Episode 895

FM #895 - Franklin (MA) Finance Cmte Mtg - 12/07/22

Published on: 9th December, 2022

This session of the radio show shares the Finance Committee meeting held on Wednesday, Dec 7, 2022. 

Seven members of the Finance Committee participated (2 absent); 6 present in the Council Chambers, 1 remote. Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Assistant Administrator Alecia Alleyne, Comptroller Chris Sandini and Treasurer/Collector Kerri Bertone. 

Quick recap:

  • Out to bid for the bond for the Schmidt’s Farm resulted in maintaining the Triple AAA rating, receiving 7 bids, and yielded a 3.44% rate
  • Stabilization funds review shows the market impact as many of the totals declined vs. the prior year and there were no authorized withdrawals. These are called unrealized losses
  • The electric rate contract for the Town results in an increase of $200K impact for this fiscal year. DPW snow and ice presentation scheduled for the 12/14/22 Town Council meeting. Some facility projects and repairs being held due to the increases being seen to avoid a significant financial impact. Do use a utility consultant on the electricity contract, spent about a month watching rates before settling on this deal. Storm water fee implementation in July 2023 will also have an effect on the Town budget
  • School budget “deep dive” - Superintendent Lucas Giguere, Business administrator Miriam Goodman, School Committee Chair Denise Spencer and School Committee member and Budget subcommittee Chair David McNeill presented. Asst Superintendent Paula Marano and School Committee members Elise Stokes and Dave Callaghan were also in the audience for support.
  • Chair Conley opened with the major question with declining enrollment and rising budget how is that explained? The remainder of the presentation and discussion attempted to answer the question from multiple points of view. I can not do justice and simplify it. The discussion is too complex. The audio and video of the meeting is available for you to listen and follow along
  • I can say that the School Committee and Central office can do better in helping to explain the cost drivers. They do cover a bunch of the details in their main meetings and subcommittee meetings but have not been successful in articulating the story, hence the questions remain. 

The meeting recording runs 2 hours and 35 minutes, so let’s listen to the Finance Committee meeting Dec 7, 2022.

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Meeting agenda document ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/12-07-2022_finance_committee_agenda.pdf

My notes ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gVLpYnd6sOfNA7Phl0p176OhHViQsL7e/view?usp=share_link 

Link to Finance Committee => https://www.franklinma.gov/finance-committee 

YouTube recording =>   https://youtu.be/o4vY1ekbk10

Photos captured during the meeting can be found in one album -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/q6YyoS5wPbe7m86j6

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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!

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About the Podcast

Franklin Matters Radio
Information for the community because Franklin matters
What matters in Franklin MA - we follow the money sharing Town business meetings and interviews to enable an informed resident and voter

About your host

Profile picture for Stephen Sherlock

Stephen Sherlock

I volunteer as the Community Information Director for Franklin, MA (USA)*. I have been providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin since 2007. Currently working in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019.

*They don't have one and couldn't afford me.