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Friday, May 1, 2015
HMEA News & Notes - April 2015
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Live reporting: Finance Committee - Budget Hearing #1 - Apr 30, 2015
Present: Dowd, Conley, Fleming, Smith, Dewsnap, Aparo, Bertone
Absent: Huempher, Dufour
The first of a series of budget hearings for Fiscal Year 2016 (FY 2016) begins Thursday night.
motion to approve minutes, seconded, approved 7-0
proposing a balanced budget (as required by law), the revenue numbers are as of estimates from the State which should finalized their numbers by Jun 30
Chapter 70 is done over the past several years by 2.6M
they have changed the formula, we have declining enrollment
so unless something changes, we expect a continued decline
most of the growth in the budget comes from property taxes
by right can go up by 2.5%
local receipts
we do ultimately collect 100% of the taxes
they may be late but they pay plus a penalty
no major changes in the budget
a couple of position increases
explanation on overall tax rate setting process, single tax vs. split tax
question on Charter school funding, has been under funding
similar to SPED reimbursement, transportation and other
next year reimbursement for Charter schools may double unless something changes
may be a continuing struggle with the funding formula
Charter school is looking at a new location, they have the right to expand enrollment
they are looking at it now, it is an unknown right now
85% of the students are Franklin and if they moved, it might cut into the enrollment
Gus Brown - Building inspector
budget unchanged except for salary changes per bargaining agreements
motion to not approve any individual line items until the whole budget has been reviewed
seconded, passed 7-0
176 Appeals Board
budget here is for notifications based upon appeals, the fees for advertising are reimbursed
152 Human Resources
Stephanie Lutz, HR Director
9 collective bargaining units
switching to Tufts from Blue Cross/Blue Shield
4.7% vs 10.9%, better plan for the people, and saves the taxpayers
work together with the School Dept to coordinate the human resources processing
if we do hire police/fire fighter, the medical/psychological exams are about $2,000
pre-employment medical are a requirement by the Town (but not the School Dept currently)
management salary analysis done periodically and adjusted as needed through Town Council/FinCom approvals
910 Employee Benefits
retirement assessment, we are part of the County system and the largest member of it
unfunded liability of $40M, do have a discount if paid early in July
budget amount does include the discount 2%
active and retiree
non school GIC (retired teachers) (a cost savings paying $900K vs $1.5M under prior plan)
grandfathered group of 218 people
health insurance is looking a whole lot better than it was
workers comp has gone up, three bad claims have driven this, three year rolling average
the claims are gone so the average should start rolling down
police and fire fighters get 100% of their pay if injured on duty; others get 70%
unemployment has been going down
OPEB policy is to increase by 100,000/year. didn't this year due to other pressures
if we can put it back, we should
we should be paying over 2M per year and we can't do that
OPEB trust should get better return on the funding set aside
so while it is not fixed we are doing what we can for it
it is a policy not a bylaw, it makes good fiscal sense
we'll have a new Council next year, will it be the same 9 or different, don't know
discussion on changing the eligibility for retirement, the statues need to change to change the Town obligations
once the unfunded portion is covered, the requirements going forward are significantly less, only 3.5% of the payroll going forward
whenever the fire arbitrator decision comes down, it will be up to the Council to ratify
111 Town Council
most of the 4K is for dues to the Mass Municipal Assoc
123 Town Administrator
big change request to add a deputy town administrator
looking at transition issues on a lot of fronts
HR director expecting to retire
Comptroller/Treasurer also possibly retiring in a few years
want to bring some one on to help understand what is going on
to help plan ahead
would take 2-3 months to fulfill the position
biggest change in the budget from a cost perspective
when Norma left, we were scrambling for months as we have no backups
full impact would be seen for FY 2017
looking to explore on how to improve communications
additional funding added to provide some flexibility within the $100M business
131 Finance Committee A-4
advertising, dues, training
135 Comptroller A-6
level funding, however some additional training
141 Assessors A-11
adjustments to salary in FY 2015 but not shown in the budget total, hence it looks like an increase for this new budget but is really isn't an increase
performance and market adjustment
147 Treasurer/Collector
budget went down a little, a few adjustments on expense items, overall down
151 Legal
extra expenses due to arbitration related costs
unusual this year but hopefully we are past that
a little more added this year as all 9 bargaining units are up for renewal
196 Central Services
largest chunk for postage machine
printing, copy machines, annual report printing
Iron Mountain storage
if we could get 10% of the folks to go with electronic payment we could save some big dollars but it is hard to change
292 Animal Control
shared with Town of Bellingham, they have the pound, we have the people, split the vehicles
works very well, get very little complaints, a whole lot cheaper than doing it all ourselves
692 Memorial Day
flags for veterans cemetary plot
695 Cultural Council
redistributed back to the Town via grants
Concerts on the Common, etc.
710/750 Debt
re-funded two bonds to save money
will be going to market for the high school and library in late May
the numbers should come back before the Council approves the budget in June
the State is holding back 5% of what we are supposed to get until it all finishes
we should get that next year
debt policy, up to 3.5% of the budget
number has been declining since 2012
the Library fits well within the debt plan
it is lower this year but will go back up
other than schools, our current debt will be gone by 2018
Remington Jefferson will be paid off with FY 2016
there will be more debt but for what we don't know yet
could be a roof
945 General Insurance
insurance for all property casualty and liability
single sprinkelr head went at Keller Sullivan school
the insurance re-assed all the buildings for replacement value
over 1M square feet of space
we are a big company and we have lots of liability
it is a big number but it is a busy place
we do competitive quotes
The agenda for the meeting can be found here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczUHFncy12ZlZub1U/view?usp=sharing
Old business
New Business
Fleming - will miss Bob Fahey, he has been doing a fantastic job
Dowd - I wasn't aware of that, he has been a huge help
we already have an offer out to one who has been helping Bob the last several years
next meeting Monday, May 4
May 5, May 7 have currently been scheduled
may not need the meeting for May 11th at this point
motion to adjourn, seconded, passed 7-0
Absent: Huempher, Dufour
The first of a series of budget hearings for Fiscal Year 2016 (FY 2016) begins Thursday night.
motion to approve minutes, seconded, approved 7-0
proposing a balanced budget (as required by law), the revenue numbers are as of estimates from the State which should finalized their numbers by Jun 30
Chapter 70 is done over the past several years by 2.6M
they have changed the formula, we have declining enrollment
so unless something changes, we expect a continued decline
most of the growth in the budget comes from property taxes
by right can go up by 2.5%
local receipts
we do ultimately collect 100% of the taxes
they may be late but they pay plus a penalty
no major changes in the budget
a couple of position increases
explanation on overall tax rate setting process, single tax vs. split tax
question on Charter school funding, has been under funding
similar to SPED reimbursement, transportation and other
next year reimbursement for Charter schools may double unless something changes
may be a continuing struggle with the funding formula
Charter school is looking at a new location, they have the right to expand enrollment
they are looking at it now, it is an unknown right now
85% of the students are Franklin and if they moved, it might cut into the enrollment
Budget Presentations:
240 Building DepartmentGus Brown - Building inspector
budget unchanged except for salary changes per bargaining agreements
motion to not approve any individual line items until the whole budget has been reviewed
seconded, passed 7-0
176 Appeals Board
budget here is for notifications based upon appeals, the fees for advertising are reimbursed
152 Human Resources
Stephanie Lutz, HR Director
9 collective bargaining units
switching to Tufts from Blue Cross/Blue Shield
4.7% vs 10.9%, better plan for the people, and saves the taxpayers
work together with the School Dept to coordinate the human resources processing
if we do hire police/fire fighter, the medical/psychological exams are about $2,000
pre-employment medical are a requirement by the Town (but not the School Dept currently)
management salary analysis done periodically and adjusted as needed through Town Council/FinCom approvals
910 Employee Benefits
retirement assessment, we are part of the County system and the largest member of it
unfunded liability of $40M, do have a discount if paid early in July
budget amount does include the discount 2%
active and retiree
non school GIC (retired teachers) (a cost savings paying $900K vs $1.5M under prior plan)
grandfathered group of 218 people
health insurance is looking a whole lot better than it was
workers comp has gone up, three bad claims have driven this, three year rolling average
the claims are gone so the average should start rolling down
police and fire fighters get 100% of their pay if injured on duty; others get 70%
unemployment has been going down
OPEB policy is to increase by 100,000/year. didn't this year due to other pressures
if we can put it back, we should
we should be paying over 2M per year and we can't do that
OPEB trust should get better return on the funding set aside
so while it is not fixed we are doing what we can for it
it is a policy not a bylaw, it makes good fiscal sense
we'll have a new Council next year, will it be the same 9 or different, don't know
discussion on changing the eligibility for retirement, the statues need to change to change the Town obligations
once the unfunded portion is covered, the requirements going forward are significantly less, only 3.5% of the payroll going forward
whenever the fire arbitrator decision comes down, it will be up to the Council to ratify
111 Town Council
most of the 4K is for dues to the Mass Municipal Assoc
123 Town Administrator
big change request to add a deputy town administrator
looking at transition issues on a lot of fronts
HR director expecting to retire
Comptroller/Treasurer also possibly retiring in a few years
want to bring some one on to help understand what is going on
to help plan ahead
would take 2-3 months to fulfill the position
biggest change in the budget from a cost perspective
when Norma left, we were scrambling for months as we have no backups
full impact would be seen for FY 2017
looking to explore on how to improve communications
additional funding added to provide some flexibility within the $100M business
131 Finance Committee A-4
advertising, dues, training
135 Comptroller A-6
level funding, however some additional training
141 Assessors A-11
adjustments to salary in FY 2015 but not shown in the budget total, hence it looks like an increase for this new budget but is really isn't an increase
performance and market adjustment
147 Treasurer/Collector
budget went down a little, a few adjustments on expense items, overall down
151 Legal
extra expenses due to arbitration related costs
unusual this year but hopefully we are past that
a little more added this year as all 9 bargaining units are up for renewal
196 Central Services
largest chunk for postage machine
printing, copy machines, annual report printing
Iron Mountain storage
if we could get 10% of the folks to go with electronic payment we could save some big dollars but it is hard to change
292 Animal Control
shared with Town of Bellingham, they have the pound, we have the people, split the vehicles
works very well, get very little complaints, a whole lot cheaper than doing it all ourselves
692 Memorial Day
flags for veterans cemetary plot
695 Cultural Council
redistributed back to the Town via grants
Concerts on the Common, etc.
710/750 Debt
re-funded two bonds to save money
will be going to market for the high school and library in late May
the numbers should come back before the Council approves the budget in June
the State is holding back 5% of what we are supposed to get until it all finishes
we should get that next year
debt policy, up to 3.5% of the budget
number has been declining since 2012
the Library fits well within the debt plan
it is lower this year but will go back up
other than schools, our current debt will be gone by 2018
Remington Jefferson will be paid off with FY 2016
there will be more debt but for what we don't know yet
could be a roof
945 General Insurance
insurance for all property casualty and liability
single sprinkelr head went at Keller Sullivan school
the insurance re-assed all the buildings for replacement value
over 1M square feet of space
we are a big company and we have lots of liability
it is a big number but it is a busy place
we do competitive quotes
The agenda for the meeting can be found here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczUHFncy12ZlZub1U/view?usp=sharing
Old business
New Business
Fleming - will miss Bob Fahey, he has been doing a fantastic job
Dowd - I wasn't aware of that, he has been a huge help
we already have an offer out to one who has been helping Bob the last several years
next meeting Monday, May 4
May 5, May 7 have currently been scheduled
may not need the meeting for May 11th at this point
motion to adjourn, seconded, passed 7-0
FY 2016 School Budget proposal
The school budget presentation from the School Committee meeting Tuesday can be viewed here:
The Budget Book can be downloaded and viewed here
http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/FranklinDistrict_budget/FY16%20Budget%20Book.pdf
My notes from the meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/04/school-committee-reviews-fy-2016-budget.html
The Budget books display best if you upgrade your adobe reader to a current version. Click Here to Download
The Budget Book can be downloaded and viewed here
http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/FranklinDistrict_budget/FY16%20Budget%20Book.pdf
My notes from the meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/04/school-committee-reviews-fy-2016-budget.html
"More Easy Walks in Massachusetts"
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| More Easy Walks In MA |
"When you're looking for an Easy Walk that's just around the corner from where you live, this is a resource you'll turn to again and again. Whether you hope for sweeping views, walks along ponds and streams, or even a good look at a working cranberry bog, there's something of interest on each trail. Discover lots of open trails that allow for friendly walks with family and/or friends; south central Massachusetts has so much to offer. So head on outdoors!"
Order your copy of the book here https://www.createspace.com/5296061
From her first Easy Walks she shared three walks in Franklin:
Beaver Pond
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/easy-walks-in-franklin-beaver-pond.html
Dacey Fields
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/easy-walks-in-franklin-dacey-fields.html
SNETT
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/easy-walks-in-franklin-snett.html
Are artificial turf fields safe?
We know that they are functional and allow for exercise and competition for more of the year than a grass field would permit.
The information on the safety of the rubber beads is conflicting and this revelation is disturbing.
The information on the safety of the rubber beads is conflicting and this revelation is disturbing.
SHOCKER! @USCPSC Depends on #ArtificialTurf Industry Lobbyists for Scientific + Enforcement Guidance @FranklinMatters - @turfgrassforum
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Retweet
Favorite What does the link reveal?
The principal information the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission uses to assess the health effects of synthetic turf is supplied by industry lobbyists, according to internal records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Emails and other records obtained by PEER in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit detail how these lobbyists are allowed closed-door briefings and other direct contacts with key CPSC staff assigned to investigate their products.
In response to a PEER filing, the CPSC declared on September 27, 2013 that it had ordered its Office of Compliance and Field Operations to undertake a “review and determination of whether any enforcement action is appropriate” for artificial turf playgrounds containing lead at levels well above legal limits for a children’s product. More than a year later, CPSC would not answer requests for information about the status of that enforcement review. In February of this year, PEER filed a FOIA lawsuit.
Continue reading the article here
http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/turf-lobbyists-cultivate-consumer-product-safety-commission.html#.VT_fl228DrE.twitter
Blackstone River Theatre - Bike & Blues and Gypsy Star!
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My wife and I rode on the Blackstone River Park recently. It is a good ride. Nicely flat (along a rail bed) and scenic (along the river and canal)
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| on the Blackstone River Bike Path near mile 10.5 |
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