Ballot Question 5 - Dedicated Override to fund repairs to Roads and Sidewalks for Franklin

Ballot question 5 has been in discussion for several years with the discussion finally moving to action this year. The DPW has been updating their inventory of road conditions and coordinating the rebuilds with water/sewer work for the roads at the same time. 

A good number of the 200+ miles of roads in Franklin are all coming due for repairs around the same time. not surprising for those who were here to witness the explosion of Franklin's growth during the 1980's and 1990's.

The Town Council voted in June to put the question to the votes at the November 4th election. The 'official' explanation for the vote and associated links covering the details behind the question can be found here:

This question requests the voters to consider a $1,500,000 dedicated override specifically for the improvements to roads and sidewalks and the extension of sidewalks in Franklin. A dedicated override means that the funds can only be spent on roads and sidewalks and for no other purpose without the approval of the voters at a future election. The dedicated override is a permanent increase in your taxes unless the citizens vote to reduce or eliminate it. The Town Council cannot appropriate the money for any other purpose. 

The $1,500,000 will help address the nearly $50,000,000 backlog in road and sidewalk repairs as outlined in the 2012 BETA Engineering Study. If the voters approve the dedicated override, then starting in fiscal year 2015, the annual cost to the average single-family home assessed at approximately $360,000 would be $130 per year.

This text can also be found on the official Franklin webpage here
http://franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_News/01EC7020-000F8513



Ballot Question 5 text

***      ***      ***

Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to assess an additional $1,500,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding a stabilization fund as provided in GL Chapter 40 Section 5 B, said funds to be expended solely for roadway, sidewalk and related drainage work for the fiscal year beginning July first, two thousand and sixteen?

The text was included in the Town Council resolution approved on June 4, 2014
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/resolution-14-45-dedicated-override-to.html

***      ***      ***

Lincoln St road work during Aug 2014

Related posts

Road updates around town this year (2104)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/07/road-updates.html

The "Initiative 2014 Plan" as presented to the Town Council June 2014
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/Town_Council_Presentations/June_4_TownCouncilmeeting.pdf

DPW Upcoming projects updated for 2014
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/DPW_Upcoming_Projects.pdf

The road condition inventory as of Jan 2013
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/01/franklin-road-conditions-from-worst-to.html

From Apr 2013, DPW work planned for 2013 - 2015
http://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/council-dpw-upcoming-projects-april-13

From Aug 2013, the initial proposal
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/08/live-reporting-dpw-proposal-on-road.html

The presentation document from the Aug meeting
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/2013%20Roadway%20Presentation.pdf

From Mar 2014, the updated listing of road projects already being planned
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-dpw-update-road-projects.html

"The margin surpassed the two-thirds majority needed in both houses to force enactment of the bill"

The Boston Globe has the following:

"The Democratic-controlled House voted Monday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill.

House members voted 322-87 to override the veto, well above the two-thirds needed to override. If approved by two-thirds of the Senate, the override would be the first of Trump’s presidency."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/28/nation/house-expected-override-trumps-veto-defense-bill-setting-up-first-such-rebuke-his-presidency/

 

The Washington Post also has this article

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/house-override-trump-veto-defense/2020/12/28/49b50b20-4927-11eb-a9d9-1e3ec4a928b9_story.html

 

The New York Times also has this article

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/us/politics/house-overrides-trump-veto-military-bill.html

 

 

Live reporting - Override info session

at Horace Mann - Thomas Mercer Auditorium

folks still gathering, about 2 dozen non-school committee/town council folks here thus far

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Town Administrator, Jeff Nutting
Town Councilors - Bartlett, Mason, Doak, Feeley, Zollo, Whalen

School Superintendent Wayne Ogden
School Committee members - Roy, Mullen, Rohrbach, Armenio, Cafasso, Trahan

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people continuing to arrive

School Committee Chair Jeff Roy welcoming folks at 7:10 PM

Supt Wayne Ogden
covering the presentation that the schools have used to make their case in several forums thus far in the budget cycle this year

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up to approx. 50 citizens here in the auditorium at 7:15 PM

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If you take the avg per student spend vs the state average, the schools are spending $13 million less than what the state average is. This is good to put the request this year in perspective.

The override amount of $2.8 million would bring the school department to level service, meaning the same programs, the same amount of teachers with an increase in enrollment.

Teacher turnover is about 10% during a normal year for all the reasons that people leave a work place. Mentors are required by the state for all new teachers.

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Q - What is pupil personnel services?
A - anything that is not covered by the "normal" teacher in the classroom; i.e. special education, nurses, etc.

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If the 47 positions do get cut, there would be about $675,000 of unemployment cost to the town

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Major impact of the override failure would be an increase in class size. The increase will be felt across the district but not necessarily the same in each of the schools. Some schools would see higher class size than others.

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Chart of sample teacher salary rates comparing Franklin with Wayland, Needham, Natick, North Attleborough, Mansfield, Arlington

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Steve Whalen getting ready to talk about his analysis on the tax burden comparison for Franklin amongst 30 communities.

Steve did this analysis last year as a member of the Finance Committee to prepare for the override. He updated the analysis this year. This is not an official work product of the town. His personal analysis. He has offered for anyone to check his numbers.

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Red lines indicate the single tax rate. Ones in black have a single tax rate.

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Used income from the US Census Bureau from 1999, the last year the data is available. It is updated every ten years.

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He calculated to determine the "Residential tax burden". We have a low rating because we are relatively high on the income scale and low on the tax rate. Hence, we can afford to pay more.

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In the peer analysis, amongst 17 towns with a single tax rate, we are 14 in tax rate, 15 in relative tax burden.

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To answer those who may say we are spending too much, one sheet in his analysis shows that we are 22 out of the 30 for total school department expense per capita. Continuing to the major categories, in General Gov't we are 16th, in Police 26th, Fire 10th, and DPW 28th.

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One sheet looks at towns of similar size located in Eastern MA. For the 15 towns on this listing, Franklin ranks 7th in General Gov't, 14th in Police, 10th in Fire, 14th in DPW and 11th in Schools

Summary we have a pretty efficient and well managed town government.

What kind of town are we willing to sacrifice for?

Even if the override passes, the overall tax burden ranking doesn't change. We are ranked 15th today and would remain at 15th even if the override passes.

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"officials in town have said the override request was unlikely to be the last"

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

"The town avoided a budget crisis Wednesday, after residents approved a $430,000 tax override in a town-wide election.

The proposal was put to residents in a ballot question during an election called solely for the override.

Turnout was nearly 25 percent of all Hopedale’s registered voters, with 569 voting for the proposal, and 419 voting against.

Officials said the money is needed to fund basic services for the town. Because the number was so large, employee jobs and hours were on the chopping block. Suggested cuts included a firefighter and closing Town Hall on Fridays."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190828/hopedale-approves-tax-override

Related post before the override vote
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/08/in-news-hopedale-votes-on-override-weds.html

 

Frequently asked questions: "Will the override affect the Charter School?"

My children are in a Charter School. Will the override affect them?

Yes, Charter Schools are funded based on a per pupil expenditure. In other words, tuition for each Franklin student sent to a charter school is the same amount Franklin spends on education per student. So if Franklin spends on education per student than they would if the override passes, charter schools would also receive less tuition for each Franklin student that attends.

One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html


------------


The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:

Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)

Or

Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children

I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:

1. Make your choice
2. Vote on June 8th

You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!

Additional information on the override can be found here:

• http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/index.html
• http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
• http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html

Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Dedicated Override for roads

Notes from the first part of the Finance Committee meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/live-reporting-finance-committee-060314.html



Roads – DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi
Mike Meglio, Town Engineer


*** From Mar 2014, the updated listing of road projects already being planned
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-dpw-update-road-projects.html

Apparently, tonight is an abbreviated presentation from the March meeting

When road ratings are above 70, the maintenance will work
when below 70, you need to do more
want to get overall average of roads above 80

keeping just above water with repairs at this point
with the override, we could make some headway into the road repairs

some of the work would continue to be coordinated with water main projects
others would be taken care of purely with road repairs

also would be looking to expand the sidewalk network
would still require annual approval by the Council for the plan of work

the Panther Way sidewalk bid came in at $200,000

We have already planned out the water program for the next five year, can tie this with the water and come up with the master plan

what existing capacity do we have that requires design and coordination with in house staff?

a lot of administrative staff work required but the actual work is contracted out

Q - is there an option to put a term on this override?
A - not the way the legislation has been structured. Now the Council could not vote any money for the roads and that would kill the program.

Q - is this amount enough?
A - the facts are, we could use more money? What can the citizens afford? How much can we work with in capacity? Time down the road, the citizens could come back for more.

This is based upon today's dollars for hot top and chip seal. This could cost more as it goes, it is based upon the oil pricing

The sidewalk needs to go down to Miller St... Pleasant St; Washington St, Beaver St have been identified as needing sidewalks but none of them are cheap... do you need to curb and handle drainage? It depends upon the conditions and area

You might not educate your kids, go to the library, or call the police/fire but you do drive down the roads
The good thing about November is you'll get a good turnout as it is a State election


The text of the override question can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/resolution-14-45-dedicated-override-to.html

VOTE: Proposition 2 ½ Override
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0


Related posts

From Aug 2013, the initial proposal
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/08/live-reporting-dpw-proposal-on-road.html

The presentation document from the Aug meeting
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/2013%20Roadway%20Presentation.pdf

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Closing
DelCarte ribbon cutting at 5:00 PM on Weds Jun 4th
program is short, so should be held unless there is a real down pour

FinCom done until the Fall time frame...

Final walk through of FHS Jun 21
Grand Opening in Sep
demolition of the old building during the summer

start Capital Plan again in Sep, fiscal forecast due in Jan
Sculpture Park opening June/July

Panther Way sidewalk should be starting in couple of week
Waiting on State for when the downtown will start

Lincoln St will start when school is out

Summer (East Central to King) late summer timeline

Senior Center 2nd floor possibly in the Fall

FM #11 - School Committee 8/26/08

Another in a series of podcasts on what matters in Franklin, MA. This one focusing on the School Committee meeting of 8/26/08 and then the news of Supt Wayne Ogden's resignation.

Time: 40 minutes, 6 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes

Music intro

My intro

FM #11

From the School Committee meeting on Tuesday 8/26/08, there were a few items of real interest. There are a number of items on the agenda and respectfully while all of them are important these are the most important. The most significant item of all for the week occurred after the public portion of the meeting but we’ll get to that in due course.

If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing. Benjamin Franklin

Pay-to-Ride
Miriam Goodman and Maureen Sabolinski provided an update on the pay-to-ride program. Miriam also had an analysis (copy of the one pager provided) of pay-to-ride for the past four years and an outlook for this school year 2008-2009.




Late bus
Based upon the decline in enrollment Supt Wayne Ogden recommended keeping with the failed override plan of cutting the late bus. It was not included in the budget unless the override had passed so no additional action was required of the School Committee on the recommendation. There was additional discussion primarily from Ed Cafasso to find the “short money” and keep the bus running. There was not additional support for this idea across the committee. The override failed hence no late bus.

FHS Scheduling problem
The High School encountered a scheduling problem. After cutting the teachers and the classes associated with the override failure, the schedule came up with a hole were approx. 200 students had an empty period. As state last forbids study halls, they played with a couple of options. One additional teacher (in English) resigned in early August and backfilling that position with another English teacher did not provide coverage for the schedule. Backfilling the English teacher with a music teacher did cover the hole so they did hire a music teacher.

The major news of the week occurred after the public portion of the School Committee meeting ended. As you have no doubt heard by now, Supt Wayne Ogden submitted his resignation effective June 30, 2009. To those who call him a quitter, he is hardly that. A quitter would have provided two weeks or less notice and gone out the door. Wayne took the far more courageous option of providing significant notice to the School Committee in order for them to start to look for a replacement, while he continued in his role running the school department.

Yes, it is a disappointment but Franklin voters have no one to blame but themselves. The majority of those who came out to vote on the override defeated the increase to provide a level service budget to the schools. The real issue lies with the many, many voters who did not come out to vote at all. As I have mentioned previously, the quick numbers on the override showed that 500 voters changed their vote from 2007 to 2008 and voted NO. An additional 1000 voters who came out in 2007 to vote Yes, simply did not show up.

We do have tough time ahead of us. We need to work together. We need to make our presence felt at each and every school committee meeting and town council meeting.

Don’t just sit there.
Please get up and do something.

If you need inspiration, view the Do You Believe video posted from YouTube on Franklin Matters on 8/30/08.


The Ben Franklin quote comes from the following website:http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Benjamin_Franklin/31

-----------------

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

Voices of Franklin: Sean Slater on a Tax Override Question

Hello fellow Franklin residents 

My name is Sean Patrick Slater and I am running as a 1st time candidate for the Town Council. There has been a couple of hot topics that have come up recently in the social media forums. While collecting signatures I was asked if I would support an override. Given the informal discussions around this issue you would think it would be a complicated issue. It is not, it is simple. 

There is no such thing as an “unexpected” or “emergency” expense. A tax increase request in the form of an override is an admission to an unbalanced budget. Proper planning eliminates the need to ask for more money due to unscheduled expenses. I believe citizens, including myself, recognize that managing a budget for 33,000 residents is a massive responsibility. I also believe those involved with the budget process start out with nothing but the best intentions. That being said, the size of the budget and the unmet demand for services should not be used as override rhetoric. 

If you hear we need an override to pay for road repairs and/or to help fund a $93M OPEB unfunded obligation, I would follow that up with a question; with a budget of approximately $113M, where specifically were these dollars allocated? Trust then verify. If we are saying $113M is not enough to run this town then I would humbly ask to validate each line item in the town budget that looks questionable. There is a reason overrides have been repeatedly voted down, Franklin residents are intelligent enough to use common sense. 

The other question I was asked was “if the question does surprisingly make the ballot, would the outcome of the vote change how you would conduct business on behalf of the town? Regardless of an override outcome, our priority is always to be as fiscally responsible as necessary in carrying out the will of the people. We do not change our approach or behavior based on a vote. The way we allocate or prioritize may change in respect to budget items. 

However, we, as a Council, should not be using the results of a vote to compromise our commitment to fiscal discipline. Both scenarios will require an open and honest communication among the Council, Town Administrator, finance committee and department heads. A collaborative and common sense approach is the best way to move forward with an issue that is this controversial. 

Chalk it up to my experience in corporate America but in my current job, if I know I am unable to keep the project on budget they will find somebody else who can. If I ask my SVP for more money without any legitimate evidence to validate that request then he would tell me to take some time off after laughing me out of his office. In the private sector this is known as the chicken little defense. The sky is not falling just because we are not receiving more funds, rather the confidence is falling because we are abandoning reason and logic in asking for those funds. 

Thank you for your time. 

Thanks
Sean P. Slater, PMP

Sean's email address =  seanp.slater_pmp@yahoo.com

Franklin Matters - Voices of Franklin

Guidelines for submission to "Voices of Franklin" can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/03/introducing-voices-of-franklin.html

Frequently asked questions: "What is a Proposition 2½ override?"

What is Proposition 2½?

Proposition 2½ was a Massachusetts ballot initiative that became state law when the voters approved it in 1980. The law puts a 2.5-percent cap on the amount of money a community can raise through property taxes from year to year, not counting revenue from the assessed value of new construction and building improvements.


It is important to understand that Proposition 2½ does not say that your property taxes cannot increase more than 2.5-percent a year. It simply says that the total amount of money raised through property taxes, known as the “tax levy,” cannot increase more than 2.5-percent annually. In addition, a community can increase its levy limit each year to reflect new growth in taxable properties.

What is a Proposition 2½ override?

There are three different ways a community can increase its property taxes above the levy limit. What the town of Franklin is considering putting before the voters is an override of its levy limit, which would increase the limit by a specific amount.


The other ways for a community to change how Proposition 2½ would apply are through a debt exclusion, which temporarily excludes from the levy limit an amount of money to pay for new debt, and a capital outlay exclusion, which allows a community to raise its levy limit for one year for the purpose of funding a specific capital project. In the past, Franklin voters have approved debt exclusions to build new schools.

One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html


------------


The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:

Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)

Or

Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children

I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:

1. Make your choice
2. Vote on June 8th

You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!

Additional information on the override can be found here:

• http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/index.html
• http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
• http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html

Franklin, MA

Frequently asked questions: "Why should I give the town more of my hard-earned money?"

I have heard people criticize the way the town is run. If that’s true, why should I give the town more of my hard-earned money?

Not everyone agrees with every decision made by town and school officials. The facts show Franklin is relatively well run. Our students have excellent test scores and graduation rates, yet we spend below-average per pupil compared to similar-sized communities. Our crime rate and rate of fires are among the lowest in the state. Our recreation programs are hugely popular. Independent rating agencies give the town’s financial management high marks. Our tax rate is the lowest in the area. Our median home price is among the highest. Thanks to great representation on Beacon Hill, we receive well more than our share of state aid. Hundreds of volunteer citizens help keep Franklin a great place to live.


Since 1989, more than 3,500 Proposition 2 1/2 override votes have occurred in communities across Massachusetts. About 40 percent of the time citizens have agreed to raise their own property taxes for the good of their community.


No one likes to pay more taxes, especially in tough economic times, and people can debate any number of town and school decisions and policies. But the urgent issue Franklin faces is whether its voters want to pay about $1 more a day to retain our dispatchers and 2nd ambulance, keep staffing and book budget in place at the library, AND stabilize our educational programs and access to sports and extra curriculars.


Here is what is at stake:

                 

Item	Override Fails	Override Passes
Personnel	Loss of: 7 elementary teachers 8 middle school teachers	Staffing remains at FY10 levels
Fees	Club and activity fees at middle and high school will double to $50.  Athletic fees will increase and move to a tiered system, resulting in fees ranging from $175 to $450 (up from current $125 fee)	No fee increases
Class sizes	Increases in class sizes in grades K-8, up to 30 students in a classroom,  and a shortened school day at elementary schools	No changes
Transportation	Elimination of 3 buses	No change in service
Police	Loss of three police dispatchers; potential implementation of recorded service for emergency call system; less coverage of parking meters and parking enforcement downtown.	No change in service
Fire	Loss of one firefighter; uncertainty on availability of 2nd ambulance; revenue loss from ambulance fees	No change in service
DPW	Needed roadway repairs delayed indefinitely; 3 less employees; slower response times	Road repairs begin
Library	Loss of one employee; reduction in book budget of over $60,000.	No changes

One of a series to address frequently asked questions
http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/faq-part-1.html


------------


The special election on June 8th gives Franklin voters the choice:

Increase taxes to continue to provide the services we have this year (and that does not restore any of the services already cut)

Or

Continue to cut municipal services for all and cut educational opportunities for our children

I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:

1. Make your choice
2. Vote on June 8th

You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!


Additional information on the override can be found here:

• http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/index.html
• http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
• http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html

Franklin, MA

Q & A session (live reporting)

Jeff shifts the topic to Finances

Fixed cost continue to rise above our ability to raise revenues

There is a three-year plan as part of this years budget, we get more negative each year going out.

All employees are getting modest raises, generally less than the cost of living.

"Don't beat up public employees just because the town is having financial problems"

"We talk about regionalization and every where else in the country that happens but doesn't happen here."

There is a ballot item this November to remove the State Income tax. This provides 40% of the state revenue. What would replace it? No one has answered that question.

----------------
Steve Whalen

"A town's budget is a reflection of it's values"

Steve explains how the tax rate analysis he did was done separately it is not an official town document. He did the analysis to answer the comments coming during the override discussion last year that "we can't afford it" He is a financial analyst in his work life.

The residential tax burden goes to affordability.
Being 24th out of 30, tells Steve that if we chose to, we can afford to pay more.
15th out of 17th amongst the towns with a single tax rate.

"One thing I would say to you as an analyst, the override is not about overspending and waste. It not about miss-management. It is about what kind of town you want to live in."

Based upon Steve's analysis, "it is a sensible thing to do."
After tax cost about 50 cents per day.

Newcomer - "There is a different approach this year, it is not being thrust down our throats."

Jeff Roy
"If the layoffs go through, it is a step back of some magnitude."
You are getting factual information to make a choice.
Look at Randolph and what is happening there.

Steve Whalen
OPEC and the oil countries don't care that MA has a Prop 2 1/2 in place.
If I were in Hopkinton, #4 on the listing, I would be digging into the numbers to find ways.

Jim Roche
If property values decrease, the overall taxes will not decrease, we will raise the tax rates.

Arlington plan outlined. Whether we go that way or not, we do need to go with a longer term plan.

Jeff Nutting
Q - What happened to Chap 70? Isn't that the local aid designed for the schools? Where is it going, is it going into the general town fund?
A - Yes, it is but as long as we are above the net school spending per the State, we can apply it as we need to.

Wayne Ogden
Reviewing his handout that will be used in the Town Budget meetings next week.
First chart, the State average spending category by category showing where Franklin is less than the state average in 10 of the 11 categories.
Last year, we were 9 of 11. Next year, Wayne predicts that next year if the override were to fail we will be lower than the state in all 11 categories.

Wayne walks through the numbers to get from the level service number less the town funding to get to the override number of $2.8 Million.

Use gas instead of oil to heat schools and have locked in a good rate to save money.
Impact of failed override restated as

• 17 teachers and one administrator at the High School
• 12.5 teachers at the middle schools
• 15 teachers at the elementary schools
• district wide reductions in curriculum teams, professional development, text books, late bus, increase pay-to-ride, and loss one additional administrator at the Central Office
• increase in class sizes
  

Why send layoff notices so early?
If a teacher gets another position, we don't pay their unemployment.


Sample teacher salaries across several communities the highest and lowest salaries are very comparable.

Q - What is the cost of the late bus?
A - $39,600. There are so many bad choices.

Q - How does the school facilities budget affect the budget?
A - It is not a money savings measure. There are more likely to be increases in future years.

Jeff Roy did find the clip of Jeff Nutting predicting last year that this year we would need approx $3 million for another override, hence his "Nostradamus" nick name.

Jim Roche
Q - I understand why we are here again this year. Mis-management is the perception.
A - The use of the surplus and the growth in Chapter 70 has allowed the town to avoid the problem. The base needs to grow substantially.

Steve Whalen
"Hard to argue that you can be a real high quality town with really low taxes."

Franklin Matters: Intro and Override Reasons

This is the first podcast in a series for Franklin (MA) Matters. In this segment, I review the reasons for the recent override failure, propose some lessons to be learned and possible actions to be taken to prepare Franklin for the future.

This is a public service provided to my fellow Franklin (MA) citizens and voters.

Time: 10 minutes, 43 seconds



MP3 File

Podcast Notes:

Intro

Based upon the traffic analysis, how many readers, how many listeners, I am going to try something different, this podcast will likely to be a weekly format, or at least as frequently as necessary to cover what matters

I will make this available via iTunes, I’ll continue to record as many meetings as I can attend but rather than posting the full meeting, I’ll use segments in this podcast.

The goal of this podcast is to provide a review of what has happened and an outlook as to what is coming up for the week or near future

----------------

Why did the override fail?

By the numbers, 1600 yes votes from last year did not vote yes this year:
500 of them chose to vote no. Just over 1000 stayed home and chose not to vote at all.

What happened to these yes votes?
I think there are a number of reasons.

Apathy is always a factor - "My vote won't make a difference." On a national scale, the individual vote does not count for a whole lot. On the local scale, one vote is ONE vote.

Town priorities - The school budget is always a town matter. The School Department and Superintendent are properly advocates for what they need. The Finance Committee provides some oversight and validation but the ultimate responsibility lies with the Town Council. So while this year (and last) the School Committee brought forth what they needed to maintain the level of education that they were providing, the Town Council chose to follow the beat of their own drummer. Last year the Town planned for the override in advance and included town operations in the override amount. This year, the Town set the schools up on their own and only allowed an override when forced by the School Committee and the presence of growing support within the community. Alas, the support was not enough to carry all the way through.

Mis-information - The hearsay, mis-information and inaccuracies were prevalent in the community discussions. Trying to get the proper information out to the folks was like swimming against the riptide. The Milford Daily News closed out anonymous comments the day after the vote but the damage was done. The constant naysayers were abusive and out in force. Heaven forbid, you try to get a word in edgewise. The key point on this is the difference between a capital expense and an operational expense. Clearly, the majority of Franklin voters don't understand or appreciate the difference.

I believe the Franklin voters who did not cast their ballots will come to regret their decision. The days of Franklin being selected in Top 10 or Top 100 are over. Digging out of this hole will be the hardest thing to do.

The task of the Five Year Plan Committee will be immense. We, the voters, will have a chance of getting a decent plan. There are two "normal, everyday citizens" on the committee along with the elected and appointed officials. We will have to monitor the committee to ensure that they are open and doing something productive. We can not let the Town Council let this opportunity sit idle again.

Additional reasons can be found here

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What can we learn from the failure?

Personally, letting others direct the conversation, reporting the facts, hoping for the best doesn't work.

Action will be required. The level of my own engagement in the town meetings (especially the Town Council) needs to increase.

You, yes you!

Don't sit at home and let the talking heads babble on. Make the effort. Go to the Council Chambers. Show them that there are real live people for whom they should care about what they do. Hold them accountable.

Conversation about what is happening needs to maintain some focus on the real issues. Don't let the agenda hide some items. Ask where is it? Ask what is happening? Ask why?

Together we can come out of the hole. Or separately, we can see our home values decline, or students fall behind, our future dim.

This is our choice.

What choice will you make?

How much does Franklin matter to you?

For additional textual information, please visit Franklin Matters

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

You can send me an email at shersteve at gmail dot com

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The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

Catching up on Override Central

When the Boston Globe incorporated their new web site a few weeks ago, apparently they also changed some of the RSS feeds. I had time to go checking on these today and found several of them had indeed changed.

What is an RSS Feed?
Stay tuned, I have a Common Craft presentation that explains RSS feeds and how they can be used. I'll post it this week.

In the meantime, here are some article previously published on the Globe's Override Central site that were not referenced here. Click on the article headline to read the full story.

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Newton School Committe bets more than $100,000 on a successful override

NEWTON The School Committee is moving forward with plans to build $1.4 million in modular classrooms to address overcrowding at four elementary schools, even though the district can't afford to staff them unless the mayor's proposed tax override passes next...

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Property tax frustration fuels revolt around US

The Wall Street Journal reports that the combination of falling home values and rising property taxes is fueling frustration around the US. An excerpt from WSJ.com: Falling home values and rising property taxes in many parts of the country are...

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Saugus to borrow $10-million to cover its bills

For the second time since June, Saugus will have to borrow money to pay its bills, including payroll and utilities, until winter property tax revenues are collected. Officials expect to have to borrow $10 million in January to cover expenses....

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How Randolph's schools began to fail

Randolph voters have rejected four overrides over the last few years, but political leaders also see other strains on the town. The social compact is broken, one official says in a story in Globe South. Randolph school leaders say they...

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Natick, Newton consider overrides

In Natick, an operational override question on the spring ballot is looking ever more likely as department heads in Natick ponder how to meet a projected $6.5 million budget shortfall. As it stands, the school system could face some of...

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Property taxes rising on North Shore

Property taxes are going up all over, including the cities and towns north of Boston that were surveyed by Globe North this week for this story. "Almost universally across the state, communities have a lack of money to pay for...

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Do we pay for the roads, or not that is the question...

*** The Town Council voted to put the ballot question before the voters to raise $1.5 million on a dedicated override to pay for roads and sidewalks. The dedicated override if approved, can only be used for this purpose. This is not line an 'operational' override which for the first year has a cause to rally around it, but in subsequent years the fund drop into the general fund.

road work on Uncas St

If approved, the money raised by the vote would be voted on by the Town Council in July of 2015 to be used for repairing some roads. If the Council in subsequent years, doesn't vote the full amount or any amount, then no money would be spent on the roads. The voters could change the amount or stop the override in another vote.

The $1.5 million would likely be paired with the approx. $1M of water/sewer line repairs and $900,000 in Chapter 90 funds from the State to help make a dent in the overall backlog of repairs required by the 200 miles of roads in Franklin.

The text of the ballot question can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/resolution-14-45-dedicated-override-to.html

*** The Town Council voted to fund the hiring of a project manager and architect to proceed with the Library renovations and expansion. This funding would allow for the more detail planning that a formal committee would do to eventually come back to the Council with a more detailed design and cost estimate for the work. The return would like be about this time next year.

The amount authorized was $1M. The amount would be funded within the existing debt service plan and not require any increase in taxes. The same funding method was use to provide for the Senior Center, the Fire Stations, and other significant capital expenses outside of the schools which have been covered by debt overrides (and an appropriate increase in taxes).

Franklin Public Library

The Finance Committee meeting had a more detail overview of the project. The presentation and those notes can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/live-reporting-finance-committee-060314.html



*** The Town Council also heard from Alan Mercer on the proposal for creation of a "Cultural District" in Franklin. There are many benefits to do so and the Council spoke in favor of the process.

revised outline of proposed Cultural Council for Franklin

My notes as captured during the meeting on Wednesday can be found here

Live reporting: Closing 

Live reporting: Legislation 

Live reporting: Cultural Council presentation 

Live reporting: Town Council - June 4

• 
  

Mendon to re-do the vote on override

A two-member Board of Selectmen agreed last night to hold a special Town Meeting July 12 and a special election July 27 to vote again on the town's Proposition 2 1/2 tax override, but at a lower number.

The original override sought $594,000 with $100,000 targeted for town services. The new override eliminates the town portion.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x2071993894/Mendon-to-vote-again-on-override



Franklin, MA

What is the One Franklin group doing?

via One Franklin

We have officially registered a ballot question committee called "One Franklin 2023" aka One Franklin. (Ruthann O'Sullivan, Chair and Ken Ojukwu, Treasurer) We are piggy-backing off of the efforts originally started in 2019 after many of you saw over 100 Franklin teachers standing with pink slips on Route 140.

The original committee was led by then School Committee Chair Dr. Anne Bergen, as well as Roberta Trahan, Chair and Jim Roche, Treasurer.

When the federal covid relief money was given to Franklin, our public schools were given a temporary band aid. This federal money plus the chaos ensued by managing covid, stalled the progress of that original committee.

However, that federal relief money is gone and this is why once again our schools are back facing a "fiscal cliff". With the original committee's blessing, we have reignited the efforts to solve this problem. More importantly, One Franklin is for ALL of our community! We do not want the health of our public schools to come at the expense of other departments. We have amazing services in town, they are all stretched thin, and we need to band together as a community.

To summarize:

The One Franklin committee is a group of engaged citizens who are working with elected leaders to pass a tax override in Franklin.

The community's engagement is the absolute most important factor. We have a ton of ways to be involved regardless of your bandwidth. We also don't expect folks who have not been closely watching the history of Franklin's budget process to know immediately that this override is necessary. One of the initiatives of One Franklin is to educate the community as to why we support an override.

Please join our efforts! The email to be involved is OneFranklinVolunteers@gmail.com

We also have a Facebook page, but often cross post on this Support for Franklin Public Schools page as well.

Citizen's engagement motivated our Town Council to reconvene the Joint Budget Subcommittee, which meets Aug 2. Please attend and recruit as many in the community as possible to learn what's happening and engage.

We thought it would be helpful to summarize our expectations of how this process will unfold.

Since our school budget is at such a critical tipping point, by default it will be a significant portion of what will be the amount asked for on the override ballot question. The School Committee, and specifically the members from School Committee's Finance Subcommittee as well as the members of School Committee on Joint Budget Subcommittee will work with school administration to put together line items which they will then bring forward as a request for an override.

Those line items seem to be what folks in this thread refer to as a "proposal". These School Committee members and our school administrators are the best people to draft this request.

One Franklin is committed to remaining engaged, motivating and supporting those efforts to get this done.

From there, One Franklin will engage, motivate and support the other non-school departments to submit their needs so that our joint budget subcommittee and TC can discuss/debate in open meetings.

The Town Council will ultimately vote on a number they believe the community will support.

Once that number is specified and outlined so that citizens know precisely where money will be allocated, the town attorney will draft the ballot question.

One Franklin will have many many open meetings and resources available above and beyond what you get to hear during Town Council, School Committee, and Finance Committee meetings. We have over 200 active volunteers and the list is growing. So whether you just want to dip your toe in the water, or host an educational event, we want you!

Franklin values our town services, let's work together to make sure they're not just efficient, they're excellent!

General Update from the One Franklin group

FM #65 Week Ending 4/25/10

Let's spend less than ten minutes to find out what matters in Franklin, MA as the week ends April 25, 2010.

Time: 6 minutes, 4 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

This internet radio show or podcast is number 65 in the series for Franklin Matters.

Let's take about 10 minutes to review what matters in Franklin, MA as this week comes to a close on Sunday April 25th.

In this session I'll cover Earth Day activities on Saturday April 17th , Saturday April 24th and look ahead to both the School Committee meeting on April 27th and the Town Council meeting on April 28th

Earth Day on April 17th was not good weather and also the first day of some folks school vacation week so both those factors may have contributed to only about 100 or so folks helping clean up around Franklin. I also was out of town for a wedding on that weekend and unable to participate myself.

The raised garden beds were set up. I did manage to get pictures of those at the Senior Center, ECDC and Charter School on Monday. A link to that posting will be in the show notes.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-raised-garden-beds-in.html

The Charles River Watershed Cleanup was held on Saturday the 24th. I stopped by Whole Foods Market in Bellingham to see how David Dobrzynski was doing as the local coordinator. He had over 300 folks scattered amongst his area and many good stories to tell. He suggested I head off to the VFW Post 3402 on Pond St where I could see the BSA Venture Crew 22 which had retrieved 125 tires from along Mine Brook.

The details and photos of their great work will be included in the show notes.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/there-be-tires.html

In preparation for the budget discussion at both the School Committee and Town Council meetings this week, I have a number of items to share:

You may recall that I recorded the budget workshop conducted back in January. The audio recordings and worksheets from each of the budget sections are available here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html

The Financial Planning Committee is updating the Long term or 5 Year Plan for presentation at the Council meeting on the 28th. You can review their prior plan here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_BComm/financial%20planning%20committee%20report/

I have worked with the Franklin Town Clerk, Debbie Pellegri, to compile a comprehensive listing of all the debt exclusion and operational override votes that Franklin has had the opportunity to vote on over the years. The listing is available for your review.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdHp1bjBJSF9sOVY1ZXlERmFPNHkxZnc&hl=en

The School Committee agenda references a discussion on the budget but there are no documents to indicate what options to balance the budget are up for discussion. So if you recall from their meeting on the 13th that everything would be on the table, it still sounds like everything is on the table.

The Town Council agenda includes the update from the Financial Planning Committee and an action item for an override question. The amount itself is open and remains to be determined by the discussion.

These two meetings will be critical to understanding what choice we will have, if we are provided the choice to vote on an override. Word is already on the street that there may not be enough votes for that.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-role-of-town-council.html

If you think you should have an opportunity to vote on an override, then I would suggest that you let the Town Council know or show up to the meeting in person on the 28th.

Whether you are in favor of an override passing or not, having the opportunity to vote on one I think is key!


As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

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 & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!



Note: email subscribers will need to click through to listen to the audio recording