"It’s obvious that there needs to be an adjustment made”

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"As cities and towns participating in a program that provides state funds to support affordable housing and open space preservation watch the state’s contribution dwindle, Community Preservation Act (CPA) advocates have fresh hope that Gov. Charlie Baker supports a fix. 

Almost two decades since the passage of the Community Preservation Act, about half of the communities in Massachusetts have opted into the program. The communities in the program have agreed to impose a surcharge on local property taxes with the promise of a state match to preserve open space, renovate historic buildings and parks and to build new playgrounds and athletic fields. 

The state matching funds are derived from a $20 fee assessed on certain real estate transactions through registries of deeds. The fee structure and match rate formula have not been changed since the CPA went into law in 2000 and as more communities adopt the CPA, each town’s share of the pie becomes smaller. 

When Gov. Paul Cellucci signed the CPA into law in 2000, the idea was to have the state match 100 percent of what each municipality raised by its property tax surcharge. That happened for the first six years, but the partnership has become more one-sided in the last decade-plus."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20181117/baker-open-to-fee-hike-to-boost-cpa-match

The Community Preservation Act was before the Franklin voters in Nov 2007 and failed to pass.

Ballot Question 1 

Yes - 1528            No - 2174
The Community Preservation Act did not pass.

- See more at: http://steves2cents.blogspot.com/2007/11/franklin-community-preservation-act.html#sthash.Wo1X7DV6.dpuf (Note - this was from the period just before Franklin Matters became its own web page)

The Veterans Walkway at night in the snow

Town Administrator Search Subcommittee - Meeting Nov 14, 2018 - audio

FM #152

This internet radio show or podcast is number 152 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This recording is the of the Town Administrator Search Subcommittee held Wednesday, Nov 14, 2018. The subcommittee is comprised of Town Councilors Matt Kelly, Tom Mercer, Melanie Hamblen, and Debbie Pellegri. Karen Bratt, Human Resources Director for the Town of Franklin also participated.

The position was posted in several places from Oct 18 to Nov 13. 24 applications were received. All met the minimum BA requirement. 18 met the minimum of 3 years of town administration experience but only 4 were directly in that role. One additional candidate held a deputy role. This would provide a pool of five candidates to work with.

The discussion around the unique qualifications of the Franklin role and form of government lead into the qualifications of the current Deputy Administrator Jamie Hellen. Jamie started in Jan 2016 and has been working to learn the role for almost three years.

The committee moved to bring Hellen forward as the candidate for replacing Jeff Nutting upon his retirement to the full Town Council. Jeff had previously announced his retirement to begin sometime in 2019. If the Council does not agree with this approach, the subcommittee can return to work with the pool of candidates gathered thus far.

The session recording runs just approximately 33 minutes. Without further ado, here is the audio recording.





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This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can use your help.

How can you help?

In particular, if you have an interest in real estate, zoning or construction, I would like someone to follow the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Commission meetings. I’ll provide the guidance on note taking and sharing. You need to bring an inquisitive and open mind and willingness to learn and share.

Overall:

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
• If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.
Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
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 and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes = search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters on iTunes

Flashback Friday: An Alumni Cabaret - Nov 23

THE BLACK BOX will present Flashback Friday: An Alumni Cabaret on Friday, November 23 at 7:30 PM. Enjoy performances by alumni of the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA) and Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) in an intimate cabaret venue with a professional band. Singers will be reprising some of their favorite past performances from FSPA and FPAC.

Students from the Franklin School for the Performing Arts have gone on to appear on Broadway, in national and international tours, regional theater, TV, feature film, professional dance companies, opera companies, and more.

Tickets are available at www.theblackboxonline.com or by calling the box office at 508-528-3370.

Flashback Friday: An Alumni Cabaret - Nov 23

Recycling Center: open on Saturday and Sunday for leaf and brush disposal

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Due to construction and an accidental electric panel fire, the Franklin recycling center will be closed until Nov. 20, though it will be open on Saturday and Sunday for leaf and brush disposal. 

Through the weekend the center will be open during regular hours – Sat. 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. , Sun. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Franklin DPW director Robert “Brutus” Cantoreggi said the house that was used to make transactions at the center is growing old and needs to be replaced. 

“The house just got old and moldy and was rotting away,” he said. “So we’re just building a new one.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20181117/franklin-recycling-center-open-this-weekend-for-leaf-and-brush-disposal-only

Urgent: Recycling Center Closed until Tuesday, November 20

In the News: Supreme Court to hear arguments in census citizenship question

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The Supreme Court says it will hear arguments over the evidence a federal judge can consider in the lawsuit concerning the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census. 

U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman is currently presiding over a trial in New York to determine if Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross acted legally when he decided to include the citizenship question on the decennial census for the first time since 1950. 

That trial is expected to conclude soon. The justices set arguments for Feb. 19 and it is unclear whether Furman would delay his ruling until after the Supreme Court decides the case. 

The high court had previously allowed the trial to go forward, rejecting a Trump administration request to delay it."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20181116/supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-in-census-citizenship-question

Background info on the census question 

1 - via Pew Research
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/30/what-to-know-about-the-citizenship-question-the-census-bureau-is-planning-to-ask-in-2020/

2 - Fact Checking from NPR
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/27/597436512/fact-check-has-citizenship-been-a-standard-census-question

3 - The Census Bureau's 72 year rule
https://www.census.gov/history/www/genealogy/decennial_census_records/the_72_year_rule_1.html

The 1950 census form asked where respondents were born
and whether they were naturalized. Census.gov/Screenshot by NPR

US Census: Now hiring for the 2020 Census

The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting thousands of workers for temporary jobs available nationwide in advance of the 2020 Census.

The 2020 Census Jobs website allows applicants to apply for a range of positions, including recruiting assistants, office operations supervisors, clerks, census field supervisors and census takers. The positions will be located across 248 Area Census Offices nationwide and offer flexible work hours, including daytime, evenings and weekends.

Available jobs:

• Recruiting assistants travel throughout geographic areas to visit with community-based organizations, attend promotional events and conduct other recruiting activities.
• Office operations supervisors assist in the management of office functions and day-to-day activities in one or more functional areas, including payroll, personnel, recruiting, field operations and support.
• Clerks perform various administrative and clerical tasks to support various functional areas, including payroll, personnel, recruiting, field operations and support.
• Census field supervisors conduct fieldwork to support and conduct on-the-job training for census takers and/or to follow-up in situations where census takers have confronted issues, such as not gaining entry to restricted areas.
• Census takers work in the field. Some field positions require employees to work during the day to see addresses on buildings. Other field positions require interviewing the public, so employees must be available to work when people are usually at home, such as in the evening and on weekends.

Applicants will be placed in an applicant pool for 2020 Census field positions for positions they qualify for and will be contacted as work becomes available in their area. For more information, contact 1-855-JOB-2020. 

Applicants may also contact the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

For more information, please visit the 2020 Census Jobs page 
https://2020census.gov/jobs/

US Census: Now hiring for the 2020 Census

Franklin Public Schools: 2 hour delay - Friday, Nov 16

We have been assessing the situation at our schools and across town early this morning. As a result of last night's snowfall, we will have a 2 hour delay on Friday, November 16, 2018.

When Franklin Public Schools has a delayed opening, ECDC will have a cancellation/delayed opening as follows:

The ECDC morning session will be cancelled. The ECDC extended and full day sessions will delay opening by 2 hours. The delayed opening will NOT impact the afternoon session.

As a result of lingering snow on sidewalks, emergency busing will be in effect and students walking to or from school will be offered rides by our drivers.

The District's office will open on time.

Sincerely,

The Franklin Public Schools

https://www.franklinps.net/district/urgent-alerts/two-hour-delay-due-weather-conditions-friday-11162018

Franklin Public Schools: 2 hour delay - Friday, Nov 16