Serve your shareholders

Yes, a simple statement and akin in many ways to 'motherhood and apple pie'. There is controversy anew in the Milford Daily News today generated by the headline:

"Flag-burning art decried in Franklin"

You can go read the article here. Be sure to read the comments, in particular one from 'IPayAttention' where the back story or the full story on the art display at Franklin High School was put into context.

We need to remember that the mission of a newspaper is not to generate the full story. No, it is to serve their shareholders (which means to increase revenue, or to at least meet their revenue targets). The newspapers achieve revenue by selling advertising, which means that they have committed to their advertisers 'x number' of copies, or 'y number' of readers (whichever metric they use).  It is far easier to create controversy and sell papers than it is to toil away with the real story.

The Milford Daily News is not the only paper doing this. Recent events provide plenty of examples:

• The Boston Globe was taken to task for slanted coverage of the Brandeis graduation ceremony. 
• The NY Times has been taken to task for their coverage of Richard Blumenthal
• Even the Federal Trade Commission gets dinged for protecting the journalistic establishment

There are other examples, these happen to have caught my attention recently.

Why raise this?

Especially in the light of the rapidly approaching June 8th special election here in Franklin, ones point of view becomes important.

As opposed to the newspapers looking to sell copies with attractive headlines and incomplete stories, my attempts at Franklin Matters are to provide the full and accurate details. 

• I report live and on the fly from meetings. I do clean up typos and add reference links later, especially if they are missed in the live reporting. 
• My effort is a public service effort to give back to the Franklin community. 
• I will attempt to save you some time digging through the Franklin website to find info. 
• I also work with the folks in Franklin's various departments providing feedback on how to improve the information flow.

If I do share the available information properly, then you the reader (and Franklin voter) can make an informed decision before you go to the polls. June 8th is only one election day. It happens to be a critical one for the voters to determine what services Franklin will provide. Will we be able to provide almost the same services as this past year? Or will there be additional reductions in services?

It is our choice.

I'll help to provide the information. You need to do two things:

1. Get the information you need to make a choice
2. Vote on June 8th

You get bonus points if you talk with your neighbors about this and get them to vote!

Additional information on the override can be found here:

• http://investinfranklin.weebly.com/index.html
• http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
• http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html

June 8th - special election - get out and vote!

Preparation and discussion for the special election in Franklin, MA on June 8th is underway. The comment boxes on individual items in the Milford Daily News can be interesting reading.

A series of 'frequently asked questions' are being addressed on Franklin Matters. If there are additional questions, please feel free to ask. We'll do our best to get them answered.  The first of the "FAQs" can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/frequently-asked-questions-why-should-i.html

The summary of important links regarding the June 8th vote can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/budget-override-collection-fy-2011.html

override failure reasons

my 2 cents on the recent failure of the Franklin override can be found here. A sad situation. One I believe some voters in Franklin will come to regret having stayed away from the poll to vote on.

A sad day for Franklin

The voters have spoken and it is what it is.

What would Ben do?

What would Ben do? Yes, that Ben.
Benjamin Franklin, for whom this town is named.

Considering that he gave us books instead of a bell because sense is better than sound, I expect he would vote for the override. Ben did say:

If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

Approximately $250/year is what it would cost Franklin to pass the override to save 47 school department positions (45 teachers, 2 administrators).

$5 a week.

Less than a dollar a day.

It pays "the best interest"!

---------------

For more information, check out the override at a glance here, my summary from last year (which oddly except for the days and dollar amount still applies logically to today) and consider cruising amongst all that has been written on the override here.

Cast an informed vote on June 10th!

Home sweet home

The hectic travel (both business and personal) schedule experienced over the past 6 weeks is not complete. It was all good and full of wonderful learning. Much writing to catch up on now.

For those interested in the Franklin Override coming up June 10th, the audio segments for the information session held on 5/28/08 are now available. Posting these segments pushed Franklin Matters over 700 posts since it began in November 2007. So if you thought I have not been writing much here, that may be a bit of the reason why.

The West Point graduation this weekend saw the Baslocks get together to congratulate Nathan on his great accomplishment. Second Lieutenant Bastien is now off for 60 days of vacation time before heading to work on a Fulbright Scholarship in the Netherlands in September. What an honor it was to witness this graduation! Pictures and some video (with a little luck) will be coming up this week.

Franklin: register to vote by May 21st

If you are of age, please register to vote.
Visit the Town Clerks office at the Municipal Building.
You would need to register to vote by May 21st.

If you are going to be out of town on June 10th, you can pick up an absentee ballot at the Town Clerks office.

If you can't visit the Town Clerks office in person, you will need to write a letter explaining why you are out of town on the 10th (attending school, traveling on business, etc.). An email is not sufficient, they need your signature for the records so an "old fashioned" either hand written or typed note will do the trick.

Spread the word to register to vote. Franklin Schools need the money from this override.

If you need details on the Town Budget or School budget, visit the Town web site

The School Committee blog

Or Franklin Matters

Vote June 10, 2008

Only one question on this ballot:

Question #1:

Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to assess an additional $2,800,000.00 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of the operating budget for which monies from this assessment will be used for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008?

Yes or No

Visit Franklin Matters for all the details to cast an informed vote

"taxpayers expect and deserve a five-year plan"

"The most important thing we can do to help pass the ($2.8 million) override is to immediately begin an intensive planning process that will lead to the development of a five-year financial plan before the year is over," said School Committee member Ed Cafasso.

"It's badly needed. Not only do taxpayers expect and deserve a five-year plan, we as town officials need a blueprint to guide our decisions going forward - we can no longer afford to beg for a life preserver every year," said Cafasso.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.

--------------

Learn all you need to by visiting Franklin Matters frequently.

Visit the School Committee override page for the schedule of information sessions

You can find all the override related information here

Be informed to cast your vote on June 10th

June 10th - $2.8 million - Yes/No for Franklin Schools

The choice is now in the hands of the voters.

Make it an informed vote:

• Visit Franklin Matters often for informational updates
• Read the news papers
• Talk with your neighbors

If you are not registered to vote, visit the Town Clerk's office and register.

If you will be out of town on the 10th, apply for an absentee ballot.

There is no reason why you should not vote.

How you vote is up to you!

Override Central starts a tally

If you were following the trials and tribulations in Franklin last year as the budget season progressed and Franklin passed its first operational override on May 22, you can fasten your seat belt for some sort of ride this time around as well.

The school budget is facing a shortfall of $3.2M to provide "level service". If forced to stay short, then the high performing district that Franklin is will likely start a decline. 45 teachers would be cut to meet the shortfall. In the School Committee meeting on Tuesday 3/25/08, there was at least one mention that the focus Franklin has placed on school size has driven its success in the MCAS scores.

Hence, an increase school class size (cutting 45 teachers) will decrease the MCAS scores.

Exactly what will happen to the overall budget still remains to be determined.

To follow the story of the Franklin budget this year, subscribe to Franklin Matters.

The Boston Globe's Override Central is getting active again. Subscribe there for what is happening to other communities around the commonwealth.

Override Central - catching up

I have been behind on the news in Override Central so here is what has happened recently:

1 - One of the ways budget specialists want to cut costs is to steer city and town employees into cheaper state run insurance plan. But the towns are slow to embrace the idea. Check here for more

2 - Amesbury voters will get a chance to consider a tax cut. Town officials are divided over the proposed $1-million tax cut that goes before voters Nov. 6. Read more in Globe North.

3 - In Bolton, selectmen have voted to support a $5.7 million property tax increase to pay for a new public safety center, said Town Administrator Jodi Ross.

The proposed increase, as a debt-exclusion override of Proposition 2 1/2, is scheduled to go before voters at a Nov. 5 Special Town Meeting, More here

4 - Milford's Board of Selectmen has imposed a budget moratorium, mandating cuts in expenses and a search for more cost-effective means to pay for major projects, like an renovation of the local Armory and a proposed replacement of Milford High School's emergency generator. More in the article here

High school generator replacement? Sounds like Franklin doesn't it?

5 - Winchester is well known for its creative ways of financing its schools. But now the town northwest of Boston is facing a tussle over crowding at one of its schools. More in the full article here

6 - One town went to the junkyard to get engines for its police cars. Another laid off 30 workers. Another hit up businesses for $30,000 to keep the local senior center open.

In the towns south of Boston, failures of several Prop 2 1/2 override requests have hit hard, according to a Chris Wallgren article in Globe South Thursday. Full article here

7 - Should non-profits pay property taxes?

A really good question. Especially as the real problem is for communities to expand the tax base.

Override Central is a decent source of info on the local tax situations. I just wish they would update the calendar in their left column. It still references the override schedule from April through May. Come on folks! That is OLD NEWS.

Bridgewater cutting services in wake of override failure

The Boston Globe's Override Central web site has this:

More than a third of Bridgewater municipal employees are slated to be laid off, and Bridgewater State College is stepping in to provide some basic public services, in the wake of the town's narrow defeat of a $2 million override.

Read the details on the options still be figured out (free registration may be required)

Clinton passes Debt Override

For the record, folks in Clinton have passed a debt override to purchase open space and to build a senior center.

Details available in the Boston Globe Override Central article.

Randolph cuts busing

The yellow school bus - that icon of childhood, as familiar to students as reading, writing, and arithmetic - has made its last stop in Randolph, a victim of budget cuts.

The cuts, made in April and announced to parents in June, went into effect this week with the start of the new school year, forcing roughly a third of Randolph's 3,400 students to find their own way to class.

State and local education officials knew of no other community that had made such a drastic move in recent years, partly because under state law, schools must provide busing to children through sixth grade if they live more than 2 miles away.

But these are trying times for many communities, as they struggle to pay the bills in the face of higher costs, flat budgets, or voters unwilling to approve property tax increases through Proposition 2½ overrides. In Randolph, school officials say, three such overrides have failed since 2003.

Read the full Boston Globe article here.

Franklin: Voters be informed

You will need to be aware of what has happened, what is happening and the implications of such.

There are lots of decisions to be made.

Dollars need to be provided for.

Priorities will need to be made.

The coming election will be one important step.

Know who you will vote for, and why!

Franklin: Another Override Possible

Per Jeff Nutting at the Sep 5th Town Council meeting, there will likely be another override or more than one depending upon the amount needed over the next 5 years.

This is NOT a surprise. The town budget is insufficient to sustain our current level of support. We saw that this year. We will continue to see that this year as the schools did not get their "Level service" funding.

Jeff's presentation is continuing. He is outlining a list of major items the town is going to need to consider. This information is available on the town web site. (PDF) Link Updated 9/6/07

** Major items like: Library repairs, High school renovations, other school renovations, underground utilities, road improvements down town, cap the landfill, road improvements, water improvement, sewer improvements...


Our current road improvements are totally funded by the generosity of the Commonwealth. If we get the money, we use it. If we don't get the money,the roads don't get fixed. Yet another example of Franklin living off the Commonwealth and not providing funding to sustain our normal services.

Override Tally - updated

	Scheduled Proposition 2 1/2 override votes
	(updated 7/28/07)
R	Community	Date	Amount	Result
15	SAUGUS	24-Apr	$5,200,000	LOST
20	SHREWSBURY	1-May	$5,000,000	LOST
5	RANDOLPH	27-Mar	$4,100,000	LOST
1	CANTON	23-Jan	$3,950,000	LOST
6	WALPOLE	31-Mar	$3,900,000	LOST
46	NORTH READING	5-Jun	$3,900,000	LOST
42	WEST BOYLSTON	24-May	$3,100,000	LOST
51	STONEHAM	19-Jun	$3,000,000	LOST
50	BRIDGEWATER	16-Jun	$2,871,093	LOST
43	MIDDLEBOROUGH	2-Jun	$2,584,000	LOST
18	AMHERST	1-May	$2,500,000	LOST
30	ASHLAND	15-May	$1,998,111	LOST
41	NEWBURYPORT	22-May	$1,580,000	LOST
31	DENNIS	15-May	$1,348,150	LOST
10	EAST BRIDGEWATER	7-Apr	$1,250,000	LOST
28	GEORGETOWN	14-May	$1,061,822	LOST
54	NORTON	26-Jun	$996,177	LOST
39	GROTON	22-May	$937,570	LOST
25	ROCKPORT	8-May	$781,576	LOST
8	DARTMOUTH	3-Apr	$750,000	LOST
29	SOUTHBOROUGH	14-May	$696,000	LOST
13	ROCKLAND	14-Apr	$675,000	LOST
47	MONSON	11-Jun	$611,472	LOST
27	RUTLAND	14-May	$500,000	LOST
19	YARMOUTH	1-May	$499,094	LOST
48	ASHBURNHAM	12-Jun	$498,603	LOST
36	GILL	21-May	$300,000	LOST
38	OTIS	22-May	$150,000	LOST
21	TOPSFIELD	3-May	$78,277	LOST
37	DUNSTABLE	21-May	$675,336	LOST*
7	SCITUATE	31-Mar	$3,341,729	SPLIT
14	TISBURY	24-Apr	$491,081	SPLIT
53	MENDON	19-Jun	$424,219	SPLIT
45	LEXINGTON	5-Jun	$3,900,000	WON
32	SHARON	15-May	$2,900,000	WON
16	WESTWOOD	24-Apr	$2,780,000	WON
40	FRANKLIN	22-May	$2,700,000	WON
3	SUDBURY	26-Mar	$2,500,000	WON
52	NORTH ANDOVER	19-Jun	$1,650,000	WON
11	KINGSTON	9-Apr	$1,600,000	WON
2	WINCHESTER	13-Mar	$1,300,000	WON
12	NEEDHAM	10-Apr	$1,128,670	WON
9	HARVARD	3-Apr	$763,000	WON
24	ROWLEY	8-May	$590,000	WON
44	MEDFIELD	4-Jun	$524,000	WON
34	HAMILTON	17-May	$461,703	WON
33	BOXFORD	15-May	$401,926	WON
4	LINCOLN	26-Mar	$350,000	WON
23	SALISBURY	8-May	$350,000	WON
26	CARLISLE	8-May	$245,000	WON
35	WENHAM	17-May	$154,817	WON
22	MERRIMAC	7-May	$77,700	WON
17	MARSHFIELD	28-Apr	$2,000,000	WON*
49	WESTMINSTER	12-Jun	$729,309
	Average request
	$1,608,434
	*List does not include scheduled votes for debt-exclusion or capital-exclusion overrides.
	*List may not be exhaustive as towns are not required to report when they schedule a vote.
	Sources: Globe research, Massachusetts Municipal Association, municipal websites
	Original source, Boston Globe article; subsequent updates from online newspaper info and municipal websites

Amesbury considers an "underride"

Yes, someone in Amesbury thinks they can afford it. More power to them if they can.

This marks the second time Amesbury has considered an underride. In 2001, a $1.5 million underride proposal lost by 19 votes at the polls.

The state Department of Revenue has on record only 14 underrides -- 13 of them successful -- since the advent of Proposition 2 1/2 in 1981.

From the Boston Globe's Override Central section, comes this article from the North Regional edition (free subscription maybe required)

Good use for Franklin's Brick School

Good use for Franklin's Brick School
Originally uploaded by shersteve

Lucky for me on the vacation road this week in the wilds of PA, I happened upon this one room school house that is now functioning as a museum.

The new Brick School Futures committee, or task force, or whatever it will be called could take a field trip here.

This would be a good use for the current building (with the classroom moved into an elementary school building.)