-like facility ("Secure Detention") is the most expensive. A community placement in foster care is less than half the cost of a secure placement. Alternatives to detention, which allow kids to receive services while at home, are even less expensive than foster care. The report also finds that the number of alternative placements is increasing but that implementation has been slow and uneven. Read the report here. A companion KIDS COUNT report from Citizens for Juvenile Justice examines how and why detention is harmful to kids, the characteristics of children detained, and what alternatives to detention are working well in Massachusetts.   National and state data on juvenile justice are available at the Kids Count Data Center. MassBudget's Children's Budget includes a section on juvenile justice.  The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

In the News: Emmons St

A majority of Town Council members consider the idea of cultural or green space at 150 Emmons St. unrealistic, and the consensus has always been to lease or sell the property for new revenue. 

Chairman Robert Vallee said on Tuesday that the council — apart from a few members — has all but decided to issue a request for proposals to develop the property, the former home of the Town Hall. 

"We want to see what's out there," Vallee said.

Read the full article here (subscription maybe required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140326/NEWS/140327456/1994/NEWS

150 Emmons St - the building that is under discussion

If you want to add your name to the petition to have the decision to sell postponed, you can find the link here http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/franklin-voices-open-letter-to-franklin.html

Medway Middle School - Do You Know What Common Core Is?

Concerned about the common core standards and the move to go to PARCC to replace MCAS? This meeting is for you




The Milford Daily New has an article today on the Medway parent group that is active in this exploring this issue  http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140325/NEWS/140328000/1994/NEWS  (subscription required)