Monday, April 30, 2012

Cub Scouts recycling shoes for you

I stopped by the Town Common on Saturday to drop off some shoes to the Cub Scouts who are recycling them.

Franklin, MA: Pack 99 collecting shoes

Drew Mahoney posed proudly for a picture.

The Cub Scouts will be on the Town Common and other collection points around Franklin on Saturdays through May 19. Additional details can be found in the related posts on the Cub Scout recycling drive below.


Pack 99
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/04/franklin-cub-scouts-step-it-up-with.html

Pack 126
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/04/franklin-cub-scout-pack-126-walks-mile.html

Pack 129
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/04/cub-scouts-collecting-shoes.html

Reminder: weekly summary

Coming to Franklin Matters, you get your daily dose of what is happening around Franklin. If you'd like to get a weekly summary, you can subscribe to Franklin Matters Weekly. In addition to the listing of everything published the prior week, you get an essay. The Franklin Matters view on what's up and what's coming.

You can subscribe to receive Franklin Matters Weekly via email or RSS feed. Your email address is never shared with anyone else. On the right side of the web page, under the Franklin Matters signpost, there is a frm to use to sign up for either the email subscription or the RSS Feed.

This was the summary for the week ending Apr 29th:


Like gardeners, planning the layout of the growing space, setting out the stakes, tying off the supports, the Franklin budget process is very similar. The department managers assess what they have and what they need to provide services they need to deliver. They have several discussions and present the plan to the Town Administrator who either makes an adjustment or brings it forward.

The first step is the review with the Finance Committee. Over the course of several nights, the Finance Committee reviews the budget with each of the department heads, discusses their processes, their needs, their issues and ultimately makes a decision.

Their decision goes before the Town Council who holds formal budget hearings on two consecutive nights. They are currently scheduled for May 23 and 24 to review the FY 2013 budget. During these hearings, the Council has the opportunity to discuss budget details with each of the department heads. From experience, there tends to be less discussion than in the FinCom sessions.

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Given the Prop 2.5 rules for MA, there are restrictions on how much revenue that the community can raise via property taxes. The established levy can only increase 2.5%. Anything above 2.5% requires a special vote. There are two kinds of votes to approve a greater than 2.5% increase.

  1. If it is for a capital item (like a new school), the vote is called a debt exclusion. The amount of increase is set for a specific number of years and then expires. 
  2. If it is for regular operational budget, like an additional DPW worker or for the salary increases due to collective bargaining agreements, then it is an operational override. The override amount in this case becomes a permanent addition to the tax base. 

Franklin has passed only one operational override (in 2007) and has passed several debt exclusions for school buildings (mostly). The most recent debt exclusion was passed in March to approve the new Franklin High School. During the time that the debt exclusion amount will be building up to its maximum amount for the new high school, debt exclusion amounts for Horace Mann, Remington/Jefferson and Keller/Sullivan will be coming off the tax levy

You can see the current amount for these debt exclusions in the FY 2013 Budget Revenue document
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/04/franklin-ma-fy-2013-budget-documents.html

Franklin has automatically taken the 2.5% increase. It could choose to take part of it, or none of it. Given that it has taken all of it, we (as taxpayers) can expect a minimum of 2.5% increase each year.

All is well and good with this. It sets the planning horizon. Like the gardener, Franklin needs to live within its means. So when contract negotiations grant 2.5% increases in any given year then the automatic amount is already used up. If anything in operations would be needed, it would require a cut from somewhere else in order to balance the budget. If you only put up a two foot support, and your plant grows four feet, then what do you do?

To continue to review the links posted during the past week, visit the Franklin Matters Weekly summary here  http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2012/04/week-ending-apr-29-2012.html


Sunday, April 29, 2012

Contract ratifications scheduled

Four of the nine union bargaining units have reached a tentative contract agreement. The settlement for each of the four is outlined in the Town Council agenda document. Each has contract language changes in additional to the money agreement.

All four have agreed to a 1.5% increase for FY 2013, a 2% increase for FY 2014 and a 2.5% increase for FY 2015. Three of the four receive a one time cash payment of $600, the fourth (the custodians) receive a $500 cash payment.

The money for the cash payment comes from the extra $151,114 that Franklin received in Oct 2011. This amount was local aid from the State added over and above the amount previously allocated. Franklin put the money aside in a special account. They need to allocate it within FY 2012 or it will roll into the "free cash" account and not be available until the "free cash" is approved later this year.

What this does to the overall question of the teacher contract $350,000 which is scheduled to be drawn back from the Stabilization account for use in the FY 2013 budget remains to be seen. As previously reported here, the FinCom did not specifically approve this transaction although they did approve the total Town budget which requires this amount to balance it. They do have time to vote on it before the Town Council budget hearings are held on May 23-24.

One other note, while so much was made of the teacher increase and how it was communicated, almost glossed over was the increase amounts of .5% for FY 2012 and 1% for FY 2013. Both of these amounts are now equivalent to the Town contract settlements. If it was revealed what increase the is that would be scheduled beyond FY 2013, I have not been able to locate in my notes. I suspect as they are exploring the interest based bargaining approach to addressing the systemic problem with the steps and lanes that there was agreement beyond FY 2013.


Related posts:


Town Council agenda items for May 2, 2012
2. Resolution 12-26: Appropriation: FY 12 Wages (Contract Settlement)3. Resolution 12-27: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Public Safety Telecommunications 4. Resolution 12-28: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Public Facilities Employees5. Resolution 12-29: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Municipal Building Employees 6. Resolution 12-30: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Custodians



Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - May 2, 2012


A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Special Council Meeting April 12, 2012,
Executive Session April 18, 2012

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS – This meeting is being recorded by Verizon, Comcast, and Franklin Matters

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

  • Robert Russell – National Grid
  • Mike D’Angelo – Facilities Director
  • Procedure to Issue Package Store License
  • FY 13 Local Aid

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 12-25:Order of Layout, Acceptance, and Taking of Beaver Court, Mark’s Way, and J.R.’s Lane and Order of Taking (Extinguishment) of Related Right-of-Way Over Abutting Town-Owned Land – Referral to Planning Board
2. Resolution 12-26: Appropriation: FY 12 Wages (Contract Settlement)
3. Resolution 12-27: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Public Safety Telecommunications
4. Resolution 12-28: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Public Facilities Employees
5. Resolution 12-29: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Municipal Building Employees
6. Resolution 12-30: Ratification of AFSCME Local 1298 Custodians
7. Resolution 12-31: Transfer Order for Unexpended Bond Proceeds
8. Bylaw Amendment 12-681: Amendment to Chapter 4, Administration of Government – 2nd Reading
9. Bylaw Amendment 12-682: Amendment to Chapter 110, Licenses and Permits, Designation of Issuing Authority – 2nd 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 set of documents for the agenda can be found on the Franklin website
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2012%20docs/050212.pdf

Share your wedding gown with history!


The Franklin Historical Museum is preparing for the return of their very popular Wedding Dress Exhibit. It will include dresses representing each decade of the last century and back to the late 1800's. The exhibit will run in June and July, dresses should be received before May 19.

If you would like to loan your wedding gown, or your Mom's or grandmother's gown to the museum for this beautiful exhibit, you can contact Debbie Pellegri at Franklin Town Hall, 508-520-4900 or drop off your dress with your name and as much information as you would like to share during Museum hours: Saturday 10:00am - 1:00pm; Sunday 1:00pm to 5:00pm and Thursdays 5:00pm-8:00pm.

For more information visit our Facebook page.

Franklin Art Center 1 year anniversary and art opening

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Franklin Art Center

CREATIVITY     CULTURE     COMMUNITY
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SOLO SHOWING

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Orfeo Fabbri - Solo Opening Reception May 5th

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Orfeo is an award winning artist living and working on Cape Cod while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. His work has been described as having a "…very strong, saturated color and powerful compositions, sometimes including mixed media. His techniques include extensive use of the palette knife, thus his surfaces have the strength of an impasto surface"

-Melissa J. Woringer, Art Consultant





orfeo
The Encounter
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May 5 - June 10, 2012

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Orfeo has studied with some of Cape Cod's finest artists. He is a juried artist member of the Cape Cod Art Association and the Provincetown Art Association & Museum. In May (2009) he was awarded First Place in oil/acrylic by the Cape Cod Art Association for his piece, Sunday Afternoon, in the All Cape Cod Artist Juried Exhibit. Orfeo's work is included in private and corporate collections.

For more infor mation contact Franklin Art Center atfranklinartcenter@gmail.com.
Or call 508 887-2797.
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Walk, Bike to School Day May 2

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

via Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation by Klark Jessen on 4/25/12

Walk to SchoolThousands of elementary and middle school-aged children will celebrate Walk and Bicycle to School Day on Wednesday, May 2 during events promoted through MassDOT's Safe Routes to School Program.

In 2011, 162 schools from across the Commonwealth participated in this event, the largest to date.   The Safe Routes to School program has added more than 100 new partner schools this year.

MassDOT's Safe Routes to School program works with students, parents, school staff and local police departments across the Commonwealth to promote walking and bicycling to school.

"Massachusetts Walk and Bicycle to School Day reminds us that walking to school can be a fun, healthy and safe way to get to school," said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey.  "These efforts strongly support our goals of promoting healthy transportation modes through the GreenDOT initiative and Healthy Transportation Compact."

Increasing the number of students who walk and bicycle to school helps improve students' health, reduce traffic congestion, and improve air quality in Massachusetts communities.

According to the US Department of Transportation, fewer than 16 percent of children walk or bicycle to classes.  School-related traffic can contribute more than 10 percent of morning rush hour traffic volumes in some communities, as well as significant air pollution. MassDOT established the Massachusetts Walk to School Day in 2007 to encourage healthy choices.

Things you can do from here: