‘No worries’ works

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

‘No worries’ works

via Boston Globe -- Globe West by Phil Perry, Globe Correspondent on 2/11/12

Watching the Franklin High girls' basketball team warm up is a reminder that the upcoming game will be just that: a game. On Tuesday night, Kaitlin Copponi chatted playfully during a passing drill. Lauren Irvine danced to hip-hop songs. No game faces here. And before tip-off, they chant their mantra three times over: "Hakuna mattata!'' Then the Panthers rolled to their 15th straight victory, clinching the Hockomock Davenport title with a 46-29 win at Attleboro.

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Franklin Food Pantry: 2nd Annual Phonathon

The 2nd Annual Phonathon will be conducted by the Franklin Food Pantry on Saturday Feb 18 and Saturday Feb 25.




Food Pantry volunteers will make phone calls during the hours between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM on both Saturdays.

Thanks to Dean College for the use of their facilities for allowing this to happen.

You can make donations on line at the Food Pantry website http://franklinfoodpantry.org/
or use the button here at Franklin Matters that will link you to the same donation process.

Wadsworth Diary - Feb 12, 1858

Oops, I posted Jan 12, 1858 instead of Feb 12, 1858

Very Pleasant very warm & windy Staid in store some & in house some with Wm. & c. in fournoon. Helped Jos & Father load a car of oak & ash. Put up 10 Bushels Potatoes for Clarry. Joseph went to Bellingham & to wood lot. 

Written upside down: Started for the sing about 8 ¼ O’clock but went to writing school.

Here is Feb 12, 1858

Very pleasant & cold 3 above zero at sunrise Jos masured boards in fournoon Father & Mother went to Uncle Richs to see Grandmother. She is some better. I staid in store some, split some birch wood & c. Sent a paper to Lorrinda.

In the 1850s, on a busy working farm in the southern part of Franklin, a man named George Wadsworth started writing in a journal about everyday events. When he filled that journal, he bought another, and filled that up too. Two dozen journals, and 27 years later, he had written about almost everything that can happen in a small New England town. His words were lost to history until 1986, when town resident Gail Lembo came across some of the journals at a yard sale. 


From the Franklin Historical Museum website
http://www.franklinhistoricalmuseum.com/p/wadsworth-diaries_30.html    

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Feb 15, 2012

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS – Life Saving Award-Franklin Police Dept

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS
Public Land Use Committee - Roger Denny
Franklin Community Garden Committee - Kiernan Joliat
Citizen Committee - Robert Avakkian, Lawrence Benedetto, Paul Cheli, Monique Doyle, Donald Nielsen, Donna Resten, Steve Sherlock

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
– Library Board of Directors
- Remote Participation Guidelines

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 12-10: Appropriation: Library Expenses
2. Resolution 12-11: Appropriation: FY 12 Enterprise Funds Capital
3. Resolution 12-12: Appropriation: FY 12 Capital Improvement Plan
4. Resolution 12-13: Authorizing the Town Administrator to Execute Agreement By and Between the Town of Franklin and Franklin Community Cable Access, Inc.
5. Bylaw Amendment 12-679:Amendment to Chapter 82, Appendix A, List of Service Fee Rates – 1st Reading

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L. OLD BUSINESS

M. NEW BUSINESS

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS

O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

P. ADJOURN

The full document set as published before the meeting can be found on the Franklin website
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2012%20docs/021512.pdf

Wadsworth Diary - Feb 11, 1858

Stormed hard all day, warm (rain) Staid in the house most the day with Wm. and looked over my books & c in my draw. Bought a note of $10.00 of Siles Adams against Jos Fisher. Paid $5.00 in money & the rest in potatoes. Bought 2 Ladies Almanacs (gave 1 to Sarah) & this book.

Also looking like a stormy day in 2012, this is what it looked like out the back window this morning.




In the 1850s, on a busy working farm in the southern part of Franklin, a man named George Wadsworth started writing in a journal about everyday events. When he filled that journal, he bought another, and filled that up too. Two dozen journals, and 27 years later, he had written about almost everything that can happen in a small New England town. His words were lost to history until 1986, when town resident Gail Lembo came across some of the journals at a yard sale. 


From the Franklin Historical Museum website
http://www.franklinhistoricalmuseum.com/p/wadsworth-diaries_30.html   

Facts About the Cost of the New Franklin High School

Dear Franklin Friend,

As we move closer to the March 27 vote to support the construction of a fully furnished and equipped 21st century high school and auditorium for our community, you should feel confident the project will stay on time and on budget.  Here are five factual reasons why you can be comfortable the new Franklin High School will be delivered as promised with no costly surprises:

·         The new Franklin High School is a Model School. Our model has been built eight times in other communities in Massachusetts, an experience which eliminates many of the unknowns that can drive up the cost of design and construction in these projects. You can learn more about the Model School Program here: http://www.massschoolbuildings.org/programs/model_school

·         The cost includes a conservative contingency budget of 4 percent. This far above what other model school projects have experienced. In Whitman Hanson, the change orders during construction amounted to less than 1%. Norwood had the same experience. And Plymouth North has had change orders amounting to one-half of 1 percent. All of the real-world evidence demonstrates that Franklin's project will come in at or under budget.

·         The cost includes everything. The March 27 debt exclusion voters are being asked to support funds a fully furnished and equipped new high school. In addition to furnishings and equipment, the cost of demolishing the old facility and constructing new athletic fields is included. It also accounts for potential inflation during the five or six months it will take to complete the bid documents and bid the project.

·         The project budget underwent a rigorous, professional review and approval process. The budget was developed by a project manager and architect with deep experience in the Model School Program; analyzed by two other professional firms; carefully reviewed by the Franklin School Building Committee; and, heavily scrutinized and unanimously endorsed by the professionals at the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

·         The cost of new construction is more predictable than a renovation. New construction eliminates much of the guesswork in the budgeting process. For example, the key systems at the current Franklin High School are located under a concrete slab foundation and behind cinder block walls. A renovation of the existing building would require significant demolition, take twice as long, and could encounter unforeseen, costly issues.

Thanks to careful planning and oversight by experienced school building professionals, as well as heavy scrutiny by town and state officials at every step of the process, Franklin residents can feel confident about the new Franklin High School budget. The budget is capped at $104.5 million, as is the cost to the taxpayers of $47 million. 

Please visit www.newfhs.com for updated information on the new FHS and why it deserves your YES vote on March 27. The "Learn the Facts" page (http://www.newfhs.com/facts.php) offers great factual information. We also encourage you to keep up with project news by "Liking" our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/newfhs.

Please share this email with your friends and neighbors here in Franklin so that everyone has the information they need to make a good decision.

To those who are already volunteering and have contributed financially, thank you. To those who have not, we need your active support and donations, and we welcome questions. You can email us at voteyesforFHS@gmail.com, or visit: http://www.newfhs.com/contact.php for more information.

Thank you!

Citizens for a New Franklin High School

Vote Yes for FHS on March 27! A Real Need. The Right Time.

Discover Tax program generates business expense audits

Tax season is upon us. This article from the Dept of Revenue highlights what they use to flag returns for audits. Deviations from the norm is the simple way to explain what they look for.

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Discover Tax program generates business expense audits

via Commonwealth Conversations: Revenue by Robert Bliss on 2/10/12

Banker & Tradesman (subscription only) ran a story this week on the subject of mortgage loan originators subject to DOR audits. The story also discussed how DOR generates taxpayer audits in general.

The piece was pegged to a notice from the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association urging loan originators to "consult with your tax accountant or adviser" to best preserve the deductibility of appropriate unreimbursed business expenses for outside sales people. By the way, it is the IRS that defines what are acceptable unreimbursed expenses.

The story posed the question: Was DOR singling out mortgage loan originators for special attention? The answer, as reported in Banker & Tradesman, and we'll repeat it here, is simply, "no."

DOR uses a program called Discover Tax to review information on tax returns against many different kinds of databases. If, for example, a tax return reports relatively low income, but the taxpayer owns a $1 million home and two Bentleys, Discover Tax will flag that incongruity and generate an audit. DOR has no idea what type of employment or employer the taxpayer has; it's the numbers that jump out.

Similarly, if a taxpayer has an unusual amount of unreimbursed business expenses relative to income, Discover Tax will recognize that and kick out an audit.

Any individual taxpayer -- including mortgage loan originators -- may encounter a problem if they claim unreimbursed business expenses on the same basis as afforded to outside salesman.

DOR's view, articulated in 1989 and maintained since then, is that outside salesman sell for their employer outside the employer's office. Thus, a mortgage loan originator who works in an office is not an outside sales person.

If mortgage loan originators claim unreimbursed business expenses in amounts that  bubble up to an audit after a Discover Tax run, they face the question not only of justifying and documenting the expenses, but they must also make sure of their legitimate claim to them in the first place.  

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