Franklin in Focus: A short course on running for a Town Election seat

RUN! A short course in what it takes to run for elected town office in Franklin...

Many people think about getting involved in town government but are unsure of the process. With town elections coming this fall, from 10:30 AM to noon on Saturday, June 1, 2019 at the studios of Franklin TV, Franklin in Focus will present a 90-minute short course that will discuss the paperwork, the rules, the risks, and the rewards of running for elective office. 

We will be joined by a former school committee member who will describe his experiences and "lessons." We will also discuss the alternative of getting involved with the town's appointed boards. Audience space is limited. 

If interested in attending or if you have any questions, please use the Contact form on the bottom of the home page at www.franklininfocus.org

Franklin in Focus: A short course on running for a Town Election seat

FHS boys lacrosse and girls tennis post wins; Unified Track competed at King Philp

Via HockomockSports and Twitter, we share the results of the FHS sports action on Tuesday, May 21, 2019.


Boys Lacrosse = Franklin, 15 @ Canton, 7 – Final
– Franklin raced out to a 5-0 lead after a quarter but Canton chipped away to get within two (9-7) early in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers scored the final six goals to pull away and secure a perfect record in Hockomock League action. Jake Davis had three goals and three assists for Franklin while Owen Palmieri scored five goals, Ben Greco had a goal and four assists, and Jacob Alexander (who had a strong day at the faceoff X) added two goals. Griffin Roach (assist) and Andrew Canto each had three goals for Canton while Tommy Vaughan had one goal and two assists. LSM Nick Mackay had his best all-around game of the season and won some key faceoffs for the Bulldogs.

Girls Tennis = Franklin, 3 @ Attleboro, 2 – Final
– Franklin swept doubles action and earned one more point with a victory in singles action to beat Attleboro. Krissy Stoyonova earned a 6-0, 6-1 win at third singles, the team of Brynn Jacobs and Ashvika Boopathy won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at first doubles, and Vagmi Kantheti and Tessa Cacioppo teamed up for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at second doubles. Attleboro’s Ella Lynch-Bartek won 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 at first singles and Bri Aronne picked up a 6-4, 6-0 win at second singles.


For other results around the Hockomock League
https://hockomocksports.com/tuesdays-schedule-scoreboard-05-21-19/

Photo gallery from the Hockomock Unified Track meet
https://hockomocksports.smugmug.com/2018-2019/Spring-2019/2019-Hockomock-Unified-Track-Meet/i-X3pdZ8G

Photo from the Hockomock Unified Track meet (HockomockSports.com photo)

UNIFIED HOCKOMOCKS = Happy, Helpful, Heartwarming, Huggable...my HERO’S!!!! #wechoosetoincludedoyou #unifiedpanthers #unifiedcommunity @FHSSports @FranklinUnified @Coach_Angelo @HockomockSports pic.twitter.com/wM0onuBUYB

— Kate Lynch (@kateluvs2laugh) May 22, 2019

FHS Baseball adjusted game schedule this week:

Wed. 5/22 Franklin @ Attleboro 3:45pm (Hayward Field)

Thurs. 5/23 Franklin vs Hopkinton (Home) 7pm 1st Round of Pedroli Tourney

Sat. 5/25 Franklin vs LS or Natick 1pm or 4pm at Natick (Mahan Field) Final Round of Pedroli Tourney

— FHS Baseball (@FHSCoachZBrown) May 22, 2019

Yesterday's postponed JV and V Softball games vs. Attleboro will be made up on Sunday, May 26 at 10:00am at FHS Softball Fields. @coachkate9 @fhs_softball2

— FranklinAthletics (@FHSSports) May 21, 2019

Per Pupil Spending Increased per US Census Bureau (2017 data)

The US Census Bureau announced

"There are around 48.6 million children enrolled in public elementary and secondary education in the United States. But how much are we spending on their education? 

The nation spent a total of $694.3 billion on public school systems in fiscal year 2017, up 4.4% from FY 2016, according to Census Bureau statistics released today. 

It was the largest yearly increase in total expenditure since 2008."

Continue reading the article online
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/05/largest-annual-increase-public-school-spending-since-2008.html

U.S. School Spending Per Pupil Increased for Fifth Consecutive Year, U.S. Census Bureau Reports

Franklin is not a large school district with only approx 5,400 in-district students and per the 2018 numbers from the MA Dept of Elementary and Secondary Education spending $12,504 in-district and $13,310 for the total 5948 students.

http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/finance.aspx?orgcode=01010000&orgtypecode=5&

DESE: Franklin - Per Pupil Expenditures, All Funds

Franklin's Dress Barn to close - date TBD

The Franklin Village Drive store is one of 650 stores nationwide being closed.

"Dressbarn's owner Ascena Retail Group said Monday its closing all of its roughly 650 stores, as it hopes to stabilize its business. 

Ascena has built up a portfolio of apparel brands over the past decade through acquisitions, including plus-size retailer Lane Bryant and women's apparel brand Ann Taylor. But as shopping has shifted online and styles have evolved, Ascena has been grappling with sagging sales and a large debt-load. 

Same-store sales for the year ended July 2018 were down 2%, according to Factset. The company had $1.33 billion in total debt, in the same period. Shares of the company, which have a market value of $214.4 million, are down 55% year-to-date 

Looking to stem the losses, Ascena is turning to pruning its less successful brands."

Continue reading the DressBarn article online
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/21/dress-barn-is-about-to-close-650-stores-heres-a-map-of-the-stores.html


MA Store listing

US Store listing

FPAC to present Cabaret - Jun 14-15

The Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) will conclude its musical season with Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret June 14 and 15 at THE BLACK BOX. In a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920’s draw to a close, a garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. With the Emcee’s bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. 

Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken by English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally’s boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish. Musical numbers include well known show tunes such as “Willkommen,” “Cabaret,” “Don’t Tell Mama” and “Two Ladies.”

Zoë Kassay as Sally Bowles

FPAC’s production stars Zoë Kassay as Sally Bowles. A former Equity actor, Kassay’s regional credits include Legally Blonde (Elle Woods), Hairspray (Penny), 9 to 5 (Doralee), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Deelee), Footloose (Ariel Moore), Singin’ in the Rain (Lina Lamont), and a stint as a mainstage performer with Disney Cruise Line. Originally from Franklin, Kassay’s FPAC credits include Into the Woods (Cinderella), ‘Tis the Season, and more. She has a BFA in Music Theatre from the Hartt School of Music and a Masters of Arts in Theatre Education from Emerson College.

Aaron Frongillo, a musical theater junior at Wagner College, will return to FPAC to play Clifford Bradshaw. Frongillo toured for three years with Electric Youth and has been seen in FPAC productions of Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik), Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Gaston), and THE BLACK BOX Sings...Frozen (Hans). 

Former Equity actor Nick Paone will reprise his role as the Emcee. His professional credits include Cabaret, Little Shop of Horrors, Oklahoma, Red Roses, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and Romeo and Juliet. Nick has written and directed numerous shows, produced an evening of one-act plays in NYC, and traveled extensively performing with TheatreWorks USA.

Cabaret will be choreographed by NYC’s Chris LeBeau. LeBeau toured internationally with Chicago the Musical and was featured in Crazy for You at Lincoln Center starring Laura Osnes and Tony Yazbeck with choreography by Susan Stroman. He was most recently seen as Davey in FPAC’s production of Disney’s Newsies earlier this season starring Broadway’s Christopher Rice with choreography by Chaz Wolcott. 

Additional choreography will be by Kellie Stamp. Stamp has a Masters of Performing Arts Degree from Emerson College and she continued her tap and jazz training at the On Stage Academy for the Performing Arts, as well as with Rosemarie Boyden and at the Broadway Dance Center in NYC. Kellie has also studied Dance for Musical Theater with Broadway actress and choreographer, Leslie Woodies.

Cabaret runs June 14 at 7:30 PM and June 15 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM at THE BLACK BOX in downtown Franklin. Tickets are available at www.theblackboxonline.com or by calling the box office at 508-528-3370. You can follow FPAC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Message

If you are reluctant to read the PDF copy, a good portion of the Budget Message is shared here. The link to the Full PDF copy is at the end.


Executive Summary FY 2020 Budget

While fiscal challenges remain, our resolve to overcome them is relentless.

The FY 20 proposed budget will be balanced with use of approximately $390,000 from our
Budget Stabilization Fund (Rainy Day account), which will bring the balance of that account to zero. Further, both the School Department and the Town will cut budgets to make ends meet While this will work for one year the FY 21 budget will require policy decisions on how to handle the budget shortfall. The fiscal forecast suggest a shortfall of approximately $4,000,000 +/-

We continue to face challenges in properly funding the annual operating budget, Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) and roads. We should continue to maintain the capital plan and debt capacity in the annual operating budget to fund capital improvements.

The Town’s property tax revenue (not including debt exclusions) will increase by 2½ % plus new growth, or about $2.7 million. Local receipts, which include the excise tax and permit and license fees, etc. will increase $240,000, mostly due to increased motor vehicle commitments. Net State Aid (based on the House budget) will decrease $861,500. The FY 20 “net” revenue increase is estimated at about $2.5 million dollars. The final amount will not be known until the state has adopted a FY 20 budget

Proposed FY 20 Highlights

Town Administrator - The office will be reconfigured with the recent retirement of the Town Administrator. The staff will include the Town Administrator, Assistant to the Town Administrator and the Administrative Assistant/Marketing Coordinator. This will save money and help the town to continue to expand its communication and marketing efforts.

Police – The police have added five positions through the collective bargaining process while saving money from the new schedule change and the employees of the PD and Command staff should be commended for their innovative outside the box approach.

Regional Dispatch – The dispatch center opened in May 2019.

Franklin Schools – The recommended School budget is far short of the School Committees request by over $2 million dollars. The proposed FY 20 State Aid is about $900,000 less than in FY19. The reduction is related to the lack of proper funding for Charter Schools. We are working with our elected officials to try and mitigate the problem.

The Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter School – The school is relocating to its new location on Washington Street in 2019. The increase enrollment from Franklin diverts funds from the Franklin Public Schools to the Charter School. This is a flaw in the funding formula (see above)
in state law.

Library – The Library will continue to meet the Minimum Appropriation Requirement of the State
Library Commissioners.

Historic Museum - The part time archivist wages have been moved from the Town Administrators budget to this budget into a separate line item for the Museum.

Employee Wages/Benefits – All collective bargaining expire on June 30, 2019. The town is currently in negotiations with the Unions, Pension costs increased by about 10% or about $540,000, OPEB is funded at $600,000 and health insurance continues to be a challenge. Thanks once again to the employees for working together to constrain health insurance increases. This is critical to maintaining staffing levels.

Budget Overview

In compliance with Article Six, Sections 6-3-1 through 6-5-2 of the Franklin Town Charter, I am submitting the proposed FY 20 budget to the Town Council and Finance Committee.

Process
Each department is required to submit a proposed budget to the Town Administrator. The Town Administrator, the Comptroller, and the individual Department Heads review their budget request.

The Town Administrator also reviews the highlights of the Town’s fiscal plan with the budget subcommittee of the Town Council. Based on input and the meetings with the Department Head, the Town Administrator makes a budget recommendation to the Town Council and the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee reviews the Town Administrator’s proposed budget and forwards their recommendations to the Town Council. The Town Council holds two public hearings prior to adopting the budget.

Financial Policy Summary
While the budget process identifies issues and concerns that the Town will address on an annual basis, it also must do so based in a framework of sound financial management. The Town Council has adopted fiscal policies in the past and should continue to update and review them on a regular basis. The Finance Committee and Town Council reviewed and adopted new Financial policies in 2019. Below is a summary of current policies:

Balanced Budget
● Annual costs funded from current revenues.
● Do not defer current costs to future years.

Current status – Whenever possible we refrain from using one time funds to balance the budget. FY 20 is an exception due to extra challenges we face. We are all the funds left in the Budget Stabilization account, $390,000 to prevent further reductions in staff. We have not addressed our (post-retirement health insurance) although this year we have budgeted $600,000 to continue to fund the obligation of about $74 million (2018 actuarial study). (Editor's note: FY 2019 was also an exception as some of the Budget Stabilization Fund was used to balance the FY 2019 budget. The remainder of that fund is being used this year; hence two consecutive exceptions.)

Compensation and benefits
● Budget with current revenues
● Compensate at market rates

Current status – We have nine municipal unions. All unions have collective bargaining agreements through June 30, 2019.

Revenues
● Estimate annual revenues in detail and project for the following five years.
● Maintain full and fair market value of property assessments.
● Ensure fees charged cover costs incurred.

Current status – Future revenue projections are included in the budget. New growth and local receipts have been adjusted to reflect the trends in actual collections. Included in the projections are the enterprise funds direct and indirect charges that pay back the general fund for costs attributable to those funds. Again this year we are charging the water and sewer enterprise accounts for their OPEB obligation.

Financial Reserves
● Adequately fund and maintain reserves (Stabilization, Free Cash, Overlay Surplus)
● Maintain Stabilization account at $6 million or 5% of recurring general fund revenue (less debt exclusions and SBA reimbursement).
● Short-term revenue surpluses shall fund non-recurring projects.
● Free Cash will be used to fund the capital budget and for unforeseen expenses.
● Overlay surplus will be used for capital budgets and non-recurring expenses.

Current status - the General Stabilization fund balance is just about $6 million, which is recommended by our auditors and

Long-Term Debt - Proposed
● Reserved for large capital projects.
● Net general fund debt service (not including debt exclusions) shall be targeted at not more than 3.5% of recurring general fund revenue. We are currently well below that number.


Read the full message online
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/uploads/fiscal_year_2020_budget_message_0.pdf

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget pie by category of budget expenses

FHS girls lacrosse and boys tennis teams post wins in stormy weather

Via HockomockSports, we share the results of the FHS sports action on Monday, May 20, 2019. The stormy weather played havoc with the schedule. Many games were shortened and/or rescheduled.

Baseball = Franklin @ Attleboro – Postponed to TBD.

Softball = Attleboro @ Franklin – Postponed to TBD.

Boys Lacrosse = Franklin @ Canton – Postponed to TBD.

Girls Lacrosse = Canton, 1 @ Franklin, 11 – Final 
– Franklin seniors Annie Walsh and Hailey Toolin both had solid performances for the Panthers in a rain-shortened contest.

Boys Tennis = Attleboro, 0 @ Franklin, 5 – Final
– Franklin defended home court and picked a 5-0 sweep over Attleboro. Liam Marr didn’t drop a game at first singles in a 6-0, 6-0 win while Rohan Herur won 6-1, 6-0 at second singles and Shoumik Sompally picked up a 6-0, 6-1 win at third singles. The team of Saketh Saripalli and Lucas Gulick secured a 6-3, 6-0 win at first doubles while Ryan McSweeney and Thomas Broyles won 6-1, 6-0 at second doubles.

Girls Tennis = Franklin @ Attleboro, 3:45

Photo gallery from the rain shortened baseball game
https://hockomocksports.smugmug.com/2018-2019/Spring-2019/Attleboro-Franklin-Baseball-05-20-19/

For other results around the Hockomock League
https://hockomocksports.com/mondays-schedule-scoreboard-05-20-19/

Cooper Ross at bat during the rain shortened game (hockomocksports.com photo)