"They're not all layoffs but they are degrading or reducing ... services"

"This budget has me very concerned," Town Councilor Tina Powderly said. "It's the same old story. It's death by 1,000 cuts. It's great the schools came in with a conservative budget, but they came in with a conservative budget because they cut 14 (positions)." 

In addition to the school jobs, Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting's recommended cuts include two police officers, two firefighters, four Department of Public Works jobs and 5.5 library jobs. 

The proposed $89.2 million budget represents a 1.2 percent increase over this year's $88.1 million budget. 

Cuts have to be made despite the budget going up due to decreased state aid (down about $300,000), local revenue (down about $200,000) and $2 million less in school stimulus money. About a 12 percent rise in health insurance costs and increased contracted salary hikes have led to a rise in the school budget, administrators have said. 

The town's Finance Committee is scheduled to continue its budget hearing today and Monday. The council's budget hearings are June 8 and 9.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1760690278/with-links#ixzz1LTBVXJWW




Franklin, MA

Garden Registration is Officially Open!

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Garden Registration is Officially Open!

via Growing In Franklin by Franklin Community Gardens on 5/4/11

Calling all prospective Gardeners!

The wait is OVER!

THE LOTTERY IS OPEN!

Hooray!

Hop on over to the Franklin Rec page and sign up! click on the words  Online registration, below:

Community Garden

Sign up online for a plot to grow your own vegetables at the King Street Community Gardens.  Or volunteer to help out on Build Day (May 7, either 9am-12pm or 1pm-4pm).  Register on our Online registration

Important: when the link opens, Click on "Register for Activities", then select "Community Garden".

How's it going to work? You ask.

Easy.

Sign up for the lottery online, hurry up, get your name in or register for your community group because the deadline for the drawing is May 23rd at 3:00 p.m.  It is free to enter the lottery, winners will be responsible for the $40 per season charge for a plot.  A "plot" in this garden is actually a 4 foot by 10 foot by approx. 24" high raised bed, filled with a mix of organic compost and screened loam. The sides will be untreated spruce.

If you can not or choose not to do this online, you may go to the Franklin Recreation Department during business hours.

On Friday May 23rd, we will do the lottery drawing in public at the Franklin Community Garden Committee meeting held at the Franklin Municipal Bldg on East Central St, room 205, at 6:30 p.m.  You will be notified if you or your group was assigned a space, and you will be charged the $40.  You do not need to be present for the drawing, but there might be, like, cookies....Just saying.

The Garden's Official Opening Day is lined up for Saturday, May 28th, weather permitting.

Thank you to everyone who has helped bring this project closer to reality.  The major "pinch me" moment will come on Saturday morning, Build Day, but as I walked through King Street recently through the stakes and over to the water pipe and mentally surveyed the site, I about lost it.  Clicking on the Build Day sign up form and seeing new names---out of the woodwork, out of the ether---Names attached to People who will be digging and building and hauling and creating and making and growing and sharing. 

That is community building, my friends. Franklin, you totally rock.

If you are just hearing about this new community garden now, hope you can join us on Saturday, May 7th for Build Day.  Click on the top of this page to volunteer---Sign Up for Build Day---and meet us at the park on Saturday.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Growing In Franklin using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

We need your help for Build Day!

Hello everyone,

The first ever Franklin Community Garden is happening and we are full steam ahead.  We are building the 46 beds this Saturday, May 7th and we need your help! We will build them and then fill them up with that gorgeous soil!  There are two 3-hour shifts to choose from unless you want to help the whole day!  No amazing "building skills" required.  All the wood will be pre-cut, so if you know how to hold a piece of wood, then you are skilled enough to come help!

Click this link: https://spreadsheets0.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dFFBSGhPMWFXdG5kTl9faXFGS3lCLWc6MQ  OR visit www.franklincommunitygardens.org to sign up by clicking the word "Form".

Hope to see you this Saturday to help make Franklin an even greener place!

In health and sawdust,

Franklin Community Gardens

--

Subscribe to the blog!

www.franklincommunitygardens.org

Yes, we are on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Franklin-Community-Gardens/152040424825578

Library updates

New Items April 2011

from Franklin Public Library by Franklin Public Library

New Children's Items April 2011

from Franklin Public Library by Franklin Public Library

One Book One Community

from Franklin Public Library by Franklin Public Library

Franklin, MA

"everyone calls us for everything that goes wrong"

"We've turned into a reactive department" he said, adding, "What else are we not going to respond to? If you had a break-in with no evidence left, do we even respond (or take information over the phone instead)?" 

Franklin's police force had 54 officer positions about 10 years ago but will drop to 43 officers after two officers are cut in fiscal 2012, Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said. One position is already vacant and Nutting said he anticipates the other position will be vacated before the end of the fiscal year. 

Nutting's proposed $89.2 million town budget cuts more than 31 positions overall, including the two officers, 14.3 school positions, two firefighters, four Department of Public Works positions and 5.5 library jobs. The budget represents a 1.4 percent increase over this year's $88 million budget. 

Cuts have to be made despite the budget going up due to decreased state aid (down about $300,000), decreased local revenue (down about $200,000), a loss of about $2 million in stimulus funds, increases in health insurance costs (up about 12 percent) and increased contractual obligations.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1760690098/Move-to-avoid-cutting-Franklin-Police-snuffed#ixzz1LNJJA5Zb

The Budget hearings will resume Thursday, May 5.

Results of the Budget hearing on Monday evening are contained here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/obviously-its-continued-struggle.html


Franklin, MA

In the News - Art, Leaders, Summer program

Franklin Art Association hosts spring art show

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Young leaders honored at Tri-County in Franklin

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin schools to offer summer art programs

by Staff reports

Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee - Agenda - May 3, 2011

The Finance Committee continues their series of budget hearings on the Fiscal 2012 budget Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM. The department budgets scheduled to be reviewed are contained in the document shown here.

An anonymous commenter on the Milford Daily News has already stated "Cut until someone in a town job actually has to go home tired." This is your town, these are your services. Get informed. These are your choices to make.

FinCom Agenda 5/03/2011



Franklin, MA