Live reporting: FY 2021 Budget Update

B. FY21 Budget Update
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/mai/files/8b._fy21_budget_update.pdf

The town can not afford to fund the level of service requested 
review the details in the doc linked to above
it includes a schedule for Finance Committee budget hearings
School Committee budget hearings are provided as well

approx $500K over last year allocation
additional funding from a dedicated revenue source (municipal agreement on cannabis)

this is the start of the budget process

Kelly - Budget Subcommittee met this evening
no fluff in this, to be truthful
we came last year knowing we were going to be short
Police, Fire re-did contracts and came up with a plan
need School Committee to do something similar

~$71M for Schools, ~$51M for all other town services in total budget
recording of meeting to be available via Franklin Matters

Mercer - comments on past experience in SchComm to get what they can advocate for. As Council, they need to be fiduciary responsible to the town
salary and benefits are 85% of the school budget

Michael Doherty, Bridle Path
I agree with Kelly that there is no fluff in the budget
the memo is illuminating
you must be masocists
you have sued Bellingham, that money is gone
the town has been aggressive in doing more with less
we are going to solve it tonight
if filling the existing gap with existing funding, God willing
it is not just what we might not have, we have lost programs
my three children all benefited from programs that don't exist today
you are not alone, we are all in this together
make the case for us, and we will raise the revenues we need
we are here to help you, when the case is made, you will find support if you ask

Donna Grady, union leader
people move here for the schools
we are at a point where lack of funding will change things
we can't keep good people
hourly employees need second or third jobs to make ends meet
many of these folks are your friends and neighbors
why not ask the community to consider paying a living wage?
if we do not pull together, we will not be known for what we did
the children are the future, aren't they worth the money

Anne Bergen, Peters Lane, Chair of School Committee
not the oldest person
funding for schools, not just for schools, we have to come together
what is the vision for what we should be
we need to address the scurge of mental illness
how can we keep our schools competitive
we need to retain good people of all services within Franklin
we have to fund the gaps
informing the public with one voice of the needs
Portrait of a Graduate developed, what resources do we need to support that vision
to suggest that the schools have plenty of money
Franklin last on list of surrounding communities that spend less per pupil
we need to conversations to create vision, we can't wait any longer

Susan Dewsnap, Garden St, Fiance Committee for 8 years
spent a lot of time on budget
very compitent admin
we need some metrics and history for going forward
what is the history of Chapter 70 funding
how have we been getting through with the Stabilization accounts
let's look at the last 10 years, look at the health expense
call volume history
OPEB and pension history, district retirement history

Jones -reiterate a point in the memo
one of the largest audiences we have had in years
not the dates and inject yourself in the process, it is early in the process
it is a fluid process, no alarm needed at this time
4-8 weeks to spend working on finalizing numbers, coordinating with the State info

Dellorco - kudos to the teachers, we have to stay together, divided we will fall



3 minute recess

Live reporting: Municipal Aggregation

called back to session after recess


8. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS 

A. Municipal Aggregation
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/mai/files/8a._municipal_aggregation.pdf

Mark Capadona, Colonial Power Group
overview of the municipal aggregation
residential cost savings on electricity rates

mailing coming in Sep/Oct, no fees to join or leave
very competitive price
effective Nov 1 meter reads

everyone gets a mailing, if you do nothing, you are in
you can opt out

https://colonialpowergroup.com/franklin/

Live reporting: Town Council - March 4, 2020

Present: Chandler, Hamblen, Pellegri, Dellorco, Mercer, Jones, Kelly, Earls, Bissanti
Absent:  none


1. ANNOUNCEMENTS
a. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast Channel 11 and Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.

2. CITIZEN COMMENTS

a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to five minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. The Council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Town Council will give remarks appropriate consideration and may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter.

• resident 126 Cottage, parking on Cottage

not notified of parking changes
no parking both sides of Cottage from Peck to the Crossing
all residential
Easter and other holiday gatherings for the family will be an issue with no parking available

• O'Neil, Colt Road

re: civil discourse

• Teresa Shea, Kristen Ave

spent over 50 years making things better for Franklin
quote from former Chair Bob Vallee
referencing letters of no confidence in Town Council

• Lisa Caruso, Forge Hill road

working in Providence, out of the loop of what politics are here
blew the whistle on the State of RI
how about the building in Franklin?
how about the water bans?
father was a retired general, learned lessons the hard way
'get the gist of how things go'
volunteer as a peace keeper at rallies
was at the Aug 2017 rally in Boston
you'll see a lot more of me, silence is consent

'couldn't catch name'
talking about Q
mainstream media is lying to us
we have a watch dog

• Linda Noel, Lincoln St

think you are doing a great job
some of my relatives have been treated badly
Franklin does have a problem in some corners
relatives mentioned on the Common
drawing lines in the sand and throwing mud is not the way





3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. February 5, 2020

motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0
 

4. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
a. Boston Post Cane Award

102 year old receives the Boston Post Cane
Walter Zinchuck

WWII veteran with a Silver Star
born in 1917 in Haverill, moved to Franklin in 1958

2 minute recess to allow for congratulations for Walter
 



5. APPOINTMENTS
- None Scheduled

6. HEARINGS 
- None Scheduled

7. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
- None Scheduled

Franklin Presidential Primary Results - March 3, 2020 "unofficial"

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

"Franklin election results were delayed Tuesday night because of a “software glitch,” Franklin Town Clerk Teresa Burr said at about 9:30 p.m.

She expected results to be available by midnight at the earliest."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200303/franklin-wont-have-full-results-for-hours-due-to-software-glitch

The software 'glitch'  occurred on the laptop where the totals of each machine were put together to combine a set of results. This was not any software like made the news in Ohio. Franklin, and MA as a whole, run their election system on a private network. It is not part of the internet and hence not subject to hacking via that avenue.

The Franklin Public Radio broadcast crew 'tap danced' for an extra hour while waiting for the results. We went live at 8:00 PM when the pools closed and kept the broadcast live until just before 10 when we shut down in an orderly fashion after hearing the news from Town Clerk Teresa Burr.

The "unofficial results" results arrived in my inbox at midnight and are shared here. Teresa has until Friday to complete the tally to make them official. Normally this process would be completed today.

Biden (2631) topped Sanders (1546) and Warren (1263)

6769 of the 23769 voters registered in Franklin cast their ballots (including early voters and absentee) for a 28% turnout.

Get your copy here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x_CF1lEfU7nmS-Hn_NgeBbZTurJwSYJz/view?usp=sharing

L-R: Steve Sherlock, Rep Jeff Roy, Jim Derrick and Frank Falvey

Franklin Public Schools: Important Dates and Information for March/April

Important Dates and Information

March-April 2020

Contact Information Changes-If you need to change an email address or phone number in your student's Aspen contact information, click here to send us those changes

Prom Tickets are now on sale for Class of 2021; click HERE to purchase Prom Tickets

_______________________________

Mandatory Meetings for all students interested in Spring Sports:

• Thurs, March 5th
  • Boys/Girls Outdoor Track 2:15 PM in the Cafeteria

Tuesday, March 3rd - No School PDD Day
Thursday, March 5th - Rose Petals Dress Boutique-free dresses for Prom or Banquet. Room 252 after school and during lunch block (need a pass from Ms. Fernandes or Ms. Curtis to come during lunch block)
Thursday, March 5th - Junior Parent Meeting-Topic-College Search Process in the FHS Auditorium from 6:30pm-8pm
Saturday, March 7th - Empty Bowls - Bowl Making Event 10AM to 11:30 AM-Click HERE for more information
Friday, March 20th - Best Buddies Prom at the Elks Club on Pond Street. Click HERE to purchase tickets online for $20 each
Friday March 20th - Chicago FHS Auditorium
Saturday March 21st - Chicago FHS Auditorium
Sunday March 22nd - Chicago FHS Auditorium
Tuesday, March 24th and Wednesday, March 25th - MCAS ELA for 10th graders
Friday, March 27th - Sophomore Banquet 7-10PM in the FHS Cafeteria
Thursday, April 9th - Senior Banquet (date was changed from March 6th) at Lake Pearl, Wrentham

No School and Half days of school 2020

Date	Event
03/03/20	No School PDD Day
04/03/20	½ Day of School; Dismissal at 10:55 AM  -PDD
04/10/20	No School- Good Friday
04/20/20 through 04/24/20	Spring Break-No School
05/08/20	½ Day of School; Dismissal at 10:55 AM  -PDD
05/25/20	No School- Memorial Day
06/18/20	Last day of School-Reflects one snow day

Snow Days:

Snow Day #1 Tuesday, December 3, 2019

MCAS (draft) Testing Calendar:

ELA: 10th graders-March 24th and 25th

Math-10th graders: May 19th & 20th

Biology -9th graders: June 2nd and 3rd

This was shared from the Town of Franklin page

https://www.franklinps.net/fhs/news/important-dates-and-information 

 

Franklin Public Schools: Important Dates and Information for March/April

FHS girls basketball gets past Holy Name to book place in D1 Central Final

Josh Perry, Managing Editor of HockomockSports.com, provides the game recap for the FHS girls basketball team win vs. Holy Name in the D1 Central playoffs.

"At the end of the first quarter in Tuesday night’s Div. 1 Central semifinal at WPI’s Harrington Auditorium, Franklin coach John Leighton brought his undefeated team together and explained that even though the Panthers had just played one of their worst quarters of the season they only trailed by six and had plenty of time to rebound.

“Holy Name is a tremendous team,” Leighton said after the game. “They came to play. I thought they got the jump on us in the first quarter, but at the end of the quarter we said okay that’s probably the worst quarter we’ve played in a very long time and we’re in the game.”

Things improved markedly in the second quarter to pull Franklin within one of Holy Name at the half and then the Panthers found their stride in the third quarter. After scoring 21 points in 16 minutes in the first half, Franklin poured in 21 points in the third quarter alone to turn a one-point deficit into a 13-point lead.

Thanks to that big third quarter, Franklin pulled out a 59-42 win over the Naps. It was the third win of the season for the Panthers against Holy Name and sends them back to the Central final for the second year in a row, this time to face Natick."

Continue reading the game recap:
https://hockomocksports.com/franklin-girls-basketball-finds-second-gear-to-book-place-in-final/

For a photo gallery from this game:
https://hockomocksports.smugmug.com/2019-2020/Winter-2019-2020/Franklin-Holy-Name-Girls-Basketball-3-3-20/

Franklin junior guard Erin Quaile helped to shut down Holy Name’s star guards Jaini Edmonds and Grace O’Gara, as the Panthers advanced to the Div. 1 Central final. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

Get Involved/Volunteer: High School Teens

Teen Corps Free Leadership and 

Job Training Program Kicking off at the YMCA

The Teen Corps Program, which is a free 10 week leadership training and volunteer program providing extensive training and work experiences to youth will launch March 12th at the Hockomock Area YMCA’s Bernon Family Branch in Franklin. All area high school teens are invited to participate.

Teen Corps Program

Teen Director Ross Gemba will hold a parent information meeting next week: on Thursday, March 5, 2020 from 6:30-7:00 p.m. at the Franklin Y (45 Forge Hill Road). Teen Corps focuses on keeping the Y's up-and-coming leaders connected with each other and spreading values into our communities. TCs meet weekly to be trained in areas including: best practices when applying for a job, dressing for success, working with children, and more. You will earn 40 hours of work experience and 10 hours of training. An ideal program for teens who aspire to become YMCA staff in the near future or are forming a resume for post-high school plans and acceptance into clubs.

Job Training Program

Train with co Teen Corps participants on Thursdays starting 3/12/20 (6:30PM-7:30PM) in: CPR & First Aid, Resume Bootcamp, Customer Service 101, Landing the Job, and more. Participants will be expected to attend all events and do four hours weekly of in-YMCA volunteering; this is a great way to learn skills from multiple departments. Runs 10 weeks (no meeting on 4/23) at the Franklin Y.

Questions may be directed to Ross Gemba at rossg@hockymca.org or by calling the YMCA at 508-528-8708.

About the Hockomock Area YMCA:
Where Cause Meets Community. At the Hockomock Area YMCA, strengthening community is our cause. The Hockomock Area YMCA is an organization of men, women, and children sharing a commitment to nurture the potential of kids, promote healthy living, and foster a sense of social responsibility.

The Hockomock Area YMCA is committed to partnering and collaborating with others to create and deliver lasting personal and social change in the 15 communities they are privileged to serve. The Hockomock Area YMCA is a not-for-profit charitable cause-driven organization with facilities in North Attleboro, Foxboro, Franklin, and Mansfield. For more information visit hockymca.org.