Franklin Matters: Search results for override

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Monday, June 7, 2010

Letter from Ed Cafasso

Hi everyone,

Over the past few weeks, many of my friends and neighbors have asked good questions about this Tuesday’s override vote. I wanted to share some of those with you in the hopes that it will help you to vote “Yes” when the polls open at the Field House on Tuesday.

But before I do I want to address two items that appeared in the local newspaper recently. In one letter to the editor, a resident said he said was tired of supporting “assistants to assistants” in the schools. There is no such thing. This belief represents baseless ignorance. Franklin spends far below the state average on administration in our schools. In fact, we spend below the state average in every category of school investment.

Another prominent resident claimed that citizens are afraid to express their views about the override for fear that their children would be punished in the schools. This is either an outrageous lie or a convenient rationalization. I have been active in the schools since 1998, and I have been involved in every override since. I have never ever heard of a single such incident. I have never even heard a rumor of such an incident. The resident who made this statement owes our schools either the proof to support the claim or a candid apology.

And now for some of the thoughtful questions that I have heard in my travels…

What is the relationship between the override vote and the planned renovation of Franklin High? There is none. The override would deliver an additional $3 million to the town’s operating budget, including $1.8 million for the schools. The override is designed to close a revenue shortfall. The FHS renovation is a capital project. Later in 2011, voters will be asked to give the town permission to borrow money for the work, like a mortgage. The state will reimburse approximately half the cost for the FHS project, and the cost of the borrowing will not show up on tax bills for three or four years.

Where’s the proof that the schools need these funds? Things seem fine? The Franklin schools are indeed high performing and tremendously efficient. That’s exactly why you should support the override as an investment. The lack of financial support for the schools is like termites living undetected in a house. The truth is that we have eliminated 100 teachers and seven administrators in the past five years. Class sizes have gone up. Kids with learning challenges are getting less personal attention. Teachers are getting less professional development. New fees have been created and existing fees have gone up. Our hardworking school employees are doing their best to hold back the tide, but the odds are against them over time unless we help now.

I am senior citizen on a fixed income. I can’t afford this, and why should I support the schools? My kids are grown and gone. The number one investment for any citizen of Franklin, young or old, is their home. And the best way to protect and strengthen the value of your home is to protect the quality of services in your community – police, fire, schools, public works, etc. If you are a senior, think about how the community helped pay for the public education your children received. Think about what will happen to the value of your home if the quality of services here continues to suffer from lack of investment.

Is there any guarantee that the Town Council will deliver $1.8 million from the override amount to the schools? Yes, their word. The council is publicly committed to that amount for the next two years. As you know, many councilors are actively campaigning for the override. There is no legal way to guarantee what happens when a new council takes office in two years, but history shows that the schools have received tremendous support from the Council. With the exception of one year when state aid was delivered late, well into the fiscal year, the schools have always received all of the state funds designated for education, as well as substantial revenues from property taxes..

Why should I add to my property taxes? Doesn’t it just make more sense to pay more in fees? Your property taxes are tax deductible. Fees are not. On a pre-tax basis, the proposed override will cost the average taxpayer $254 per year, about 70 cents per day, based on the average property assessment of $368,000 in Franklin. Passage of the ballot question would add 69 cents to the tax rate, or $.69 per $1,000 of the assessed value of your home. If the override fails, some athletic fees will increase more than the average annual tax cost of the override!

Where can I get more information about the override?

An excellent brochure has been developed that attempts to answer common questions and provides a chart of what services will be affected by the outcome of the override vote. You can view and download the brochure at: http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-brochure/

Up-to-date information and links on financial and academic issues, particularly from a school perspective, are available at: http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/

Concerned citizens who support passage of the override have formed a group called “Invest in Franklin.” You can visit the Invest in Franklin web site for additional information at: http://investinfranklin.weebly.com.

You can visit and join the Invest in Franklin group page on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2265200218&ref=ts

A Facebook event page has been created as a reminder about the June 8 vote. You can view it here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=118040221563289

My personal view is that Tuesday offers you a modest opportunity to invest in your community. No one agrees with every decision the town makes, but I am convinced, based on my years of involvement in town government and the schools, that Franklin is exceptionally well run, well intentioned and very efficient. Franklin lives within its means, provides a great quality of life, and does what it needs to maintain public property.

The outcome of this override has implications for all the essential services on which you and your family rely. In my mind, a “Yes” vote represents a well-deserved, very modest investment in the schools, police, fire, public works and library services that support my family, my friends and neighbors, and my property value.

Your town and schools need your help. I hope you will join me in supporting the override. Every vote is needed. Passage is by no means certain. Please do your civic duty on Tuesday and encourage all of your fellow citizens to do the same.

This e-mail reflects my opinion alone and is provided as a constituent service. Be on the look-out for an update soon on the great progress being made around the FHS renovation project.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. If you are receiving duplicate e-mails or if you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please let me know and I will remove you from the distribution list. If you know of someone you would like to add to the list, please send along their e-mail address.

Thank you!

Ed Cafasso, Member
Franklin School Committee
edcafasso@comcast.net

Franklin, MA

Budget - Override Collection - FY 2011

The following links provide access to information on the budget for Fiscal Year 2011

Additional items will be added here as they are found/prepared.

If you are looking for something in particular regarding the budget and don't find it, please let me know.

Letter from Scott Mason, Town Council Chairman

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions: FY 2026 Override -> Questions 1 - 4

Frequently Asked Questions - shared from the Town of Franklin FY 2026 Override Information page. There are 40 and a form to ask another question if it is not already listed there -> https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/Faq.aspx?TID=41

1. How does an override work?

By passing an override, the Town can assess taxes in excess of the automatic annual 2.5% increase and any increase due to new growth. An override results in a permanent increase in the levy limit and allows the Town to fund services and programs we believe the community expects and desires.

2. How does Proposition 2 ½ limit tax increases?

Proposition 2 ½ is a state law that was enacted in 1980. It limits the total amount of property taxes that a city or town can assess each year. The “levy limit” or total tax amount a town is allowed to collect cannot increase by more than 2.5% per year, plus the impact of new growth, unless there is a vote to override this limit. Individual tax bills are impacted by changes to the relative value of residential and commercial properties and localized changes in real estate values. However, if the town had no new construction in a given year AND all of the real estate in town increased in value by exactly the same amount, say 10%, then every property tax bill would increase by 2.5% the following year. See an example below.

Proposition 2 ½ - FAQ - Q2

3. What’s the difference between an override and a debt exclusion?

While an override results in a permanent tax increase that is used to fund recurring operational expenses, debt exclusions result in a temporary tax increase to pay the debt service from bonding for a specific capital project, such as building a new school. For debt exclusions, the debt service costs are added to the levy limit for the life of the debt only (typically between 10-30 years). Thus, unlike overrides, debt exclusions do not become part of the base used to calculate future years’ levy limits.

4. What is the amount of the override?

The amount of the override is $3,862,672 and it is to fix the Town’s Structural Budget Deficit in order to provide level service, meaning the same level of service the Town is providing today.

Additional info can be found on the Town FY 2026 Override page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/1089/Fiscal-Year-2026-Override-Information

Frequently Asked Questions: FY 2026 Override -> Questions 1 - 4

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Jay & I cover Franklin's Current Issues in this Q&A 3 part series (audio)

FM #1215-1216-1217 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1215-1216-1217 in the series.

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Jay Horrigan, Franklin resident, Franklin TV & Radio talent and fellow Board of Directors member for the Franklin Community Cable Access organization. We met to record this conversation in the studio on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

We spent enough time in the studio discussing current events that our wives were sending out queries as to where we were. The conversation is split into 3 sections to better enable sharing via the radio time slot (less than an hour).

We talk about

Jay’s story and what he keeps busy with
Spend time to answer current issue questions

June 11 override vote
How the $6.8M was determined
What is an override vs a debt exclusion
Development of the ‘fiscal cliff’ post COVID
State vs Commonwealth (no real difference in operation)
Fund allocation from the override in FY 2025 and following
Coordination of Town and School
Explanation of the bigger ‘pie’, budget, etc.
Franklin TV video archives of Town, School, and other committee meetings
Condense the Town Council and School Committee meetings via audio as Town Council Quarterbacking and Chalkboard Chat answering the 2 questions: What just happened? What does that mean for us as residents and taxpayers?
Does the override tie to the redistricting plan?
School ‘master plan’ va Town Master Plan
Modular units helped to accommodate the school ‘population bubble’
Mr G’s analogy on how the redistricting was done, stepping back to better align students with the better school facilities
How the “Portrait of the Graduate” plays into this
Teachers are being reduced gradually to account for the decline in school enrollment

Part 1 of this conversation runs about 53 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jay. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1215-franklin-current-issues-qa-with-jay-horrigan-05-16-24

Part 2 of this conversation runs about 30 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jay.

In this second episode we answer more questions

How does the override provide funds for school teachers’ pay?
Teacher union president Donna Grady interview provides insights to teacher issues
Teacher retention issue, is it related to the ‘massive new schools’?
Better expectation for future funding of the Schools post override
Difference in level of planning for redistricting, the ‘plan’ vs the implementation plan to work out the details
Civic engagement, the parents concerned about the redistricting can be involved in the implementation plan
What is the goal of the Town “master plan”? What do we want Franklin to be when we grow up?
The issue with the middle school after school activities and late bus, how is that related to the override?
School funding of buses vs parent cost, a change from $360 to $500 if the override fails, along with other activities and sports fees will increase if the override fails
Sense of community and ‘commonwealth’ vs the divisive and personal focal points we hear
Timing of the override June vs. November, better for the students educational experience
Demise of newspapers, rise of newsletters, flyers sent home replaced by email and PDFs on the schools pages

Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1216-franklin-current-issues-qa-p2-of-3-05-16-24

Part 3 of this conversation runs about 38 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jay.

The possibility of an underride and what it would do
Concern of getting the message out amidst the Presidential campaign ads
School planning needed for redistricting, 2 summers needed
Disruption for school year in November if the underride succeeds
Assuming override passes, when would taxpayers see the increase?
How does the new apartment revenues flow to the Town (about 10 minutes in P3)
Tax increment financing (TIF) (Tegra Medical - 2009, Hamilton Technology - 2011, Cold Chain - 2015, Plansee - 2022)
What’s happening with Davis Thayer
Redistricting tied to override?
Redistricting tied to new police station?

Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1217-franklin-current-issues-qa-part-3-of-3-05-16-24

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Contact info for Jay -> jayhorrigan@gmail.com

Town override summary page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget/webforms/fy25-override-information

State vs Commonwealth info -> https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/whats-the-difference-between-a-commonwealth-and-a-state

Donna Grady interview -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/05/talking-about-teaching-education-with.html

Police Station Building Committee May 13, 2024 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/01/police-station-building-cmte-agrees-on.html

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Jay & I cover Franklin's Current Issues in this Q&A 3 part series (audio)

Monday, June 2, 2025

Special Election June 3, 2025 - Collection of info on the FY 2026 Override

6 to 3 to 2 to 1, finally

One can pick and choose when it started, there are a number of key points along this budget journey for the Town of Franklin. Go back to the first successful override in 2007. Or to the failed overrides in 2008 and 2010.

To the failed dedicated override for road repairs for $1M that folks chose not to accept in 2014. Yes, even after hearing that the Town needed to confirm that money for the override would be spent for a specific item, the voters chose not to fund needed road repairs.

Whether you call it the “fiscal cliff” or the “structural deficit”, it really comes down to a math problem. More money required to fund existing services than is scheduled to come in due to the 2 ½ override restrictions. You can try to ignore it but inflation is the major driver. Councilor Jones calculated the inflation impact of Prop 2 ½ since 1983 during the override discussions in the run up to the June 2024 failed attempt.

It is so much easier to blame someone else for the problem. That avoids the harsh reality of the situation our community faces. It seems there are a number of relatives of Rodney Dangerfield (“I get no respect”) who live here. They attempt to dominate or divert the conversation from facing reality. It gets a chuckle, laughed off, and the tragedy remains in front of us.

So the Town took on a massive effort with

6 Joint Budget Listening Sessions
3 Finance Committee budget hearings
2 Town Council budget hearings

In the run up to the special election Tuesday, June 3 at Franklin High School gymnasium from 6 AM to 8 PM.

Of the 25,865 registered Franklin voters, 2431 ballots have been cast by early and absentee voters (through 5/30/25 close of business) for this election per Town Clerk Nancy Danello.

The questions that remain?

How many of the remaining voters will turn out on Tuesday?
Will they be Rodney’s relatives? Or will they fund the current services our community needs?

When will we get an answer?

We’ll find out by about 9 PM Tuesday evening.

** Town of Franklin FY 2026 override page

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/1089/Fiscal-Year-2026-Override-Information

Special Election June 3, 2025 - Collection of info on the FY 2026 Override

In addition to the trusted source of info (above) we provide the following:

** Election prep resources

Joint Budget Listening Session “Watch, Listen, or Read” info https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/02/joint-budget-listening-sessions-fy-2026.html
Finance Committee Budget Hearing “Watch, Listen, or Read” info https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/finance-committee-fy-2026-budget.html
Town Council budget hearings “Watch or Listen” info https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/town-council-fy-2026-budget-hearing-1-2.html

The More Perfect Union radio show has resumed with an episode on the Special Election June 3

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/more-perfect-union-wfpr-98-june-3rd.html

The most recent Town Council Quarterbacking session summarizes the Council budget hearings and the all alcohol license transactions they approved in the May 22 meeting

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/tom-mercer-i-condense-2-budget-hearings.html

** Campaign Reports

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/campaign-finance-reports-for-special.html

** Voices of Franklin

Voices of Franklin: Jane Callaway-Tripp "The Cost of Silence: A Town at a Crossroads" https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/voices-of-franklin-jane-callaway-tripp.html Voices of Franklin: Town Councilor Glenn Jones says "get out to vote June 3" (video) https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/voices-of-franklin-town-councilor-glenn.html

Franklin Matters

Monday, June 7, 2010

Letter from Ed Cafasso

Budget - Override Collection - FY 2011

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions: FY 2026 Override -> Questions 1 - 4

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Jay & I cover Franklin's Current Issues in this Q&A 3 part series (audio)

Monday, June 2, 2025

Special Election June 3, 2025 - Collection of info on the FY 2026 Override

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