On the agenda: Franklin meeting — automated license plate (Jun 17)

FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL
Agenda & Meeting Packet
June 17, 2026
6:00 PM
Meeting will be held at the Franklin Municipal Building
355 East Central Street - 2nd Floor, Council Chambers
A NOTE TO RESIDENTS: All citizens are welcome to attend public meetings in person. To view the live meeting
remotely, citizens are encouraged to watch the live stream on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channel or the live
broadcast on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. To listen to the meeting remotely citizens may call-in
using this number: 1-929-205-6099. To participate in the meeting remotely citizens may join a Zoom Webinar
using the information provided below. Meetings are recorded and archived by Franklin TV on the Franklin Town Hall
TV YouTube channel and shown on repeat on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29.
ZOOM WEBINAR DETAILS: ID #864 9630 3883 & Link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86496303883
➢​ Any participants who wish to speak, must enter their full name and address when joining the webinar.
➢​ All participants will be automatically muted upon joining the webinar. In order to speak, participants will
need to select the “Raise Hand” function to request to be unmuted.
➢​ All speakers will be required to state their full name and street address before commenting.

1.​ ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR
a.​ This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and
Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.
b.​ Chair to identify members participating remotely.
c.​ Upcoming Town Sponsored Community Events.
2.​ CITIZEN COMMENTS
a.​ Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not
on the agenda. In compliance with G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 20 et seq, the Open Meeting
Law, the Council cannot engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen
Comments. The Council may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter. Nothing
herein shall prevent the Town Administrator from correcting a misstatement of fact.
3.​ COUNCILOR COMMENTS
4.​ SUBCOMMITTEE & AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS
a.​ Joint Budget Subcommittee (next meeting: August 13 @ 6pm)
b.​ Economic Development Subcommittee (next meeting: July 23rd @ 6:00PM)
c.​ Communications Subcommittee (next meeting: TBD)
d.​ Town Charter Ad Hoc Committee (next meeting: June 24th @ 6pm)
e.​ Police Station Building Committee (next meeting: TBD)

5.​ TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
6.​ PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS
a.​ Fire Department
i.​ Swearing in of new Firefighter / Paramedic - Johnna Moitoso
b.​ Police Department
i.​ Swearing in of new Clinician - Danielle Machado
ii.​ Swearing in of new Officer - Caleb MacLean
7.​ APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a.​ April 15, 2026
b.​ May 13, 2026
c.​ May 20, 2026
d.​ May 21, 2026
8.​ APPOINTMENTS
a.​ Annual Reappointments and New Appointments of Boards and Committees Members
i.​ See “Committee Appointments” in packet for member names
9.​ PUBLIC HEARINGS - 7:00 PM - None Scheduled
10.​LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - None Scheduled
11.​PRESENTATIONS / DISCUSSION - None Scheduled
12.​ LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
a.​ Resolution 26-36: General Funds Appropriations, Transfers and Adjustments FY26
(Motion to Approve Resolution 26-36 - Majority Vote)
b.​ Resolution 26-30: FY26 Snow and Ice Stabilization Account Transfer
(Motion to Approve Resolution 26-30: ⅔ Majority Vote)
c.​ Resolution 26-37: Acceptance of Gifts - Veterans Services Dept. ($750)
(Motion to Approve Resolution 26-X37 - Majority Vote)
13.​ FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
14.​EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled
15.​ADJOURN
Note: Two-Thirds Vote: requires 6 votes
Majority Vote: requires majority of members present and voting

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FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL​
MINUTES OF MEETING​
April 15, 2026
A meeting of the Town Council was held on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the Municipal Building, 2nd
Floor, Council Chambers, 355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA. Councilors present: Jane Callaway-Tripp,
Ted Cormier-Leger, Robert Dellorco, Gene Grella (via Zoom), Caroline Griffith, Michael LeBlanc, Stephen
Malloy, Max Morrongiello, Kenneth Ojukwu. Councilors absent: None. Administrative personnel in
attendance: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator; Mark Cerel, Town Attorney; Julie McCann, Operations
Manager.
Note: Documents for the Town Council are on file and provided in the online meeting packet.
CALL TO ORDER: ►Chair Dellorco called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. He called for a moment of
silence. All recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR: ►Chair Dellorco reviewed the following as posted on the
agenda. A Note to Residents: All citizens are welcome to attend public meetings in person. To view the live
meeting remotely, citizens are encouraged to watch the live stream on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube
channel or the live broadcast on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. To listen to the meeting
remotely citizens may call-in using the number on the agenda. To participate in the meeting remotely citizens
may join a Zoom Webinar using the information provided on the agenda. Meetings are recorded and archived
by Franklin TV on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channel and shown on repeat on Comcast Channel 9
and Verizon Channel 29. Any participants who wish to speak during the webinar must enter their full name
and email address when joining the webinar. All participants will be automatically muted upon joining the
webinar. In order to speak, participants will need to select the “raise hand” function to request to be unmuted.
All speakers will be required to state their full name and street address before commenting. This meeting is
being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting may
be recorded by others. ►Chair Dellorco stated Town Council office hours will be held tomorrow morning at
8:30 AM at the Senior Center. The Franklin 25th Earth Day Cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, April 18 from
9 AM to 12 PM. Pick up gloves and trash bags at the Recreation Department at 9 AM and a site map before
heading out to the assigned areas. He noted that Councilor Grella is participating remotely.
CITIZEN COMMENTS: ►Ms. Kimberly Mu-Chow, 4 Briarwood Road, Chair of the Board of Health,
said the Board of Health will be holding a public hearing on implementing new regulations prohibiting the
manufacturing, sale, and distribution and synthetically derived cannabinoids, synthetically derived kratom,
and synthetically derived and unregulated novel intoxicating products. She explained the Board of Health is
to protect the public health of the residents of Franklin. She explained the Board’s legal functions and that it
is not legally required for the Board of Health to actually hold a public hearing. However, the Board feels this
is an important item to provide a public forum to collect information and opinions. The reading and final
votes on the adoption of the regulations will begin at 5 PM on May 6 at the Board of Health meeting. There
will be time for public comment. She explained proposed regulations. More information can be found on the
Town’s website. Call the Health Department if you have any questions. ►Mr. Steve Sherlock, 13 Magnolia
Drive, Franklin Matters and Franklin Public Radio, volunteer Community Information Director, said in
addition to the Recreation piece on the 18th, PAC 92 is also doing a cleanup effort and the Agricultural
Commission is coordinating with Fairmount Fruit Farm also on Saturday. The details can be found on
Franklin.news. Also, Rise Up has an event at the Sculpture Park at 10 AM on Saturday. On Saturday the 18th
at 1:30 PM there is the favorite poem reading at the library. He said the daily newsletter has a calendar of all
the events.

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COUNCILOR COMMENTS: ►Councilor Malloy thanked the Finance Committee, Mr. Hellen, and
department heads for the informational Finance Committee meetings. He recommended all watch the
meetings. He noted Memorial Day and said the Veterans Services team is already putting together the event
plans. He recommended community members attend the ceremony after the parade as it is very powerful and
moving. ►Councilor Ojukwu thanked the Finance Committee for their efforts for a rigorous review of all
budget items. He recommended citizens at least look at the last day of meetings; it was four hours. He said
the meetings were focused and respectful discussion. He said the Joint Budget Subcommittee meetings start
tomorrow where we will start to make the plan for the long term. ►Councilor Griffith thanked all the
volunteers on the Finance Committee and the town departments and school departments and said they
answered all the questions. She noted the Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting tomorrow. ►Councilor
LeBlanc said he appreciates the time and effort from the Finance Committee and town staff. ►Councilor
Morrongiello thanked the Board of Health. He thanked Mr. Hellen who went to bat for municipalities across
the Commonwealth on WBUR’s morning edition highlighting the fiscal pressures facing cities and towns. He
noted the Conservation Commission is hosting Earth Day this Saturday, April 18. He noted the Fourth
Annual Ladybug Trail Spring Walk hosted by the Franklin Downtown Partnership on Saturday, April 25 with
a rain date of April 26. He noted the MBTA is hosting public comment and listening sessions for its focus on
2050 strategic plan and comments on infrastructure. He noted where residents can post comments online. He
said the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed raising the minimum per pupil Chapter 70 aid to
$160 which is more than the governor’s $30. He recognized the advocacy of those pushing for this.
►Councilor Callaway-Tripp said she has not had a chance to watch all the Finance Committee meetings yet
due to medical items, and she is playing catchup. She said if anyone has sent her emails, she has been trying
to keep up. She said if you did not get a response, please send it to her again. ►Councilor Cormier-Leger
said he echoes everyone’s Finance Committee comments. He noted Memorial Day is a beautiful tribute for
people to gather on the Common after the parade. He encouraged all to attend. He gave kudos to the Franklin
Fire Department. He gave a story about his 15-year-old who hooked his thumb while fishing and said he
called 911 and they were kind and professional and knew how to handle the situation. He thanked the fire
department staff. ►Councilor Grella said he echoed comments of the other Town Council members. He is
looking forward to the Joint Budget Subcommittee. He encouraged all to attend the Memorial Day events.
►Chair Dellorco said he echoed other comments about the Finance Committee. He thanked them for their
hard work.
SUBCOMMITTEE & AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS:
a.​ Joint Budget Subcommittee. ►Chair Dellorco said the meeting is tomorrow night.
b.​ Economic Development Subcommittee. ►Councilor LeBlanc said they met about two weeks ago. The
four members reviewed what was in the Master Plan and added other ideas. He has reached out to the
department chair of the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Urban Planning Department, to see if
they would be interested in working on developing a vision for Franklin’s downtown. The course
instructor will be coming in on May 14 for a meeting. It will cost us nothing. It is a graduate level class.
He said it is a cool way to save money and get something out of it.
c.​ Communications Subcommittee. ►Councilor Griffith said there was a meeting planned for last week,
but they had technical difficulties in getting the agenda posted. They are rescheduling for the week of
April 27.
d.​ Town Charter Ad Hoc Committee. ►No update.
e.​ Police Station Building Committee. ►No update.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT: ►Mr. Hellen said on Monday of next week the letter to the
Bellingham Zoning Board of Appeals will go out. Everyone is coming in to sign it. Bellingham continued the
last hearing; it is not closed. He talked about the contents of the letter they are sending. He said there were
17.5 hours last week from the Finance Committee. He complimented them on their consensus building. They
showed the community a great example of working toward group consensus. Their recommendation was
unanimous. He noted the fourth meeting really wraps it up. He thought they did a really good job. The

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Finance staff is working on a letter to encapsulate all the recommendations, and it should be ready in a
couple of weeks. He said May 13 is the Town Council meeting where the annual audit and OPEB actuarial
will be presented and a preliminary discussion on the budget that has been filed. He said the two legal public
hearings will be on May 20 and 21. We are in the middle of open enrollment. He said they anticipate it will
be a close call to see if we will have health care numbers. He explained the reasoning why the final vote for
the budget will be at the June 10 Town Council meeting; they are being very transparent. He said the Finance
Committee will be meeting on May 27 and June 3, and they will review the revised budget based on the
health care numbers at that time. He encouraged all residents to attend the meetings. He said he wanted to
make it clear that the Best Western Hotel is open, and it has been open for a long time. The Town is
collecting hotel tax. He explained how the tax is collected. He said hotel tax is being collected, and there are
no outstanding permits or inspections; the hotel is in full compliance with all inspections. He said online it
says they are closed, but they are not. He noted there was some misinformation about this in the Franklin
Observer article yesterday. He said he did contact Alan Earls. The town has been responsive to his inquiries.
None of the information in the article relative to the town denying records is true. He explained they have
provided everything to him. Mr. Hellen said the hotel is planning to be open for the World Cup. He said he
wanted to make sure he cleared up any confusion. The Best Western is open, and we are getting hotel tax,
and there are no outstanding permits or inspections. They are now doing month-long stays and transitioning
their business model.
PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS: ►Proclamation: Sons and Daughters of Italy in America Quattro Eroi Lodge 1414. ►Chair Dellorco presented the recognition for the Proclamation for the Sons and
Daughters of Italy in America - Quattro Eroi Lodge 1414. He read aloud the proclamation and recognition on
the occasion of their 100th anniversary. ►Mr. Gino Carlucci reviewed the names of the four Italian members
from Franklin who fought and died in World War I for the United States military. ►Chair Dellorco
congratulated the lodge. ►Mr. Carlucci said on behalf of the lodge they express their sincere appreciation for
providing this proclamation. He noted that they had three events celebrating this anniversary. He noted other
lodge members in attendance at the meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: ►March 18, 2026 & April 1, 2026.
a.​ ►MOTION to Approve the March 18, 2026 meeting minutes by Cormier-Leger. SECOND by
Griffith. Discussion: Councilor Morrongiello noted two corrections to be made by the administration.
►MOTION to Approve the March 18, 2026 meeting minutes as amended by Dellorco. SECOND by
LeBlanc. (Then Councilor Grella also made a motion to approve as amended.) ►ROLL CALL VOTE:
Cormier-Leger-YES, Callaway-Tripp-YES; Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES,
LeBlanc-ABSTAIN, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-8, No-0, Absent-0,
Abstain-1).
b.​ ►MOTION to Approve the April 1, 2026 meeting minutes by Grella. SECOND by Griffith. No
discussion. ►ROLL CALL VOTE: Cormier-Leger-YES, Callaway-Tripp-ABSTAIN; Dellorco-YES,
Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE:
Yes-8, No-0, Absent-0, Abstain-1).
APPOINTMENTS: ►None.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - 7:00 PM: ►None.
LICENSE TRANSACTIONS: ►None.
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS: ►National Grid - Bob Moran and Ted Lombardi. ►Mr. Robert
Moran, principal community engagement manager with National Grid, and Mr. Ted Lombardi, distribution
principal planning engineer for the area, said they were asked to address reliability. Mr. Lombardi narrated a

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slideshow presentation. He said they serve about 14,000 customers in the town, and they have three
substations. There are 16 feeders serving the customers with 309 distribution feeder miles: 187 miles
overhead and 123 miles underground. There are 8,893 poles/structures in the town that they maintain. He
defined an outage as loss of electric service for over one minute. He reviewed causes of Franklin outages
from 2023 to 2025. Most of them are animals and tree related, followed by failed equipment, and planned
work. He discussed and explained what they do to improve reliability including maintenance pruning,
enhanced hazard tree mitigation, and enhanced vegetation management, and network improvements which
include fault location isolation and service restoration, cutout mounted recloser program, underground cable
replacement program, resiliency program, and capital projects. He continued to review what National Grid
does to improve reliability and discussed and explained preventative programs including engineering
reliability reviews, customers experiencing multiple interruptions, and other preventative actions. In response
to Town Council member questions, Mr. Lombardi discussed that at this time they do not have a map that
shows the reliability of areas and sections of town; however, he could provide something if asked. He said he
thinks the reliability has gotten better in the past few years with all the reliability measures they have done.
Regarding vegetation management, they have increased the amount of money spent. He responded to a
question about cyber-attacks and said there is a whole group that focuses on that. He said they are looking at
possibility expanding or building a new substation in town. ►Mr. Moran said regarding regulatory structure,
we are moving into a regulatory environment interested in investing in the capacity because we know the
load is coming in terms of electrification and higher demands on the system. ►Mr. Lombardi responded to a
question about if updating the substations helps those on the Bellingham/Medway lines at that end of town as
those are the areas having problems. He said they look at all the feeders in the entirety of the town for ways
to improve reliability; everything they do is across the board. He said it is a work in progress and they do
continuous improvement. He said he does not know the specific area of town that was mentioned. ►Mr.
Hellen talked about improvements done after the 2019 delivery issues including squirrel preventers as
squirrels do contribute to knocking out power. He noted the Maple Street area is a woody scenic road. ►Mr.
Lombardi discussed certain areas are harder to establish a redundant loop like in the center of town for
instance. ►Mr. Moran said he does not have a map of the areas most prone to outages, but he can put
something together about it. ►Mr. Lombardi responded to why there are not a lot of underground lines in the
state and said it is due to cost. He noted a challenge with underground is that it takes longer to repair. He
noted they appreciate the support of the Town Council when they come before them to ask for new
equipment. ►It was noted that customers on the north side of town experience multiple outages, and it is
hoped that National Grid will do whatever they can to resolve that. ►Mr. Moran confirmed that when they
do new development it is required to do underground. ►Mr. Hellen explained that has been in place for
about fifteen years. ►Mr. Lombardi explained that when there is an outage, they can only work with wind at
under 35 mph as otherwise it is unsafe. ►Mr. Cerel asked about a redundancy agreement with Eversource to
draw from them in those areas. ►Mr. Moran said he will look more in depth in that area. He needs to look at
the wires there on Maple Street. He explained he may be able to put additional wire up there or other things
to improve reliability. ►Mr. Lombardi explained they do not have the ability to share with another electric
company. ►Mr. Steve Arnold, 520 Maple Street, said he got a notice about changing his electric meter. He
said he passed on that for now. He asked about it. ►Mr. Lombardi said he thinks Mr. Arnold is speaking
about automated metering infrastructure (AMI), and National Grid is in the process of changing about 1.3
million meters from standard older style to a meter that communicates and allows customers to log into their
account and see how they are using energy real time and manager their own energy. He said we are sending
these messages to customers and beginning to change these meters. ►Mr. Hellen thanked the presenters.
►Fire Department Operations Overview - Chuck Allen, Franklin Fire Chief. ►Fire Chief Charles Allen
introduced Deputy Chief of Operations James Klich and Deputy Chief of Administration Joseph Barbieri.
►Fire Chief Allen narrated a slideshow presentation which is available in the online meeting packet. He
reviewed the mission statement: The Franklin Fire Department is committed to providing the highest level of
public safety services for our community. We safely protect lives and property through fire suppression,
training, emergency medical and transportation services, disaster and crisis management, fire prevention and

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public education. They are an all-hazards fire department. He explained and discussed they provide 24/7
emergency response including: emergency medical services, fire suppression and investigation, rescue
operations, hazardous conditions, community risk resolution and code enforcement, public education and fire
prevention, community and regional support, and severe weather and disasters. He reviewed the Franklin
Fire Department organization chart which was provided in the slides. He explained what makes up a shift.
The authorized staffing is 14 personnel per shift: 1 battalion chief (shift commander), 1 captain, 1 lieutenant,
and 11 firefighter/paramedics. He reviewed staffing by personnel level and discussed what is below the
required service level and what meets the required service level as shown on the slide. He discussed
protecting Franklin and reviewed the community profile: 33,000+ Residents-families, seniors, schools, and
daily population movement; Local Economy & Employers-industrial parks, manufacturing, commercial
centers; Critical Infrastructure-I-495 corridor, MBTA commuter rail (2 stations), utilities; Community Profile
is Evolving-changes in housing, population, and service needs over time. He discussed fire prevention and
protecting lives and property through education, inspection, and risk reduction. He discussed the increasing
demand for emergency services call volume trends: 2020-4,430 calls; 2025-5,651 calls; five-year change is
+25.5% total increase and approximately 225 additional calls per year (average); most recent year (2025) is
up 2.7% from prior year. He reviewed calls for service in calendar year 2025 for emergency calls, fire
prevention and community risk reduction and public education & risk reduction. He showed and explained
the Response Heat Map (provided in the online meeting packet) with red showing increased call volume:
Route 140 corridor, King Street corridor, elderly housing, urgent care centers, nursing homes, commercial
space, industrial parks, and denser population. He reviewed the call volume projection through 2030 based
on historical data. He said they will be approaching 7,000 calls by 2030. He reviewed the EMS Division and
their calendar year 2025 statistics: 2,876 Franklin ambulance transports; 925 IVs started; 801 12 lead EKGs
interpreted; 285 patients treated with medication; 19 cardiac arrest patients; 14 advanced airways inserted;
and 6 ROSC patients. He reviewed the EMS and the total revenue including CPE (certified public
expenditure) for about $2.7 million. He reviewed mutual aid given and received. He explained simultaneous
emergency calls and noted emergency calls did not occur in isolation. Of the department’s 5,651 total calls,
3,743 (66%) occurred while at least one other incident was already in progress, demonstrating a high level of
operational overlap. He noted the breakdown of overlapping incidents: 575 incidents occurred while two or
more additional emergencies were active; 225 incidents occurred during four or more simultaneous
emergencies; 75 incidents occurred with five or more concurrent emergencies including extreme events with
6, 7, 8, 9, and 10+ active calls. He reviewed the FY27 budget overview slide: FY27 budget is $8.44 million
which reflects a level-service budget; personnel costs represent approximately 95% of total budget; operating
expenses have remained stable over the past five years; stability supported by $3.2 million-plus in grant
funding since 2019; EMS transport revenue continues to offset a significant portion of costs. He discussed
department reforms and organizational changes. He reviewed the regional firefighter compensation
comparison and explained Franklin’s base firefighter pay is competitive and sits in the middle of comparable
communities, not leading, but not lagging. His chart showed per capita Franklin is the second cheapest in the
region. He reviewed future needs and strategic direction which includes staffing needs, equipment
replacement plan, facility needs, and training and compliance requirements (ISO 1). He reviewed how they
support Franklin’s priorities which includes: protect lives and property through emergency response, support
economic development (safe, stable environment attracts business), enable safe housing growth and
development, provide critical public health services, reduce risk through prevention, inspections, and
education, strengthen community preparedness and resilience, and protect infrastructure and essential
services. He said what we need from the Town Council is policy support, budget priorities, and long-term
planning alignment. ►Town Council members asked questions, made comments, said the information was
great, and thanked the presenters. ►In response to questions, Deputy Klich explained what constitutes a false
alarm. ►Chief Allen explained a minimum of 13 allows them to staff a third ambulance 24/7. He said they
need to get the consistency there. There are people out sick or injured and that takes someone off the roster
and makes them not available. He thinks the buffer with having a shift staff from 14 to 15 gives them a safe
buffer to be able to have a minimum of 13. He explained they never go below 11; they will order someone to
stay and not go home. He confirmed they track this. Regarding the $3.2 million in grant funding since 2019,

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he said they take all the opportunities they can to apply for grants. He said the grants are through the federal
government. They have been lucky to receive some of the grant funding that they have. He said he does not
know if the funding will go up, but it may go down. He discussed the ISO 1 rating. It is a metric to measure
the department and is comprised of many elements. He said an ISO 1 rating may see some lower costs in
homeowners’ insurance costs. It is a measure of the investment the community has made in the department.
Regarding reorganization, he discussed that if someone is doing an inspection, they may get called away as
emergency services take priority. He reviewed possible reasons for the increase in calls during the past five
years. He explained this year they had to reduce the number of seniors to four in the senior project. He talked
about improvements needed in the facility. He said they are currently upgrading the vehicle exhaust system
through a grant. He noted modern fire stations have a negative pressure environment for the gear; they do not
have that. As time goes by, they will have to make improvements. ►In response to a statement that the fire
department has an $8.44 million budget and they bring in $2.7 million in revenue and $3.2 million in grants
with a remainder of about $2.5 million, Mr. Hellen said the $3.2 million in grants is an aggregate over six
years; it is about $.5 million per year on average. ►Chief Allen explained shifts. He said they are 24 hours
on, 7 AM to 7 AM, 24 off, 24 on, five off, then it starts over again. They need four groups to do that cycle.
They have an eight-day week. He talked about the number of EMS and fire incidents. He discussed mutual
aid. Last year they had 325 mutual aids in and 158 mutual aids out. He said 99 percent are usually EMS. If
another town comes in and does an EMS, they are going to collect the revenue for that town. He said that
community probably enjoys the revenue for that; however, we may be taxing our neighbors more than we
should. He noted those towns are growing as well. He talked about grants and said most revolve around
training. There are some infrastructure grants as well. He talked about a current training grant. He said if the
grants go away, they will have to add to the training budget. He talked about the organizational structure of
the main fire department and the substation at King Street 2. Staff can do shift bidding between the stations.
The increase in calls non-EMS related is about 4 percent; EMS and fire calls are going up about the same
rate. He explained that they are very close to having the ISO 1 rating at risk. They made ISO 1 by about 1
point. He said response time and training are important. He said if the town does not have enough revenue to
fund public safety, we will lose our ISO rating; that is not a far stretch. He explained the department would
always do the best they could to provide the emergency services for calls that come into our community. He
explained everybody has multiple jobs. In response to questions, he confirmed the $8.44 million for FY27 is
level service. The grant funding is not part of that number. He talked about capital improvements and how
some are funded by a grant. He said training is another item from grants. He said grants are not providing
money directly used in the operating budget. Grant money offsets costs of expenses outside of that. He
confirmed 35 percent for ambulance is about $2.9 million. He explained the ambulance revenue goes into the
general fund. So, $5.4 million the remainder after the ambulance. He explained how the ambulance was
purchased, and it was purchased outright. He discussed what possibly the full-time ambulance would bring
in. He explained mutual aid and that they would not capture all 325 calls because of call concurrency. It
would be more realistic to say to it would be more equal in the mutual aid. He confirmed that part of their
actual budget is from the ambulance receipts. He confirmed the functions of battalion chiefs. He was asked to
talked about people selling their home and smoke detectors. He said every year during fire prevention week
they ask people to check their smoke detectors to make sure they operate. You should not have a smoke
detector or carbon dioxide detector over 10 years old. He explained the code varies based on a few factors
such as the age of your home as to what you have to have in the home. You should have modern devices in
the house. He said he wants people to be safe. In response to a question about morale, he said it is great, and
they have a great fire department and great employees. He said they are supported by the community. He said
they have a lot of opportunity. They are not the highest paid fire department, but people still want to come
here because we are a progressive organization. He explained that the price is set by the Town Council for
EMS services. He said they have a billing agency that handles all the billing. They provide back the report of
the revenue coming back from that. He said they come before the Town Council to adjust the rate. He
responded to how the fire department handles new large developments. He said if the development is
residential, it is not more impactful than if it was a neighborhood with the same density. They see a large

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increase in volume in the over 55. ►Chair Dellorco said they do a great job. He talked about how heavy the
gear is and how knowledgeable you have to be.
►Police Department Operations Overview - TJ Lynch, Franklin Police Chief. ►Police Chief Thomas
Lynch and Deputy Chief James West addressed the Town Council. ►Deputy Chief West said they did
research and found a document written in 1977 by then Chief Arthur Pellegrin. He gave some history of the
department and said expenses in 1875 totaled $301.01. In 1866 an officer served for 11 months and was paid
$500. He explained in 1889 the term cop became popular for constable on patrol. He said in 1904 the budget
was around $2,000. He said in 1977 there were 28 sworn officers with 10 admin/support staff. He explained
the first Officer Frankie the town had was a VW bug in 1986. He narrated a slideshow presentation which
was provided in the online meeting packet. He showed the mission and vision statements on the screen. He
reviewed the current department staffing with 56 sworn officers, 2 administrative assistants, 3 mental health
clinicians. He showed the current organization chart and explained what the Chief of Police and Deputy
Chief do for job responsibilities. He reviewed each of the three special divisions including responsibilities:
Special Services Division led by Division Commander Lt. Eric Zimmerman; Operations Division led by
Division Commander Lt. Michael Colecchi; and Administrative Division led by Division Commander Lt.
Jason Reilly. During his review of the Operations Division, he reviewed the number of officers in the
division, crime trends, traffic enforcement including motor vehicle stops, co-response mental health clinician
program, and use of force data for 2025 and 2026. He noted the use of force data is on the website, and they
keep it updated. He explained that MetroLEC is a regional team responsible for various units including
SWAT, motorcycle unit, mountain bike unit, detective unit, cybercrime unit and more. He said we pay $5,000
to be a member of MetroLEC, and we have to dedicate 10 percent of our staffing to be part of different units.
He said for that we get all of these resources should we need them. He gave an example of using the
resources. He reviewed the Administrative Division and noted they were responsible for facilities
management, budget and payroll, details and traffic officers, communications, purchasing, firearms licensing,
scheduling, grant management, records, information technology, training and recruitment. ►Chief Lynch
reviewed the department staffing and comparisons as shown on the slides. He discussed the history of the
number of sworn officers as shown in the provided chart. In 1990 there were 31 officers. In 2000 they were
at 50, but budgeted for 54 and never got there. There was a slow decline. In 2016 they were at 46. In 2020
there were 54, in 2025 there were 58, and in 2026 there were 56. He reviewed the comparisons chart. He said
they are in the top 10 safest communities in America almost every year for a community over 25,000. He
said they are accredited. He discussed similar communities to the Town of Franklin and reviewed 2025 data.
The average for those communities is 61.5 with the median being 59 for the number of sworn officers. He
reviewed the budgets for the same communities. He explained Franklin is $1.6 million below average and
$1.25 million below median of the other similar communities. He reviewed the patrol officers’ salaries
comparison chart. He discussed that Franklin is second to the bottom in average salaries compared to the
other similar communities. He showed and discussed the five-year budgets chart and noted there have been
some increases, but for FY27 it will be level service. He showed slides listing the accomplishments,
milestones, and achievement over the last nine year and said all of these can be found in either the budget
narratives or annual reports for those years. He reviewed the current challenges: police station; hiring and
retention; budget constraints; and IT and analytics services. He said the current facility was built in 1991 for
31 officers. They are well above that now, they have insufficient meeting and training spaces, restricted
workspaces, overburden evidence areas, undersized fitness areas, and parking challenges. He said there is a
video of a tour of the police station showing the lack of space. He said the question is how are they going to
pay for a new station. He explained they are dealing with a lack of interest in the police enforcement career.
He said police cannot work from home and that is what many people want to do. He said they are not going
to lower the standards for the department when hiring. He said there is also a lack of transfer candidates due
to what they are being paid in Franklin. He discussed as the divide in pay and the antiquated station
continues, it will be harder to hire and retain. He discussed budget constraints. He said he is often asked
about body cameras. He said it is not mandated. He said the state has grants for it that will pay for the
hardware. He said it needs 30 days of storage for 58 employees for each interaction with the public that they

8
have to record, and if an incident occurs with criminal action, you have to keep it until the case is closed, and
storage is very expensive. And, then you need someone to manage it all. And, anyone can ask for it, and you
have to give it to them unless it is part of an active case. It is a challenge. He said they cannot afford it. He
said he would want personnel before body cameras. It would be great to have the body cameras but not at the
detriment of having officers. He explained what the perfect department would be. It would be 68 total
employees with 62 sworn officers, 3 civilians, and 3 mental health clinicians. He said the estimated salary
cost would be $950,000; capital into operating budget approximately $500,000 with an approximate total of
$1.5 million. He noted the website is full of information. He asked the officers present to stand; they are the
best of the best. ►In response to questions, Chief Lynch discussed the funding from the American Recovery
Plan Act for the clinicians which ends on December 31, 2026. He said there is opioid settlement money
which can be used for the clinicians. He said they are good through FY27. ►Mr. Hellen said in FY28, about
one-third to 50 percent of those three clinicians will be able to be funded through the opioid settlement
money for about another 15 years. ►Chief Lynch explained the crime trends for 2025 mental health category
and what constitutes mental health calls. He said it is the number of calls the clinicians go to directly or
respond to as a follow up afterwards. Prior to having the clinicians, they would take them to the hospital. He
explained if the clinicians make an assessment on scene, the person may not need to go to the hospital based
on their assessment. He discussed being questioned that Franklin gets strong ratings for safety and getting
more for our money, then why should we not just keep doing what we are doing, Chief Lynch suggested
talking to people about traffic in neighborhoods, mental health related calls for service going up. He said we
are at the point of not being able to do any more. He explained he will not advocate for going below 34 patrol
officers in the patrol division. He discussed getting back what they need with the number of sworn officers.
He responded to questions about the number of needed patrol officers. He said in 2024 he and Mr. Hellen
talked. Mr. Hellen offered two officers, but Chief Lynch said he needed four. He said he got the four and was
at 34 patrol officers. He explained that he was clear what would happen if they were cut $250,000; transfer
two community service unit officers into patrol to augment. You cannot have a unit with four people in it, cut
it by 50 percent, and expect them to still do the job that the four of them were doing. There were things
removed, cancelled, or reduced. He said there was some thought we were doing it just to get back at the
public because they did not do the override; he said that is ridiculous. He talked about the Halloween event
and that two people could not plan it with all the work that goes into it; we cancelled a majority of
internships as well. He was asked how they get back to number one as the safest community. He said we
have historically been rated in top 10. He reviewed the timing of the shifts. In response to a question, he said
the cars do not have cameras. He said they utilize drones. He said there is a huge thing for technology, but
they have limited IT. He said the license plate reading cameras are not being used for immigration
enforcement, it does not end up using any AI, it takes a picture of the back of the vehicle, you cannot see the
driver, there are no listening devices, and the officers can only look at the footage if they are investigating
something. He said they would never jeopardize people’s rights. They only look at the footage regarding
criminal activity. He talked about the two police dogs and who they live with. He noted the dogs are not in
the schools as much as they used to be, but they are on patrol now. He explained that the officers are not
leaving due to the pay currently, but if it continues, it could affect an officer’s decision to go to a neighboring
department that may be paying more. He said he does not have any stingray devices in the department. He
responded to questions about the Flock contract regarding automated license plate reading and said that there
are no policy conflicts and a trooper from Alabama cannot get our data without asking us for it. He said it is
shared mainly in this area. He explained there is no right of privacy for your license plate; it is issued by the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There is plenty of case law about it. It is only trying to identify the
vehicle. There is no right of privacy with the plate. There are checks and balances. Just because the ACLU
says there is a problem with it does not mean there is a problem with it. In response to questions, he reviewed
the comparisons police budget slide and said he made it apples to apples. Regarding if there is any benefit to
add a meter maid position to bring in revenue, Chief Lynch said it is called a parking control officer, and they
had that position for a number of years. There are no meters any more. He said he took the position along
with savings from one firing range to another and now has a sworn police officer which he would rather have
who can also write tickets. He said it would probably help to have a parking control officer, but he would not

9
want to lose a sworn officer for it. He said morale is not terrible, but no one was excited that we had to cut
two police officers. The community police officer positions are specialty officers, and it reduces the
prospects for the other officers, and they are aware of where they are in the pay scale, and they are aware of
the police station. ►Councilor Cormier- Leger said the difficult conversations are going to have to come
where we are going to need some of the union leadership of the police department to sit down and get behind
an override. It did not happen last time. We are going to need that if we are going to have these critical
conversations. We have been able to have it with schools and fire, and we are going to need that to happen if
that is the goal. ►Chair Dellorco said he is in support of bringing the two officers back. He said if the pay is
low, they are going to go, and he would not blame them for leaving. He said they all do a great job. He
thanked the presenters. ►Deputy Chief West said Mr. Hellen nominated Chief Lynch for the 98.5 Hometown
Hero award, and he will be receiving that award tomorrow.
LEGISLATION FOR ACTION:
Note: Two-Thirds Vote requires six votes; Majority Vote requires majority of members present and voting.
a.​ Resolution 26-20: Acceptance of Gifts - Senior Ctr. ($321) & Veterans Services Dept. ($637.78)
(Motion to Approve Resolution 26-20 - Majority Vote). ►MOTION to Approve Resolution 26-20:
Acceptance of Gifts - Senior Ctr. ($321) & Veterans Services Dept. ($637.78) by Grella. SECOND by
Morrongiello. Discussion. ►Chair Dellorco thanked the doners. ►ROLL CALL VOTE:
Callaway-Tripp-YES; Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES,
Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: ►Councilor Morrongiello said the ones he has mentioned in previous
meetings.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: ►None.
ADJOURN: ►MOTION to Adjourn by Cormier-Leger. SECOND by Callaway-Tripp. No Discussion.
►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES; Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES,
Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0,
Absent-0.
Meeting adjourned at 10:49 PM.
Respectfully submitted,

Judith Lizardi
Recording Secretary

1
FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL​
MINUTES OF MEETING​
May 13, 2026
A meeting of the Town Council was held on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at the Municipal Building, 2nd
Floor, Council Chambers, 355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA. Councilors present: Jane Callaway-Tripp,
Ted Cormier-Leger, Robert Dellorco, Gene Grella, Caroline Griffith, Michael LeBlanc, Stephen Malloy, Max
Morrongiello, Kenneth Ojukwu. Councilors absent: None. Administrative personnel in attendance: Jamie
Hellen, Town Administrator; Mark Cerel, Town Attorney; Julie McCann, Operations Manager.
Note: Documents for the Town Council are on file and provided in the online meeting packet.
CALL TO ORDER: ►Chair Dellorco called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. He called for a moment of
silence. All recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR: ►Chair Dellorco reviewed the following as posted on the
agenda. A Note to Residents: All citizens are welcome to attend public meetings in person. To view the live
meeting remotely, citizens are encouraged to watch the live stream on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube
channel or the live broadcast on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. To listen to the meeting
remotely citizens may call-in using the number on the agenda. To participate in the meeting remotely citizens
may join a Zoom Webinar using the information provided on the agenda. Meetings are recorded and archived
by Franklin TV on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channel and shown on repeat on Comcast Channel 9
and Verizon Channel 29. Any participants who wish to speak during the webinar must enter their full name
and email address when joining the webinar. All participants will be automatically muted upon joining the
webinar. In order to speak, participants will need to select the “raise hand” function to request to be unmuted.
All speakers will be required to state their full name and street address before commenting. This meeting is
being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting may
be recorded by others. ►Chair Dellorco reviewed the Memorial Day Parade information scheduled for
Monday, May 25, 2026, at 11 AM. The ceremony will be held at 12 PM at the World War I Memorial
following the parade. See the Town website for more information including rain date details. He reviewed the
weekly Farmers Market is held on the Town Common beginning on Friday, June 5. He noted Franklin
Restaurant week takes places from May 31 to June 6. More information can be found on the Town website.
Franklin’s 3rd annual Porchfest takes place on Saturday, June 6, from 12 PM to 6 PM throughout the Cultural
District with a rain date on June 7. The Strawberry Stroll takes place on Friday, June 12 from 4 PM to 6 PM
in downtown with a rain date of June 13. Town Council hours will be held on Thursday, May 21, at the
Senior Center.
CITIZEN COMMENTS: ►Celia Courtright, 213 Peck Street, on behalf of the Franklin Music Boosters
and Franklin Theater Boosters, said she wanted to bring awareness to their capital campaign. She explained
that the Franklin Middle School auditorium has lights that are not working which has led to problems when
holding performances and renting the auditorium. She said they have worked with the school administration,
and they have a dedicated account the donations will be going to for funding repairs to the middle school
auditorium to get the lights working, fix some of the broken seats, and fix some of the flooring that needs
some work, and a number of other things needed to be done to support music and theater programs. She said
they need more risers also. They are trying to raise over $100,000. More information is on the website.
►School Committee Vice Chair David Callaghan, 30 Plain Street, said there was a joint School Committee
and Town Council meeting last night. He said it was an amazing conversation with all 16 elected officials
together talking about issues facing Franklin and how to move forward. It was an example of the amazing
work going on. He reviewed School Committee policy updates. One was updating the rental policy they have
for all the school facilities. He said we are now opening the doors to outside organizations to rent the school
facilities for a profit; the profit will be reinvested back into the school facilities to help alleviate the demands

2
for capital improvements. He noted a show with the LiveArts String Quartet at the Historical Museum this
Sunday at 3 PM with tickets still available. He talked about the idea of a kickball team with the School
Committee and Town Council and the Franklin Fathers kickball tournament. He said if any Town Council
members are interested, please reach out to him. He talked about the Horace Mann Legacy subcommittee and
said the next meeting would probably be in early June, and there is a walking tour scheduled for May 27 for
inspiration in late afternoon probably around 4 PM. The kickball tournament is June 14. ►Jayson Joyce, 80
Union Street, explained he is from the Franklin Fathers group. He reviewed the purpose of the group, what
the group has been doing, and noted upcoming events. The biggest event is the kickball event on June 14.
►Kimberly Mu-Chow, 4 Briarwood Road, Chair of the Board of Health, said next Wednesday the Dana
Farber mammogram van will be at the New England Chapel from 7:15 AM to about 3:15 PM. There are still
12 appointments available. She noted registration is required and provided the phone number. The Women’s
Health Expo is on the same day in the same location from 2 PM to 5 PM with about 20 vendors attending.
COUNCILOR COMMENTS: ►Councilor Malloy noted the Memorial Day ceremony coming up and said
it is very powerful. ►Councilor Ojukwu noted Memorial Day. He noted communications and discussions
with the School Committee and Finance Committee. ►Councilor Griffith noted the Women’s Expo and the
mammogram van and said that it is good information there. She mentioned a resident who emailed the Town
Council about questions about the number of pets that could be licensed. It turns out the town should have
allowed more pets as the state regulations are higher. She said because the resident reached out, the resident
was able to get the town regulations updated to the state regulations. She said she appreciates the resident for
reaching out and doing this and making it happen. ►Councilor LeBlanc said he is trying to shame businesses
that have signs in disrepair around town to repair the signs. He said he does not know if the town has the
ability to fine people who have things in disrepair, and he wants to talk about that later. He talked about the
different places he has lived in town. He said he wants to fix the timing of the traffic lights at the Stop &
Shop intersection as it is terrible. He discussed the World Cup event and how the logistics are going to work.
He said this will be a great event for the town. ►Chair Dellorco said he agrees about the lights, and maybe
he will reach out to Rep. Roy about the lights. ►Councilor Morrongiello welcomed Franklin’s new police
officer Caleb MacLean. He recognized the Franklin high school library for their $150,000 grant for the
innovation in STEM space redesign and Franklin Fire Department that received an approximately $21,000
grant for safety equipment. He noted the fire department is hosting a free CPR training for EMS week on
May 19. He acknowledged he and Councilor Cormier-Leger are working with the Franklin LGBTQ Alliance
to plan a pride flag raising ceremony on Sunday, May 31 at 1 PM; everyone is welcomed. He explained the
importance of this event. He said he went to the annual Lady Bug Trail walk, SNETT Rail Trail Day, a Jane
Jacobs walk hosted by Ben for Franklin, and the Franklin Commission on Disability to learn about the great
work they are doing. ►Councilor Callaway-Tripp said after last night’s meeting she had a conversation with
a resident who said our biggest issue above the deficit is trust. She explained to solve what is broken Town
Council members must respond to emails and calls. The message should be your voice and concerns are
important. Councilor Callaway-Tripp said even though it is hard, she suggested one day a week to go through
emails and give responses as she has done that. She explained just the constant communication is what a lot
of residents are looking for. She said she found a bill that would allow help in funding SROs for the schools.
She said the bill got tabled and she reached out to Mr. Hellen and Rep. Roy about how to get it back on the
table. Rep. Roy suggested that we email a letter and ask it to be put back in for consideration, and she thinks
the School Committee should do the same thing to get it back on the table. She said Mr. Hellen said it would
not be hard to do the letter and then we can all sign it. She said if we can get this passed it will help put SROs
back in the school, and it will help offset the operational cost of it from the town. ►Mr. Hellen said it is not a
hard letter to do. He said it is basically dead, but this is a way to resuscitate the bill. He explained you never
know what can happen with a bill, and there is nothing to lose. ►Councilor Ojukwu said we want to make
sure they do not take away money from the schools already and put it towards SROs. He said if it is coming
from somewhere else, he is onboard. ►Councilor Cormier-Leger congratulated the Franklin Food Pantry on
their recent celebration and recognizing their volunteers. He noted last night’s joint meeting with the School
Committee and talking about strategic planning and there was some confusion about money allocated to

3
perhaps pay for a consultant. He explained there were two pockets of money. He said there was a state grant
through Rep. Roy’s office allowing us to do some marketing and work on the logo and as a good faith effort,
the Town Council took money from free cash capital program to match it to show the state we were also
contributing to the marketing project. He said the state money got spent on the marketing project. The capital
money that was left over was possibly going to pay for the consultant in the strategic plan, but if we decide to
not go that route, we can take the money back and use for something else that is within our purview to do. He
said they are planning their third pride flag raising at the end of the month. He encouraged everyone to come
and show support. ►Councilor Grella noted Memorial Day; it is a great day for families. He explained the
history of Memorial Day. He encouraged the community to come out to the event. He talked about reading
emails from residents, and he will be answering all emails going forward. He said last night was a positive
event and good to see everyone working together. He talked about the RFP for the consultant and said he is
going to put his ideas on paper about what they should be getting from the strategic plan. ►Chair Dellorco
explained Memorial Day is special for him. He talked about the SAFE Coalition gala event celebrating 10
years; it was an amazing night. He noted what the SAFE Coalition has done over the years. ►Mr. Hellen
stated the Memorial Day parade starts at 11 AM, so they probably close the roads around 10 AM.
SUBCOMMITTEE & AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS:
a.​ Joint Budget Subcommittee. ►Councilor Ojukwu said the first session was held on April 16. The
session was designed to align goals. High level, they are thinking about the timeframe, issues to focus on,
how we approach the problems we have. It was a good first session. We have not scheduled the
follow-up session. He said at the next session they will codify the strategic goal of the subcommittee and
talk through the plan for identifying the issues, implementing the solutions we want, and communicating
the solution to the community. He recommended people look at it on YouTube.
b.​ Economic Development Subcommittee. ►Councilor LeBlanc said the next meeting is tomorrow.
c.​ Communications Subcommittee. ►Councilor Griffith said they met a few weeks ago. They had a
conversation about communications and community engagement and hearing from the town and getting
back to them and doing outreach to get people involved and hear some of the voices we do not always
hear. She said there were some suggestions including: putting together one-page after each Town Council
meeting that sums up what happened and drop it into social media and Communications Director Liz is
creating that for us; have a big book of savings on the town website so people can find discounts and tax
work-off programs; a liaison to the School Committee; make short videos of explanations of topics of
interest such as split tax rate; Town Council members try to attend events; actively working on adding
additional office hours for Town Council with different dates, times, and locations; having printed
materials at the library and senior center for people not involved in the digital world. The next meeting is
on May 28. ►Chair Dellorco asked about office hours at the Municipal Building. ►Mr. Hellen said that
could be done.
d.​ Town Charter Ad Hoc Committee. ►Chair Dellorco said the first meeting is on June 24 at 6 PM.
e.​ Police Station Building Committee. ►No update.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT: ►Mr. Hellen said the town engineer has taken note of the
request regarding the overpass. We have been through this with the state before, and the lights have been
tweaked a few times. The process is that we request out of MassDOT district 3, and they have to do an
analysis. If there are any suggestions, let him know any comments and feedback as you have to be specific.
Then they would do a specific study of the intersection. He said sometimes it can take a year-plus for them to
do a study. He thanked the Board of Health director and the Board of Health as this past week they did a ban
on natural and synthetic kratom products which is the latest fad in synthetic drugs. Franklin is the 15th
municipality in Massachusetts to ban those. He said on May 20 all retail outlets selling this will be banned
from selling it. He congratulated Caleigh Keating of Franklin Public Library who has been recognized by the
Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women as one of the 2026 Commonwealth Heroines. He said
budget dates are May 20 and May 21. He said health care numbers have not come in yet from the GIC. He
explained the Town Council is anticipated to take action on the final budget proposal on June 10. He

4
announced and thanked CSX and Town Engineer Michael Maglio as the track is officially gone on the CSX
rail bed. There is no driving there and no ATVs. Nothing is allowed except walking and biking. Signage will
be put up. He asked the public to not use the trail bed yet. More information will be coming. He talked about
his goal to make the state pay for construction of the entire parcel. There will be a public process for
designing the entire parcel. It will take a few years. He thanked all in his office, town staff, and acting town
administrator Chief Lynch for all they did while he was on vacation for the last two weeks.
PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS: ►None.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: ►None.
APPOINTMENTS: ►Commission on Disability: John Lynch, Steve Papsis, Julie McCann. ►Councilor
Cormier-Leger read the appointments. ►MOTION to ratify the appointments by the Town Administrator of
the individuals named to serve on the Franklin Commission on Disability with terms to become effective
May 13, 2026 and to expire as stated: John Lynch-June 30, 2028; Steve Papsis-June 30, 2028; Julie
McCann-June 30, 2027, by Cormier-Leger. SECOND by Grella. Discussion: ►Town Council members
said thank you. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - 7:00 PM: ►None.
LICENSE TRANSACTIONS: ►None.
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS: ►Presentation: Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)
Actuarial Update - Dan Sherman, Actuarial Services, LLC. ►Mr. Hellen noted Mr. Dan Sherman is
attending via Zoom. ►Mr. Sherman reviewed the 17-page document Post Retirement Benefits Actuarial
Valuation of the Town of Franklin June 30, 2025 Actuarial Valuation Report GASB 74 & 75 which was
provided in the online meeting packet. He provided an introduction of himself and explained OPEB. He
reviewed he is an actuary and working in the public sector pension side since 1986. He said OPEB stands for
other post-employment benefits. About 20 years ago the government standards board said to towns and cities
and states that you are promising to pay your retirees a portion of their medical coverage, life insurance, and
other benefits and you have no idea what you have, so we want you to calculate the value of the promise you
are making to retirees and put it on your financial statements. He has been doing OPEB valuations for over
25 years. Every year there is a report that has to be issued regarding the promise the Town of Franklin has
made to all of its retirees including school employees and teachers. For OPEB purposes, teachers are
Franklin’s obligation. He said every year he comes in and discusses what the town has for assets to cover this
liability, what the liability is, and he provides the figures to the outside auditing firm to record on the
financial statements. On page 3, he reviewed Net Position Restricted for OPEB. Franklin has been putting
money aside and building a fund. He explained the chart and reviewed that it shows on June 30, 2025 the Net
Position is $16,274,607. On page 4, the chart presents the changes in the OPEB liability during FYE 2025.
OPEB Liability as of June 30, 2025, is $110,025,430. He said he would explain the loss in 2025 of $27
million. He discussed the implicit subsidy which is included in the liability side which is why on page 3 and
page 4 there are two different numbers. He discussed the Net OPEB Liability as of June 30, 2025 chart and
what happens if we change the discount rate by going up or down 1%. He said this is important if you issue
bonds as the rating agencies and Wall Street will look at it. On page 6 is OPEB Expense for FYE 2025. This
gives you what the annual expense would be for fiscal year 25 so the expense on the books, not the dollars in
the budget, is Total Expense $7,132,312 which he explained is purely an accounting entry. He reviewed the
Plan Fiduciary Net Positions as a percentage of the Total OPEB Liability is 14.8% and said some
communities are at zero and some above 15%. He explained the Covered-employee Payroll 120.4% is how
you would compare this community to another community that is not of the same size as Franklin. He
discussed page 9 Exhibit 1 Medical Premium monthly Premiums effective July 1, 2025. He discussed how
the liability went so much higher. He explained the six Harvard Pilgrim plans had increases from June 30,

5
2023 to June 30, 2025, around 20 to 23%. He said his assumption was about 4% per year. With those
increases in premiums beyond what was expected had a huge impact. He explained that for Exhibit 2
Membership Data, there was roughly 160 people added in total which is about a 10% increase in population
of people getting some kind of benefit in the program. He reviewed page 13 and reviewed the Medical Plan
Costs section as written in the document. He noted the rest of the report is boilerplate. ►In response to
questions, Mr. Sherman noted a typo on page 4. He confirmed any modifications made after July 1, 2025,
will be reflected in the 2027 OPEB report. He discussed that any reductions in premiums will have a direct
effect on these numbers; liability could go down potentially due to joining GIC. ►Mr. Hellen confirmed they
put in about 10% of the free cash total per year. ►Mr. Sherman explained that there are 351 communities
and agencies and regional school districts. Town Council members should take a look at a report that PERAC
just issued last Friday which is based on all reports they receive regarding OPEB. He said most communities
are about in the same position as Franklin at about 15 to 20% funded. The report can be found on the state
website. He explained when you put the money aside, it becomes like a reserve that can be taken out if
needed to balance the budget. He explained there are risks in doing that with the rating agency. ►Mr. Hellen
explained that instead of pulling out of the trust, they have cut the entire OPEB contributions they have made
for the last two years. He explained they are getting about an 8.8% return on the investment. He said they
have never drawn any money out of the OPEB trust. ►Mr. Sherman said by not putting the money in, as part
of the calculations they have to determine the discount rate, and he is using 7.5%. He said if you continue to
not put the money in, he may be forced to lower the discount rate to something less than 7.5%. If that
happens, then the liability goes up because you are earning less. So, there is a risk for not putting any money
in. He said there is no date to be fully funded for OPEB. He explained that Franklin is part of Norfolk County
Retirement System, but they are on track to be fully funded in 2032 or 2034. When that happens, your
contributions to Norfolk County Retirement System are going to drop like a rock. He explained that when
retirement is fully funded, the savings can then go into the OPEB Trust. ►Chair Dellorco thanked Mr.
Sherman.
LEGISLATION FOR ACTION:
Note: Two-Thirds Vote requires six votes; Majority Vote requires majority of members present and voting.
a.​ Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-946: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin
at Chapter 185, Attachment 7, Part VI Use Regulation Schedule - Second Reading (Motion to Approve
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-946 - ⅔ Majority Roll Call Vote). ►Councilor Cormier-Leger read the
zoning bylaw amendment. ►MOTION to Approve Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-946: A Zoning
Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Attachment 7, Part VI Use
Regulation Schedule by Grella. SECOND by Ojukwu. Discussion. ►Councilor Callaway-Tripp asked
these are the items that just needed to be cleaned up. ►Chair Dellorco said these are the ones we voted
on before. ►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES; Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES,
Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE:
Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
b.​ Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-947: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin
at Chapter 185, Attachment 9, Schedule of Lot, Area, Frontage, Yard and Height Requirements
-Second Reading (Motion to Approve Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-947 - ⅔ Majority Roll Call Vote).
►MOTION to Waive the reading by Grella. SECOND by Morrongiello. No discussion. ►VOTE:
Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0. ►MOTION to Approve Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-947: A Zoning Bylaw
Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Attachment 9, Schedule of Lot, Area,
Frontage, Yard and Height Requirements by Grella. SECOND by Malloy. No discussion. ►ROLL
CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES; Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES,
LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.

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c.​ Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-948: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin
at Chapter 185, Use Regulation Schedule, Attachment 2, Attachment 3, Attachment 4, Attachment 7 &
Attachment 8 - Second Reading (Motion to Approve Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-948 - ⅔ Majority
Roll Call Vote). ►MOTION to Waive the reading by Grella. SECOND by Ojukwu. No discussion.
►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0. ►MOTION to Approve Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-948: A
Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Use Regulation
Schedule, Attachment 2, Attachment 3, Attachment 4, Attachment 7 & Attachment 8 by Grella.
SECOND by Malloy. No discussion. ►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES;
Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES,
Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
d.​ Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-949: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of Franklin
at Chapter 185, Attachment 9, Schedule of Lot Area Requirements - Second Reading (Motion to
Approve Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-949 - ⅔ Roll Call Majority Vote). ►MOTION to Waive the
reading by Grella. SECOND by Malloy. No discussion. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
►MOTION to Approve Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-949: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code
of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Attachment 9, Schedule of Lot Area Requirements by Grella.
SECOND by Callaway-Tripp. No discussion. ►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES;
Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES,
Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
e.​ Bylaw Amendment 26-950: A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 139,
Section 139-14, Sewer System Map - Second Reading (Motion to Approve Bylaw Amendment 26-950 Roll Call Majority Vote). ►MOTION to Waive the reading by Grella. SECOND by Callaway-Tripp.
No discussion. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0. ►MOTION to Approve Bylaw Amendment 26-950:
A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 139, Section 139-14, Sewer System
Map by Grella. SECOND by Malloy. Discussion. ►Councilor Malloy said he objects for one second if
he could. He said we got an email earlier today from a resident who had a question about this. He said he
thinks they addressed it last time at the first reading, but he wants to make sure they answered the
question. He said the resident asked the Town Council to review the infrastructure implications of the
proposals, the water and the sewer for this project, and be assured they are not putting any additional
costs on ratepayers based on the project that we are doing here. ►Town Engineer Michael Maglio said
all the proposed work to extend the water and sewer for this particular project will be done by the
developer who will pay for all the work. In addition to that, they are also going to be doing some work
within the town system of a value of about $60,000, and they are contributing another $35,000 to DPW
for other system improvements in that area. ►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES;
Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES,
Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
f.​ Bylaw Amendment 26-951: A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 179,
Section 179-9.1 Water System Map - Second Reading (Motion to Approve Bylaw Amendment 26-951 Roll Call Majority Vote). ►MOTION to Waive the reading by Grella. SECOND by Malloy. No
discussion. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0. ►MOTION to Approve Bylaw Amendment 26-951: A
Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 179, Section 179-9.1 Water System Map
by Grella. SECOND by Griffith. Discussion. ►Councilor Ojukwu said this is the second one that was
included in the email. ►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES; Cormier-Leger-YES,
Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES,
Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
g.​ Resolution 26-21: Amendment to 2026 Town Council Meeting Schedule (Motion to Approve
Resolution 26-21 - Majority Vote). ►Councilor Cormier-Leger read the resolution. ►MOTION to

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Approve Resolution 26-21: Amendment to 2026 Town Council Meeting Schedule by Grella. SECOND
by Malloy. Discussion. ►Mr. Hellen said the reason for the date change of October 7 to October 28 is
due to him. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
h.​ Resolution 26-22: Gift Acceptance - Veterans Services Department ($500) (Motion to Approve
Resolution 26-22 - Majority Vote). ►MOTION to Approve Resolution 26-22: Gift Acceptance Veterans Services Department ($500) by Grella. SECOND by Malloy. Discussion. ►Town Council
members thanked the doners for their generous contribution. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: ►Councilor Malloy requested a discussion around communication
expectations. We need to be a bit more organized about how we handle emails to all Town Council members
and what steps we are going to follow on that. ►Councilor Grella said the communications subcommittee
should work on it and make a proposal and then we can discuss. ►Mr. Cerel said email responses are driven
by the open meeting law. ►Councilor Ojukwu said he wanted to have the same discussion thinking about the
various venues that we are going to try to interact with the community in. ►Councilor LeBlanc said this
coincides with the water and sewer map. We need to come up with a standardized process as it relates to
making the water sewer connection, i.e., what will a developer also contribute to the infrastructure. They
need to come up with a method to it, an expectation sliding fee schedule. He would like it to be standard
rather than arbitrary. He said it could be part of economic development. ►Councilor Morrongiello said he
wanted reiterate the sustainability committee approaching that after the budget discussions have wound down
as well as we also need to hunker down and choose a time for an executive session in the future. ►Councilor
Cormier-Leger said he had asked for the investment portfolio manager come make a presentation to us so we
could see where the town’s money was being invested. ►Mr. Hellen said you have stacked agendas and
where does this fall in the priority list. He said the July meeting has some street acceptances, the EPA is
coming in for 300 Fisher Street, and the August meeting probably has an executive session. Maybe this could
wait to the fall. He will talk to the chair about where to fit this in. ►Councilor Grella mentioned the tax
hearings will be coming up again. ►Mr. Hellen said he has some placeholders for this for two meetings
before the tax rate hearing. ►Councilor Ojukwu talked about the time it would take to implement a split tax
rate. ►Mr. Hellen talked about what a split tax rate would entail. He asked if the Town Council members
were comfortable with four-hour meetings. He reviewed upcoming agenda items. ►Councilor Griffith
confirmed that the August meeting would be executive session. ►Mr. Hellen explained you open it as a
public meeting and then go into executive session. ►Councilor Ojukwu said whatever decision is made
about the tax rate there needs to be community input. ►Town Council members provided ideas on how and
when to talk about the tax rate and discussions in subcommittees. ►Chair Dellorco asked Mr. Hellen about a
study in April about the sewer capacity going to Medway. ►Mr. Hellen said they have a follow up meeting
with Millis in a month, and the consultant is giving us the number of what the modern-day value rate is of
sewer. He said he is dealing with Millis first and then Medway. He said you need to know the value of your
sewer capacity.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: ►None.
ADJOURN: ►MOTION to Adjourn by Grella. SECOND by Cormier-Leger. No Discussion. ►VOTE:
Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
Meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Lizardi
Recording Secretary

1
FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL​
MINUTES OF MEETING​
May 20, 2026
A meeting of the Town Council was held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at the Municipal Building, 2nd
Floor, Council Chambers, 355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA. Councilors present: Jane Callaway-Tripp,
Ted Cormier-Leger, Robert Dellorco, Gene Grella, Caroline Griffith, Michael LeBlanc, Stephen Malloy, Max
Morrongiello (via Zoom), Kenneth Ojukwu. Councilors absent: None. Administrative personnel in
attendance: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator; Mark Cerel, Town Attorney; Julie McCann, Operations
Manager.
Note: Documents for the Town Council are on file and provided in the online meeting packet.
CALL TO ORDER: ►Chair Dellorco called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR: ►Chair Dellorco reviewed the following as posted on the
agenda. A Note to Residents: All citizens are welcome to attend public meetings in person. To view the live
meeting remotely, citizens are encouraged to watch the live stream on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube
channel or the live broadcast on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. To listen to the meeting
remotely citizens may call-in using the number on the agenda. To participate in the meeting remotely citizens
may join a Zoom Webinar using the information provided on the agenda. Meetings are recorded and archived
by Franklin TV on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channel and shown on repeat on Comcast Channel 9
and Verizon Channel 29. Any participants who wish to speak during the webinar must enter their full name
and email address when joining the webinar. All participants will be automatically muted upon joining the
webinar. In order to speak, participants will need to select the “raise hand” function to request to be unmuted.
All speakers will be required to state their full name and street address before commenting. This meeting is
being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting may
be recorded by others. ►Chair Dellorco said Councilor Morrongiello will be attending via Zoom. ►Chair
Dellorco reviewed the Memorial Day Parade information scheduled for Monday, May 25, 2026, at 11 AM.
The ceremony will be held at 12 PM at the World War I Memorial following the parade. See the Town
website for more information including rain date details. He reviewed the weekly Farmers Market is held on
the Town Common beginning on Friday, June 5 through October from 2 PM to 6 PM. He noted Franklin
Restaurant week takes places from May 31 to June 6. More information can be found on the Town website.
Franklin’s 3rd annual Porchfest takes place on Saturday, June 6 from 12 PM to 6 PM throughout the Cultural
District with a rain date on June 7. The Strawberry Stroll takes place on Friday, June 12 from 4 PM to 6 PM
in downtown with a rain date of June 13. Town Council hours will be held on Thursday, May 21 at 8:30 AM
at the Senior Center. He said they have a surprise proclamation tonight which Councilor Griffith will
announce.
PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS: ►Councilor Griffith presented Franklin Public Library Youth
Services Librarian Caleigh Keating a proclamation honoring Ms. Keating for being named a 2026
Commonwealth Heroine which is awarded to women in Massachusetts who are recognized as outstanding
leaders and contributors to their community and the Commonwealth. ►Chair Dellorco said congratulations.
CALL TO ORDER (continued): ►All recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
CITIZEN COMMENTS: ►Ms. Lyn O’Brien, 16 Homes Avenue, chair of the Franklin Council on Aging
Board, said she wanted to share news from the Senior Center. They are three days into the Senior Olympics.
They have 102 athletes registered for 379 event signups. She reviewed the opening ceremony and noted
some of the tournament offerings. She said they encourage participation for this fun event.

2
COUNCILOR COMMENTS: ►Councilor Malloy hoped everyone can attend the Memorial Day events.
►Councilor Ojukwu discussed the importance of getting mammograms, and he noted the Women’s Expo
taking place. ►Councilor Griffith reminded everyone about the Women’s Expo. She said she was happy so
many people were attending the meeting. ►Councilor Morrongiello gave a shout-out to the Children’s
Museum. ►Councilor Callaway-Tripp showed a letter and said it was to support trying to get that bill for the
SROs back on the table. She asked for the Town Council members’ signatures. ►Councilor Cormier-Leger
said the Senior Center events sound great. He gave a shout-out to those working downtown to put out the
flowers and the artwork on the fence. He said he commented on civility a few months ago and that
discussions can be hard and get emotional, and he hopes tonight everyone remembers to keep it cool, and we
are all friends and neighbors. ►Councilor Grella noted Memorial Day. ►Chair Dellorco said Cristina E.
(Colace) Ferrara passed away, and they have had a store in town for many years; he gave his condolences to
the family.
SUBCOMMITTEE & AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS:
a.​ Joint Budget Subcommittee (next meeting: TBD). ►Councilor Ojukwu said they do not have the next
meeting date yet.
b.​ Economic Development Subcommittee (next meeting: TBD). ►Councilor LeBlanc said the other
members met last Thursday. ►Councilor Malloy said there was a presentation by the UMass Boston
professor on the potential of having them evaluate downtown Franklin and applying their urban skills
and designs and thoughts on ways to develop the area. He said he thinks the committee is in support of
both phases of this. He said it was a good conversation.
c.​ Communications Subcommittee (next meeting: May 28, 6PM). ►Councilor Griffith confirmed the
next meeting is May 28.
d.​ Town Charter Ad Hoc Committee (next meeting: June 24, 6PM). ►Chair Dellorco said the first
meeting will be June 24 at 6 PM.
e.​ Police Station Building Committee (next meeting: TBD). ►No update.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT: ►None.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: ►None.
APPOINTMENTS: ►None.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - 6:00 PM:
a.​ ►License Modification - Change of LLC Managers & Change of Change of LLC Members and
Change of Pledge of License: Franklin Shed, LLC d/b/a Franklin Shed, Located at 340 East Central
St., Franklin, MA 02038 (License Transaction # 10a). ►Chair Dellorco declared the public hearing
open. ►Councilor Cormier-Leger read the license modification. ►Mr. Richard Cornetta, attorney for
Franklin Shed, LLC, and two of the four owners Syed Azhar and Michael Barker addressed the Town
Council. Mr. Cornetta noted this pub has been opened since 2021. They have some ownership changes.
Two of the members are selling and transferring their ownership to the remaining two members, and the
records will reflect that. The remaining two members will be seeking financing through Rockland Trust.
He discussed they would like to pledge the license as collateral for the loan; it is a fairly typical request.
►Councilor Ojukwu said this feels straightforward, but he would like to understand how the pledge of
the license impacts the town. ►Mr. Cerel reviewed the process and noted it is still subject to the town’s
approval. ►Chair Dellorco declared the public hearing closed.
LICENSE TRANSACTIONS: ►License Modification - Change of LLC Managers & Change of Change
of LLC Members and Change of Pledge of License: Franklin Shed, LLC d/b/a Franklin Shed, Located at
340 East Central St., Franklin, MA 02038. ►MOTION to Approve the License Modification - Change of
LLC Managers & Change of Change of LLC Members and Change of Pledge of License: Franklin Shed,

3
LLC d/b/a Franklin Shed, Located at 340 East Central St., Franklin, MA 02038 by Cormier-Leger.
SECOND by Grella. No discussion. ►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES; Cormier-Leger-YES,
Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES, Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES.
►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - 7:00 PM (continued):
b.​ ►FY27 Town Council Annual Operating Budget Hearing. ►Chair Dellorco declared the public
hearing open. ►Ms. Rose Marino, 26 Madison Avenue (via Zoom), said she was told the library would
not have Sunday hours this summer because it was not in the budget. She said she would like the Town
Council to reconsider this as it benefits all residents and their families. She is sad there will not be
Sunday hours. ►Mr. Kit Brady, 36 Kimberlee Avenue (via Zoom), said he is commenting as a citizen
and not as a volunteer on the various boards and committees which he serves. He said in his contact with
town and school departments during his service on these committees he found nearly all employees hard
working and diligent and responsive. He talked about those most vulnerable in our community including
older adults and our children. The senior center and public schools are good examples of providing good
bang for the buck. He said despite this we still hear people telling departments to cut the fat and do more
with less. He said he trusts the department heads to determine their needs. Franklin has been cutting the
fat for 20 years. He noted Franklin is also the birth place of Horace Mann. He hopes the town will draw
inspiration to provide our town the resources that it needs to serve us and the Town Council keeps these
considerations in mind as we move forward. Chair Dellorco declared the public hearing closed. ►Chair
Dellorco rescinded his declaration. ►Mr. Hellen gave some budget updates and comments. He thanked
everyone in the room, town and school staff, finance teams, and all other staff, for their incredible job.
He thanked all the elected and appointed boards for the great work they do. There is a lot of engagement.
He gave a shout-out to the finance committee and chairman for the 17.5-hour debate, four nights in a
row; he said what the finance committee did this year was an incredible process. He talked about that his
first budget was about two pages. Every year they try to improve and make it better and more accessible.
They are exceptionally transparent. He discussed all the budget information available online. He said
over the next nights, these are public hearings, and they will hear from the public. He said there are no
budget votes tonight or tomorrow; the final budget vote will be on June 10. He said a lot of department
heads and board members are here tonight. He said this is the Town Council’s time to ask questions and
get clarity. He said tomorrow night is a great opportunity to for the community and staff to hear from the
Town Council members. He said he will have a revised town administrator budget ready for Friday, May
29. It will be in the packet of the finance committee for their meeting on June 3 at which the finance
committee will do another review to look at the updated numbers. He said as part of the budget process,
this is the start of FY27. This is just a blueprint. This is a great opportunity to get an idea of what’s
coming up. He noted they have not received the final GIC numbers from the state so he has no specifics
yet. He said they anticipate the Town Council reviewing the revised budget on June 10. He said on June
17 he expects if there is any excess free cash, if there is an ability to do capital tier two and tier three and
also because it will be long, the slate of projects recommended by the community preservation
committee this past Monday, he expects all of those issues to be on June 17. He said on June 10 there
will also be other resolutions and some standard items. He noted some of the changes. He said state aid
assumptions will likely change, and it will be increased in some capacities. He does not have final senate
numbers yet. He said there will be some accounts with savings and some accounts with more. There will
be revised new growth numbers in that budget as well. He said they are also going to propose that if the
Town Council will support any of the new restored positions, we are going to propose them to start on
October 1. He said these were just some samples. He talked about free cash and said hopefully about
$1.5 million free cash that would be needed to plug the budget deficit. He said they are still working on
the health care deficit issue. He will have a strategy on June 3, and it will not affect the operating budget.
He said with all this, he hopes to have some amount of free cash remaining for possibly some tier two
and tier three capital items requested by the schools and public works and facilities. He said he wanted to
remind everyone that this is just the beginning of FY27. These hearings start FY27, and it gives us the

4
blueprint. He said he hopes all the discussions will be cordial. ►In response to questions about if free
cash rolls over each year if you do not spend it, Mr. Hellen said one of the reasons you are meeting on
June 17 is that if we do not appropriate the free cash by June 30, then the excess gets rolled into next
year. He said he believes there will be a need for it. He said free cash does not usually get certified until
at the earliest at Halloween. So, all of those monies are not available from July through October. He said
you can appropriate the free cash into a stabilization fund but you then limit the use to that stabilization
fund. ►Chair Dellorco said they usually hold facilities, police, fire, school, and DPW.
►Councilor Cormier-Leger read each Town of Franklin Operating Budget FY 2027 line item.
►Hold on Line Item 123: Town Administration. ■Councilor Griffith said this proposal includes the deputy
town administrator, but didn’t we reallocate those funds to the communications director and administrative
assistant. ■Mr. Hellen explained that half of the position was cut. Half of the money for Amy’s former salary
was reduced to patch the budget gap last year, and the other half was used for the communications director
and administrative assistant. He said he does not consider it double dipping because a very high percentage
of communities across the state have assistant town managers. He discussed the need for this position. He
said the two deputy town administrators in Frankin have been himself and Amy for three years. He reviewed
what the deputy town administrator focuses on and said the return on investment for the money is clear. He
explained this is a large organization. He noted all the town staff are good at what they do. But you will
eventually want to have someone waiting in the wings for some kind of consistency. He said when he got
hired, he had to earned that aspect of it. It took a few years to understand the budget and all the aspects of the
town. He said it is his opinion that it is not double dipping. He said Ms. McCann has a lot on her plate. He
said the communications issue has been a fit and start which he reviewed. Communications is an issue. He
said a lot of towns that are well managed have a communications person. He said he disagrees it is double
dipping, and it is a good return on investment for the community. He noted the schools have an assistant
superintendent. He said he knows this got very politicized last year. He knows it is a high salary and some
people in the community see it and say we are too top heavy. He said all of the folks in the room have their
assistant managers in their departments. He said he struggles and feels he gets singled out, and it seems like a
political problem. He said they need the help in his office. The expectations of the public are high, and they
have to be responsive, and they have to work on the weekends. ■Councilor Griffith said the salary seems
very high. If we find ourselves in tight financial situations, these are roles that we might hire someone and
then have to let them go. She said that is a concern to her and asked how do we manage that if we allocate
the money to this role. ■Mr. Hellen said free cash is not the source of money for this. He could have
proposed cuts elsewhere to have this position. In terms of future fiscal years, he hopes all the Town
Councilors will have a robust conversation about are we going to look for revenues. He said the use of free
cash can be used for a couple of years until this Town Council has a strategy. He talked about if the Town
Council does not find new revenues. He said without an assistant town manager, it restricts his ability to do
more advocacy and more grants, creative partnerships, and working with departments to bring in those
revenues. He noted the finance committee agreed with the staffing model. ■Councilor Griffith confirmed Mr.
Hellen is looking at a $1.5 million deficit. She said this role is 13% of that $1.5 million. ■Councilor
Cormier-Leger asked Mr. Hellen to talk through what his department in the current proposal looks like and
how much gets done by so few. ■Mr. Hellen said there is himself, Ms. McCann who is the operations
manager and does more than operations, and a part-time administrative assistant. He said Mr. Cerel, the town
attorney, acts as an assistant town manager in many ways because he has such a wealth of knowledge. A
town like Needham or Natick has two assistant town managers and a staff of eight, and they are the same
population. He said Liz is the communications director who was just hired in February. He said between
communications staff, it all falls on him and Ms. McCann. He reviewed some of the functions he does over
the weekend. He said between when Amy left and Liz came on there was a lack of communications getting
done. He said he has less staff in his office now than Jeff Nutting had in the office in 2001. ■Councilor
Cormier-Leger reviewed that there would be four full-time staff and a part-time admin and a part-time town
attorney in the office. He said that is not a top-heavy town administrator department. He said they are

5
contractually bound to provide Mr. Hellen with a deputy town administrator at some point, and Mr. Hellen
has been gracious to defer that. He asked if economic development qualifications could be in a job posting
for the position. ■Mr. Hellen said there would be a section about preferred qualifications in a posting.
■Councilor Morrongiello said he had three questions for all department heads including how has utilization
of your department services by the public changed over the last five years and provide metrics and examples.
■Mr. Hellen said his job is very fluid so it is hard to answer that. He said for Ms. McCann whatever is
thrown her way, she gets done. He noted the AAA bond rating status for Franklin. He noted a good town
culture among the staff. ■Councilor Morrongiello said if you do cut your budget by 5% compared to level
service, will your department still be able to function and meet all state requirements. ■Mr. Hellen said they
could take a 5% reduction on expenses and still survive, but he cannot lose any staff bandwidth. He noted he
lost the deputy last year and two years ago the expense budget in the office was cut. ■Councilor
Morrongiello asked is there new spending in your budget compared to level service. He said if this is not
included, will the department still be able to function and impact revenue. ■Mr. Hellen said any cuts to his
office are going to have an impact on revenue as they do a lot of revenue generation from his office. He
noted license fees that are brought in. ■Councilor LeBlanc said some may look at the deputy administrator as
excess. He talked about the salary. He said the expectation is hiring someone at that pay rate is they will
come in and be running. He said the deputy administrator will add bandwidth to allow us to have revenue
growth. He said we need to grow new growth in this town. Adding $190,000 for this is a key position. We
want to do a lot of things with just the two people sitting there. We need to create bandwidth in that
department. He said he is supporting this position for the next two years. ■Chair Dellorco said he totally
agrees. ■Chief of Police Thomas Lynch noted he was acting town administrator from April 11 to May 10. He
said it was a lot more than he expected. He talked about a hearing from Rep. Roy about a revenue on a home
rule petition regarding raising hotel taxes from 6% to 8%. He said it wasn’t easy. A deputy or assistant town
administrator would not have a problem. We have had it before, and he is all for the position as it is needed.
►Hold on Line Item 135: Finance. ■Councilor LeBlanc said he wanted to clarify that in finance they are
adding a position but saving consulting costs, and that position is to better utilize the software they have
today. He asked how the town will benefit. ■Chief Financial Officer Kerri Bertone reviewed the benefits of
using the system better. She said they are not using Munis to the capacity that it has, and she provided an
example. ■Human Resources Director Karen Bratt talked about the Human Resources side of this. She said
she has been here for nine years, and there is so much Munis can do that we are not doing. She said the IT
group does not have the time to support Munis. She said all benefits are in Munis. The consultants are paid a
lot of money, but you are on their schedule. It is difficult to get better on the system without that internal
support, and this will help improve efficiencies. She said there are probably people internally that could do it,
but she does not know if they would be interested. She explained other savings as well. ■Councilor LeBlanc
said he will support the budget as outlined to add that position. ■Superintendent of Schools Lucas Giguere
said he supports this as it is an integrated system and it supports town and schools. We don’t utilize the
system fully at this time. He said they need getting someone with the knowledge of the platform, and they
need to have knowledge of Franklin on the platform as well. ■Councilor Malloy said he had no problem with
the position and asked about the Munis platform. ■Director of Technology Tim Rapoza explained that it is
Tyler ERP now. He said it is not really a technology problem, but rather an application expert problem. This
is a software expert that will apply it to Franklin. It is such a big system. We are not using all of what we are
paying for with the Munis software. It will drive efficiencies across the board. These pieces need an expert.
He said Tyler ERP is the cutting edge. It is a current piece of software. ■Ms. Bratt said they are in about 90
percent of cities and towns. ■Chair Dellorco asked how we are going to find the person. ■Mr. Rapoza said
you will have to sell the Franklin environment. ■Ms. Bertone talked about the training they will have to go
to. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp asked about the funding for this person. ■Ms. Bertone said she is reducing
expenses that she has for consultants. She currently has two consultants on this. She agreed there will be a
transition period from the consultants to the new person coming onboard. ■Mr. Hellen said a lot of this is
fluid. We are cutting out the consultants. You have to get the right person in. There is not a Munis expert that
we can just get to come in. A few years ago, we had this position open. He reviewed the criteria for this

6
person. He talked about expense money in their budget that they may be able to use for some needed
training, but they will probably not use the full $12,000. He said we are making a good faith effort to shift
some money in the budget. The budget is fluid all the time. He said they will work as a team to get the new
person up to speed. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp noted her concern about subsidizing a budget with free cash.
■Councilor Morrongiello asked about this position and the interaction with the reports for the states. ■Ms.
Bertone talked about the reporting they do to the DOR and IRS. She explained Crystal Reports is no longer
going to be supported by Tyler Technologies. She said the Munis admin will probably be doing some of the
work she is currently doing. She said they could probably be doing more reporting with this. She reviewed
the capacity of some of the consultants that she has used.
►Hold on Line Item 141: Assessors. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp said with budget there is a full-time
administrative assistant. She said she watched all of the Finance Committee meetings. She said she heard
from listening, the assessors put in five hours per week for paperwork. ■Director of Assessing Kevin Doyle
explained it is probably more than that. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp said she understands the need for one,
but to be fiscally responsible, we could hire a part-time person to free up the assessors and the salary is half
and there would be no benefits rather than a $50,000 full-time employee and benefits. ■Mr. Hellen explained
5 hours is low, it is about 5 to 10. The appraisers would equal a full-time position. He said he thinks the
Finance Committee went through that they want to invest in a part-time inspector for the building
commissioner but also the full-time admin for Mr. Doyle as they are really linked. He said recruitment for
part-time employees is difficult right now. There will be a better candidate pool if it is full time with benefits.
He discussed there are pros and cons of hiring two part-time people to save on benefits. He said when you
invest in a full-time employee, you get greater dedication and a person who usually works more than 35
hours per week. That has been the strategy we have employed. ■Mr. Doyle explained some of the functions
of the admin. He said they would not want a part-time person to get trained and then go to another town for a
full-time position. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked how the work load has changed in the department in the
last five years and how will this position increase new growth. ■Mr. Doyle said in the past five years it has
changed a lot. He said the town has grown, and it is more difficult to get into the areas that they need to and
get to the properties they need to review. Motor vehicle excise has increased with the volume. We have more
apartments and condominiums. He explained that the admin does the administrative work and the appraisers
can now do the appraisals, and they can more readily identify more growth, and review the properties, and
getting the information from inspection such as a permit and the status of the permit and making sure we are
recognizing everything going on all properties. Being able to be out there more will be more discovery.
■Councilor LeBlanc confirmed there are three appraisers in the office. He said they are generating the new
growth and doing the work to generate the growth. He said this is tying back to economic development; this
is a revenue generating department. He said if you are going to add this to salaries, there needs to be a boost
in the new growth associated with this. He said based on the comments, he would be for doing what they
proposed and adding more bandwidth. He said there has to be more collaboration between them and building
regarding the permits. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said it is important to realize that the building
commissioner is one guy trying to do it all. He said he sees some projects from the Covid error that there is a
gap in projects being finished, but the loop never got closed in signing off the permit, and getting to the
assessors. He hopes the admin will be able to tie loose ends. ■Mr. Doyle said they are aware of the issuance
of the permits, and they make their own visits to the property. He said even if they do not get inside, they can
make some assumptions/estimates. Most people accommodate them and let them in. ■Finance Committee
Member Shannon Nealon said related to the finance committee meetings, she said it is valuable for this
budget, where they are filling a budget with free cash, which is really dangerous, she thinks there is more
value to look at where we can hire part time for now as it is the right call. The full time may be better in a
later budget; we do not have money. So, we need to consider part time for now. ■Chair Dellorco explained
hiring part time people is hard. The benefits now are better in private sector than public sector, so that is a big
problem right now. ■Mr. Doyle said the position would pay for itself because it frees up the appraisers to do
the work they were hired to do.

7
►Hold on Line Item 147: Treasurer/Collector. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp noted she did not need to hold
this item.
►Hold on Line Item 155: Information Technology. ■Councilor LeBlanc said he held this because he wanted
to make a statement. This is the one last department that is shared between the schools and town and
everything is shifted to the town and how do we move this to the town so it is like every other shared service.
He said that is something he is looking for. He would like it if not in FY27 but in FY28. It is not about the
expenses. His goal is to consolidate the expenses. ■Superintendent of Schools Lucas Giguere said this is a
good comment. He said the technology needs of the adults and of the students and how they are supported in
the school district are just two different needs. He has already prepared and built his rationale for that, and it
would be better if there were more time to talk about this issue.
►Hold on Line Item 240: Inspection. ■Councilor LeBlanc said the finance committee is recommending the
position for this. He said for the assessors it would free up time and for this generate more fees. He said he
will move forward with adding that role. He said he has an expectation in the revised numbers that we get the
new growth number and will increase to support some of that. He said this is a revenue generating
department. Those departments need to generate revenue. ■Building Commissioner Gus Brown (via Zoom)
said it caught him off guard also about the position. He said he hired someone in 2012 and they turned out to
be a superstar. He said they are always doing more with less, and they get the people that do that. He said
they may not be able to replace some people with the quality of people they have now because of the amount
of work they all do. He said he appreciates what this organization does. He said having more help in the
assessing and building departments will help them bring in more revenue. He said he wants to make sure that
everyone understands that he realizes other departments have needs too.
►Hold on Line Item 610: Library. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp talked about the library budget lines. She said
for the library, that other pay ranges indicate anywhere from $703 to $1,908. She asked what is other pay. ■
Library Director Felicia Oti said it is the education incentive for staff negotiated in the union contract if they
have certain degrees they get an incentive. ■Ms. Bratt said that is typical in union contracts. ■Councilor
Morrongiello asked how is utilization of the public services by the public changed over the last five years,
and do you have specific metrics to back that up. ■ Ms. Oti explained that before they went to full time staff,
they had so many part-time staff and their schedules were not consistent and often they did not have the same
commitment as full-time staff do. She said when they went to full-time staff, they could offer more programs.
She said the numbers speak for themselves. She talked about the Natick library and compared their budget to
Franklin’s budget. She said Franklin does more in services than all the communities she mentioned
combined. She said Franklin spends $33 per person per a year. She said Needham spends $81 per person. She
said services and programming are shattering all records. She said Franklin has the lowest staff also. She
commended her staff and thanked Mr. Hellen. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked what would happen if the
library budget was cut 5% compared to level service and could they continue to function and meet state
requirements. ■Ms. Oti explained if they were cut by 5%, they would lose certification and it would ruin
their reputation. There is no other library in the state that will sell residents. She explained that residents
borrowed 58,000 items. She said it makes no sense to want to cut a budget that is under 1% of the town
budget. ■Councilor Morrongiello said if you cut 5% from the library, you will not be able to function so it
seems that there is no other department that the resources are so thin. ■Councilor Griffith talked about the
average library budget percentage for towns in Massachusetts and for Franklin that would be $2 million.
■Councilor Cormier-Leger said Ms. Oti and her team do an amazing job. He said they give her an
embarrassing low budget, and she does a lot. He asked about Sundays. He said in the new budget she is
proposing to reopen on Sundays. ■Ms. Oti explained how she was going to do that. She said Sunday is in the
union contract. If staff are interested in working Sunday, they are given the option. She said they use library
substitutes on Sundays if the staff is not interested. She said Sundays are 3.5 hours. She said the opportunity
for people to use the library on the weekends is appreciated. When they were closed on Sundays, she said it
is all they hear is residents asking if the Sunday hours could be restored. She talked about the parking. She

8
explained that if they lose accreditation, then they cannot use other libraries across the state. ■Councilor
LeBlanc confirmed the library was opening on Sunday. He noted that was not in the narrative. He asked if
there was ever talk about regionalizing the library, and he said they should look into regionalization of
libraries. ■Mr. Hellen said he does not think that is allowed under the state statute. The Minuteman Library
Network and collaboration are like second tier regionalization.
►Hold on Line Item 630: Recreation. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said he appreciates the revenue Mr. Jette
brings. ■Recreation Director Ryan Jette said in FY26 they have spent $736,000 and brought in $808,000. So,
they are in the plus. They are looking at breaking $910,000 for the full fiscal year. He talked about the fields.
He said over 90 percent of field use is Franklin residents. The town does not charge residents a field use fee.
He said they have several hundred high school students and the recreation department has programs too. He
said to charge for the fields, there are a lot of questions and a larger discussion that not just the Recreation
Department to make the decision. He explained many of the youth organizations invest in the fields they are
using. Some kick in money if they need something. Charging for the field use is a complicated issue, and he
suggested a conversation to come up with a plan. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said he thinks these discussions
come out of a difficult situation, and they are looking for revenue everywhere to offset some expenses. He
said he does not think modest fees would be upsetting to most people. He agrees this is a bigger
conversation. ■Mr. Cerel discussed the Massachusetts Recreational Use statute which says if a property
owner whether public or private allows their property to be used without charging a fee, they are basically
insulated from liability for injuries for negligence. If you impose a fee, you would lose that immunity and
that would probably be reflected in some sort of increased insurance premiums based on the increased
exposure. ■Chair Dellorco explained when he was involved with youth sports and some of the organizations
contribute to items such as putting in lights and mounds. He does not want to lose that. He said if we put a
fee on, the groups will not do that kind of contribution. ■Councilor Ojukwu said he loves that the Recreation
Department generates revenue. He noted Mr. Cerel’s comments on the benefit of having no fee and that is
important to take into consideration. He said he struggles with that he wants to avoid the reality and the
impression of putting more on parents who are paying for their kids to participate. He said youth activities
and sports remain very important, and we want to make sure that remains accessible. ■Councilor Griffith
said if fees are added, there is going to be a lot of push back from the parents. She noted that the Recreation
Department brings in revenue. ■Councilor LeBlanc confirmed the 10% that use the fields that are not
Franklin residents pay a fee. He said as long as the non-Franklin for-profits are paying their fair share, maybe
we can look at that and squeeze a little more.
►Hold on Line Item 690: Historical Museum. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp said nothing she does is personal
to people or what they do, but her job is to analyze what they spend and make sure we are doing it correctly
and fiscally responsible. She said for the Historical Museum, her problem is, does the Historical Museum
generate any revenue to warrant the salary, and before we had an archivist, did we have events, and who
handled those, and how many items do you take care of on a full-time basis. She said she is trying to justify a
$75,000 salary. ■Town Archivist Rowan Lowell said she understands the optics in a budget crisis. She said
previous to having an archivist, the Historical Commission took care of 100 percent of the curation and
recording of objects. Over time, some of the information has been lost, and she is trying to recoup that
information. The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition to the curation of about 4,000
objects and 300 archival collections, part of what she does is working with the Historical Commission on
programming that is appealing to townspeople and those in surrounding towns. She talked about artists,
exhibits, bringing more people into the museum, and increasing the museum’s visibility. In response to
questions, Ms. Lowell explained they do not charge admission to events; they take donations at the door. She
said they are opening up to ticketed events and they would get a small portion of the proceeds. She said they
are starting to get some revenue. She explained a common fee structure is a $5 donation. She said they are
focusing on things that will bring in more traffic and increased visitors. ■Mr. Hellen said the Friends of the
Franklin Library for decades kind of raised some sort of money when there was no archivist to fund some of
the programs at the library. He said the longer-term strategy is there. What they would likely do is a

9
revolving fund. The structure of it is not ready. First, they have to create the demand. In the last year, they
have had record breaking numbers. He said he gives the Historical Commission credit. He reviewed plans for
reshuffling some of the items/rooms at the museum. He reviewed if they can create a demand and possible
newsletters and annual memberships. He said people want to hear the story. He said the citizens’ survey said
they want to maintain community character, and this is an untapped gem. He said if you lose the archivist,
you will lose the momentum. He said they have to get people into the building and maybe do rentals in there.
He said there is a longer look at this. He noted the World Cup is coming, and they are trying to have the
building open for when people are coming. He noted they are preserving assets in town. He noted the
museum was the first town hall in Franklin. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked about the preservation Ms.
Lowell does. ■Ms. Lowell explained of the items she has catalogued and identified, and she has been able to
restore about one-third of the items in the collections in the building. If it stopped, you would see an impact
and enormous loss of new information regarding Franklin’s history. She said they are building access to the
past and maintaining the digital presence. ■Councilor LeBlanc said he looks at the Historical Museum, Cory
and the Cultural Council, and the library as kind of a three-legged stool. We have got to find a way. He said
any place in New England has history, and we need to somehow retain it, so I am for keeping the position.
He asked about the community preservation act and if it can pay the salary. ■Mr. Hellen said no and
explained it can be used for one-time monies. He will further check with Mr. Cerel on that. He suggested
talking to Representative Roy and Senator Rausch on this. ■Councilor LeBlanc encouraged using the
museum to generate revenue.
►Hold on Line Item 300: Franklin Public Schools. ■Superintendent of Schools Lucas Giguere explained
tomorrow night is the awards ceremony for seniors. He said the request for the Franklin Public Schools was
for $73.2 million. That is 2.5% over last year’s budget. They have not increased the headcount to the staff
totals. They worked hard to get to 2.5%. He pointed out the budget this year is three years in the making. He
noted consolidation and redistricting that led to this budget. He noted the shift to move health care out of this
budget. He noted a one-page document. He said it hits on what is driving costs, how have we responded, and
some of the breakdowns. He said cost drivers are contractual obligations, special education, transportation
which is a contractual obligation. He said looking at avoidance, the district reorganization allowed us to
avoid some costs to the tune of $3.2 million from the budget. He noted their ability to not sit back passively
when looking at rising special education costs. They have worked hard to say what services can we provide
in district. He noted the failed overrides, redistricting, and consolidation that they have reduced
approximately 65.1 FTE over that time period between FY25 and FY26. He said they added a few things. He
said a question came up around administration. If you do the math, between the total number of staff that
work for us in admin we are about 97% student facing. He said if you just look at operating, it is about 4. So,
it is 3% total. He said about 4.4% of our staff is in leadership in an admin role. He said with enrollment, we
educate roughly 8 to 9 out of every 10 students that live in town. So, it is 87 to 88% and that has been a
pretty consistent number over time. He said the last piece is in the bottom left. He said they wanted to show
where they compare in the Hockomock League including a few others such as Medway and where we fall on
net school spending comparison, so how much is the Town of Franklin spending on education comparative to
other local towns. He said they picked the neighboring towns and the Hockomock League and that shows
where we fall on that from the most recent data. He explained the next page shows where he has presented
the budget publicly in great detail. ■School Business Administrator Jana Melotti and School Committee
Chair Paul Griffith introduced themselves. ■Councilor-Callaway-Tripp said that on the little chart at the
bottom where it shows net spending, the insurance is now moving to the town’s part of the budget, and won’t
that increase the net spending, and does that number reflect that or not. ■Mr. Giguere said the number
whether it was in the school budget or outside of it would be categorized as part of the spending that goes to
it. ■Councilor-Callaway-Tripp discussed and asked about net spending and the 300 account. ■Mr. Hellen
said regarding the question, it has no impact. ■Mr. Giguere said it is just shifting it to another budget line.
■Mr. Griffith explained the accounting and line items. ■Councilor-Callaway-Tripp said if the insurance was
in the 300 account and now it is not and coming out of the operating expenses for the town, how does that
not increase that. ■ Mr. Hellen explained that it does not matter what account it is in, it is an aggregate

10
amount of money that is being spent that goes through the formula; it does not matter if it is in 300 or 910.
■Councilor LeBlanc said for the upcoming school year, are they anticipating a decline or increase in student
population. ■Mr. Giguere said they will see declines at the high school as the smaller grades move through,
then we stabilize, and then see a slight tick up probably around 2029 or 2030. He said the current count is
4,396. He confirmed same number of FTEs they have in the budget. He said they tried to look at all of their
resources with the reorganization, and they shifted as needed for positions. ■Councilor LeBlanc asked if
there are opportunities with revolving/stabilization accounts where they potentially could be relief to the
parents for the fees that they pay. Can they go into the stabilization and give back? ■Mr. Giguere said in the
second override if it passed, they had a mechanism to turn the fees back down. ■Mr. Griffith explained the
revolving funds. He said they drew from them very heavily in past times when budgets were tight to keep
fees down. He said outside of a few situations, all the other revolving funds do not cover the cost of business
for the year. At this time, they cannot draw as heavily from the revolving funds. ■Councilor LeBlanc said it
is about perception, and communication is what he is trying to do here. He asked what would be the program
that the school committee and school department would want to add back if they had a choice. ■Mr. Giguere
said we have done everything we can to stabilize the AP program. He said he notices at the high school in the
past, we could run classes with thinner margins. He said now if you cannot get enough kids in that class, we
cannot run it. He said the consolidation helped reset pre-K through 8. He said we are in the process of the
restoration conversation. He said they are looking to innovate. They want to make sure they are at the cutting
edge to prepare kids. He explained some new pathways and innovation pathways. He said he thinks it is also
about not holding on to what we used to do, but what is in front of us and how do we prepare kids for a world
that continues to evolve. ■Councilor LeBlanc said he would be a proponent to give you an additional
$300,000 above what it had today, and he is asking the question which is what would you get back if you
were going to get that commitment and you could add something back or cut the fees for athletics, and
earmark it for a direct benefit. He would be a proponent. He said it would need to be a direct impact. ■Mr.
Giguere said if they had an infusion, they would look at the need for increased behavioral support with
students today in classes. He said the fee conversation would be an area they would look at. In the middle
and high school programs, they would look at how they are set up such as increased intervention for literacy
and then programming and the electives and things that excite students. Those are the things that would be on
the table, and he is answering hypothetically. ■Councilor LeBlanc his last item is about perception. From his
standpoint, it is not our responsibility to figure out how to spend $72.3 million, it is the school committee and
school department that has the privy to determine how they spend it. He said whether you agree, the
perception is that they spend too much on administration. He said he is speaking from the heart, and most
residents ask that question. ■Mr. Giguere said he has a staffing report for state comparables for admin and
their ratios. He said it is posted online, and he can provide it. ■Chair Dellorco said he agrees that is the view
from the public about why they have so many administrators. He asked about the fuel costs regarding
transportation. ■Mr. Giguere said it is in the contract for transportation. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked
questions. ■Mr. Giguere said they have prioritized mental health supports for councilors. He reviewed
student services, and they have worked hard to build up the appropriate staffing levels for counseling. He
said they are seeing the behavioral need. He said when they right-sized the district, they really looked at that.
He said the student needs continue to increase. In response to if the budget were cut 5% compared to level
service would your department be able to function and meet requirements, he said they could, but he gave
examples that if you do not have a certified librarian you lose NEASC accreditation at the high school, and if
you do not have the right nursing ratios, you could end up in trouble with the state. He talked about losing
staff and class sizes and that would be detrimental. He said the consequences would put a mark on the
schools if that were the case. Not having a NEASC accredited high school would not be good for kids
applying to college. He confirmed the request is 2.5%. ■Councilor Grella asked if a student might not be able
to participate in something if the parents cannot afford the fee. ■Mr. Giguere said students who qualify for
either a free or reduced lunch program are also eligible for their athletic fees, transportation discounts or free
and also Chromebook insurance, and those things. It is all based on the state’s threshold. ■Ms. Melotti said if
a family does not qualify for free and reduced lunch program, they can always apply through her office with
a financial assistance application. ■Mr. Giguere talked about the athletic and bus fees. ■Councilor Ojukwu

11
said on the chart it shows Attleboro as negative. ■Mr. Griffith said that means they are not reaching the
required state requirement. ■Mr. Hellen said they threaten you locally. ■Councilor Ojukwu said many people
chose to move to Franklin in part because of schools. He talked about school rankings are not at the same
place they were. He said the reorganization will help to stabilize this and halt the decline. ■Mr. Giguere said
they worked to stabilize, and he said the cost in bandwidth to cut your way out of your budget cannot be
understated. He said the idea is to stabilize the ship. ■Councilor Ojukwu said they have asked a lot of the
leaders that have spoken and how do you make yourself profitable and bring in revenue. He said the school
system is not designed to drive revenue, but we still have metrics, goals, and growth. He asked what does
winning look like for the schools. ■Mr. Giguere said it is about offsets. Winning for Franklin is being able to
have a budget that is supported, has the pieces in it after the feedback we received from families and kids,
and have the kids have the same experiences from years ago such as in AP. He said they are a great school
system. He said having the support we have for the kids, the teaching staff, we need to do the work, and the
leadership is where they would be winning. ■Councilor Malloy said he thinks they all share the desire to
have outstanding schools. He said they need to recognize they are in a budget deficit. He said your budget
book shows a salary request of roughly $60 million and then a non-salary request of $12 million, which gets
to $72 million and change. He said the $12 million non-salary requests are up from last year 5.7. ■Ms.
Melotti said the $12 million includes transportation costs, special ed cost tuition, special ed transportation
costs, and other expenses which are contracted services, materials and supplies to run the schools, dues and
memberships, and mileage reimbursement. ■Mr. Griffith further explained. ■Councilor Malloy said it would
be likely that he would advocate they make some reductions in the $72 million budget. He said the finance
committee suggested $60,000; he is going to suggest more than that. He said it could come from
discretionary spending from the expense lines. ■Mr. Griffith said the vast majority of the non-salary items
are mandated. He said they have already cut heavily over the past two years. He explained $1.7 million is the
overall increase request. He reviewed how much of it is state mandated. He explained they have already cut
so heavily. He talked about the supplies they ask for from students. ■Councilor Malloy said some of the
numbers are large, for example, instructional coaching for $1.8 million. ■Mr. Giguere said it is a teacher
support but a student support as well, for people who come in and work with students on their literacy and
math skills. These are folks that are not the classroom teacher, but work to help build and develop the
students’ skills in those areas and train the teachers. ■Mr. Griffith talked about what they do provide and
what they have to provide. He noted legal requirements that they have. ■Councilor Malloy said he is going to
ask for a little bit of money from them. ■Chair Dellorco said it is 10:00 PM so he will need a motion to
extend the meeting.
►MOTION to Extend the meeting by about one hour by Grella. SECOND by Callaway-Tripp. No
discussion. ►No Roll Call Vote. Councilor Cormier-Leger said everyone was in agreement. ►VOTE:
Yes-9, No-0, Absent-0.
■Councilor Griffith said the schools cannot bring in revenue profit as it is not something they do. But they
did save $3 million annually by redistricting which was an incredible feat. She said congratulations and thank
you for saving the town $3 million and they kept to 2.5% increase, and she noted some required costs went
up by more than that. She said they have been incredibly fiscally responsible and have done amazing things
with a small increase. She asked if there was a drop in participation after the athletic fees went up. ■Mr.
Giguere said he does not believe that they did. ■Councilor Griffith said people come here because we have
such a great special education program. She talked about special education costs. She said you are a victim of
your own success, but doing important things. She would love to see fewer students leaving the district to
save money there and support kids in their own town and would love to see how they can manage that. She
said all the budget was based off the governor’s proposed budget, but we don’t know what the final budget
will be, but there may be extra chapter 70 funds, and would that money if increased go to the schools. ■Mr.
Hellen said it would offset the amount of free cash we would use. He noted the Tri-County assessment has
gone up along with other accounts shifting with their bottom line. He noted Franklin was receiving more than
its fair share for some time, and now it has leveled off. He said they have always maxed out the tax levy. He

12
said they have to look at all the assessments. He explained they always look at it as a net amount. He said
there may be a desire if you are pro school and you want to invest more in schools and the press release
comes out the chapter 70 went up that there is an initial reaction to say let’s put that money directly to
schools. But then you really have to look at the bottom-line number. ■Councilor Griffith said the graph about
how Franklin compares to other districts for net school spending is shocking as some spend significantly
more than us. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said this is helpful and thank you for all that you do at the schools.
He said the overall impact is the kids are getting a great education. He said when we did the union contract
negotiations and we agreed on the COLAs, they did the 2.5% going forward, so with that for the union
teachers, when you factor in steps and lanes, how are we still able to keep the number to 2.5%. ■Ms. Melotti
said in order to be at the 2.5 % we had to remove the grant paid positions from the operating request which is
one of the reasons we were able to stay at the 2.5%. She said they will be receiving the grant in FY27, so
they do have a funding source for them. ■Mr. Griffith said we still have those FTEs but they are paid through
a different mechanism and not part of our operating budget. ■Mr. Giguere said they are getting the money
through grants for these jobs. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said schools are not revenue producers, but he
thinks there are some opportunities for some revenue to come from some programming and various use of
facilities, and he has had discussions about expanding Lifelong Learning to meet the need of the community
because the waitlists are so long, and asked what have you done to expand that. ■Mr. Giguere explained
through the consolidation when parents would look to sign up for before- and after-school supervision, those
would fill up in seconds. They could not keep up with the demand. When they consolidated, they worked
with the director of Lifelong Learning. She was able to work hard with the resources to solve the problem
and decrease the waitlist. He explained they generate revenue to cover their costs including health care. It is a
fully funded program as is cafeteria. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said he would like to get to a point where
recurring operational expenses do not hit capital. He talked about the athletic fees and said many parents who
pay the high fee sometimes feel the need to not volunteer, and he hears that all the time. He said they should
be thinking about some of those other things with the fees and the ripple effect. ■Chair Dellorco said he
knows they do not make any revenue, but in a roundabout way they do. He noted Ryan Jette and other
department heads and others who went to Franklin high and they are back in the circle making money for us
and giving back.
Chair Dellorco called for a two-minute break.
Chair Dellorco called the meeting back to order and noted the meeting was extended to 11 PM, and all
other remaining departments except Fire should come back tomorrow night.
►Hold on Line Item 220: Fire. ■Fire Chief Charles Allen, Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Barbieri, and Deputy
Fire Chief James Klich addressed the Town Council. ■Chief Allen said their budget is a level-service budget.
They are not adding anything to it. It does not increase any staff. It keeps them the same as today. ■Councilor
LeBlanc said it is level service because this past year we added back the two additional persons. There was a
revenue benefit associated with that. He asked if two more people were added wouldn’t they raise more
revenue, and we would steal some of Medway’s. Chief Allen said you would have to have data, but he thinks
it would probably pay for itself at some point. ■Councilor LeBlanc talked about adding two more folks and
another ambulance and said technically we would probably pay for itself and personnel and ambulance and
provide the aid to other communities, and it would benefit the community and surrounding communities.
■Chief Allen said we would be a safer community, and he is about protecting the community. He agrees
adding more people would probably pay for itself. He confirmed they were looking at changing the fees. He
said the contract to collect the fees is a three-year contract. It is 2.9% of what is collected, not billed.
■Councilor Malloy said he gets it and is supportive of a third ambulance and getting that crew back on.
■Chief Allen discussed how they staff A3. He discussed the shifts are staffed at 14 and a minimum of 11
before they order people to stay. If they are staffed at 13 and 14, they are staffed to do it. ■Councilor Malloy
said there is a line item for EMT and PARA additional pay for $250,000. ■Chief Allen said additional pay is
stipends, education stipends, and paramedics stipend contractual. ■Mr. Hellen said they only hire licensed

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paramedics; it is a contractual issue too. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp asked what is other pay. ■Chief Allen
said it is college courses, education; it is contractual items and in a lot of contracts. ■Ms. Bratt explained the
stipend built into the contract and annual stipends for incentives for education and some certifications. They
are contractual obligations. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked how is utilization of your department services
changed over the past five years. ■Chief Allen said it has increased which is evident in the call volume.
■Councilor Morrongiello asked about if the department were to cut 5% over level service if it could still
function and meet state requirements. ■Chief Allen said no. They would have a hard time maintaining their
ISO rating. You cannot take away anything from our budget or we cannot really serve the community.
■Councilor Griffith said she is glad they brought back the third ambulance. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said
they do a great job. He said if they could give the fire department money to help offset recurring annual
expenses instead of hitting capital, how much is that. ■Chief Allen said about $100,000 in gear
predominately. He talked about some items that are needed but not on an annual basis. ■Councilor
Cormier-Leger talked about dreaming a little bit and they have talked about a small station at the north side
of town. There are also conversations about doing a police station. He asked has there ever been a
conversation about a northern Franklin police and fire satellite facility that would maybe take some staff out
of Panther Way for the police side. He has heard this from some in the community. ■Chief Allen said he has
not talked about this. He said it is evident the call volume is increasing in the north side of Franklin. He
talked about a report in the 1990s. He said there is a need for something in the north side, but it has not been
addressed. He said for the station he has now and the one on King Street is to get those adequately staffed
now is his priority. He said they need to get to the next hurdle which is to get the shifts to 15 so the minimum
is 13. With a 13 minimum the third ambulance can be in service 24/7. This would meet the current demand
now and going forward. ■Mr. Hellen said there have been discussions, we have thought creatively, there will
be a north side area, there is a parcel identified, but it is not available right now, it will be a long time from
now. He said he wants to make sure everyone knows it has been discussed, and a spot has been identified for
when it becomes available to fit the needs of police and fire years down the road. ■Chair Dellorco said to
piggyback on the idea of putting the third ambulance on, he talked about a family member having an
emergency, and they waited, but the two ambulances were on call, and a Bellingham ambulance came to the
call. He agrees with putting the third ambulance back on.
►Chair Dellorco declared the public hearing for tonight closed.
ADJOURN: ►MOTION to Adjourn by Cormier-Leger. SECOND by Callaway-Tripp. No Discussion.
►ROLL CALL VOTE: Callaway-Tripp-YES; Cormier-Leger-YES, Dellorco-YES, Grella-YES,
Griffith-YES, LeBlanc-YES, Malloy-YES, Morrongiello-YES, Ojukwu-YES. ►VOTE: Yes-9, No-0,
Absent-0.
Meeting adjourned at 10:53 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Lizardi
Recording Secretary

1
FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL​
MINUTES OF MEETING​
May 21, 2026
A meeting of the Town Council was held on Wednesday, May 21, 2026, at the Municipal Building, 2nd
Floor, Council Chambers, 355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA. Councilors present: Jane Callaway-Tripp,
Ted Cormier-Leger, Robert Dellorco, Gene Grella, Caroline Griffith, Michael LeBlanc, Stephen Malloy, Max
Morrongiello. Councilors absent: Kenneth Ojukwu. Administrative personnel in attendance: Jamie Hellen,
Town Administrator; Mark Cerel, Town Attorney; Julie McCann, Operations Manager.
Note: Documents for the Town Council are on file and provided in the online meeting packet.
CALL TO ORDER: ►Chair Dellorco called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. He called for a moment of
silence. All recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR: ►Chair Dellorco reviewed the following as posted on the
agenda. A Note to Residents: All citizens are welcome to attend public meetings in person. To view the live
meeting remotely, citizens are encouraged to watch the live stream on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube
channel or the live broadcast on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. To listen to the meeting
remotely citizens may call-in using the number on the agenda. To participate in the meeting remotely citizens
may join a Zoom Webinar using the information provided on the agenda. Meetings are recorded and archived
by Franklin TV on the Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube channel and shown on repeat on Comcast Channel 9
and Verizon Channel 29. Any participants who wish to speak during the webinar must enter their full name
and email address when joining the webinar. All participants will be automatically muted upon joining the
webinar. In order to speak, participants will need to select the “raise hand” function to request to be unmuted.
All speakers will be required to state their full name and street address before commenting. This meeting is
being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting may
be recorded by others. ►Chair Dellorco said Councilor Ojukwu may join the meeting via Zoom.
LICENSE TRANSACTIONS: ►Farmer-Winery Farmers Market License - La Cantina Winery.
►Councilor Cormier-Leger read the license transaction. ►MOTION to Approve the issuance of a
Farmer-Winery, Farmer’s Market License to Robert Vozzella, La Cantina Winery Company by Grella.
SECOND by Callaway-Tripp. Discussion: ►Mr. Hellen said this has been approved five or six years in a
row. ►Chair Dellorco said Mr. Vozzella is doing a great job and very good to the community. ►Mr. Vozzella
(via Zoom) said he would appreciate that they approve the license. This is at least going on year six.
►VOTE: Yes-8, No-0, Absent-1.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - 6:00 PM: ►FY27 Town Council Annual Operating Budget Hearing (continued).
►Chair Dellorco declared the public hearing open. ►Chair Dellorco said they would go to the public first.
►Items that were reviewed last night and those still to discuss were reviewed.
►Hold on Line Item 693: Arts, Culture Creative Economy. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger asked for a synopsis
of the department and the work she is doing. ■ Director of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Cory
Shea said this economic development tool supports creative businesses, activates the downtown cultural
district, and contributes to the overall tax base. She said arts and cultural are lifelong community assets that
connect generations. This intergenerational value is the core of cultural tourism which operates across
multiple levels of engagement. It attracts regional visitors and creates meaningful everyday experiences for
our residents. She said the level of impact is built through outreach and engagement and planning. She
reviewed the work is carried forward through partnerships with local organizations, artists, businesses. She
said they work to reach a diverse audience. She said her work flow is about connecting the community and
acting as a bridge facilitator and ensuring arts and culture are part of the community conversations and
highlight and understanding they are a huge economic driver. She said she wanted to dive into the strategy

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she is bringing to Franklin. She said regionally and seasonally she is figuring this strategy out. She said her
approach is built on three pillars of community programming, marketing, and public art. Together these
operate as a coordinated system and designed to grow Franklin’s cultural activity and regional economic
impact. She said once programming is established, it is organized into seasonal cycles that create
predictability. The structure is important because it encourages repeat visitation. It allows vendors and artists
and partners to plan ahead. It establishes an annual identity for Franklin. She said the marketing on this end is
the demand driver and is what converts programming into regional visibility and measurable economic
activity. She said without marketing, programming remains local. With marketing, it becomes regional which
is where we get the dollars from visitors. She noted her strategic shift and why her role exists within the
municipality. Programming is no longer isolated events, marketing is no longer just promotion, and public art
is not a static installation, they are all connected. This is her regional and seasonal strategy. ■Councilor
Cormier-Leger said he thinks it is important that people understand that there was a subcommittee of the
Town Council years ago that they heard loud and clear from the art community, downtown leaders, Dean
College, and others, the messaging was all over the place, the groups did not have a leader, and could we
invest the money and have somebody shepherd this dream, and that morphed into the job description and the
Town Council allocating the funds. He said she has done a fantastic job, and everyone says good things and
how valuable she is. He said now that she has a couple of years under her belt, maybe we would like to see
the cultural festival come back or a couple of other bigger scale events that would continue to add to the
economic piece that she is driving. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked how has the workload changed since she
started. ■Ms. Shea said she is hitting the point of starting all her emails with apologies for not answering
sooner. She said if she had a dream scenario, she would have five other people doing the work too. She said
when she first started it was about learning the community. It was important to understand the cultural. She
talked about we want to celebrate what we care about. ■Councilor Morrongiello talked about the additional
money she is looking for to restore a cut, and he asked about how much additional visitors bring to the town,
and the grants she secures. ■Ms. Shea said she is asking for $5,000 return to the marketing budget because as
she described, marketing is the vehicle to send out the message that we are here and what we are doing. She
talked about analytics and having measurable data. She is seeking the funding to be able to back it up with
tools and data. She would love to have the tool set to generate the data and metrics. She said if they had an
extra one hundred visitors, they would bring in at least $2,500 to $7,500 based on one night. She said it is
important to understand it is all connected. Marketing is to build those systems and get those metrics and ties
into presenting the programming in a way that it is visibility cohesive. She said her budget is 0.079% of the
town budget. She said she is a department of one. She talked about the grants she gets. She started in
February 2024. She said she has applied for 18 grants and got 8 of them and asked for over $300,000 and
received to date $168,775, along with another $50,000 from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism
for upcoming watch parties. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked if her department builds trust and goodwill with
the community. ■Ms. Shea said yes. It is about building the authentic community partnership. It is about
generating great spaces to be community members together.
►Hold on Line Item 750: Interest. ■Councilor Malloy said the budget amounts have gone down
significantly for interest payments. ■CFO Kerri Bertone said that is good news. Some of this was in the
budget narrative under debt and interest. She said two items stood out. Those were debt exclusions which
means that the property taxes went up for that period of time and now they are being paid in full. That brings
down our debt and interest payments for that. She noted a few other items also coming off in FY28, 29, 30,
the DPW garage, the senior center, the fire station, and some other school buildings. She said Tri-County is
now on. She said there is some reduction over the next few years. She said she provided in the narrative five
years out. She reviewed that for the fire truck they re-did the borrowing against the note, and the interest rate
was 3.15%, and she had estimated 3.5%. ■Councilor Morrongiello said he had a question about the revenue
side. He asked in the assessment section how GATRA is calculated for the assessments. It is not in the
expenses; it is in the revenue sheets. ■Mr. Hellen said it is part of the cherry sheet. ■Councilor Morrongiello
said he wants to know how they calculate that route, that number, so they know if it is going to affect the
budget or not. ■Mr. Hellen said the key point is the AAA bond rating which is why you get the good interest

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rate. He explained the importance of the bond rating, what is used to calculate that, the rainy-day fund, and
why it is important to try to not dip into those funds so when you go out to borrow you still get a good rate.
►Hold on Line Item 210: Police. ■Chief of Police Thomas Lynch, Deputy Chief James West, and Business
Manager Laura Graver addressed the Town Council. ■Chief Lynch said the budget is level service plus two.
Level service being primarily a collective bargaining agreement. This is year two of a three-year agreement
with the sergeants, and we are still working on the patrol officers. The plus two is being that at the end of
FY25 we were at 58, and we started FY26 and had to cut over $200,000 from the budget to reduce our
number of sworn from 58 to 56 and had to keep patrol at 35, so we had to transfer two of the community
service officers from the community service unit to fill the two open spots made when we lost the two in
patrol. So, if we were to get the plus two back, and we were able to restore those two positions, then we
would end up putting David Gove and Amanda Ayer back into their positions within the community service
unit and bringing it back to the four school resource officers. ■Councilor LeBlanc asked how much would
you need if we were to roll some of that small recurring capital stuff into the budget. ■Chief Lynch said the
largest item in the capital is the cruisers, and they are typically asking for four to six. He said the smaller
items are for tasers and minor technology and the body armor which has a five-year life span. It is also in the
collective bargaining agreement as well for the body armor. He said the taser lease is $70,000. So, you are
probably talking about $110,000 would probably take those three items off, and the only thing left would be
the cruisers. ■Councilor LeBlanc noted the traffic at Lincoln Street. He asked what would it cost to provide
police detail there on a daily basis. ■Chief Lynch said per the collective bargaining agreement, it is a
minimum of four hours which is $300 plus a 10% fee that goes to the town for the administrative.
■Councilor Morrongiello said he would ask his standard three questions. ■Chief Lynch said our call for
service volume keeps going up and requests for traffic enforcement continually rises. He said they are not
seeing anything going down. He noted mental health related issues. He said we lost over $200,000 last year
and it cost two officers. He would not want to cut as many as three. It could be the elimination of the
community service unit. He said they may end up moving the administrative patrol officer that works with
the deputy who does a significant portion of his job in accreditation, and the rest of the money would come
from decimating the training. It would be difficult to keep up accreditation and we may lose it with a 5% cut.
He said they could exist, but they would be reactive. The community service unit is the most visible out there
that keeps up with our ability to keep close to our residents. He said if they were to get the two positions
back, it would be increasing back to where they were with the number of SROs. He explained you do not
want your police department trying to create revenue. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp said her question is for
clarification on the other pay item which is from $15,000 to $38,000. ■Chief Lynch explained it is the things
in the collective bargaining agreement that are not part of their salaries such as the night differential,
educational incentive, and any stipends such as for hazardous duty. ■Councilor Grella asked about crime.
■Chief Lynch said they occasionally have a stolen car or being broken into. He said the number of broken
windows they have is zero, so it means you have left the car unlocked. Lock your doors. Do not make it easy
for them, and they will move on. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said they gave a good presentation on public
safety and talked about looking back 20 years ago and how Franklin has grown, and he asked Chief Lynch to
summarize that again. ■Chief Lynch said when the town was growing in the 1990s, they have always been
behind to get their numbers and have the police department grow with it. He said when he became chief in
2016, they had 46, and the numbers were about the same as they are now with about 32,000 to 33,000
residents in town. He said at 58 officers, they are still short where they should be. He said they do not want to
be just reactive. To do progressive things, they need the personnel to do that. He said their biggest thing is
traffic and that is what people want them to do. He talked about a crime analyst, and they could split their
time in IT. He said they do not have body cameras because of the cost. They will give the cameras for almost
nothing, but the cost is related to the storage of all the video, and someone would need to be hired to manage
all that. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said this is another department that has had to make tough choices and
still able to do incredible work. He said this is an area where we try to give you what we can and
intentionally trying to build something we can be proud of, and we just have to keep working on it. He
thanked them for their hard work. ■Chair Dellorco said they do a great job.

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►Hold on Line Item 422: DPW-Highway Department. ■DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi and Office
Administrator Kathy Mooradd addressed the Town Council. ■Chair Dellorco asked for an overview. ■Mr.
Cantoreggi said they do everything. He said there is pretty much no group in town that they are not touching
one way or the other. He said they take care of the roads, parks, street lighting, water, sewer, stormwater,
recycling center, trash pickup, and administration. He said they collect over $20 million a year that we have
to collect from everybody, and then we distribute it out there. He said bringing money in they work closely
with the Planning Board and ZBA. He talked about large developments coming in and the water service and
they can collect money to put back into the infrastructure system. He said they do some intangible stuff like
they work with Planning Board and do road improvements and intersection repairs to improve traffic patterns
and do traffic studies. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked his questions. ■Mr. Cantoreggi said just talking
money, it is hard to budget what they do because everything is so volatile. Sixty percent of his budget is
expenses. He talked about gas prices going up. He said they have to estimate fertilizer for next year. The
costs have gone up, and they have to make tough choices about what they can and cannot do. He said last
year they only turned back $68 to free cash. He said his biggest nightmare is having to come to the Town
Council in May or June and saying he went over his budget. He said they have more flexibility with water
and sewer. He explained the town does not have the money anymore to do some of the work. He talked about
PFAS. He said they cannot just keep raising rates to do things. He said the roads are getting worse, and you
will see more of that. He said one of the things they are not doing is line painting. He said they are starting to
fade, and it can be a safety issue. He said another big thing is they have had to cut back on the tree work. He
said his department has already been cut 5% over the last two years. It has been cut $800,000. There is no
accreditation that they fall under. He talked about the ADA sidewalk crossing requirement. Each of them that
they do is about $2,000, and they have about 8,400 to do. He said there is a plan for it, but part of the plan is
financing. They have the plan, but they do not have the financing. He talked about restoring some of the cuts.
He said the big ones are the roads. He said last year they got rid of the summer help. It is so cheap for them
to get someone to weed whack. Having them during the summer when the workers have vacation time, it is
short money. He said the trees and stuff they are doing, if they do not do it now, it will cost more later down
the road. He talked about preventative maintenance. He explained if the seasonal help is not funded, we just
cut back. Right now, they are going to do summer help because it just makes sense to do it. He talked about
the fields and said they have very good fields, and it is easy to maintain that, but if you cut back on that it
will cost more down the road. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp asked what is other pay for the DPW. ■Mr.
Cantoreggi explained it is a lot of stipends for licenses, and Tuesday through Saturday workers get a little
extra. He explained some jobs require specific licenses. He said he has opened it up so any of his employees
can get the licenses. It is good for the education and is really not a lot of money. ■Councilor Callaway-Tripp
asked about the recommendation was not for restoration of things that were lost but to move into snow
stabilization. If they put it in snow stabilization, how is he going to do the summer help. ■Mr. Cantoreggi
said he would look at moving money around. The summer help is a valuable thing. ■Mr. Hellen said it is low
money and usually local hires. He explained not all kids want to do the work, so there is not a lot of demand
and not a competitive gig anymore. ■Councilor Grella said the proposed is a 6.6% increase and funding
above what was for 2025 making up the money that was lost last year. He asked will they be able to restore
some of the road maintenance and other items. ■Mr. Cantoreggi said yes, they are going to do restoring road
work and the trash barrels. He said people were upset about that. He said they did not remove all the barrels;
they just moved them closer to the fence line. He said they are trying to restore it; they can’t expand stuff.
■Councilor LeBlanc confirmed they are going to do the summer help. He said he is going to support the
$41,000. He does not want people to think that they do not have to fund it, but they are still going to get it.
He asked if the finance committee recommended a reduction. ■Mr. Hellen said that was facilities.
■Councilor Malloy said he is good, and it is reasonable. He asked about non-scheduled overtime of $250,000
for snow and ice. ■Mr. Cantoreggi said everyone does snow and ice. He said the highway department is the
first out to treat the roads. He said they got 58 inches of snow in two weeks. ■Councilor Griffith noted the
snow and ice line item was not increased in the budget. ■Mr. Cantoreggi said he can only go by how they
budget everything. ■Mr. Hellen said some of the lines are restorative issues and indicated that in the final
budget a lot of the restoration money proposed will actually be in the snow and ice budget for the reasons of
what happened last year. He noted that at end of the year transfers they will be voting money out of the snow

5
and ice stabilization fund to pay for the bills for this year. He said a lot of the restoring will be going into the
snow and ice budget. ■Councilor Griffith asked where the $800,000 that Mr. Cantoreggi indicated was cut
over the past few years as she is looking at the past few years of budgets. Maybe he was indicating that
amount was based on what was requested and what was given. She asked about seasonal staff that was cut
last year. ■Mr. Cantoreggi said some of it was recommended and what was approved. He said the budget he
is proposing this year is the same budget from 2024; it is off by $76,000. A lot of costs have gone up over the
past few years. ■Ms. Mooradd said the requested budget was cut by $463,000 last year and reviewed fire
vehicle maintenance. ■Mr. Hellen noted the itemized list from the override last year of exactly what got cut.
He reviewed what was cut from last year. ■Ms. Mooradd said that seasonal line item is also for an inspector
and not just summer help. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said every year for the past five years the DPW is the
easy target to chip away. He said if we keep postponing this, we will have a big problem later down the road.
If you don’t put the money in now, it will cost more later. He said he appreciates the DPW has taken the cuts
and still tried to make it work the best they can. He said he would like to chip away at the sidewalk issue in
some of the older neighborhoods if they can. He said keep up the good work. ■Chair Dellorco said a lot of
people don’t realize that everything goes up including the increases in parts. The prices are crazy. He said he
likes to see kids get the training with the summer help jobs. ■Mr. Cantoreggi said if the Town Council
members see anything out there, call him to let him know.
►Hold on Line Item 192: Public Property & Buildings. ■Chair Dellorco requested a breakdown. ■Director
of Public Facilities Kevin Harn said the facilities department is responsible for managing the efficient
operation/maintenance of town buildings, preserving the facility and equipment assets of the town, planning
and implementing capital improvements, and managing capital construction projects. He said the department
collaborates with all department heads, the town administrator, and superintendent of schools by establishing
appropriate levels of support for building users, fostering continuous improvement in the delivery of services,
and maintaining ongoing capital planning. They ensure every town building is safe and functionally
complaint and sustainable not just today but well into the future. Facilities maintains all town and school
buildings for 1.2 million sq. ft. ■Councilor Morrongiello asked how is the utilization of people’s needs, like
with work orders, changed over the last five years and has the workload increased. ■Mr. Harn said the work
load has steadily increased. The biggest change is the recent turnover which he reviewed. ■Councilor
Morrongiello asked if your budget is cut 5% compared to level service would the department be able to
function and meet all requirements and accreditation standards. ■Mr. Harn said they do not want to take any
cuts. He said they will maintain the buildings as they need to. He said he has proposals, invoices, quotes for
items needing to be fixed, but he is holding out and waiting because something else will break, and that will
hold priority over what broke last week. He said the budget proposed was his first time with the budget, and
he looked at the previous years. He said they were cleaning up accounts and shuffling funds. He said gauging
on what was spent in FY24 and FY25 is how it is budgeted for the next fiscal year. ■Councilor Morrongiello
asked for a finance committee member to talk about what they talked about regarding facilities at the finance
committee meeting; finance committee members did not want to. ■Mr. Hellen said there was a discussion.
He noted the previous facilities director was there for three decades. He said the facilities expense list is
something that needs to be revised and looked at and be clearer about what money is from what accounts. He
said the facilities department has already started working on that accounting project. He talked about the cut
that was proposed. He said it is essentially cutting the irrigation budget for water; let mother nature run her
course and see how it goes. ■Finance Committee Member Tom Sullivan said he thinks part of the discussion
was that there were a number of different accounts, and they were trying to reconcile the accounts, and the
real issues is as they were trying to follow the money, they were trying to clarify that. The water cut issue is
completely different and not related to that. This is just to save money on irrigation. ■Councilor Malloy
talked about contractual services and noted they were rather consistent with FY25. He asked Mr. Harn to talk
about the telephone expense. ■Mr. Harn said the telephone system will stop receiving support in about two or
three years. There was a project started prior to him, and there was equipment purchased to help get through
the next few years so as the telephones break, we have the actual equipment to repair or fix it. He said NEC
is the telephone system they have in both town and schools. This will help bridge the gap. He said he works
closely with the IT Director on this. This telephone system is going to be obsolete. ■Councilor Malloy asked

6
about non-scheduled overtime at $340,000 and the budget for this year is $212,000. In 2024 they spent
$286,000, so this is up a lot. He asked how many manhours is that and at what rate for $340,000 in overtime.
■Mr. Harn said he can speak with Richard Gaskin and see if there is opportunity to reduce it. ■Councilor
Malloy said it is a staggering number. He noted the cost of electricity and asked if municipal entities get a
break. ■Mr. Hellen said we have a good rate now. We made a deal four years ago with a four-year contract
with a rate of 13.9 per kilowatt hour which was pretty solid. We have basically avoided spikes with this rate.
He said he tries to get as long of a term and good rate as possible. He said later this year they have to go out
to bid. They generally get a good rate due to the quantity of electricity. He explained they have a Green
Communities portfolio and noted net metering credits have saved them quite a bit. He said in 2008 they used
12 million kilowatts of electricity, and 20 years later we are using 10.5 million kilowatts on an aggregate
year. He discussed the solar farm on Upper Union Street. He said they will be going out to bid entering into
the calendar year 2027. He said they would not be getting electricity or PILOT agreement benefits from
Maple Gate, but the tax base will be significant, if and when it gets built. ■Councilor Griffith asked about
staffing and said it seems a little administrator heavy. ■Mr. Harn said there are three deputy directors for
custodial services, trades and maintenance, and systems and policies and support for larger capital projects.
He noted two administrative supports. He said the facilities department manages $9 million, so he does not
think the numbers are unreasonable. ■Councilor Griffith said she does not necessarily disagree. ■It was
clarified that the official name of the carpenter is listed as supervisor as he has a license. ■Councilor Griffith
reviewed the senior center sprinkler system for $750,000 and asked where that project is and the actual cost.
■Mr. Harn explained the $750,000 estimate was an industry standard per square foot and could end up more
or less. He said they just developed an RFQ for a designer on that project. He said it will be reviewed in early
June. ■Councilor Griffith asked what if it comes in for more than $750,000. ■Chair Dellorco said he comes
back to us. If it comes back for less it goes back to capital. ■Mr. Hellen explained how they appropriate
capital funds and the process of this town government rather than a town meeting process. He talked about
procurement and procurement laws and said there is a lot involved in large-scale projects with facilities.
■Councilor Cormier-Leger asked for the total value of Franklin’s structural assets. ■Mr. Hellen said they can
look it up. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said they have talked over the years about underfunding facilities and
the maintenance projects needed. He said he wonders if the budget is in line with the total value of the
properties. He asked if we ever compared it to towns with similar size buildings. ■Mr. Harn said he did some
research. He said Norwood’s population is 31,764, with 11 sq. miles, with FY26 at approximately $9 million,
and they manage about 1 million sq. ft. with a few less buildings, and he compared it to Franklin. In the
facilities world a lot of metrics would be work orders open through closed and energy use intensity. He said
another metric is using $1 per square foot and this determined for Franklin is $7.50 a square foot. He
compared it to Norwood, and they can spend $9.34. It is not apples to apples, but he tried looking into it.
■Councilor Cormier-Leger said historically they have tried to apply money to facilities and capital to
projects. He said he wonders if the $75,000, instead of taking it out of the facilities budget entirely, can be
moved to perhaps actual maintenance of a major project. He talked about applying it to the auditorium needs
of the school. ■Mr. Hellen said the total valuation of property and casualty from the insurance quote from
last year is $424 million; that is the value we insured. ■Councilor Cormier-Leger said a $9 million budget on
$424 million valued in property seems low. ■Mr. Hellen said very few communities do a shared facilities
director such as Franklin, but they can find some communities that do that and can look at that comparison
and do some research. ■Chair Dellorco noted that they lost a lot of talent, and the carpenter is leaving on the
30th. That is going to be a learning curve. He said there is going to have to be some overtime money as they
do not have the talent they used to have. It will take longer to fix something and will be a learning curve.
►Hold on Line Item 910: Benefits. ■Councilor Malloy said he was not sure of the sequence and noted
OPEB was mentioned in there. He said he does not think we should contribute to OPEB this year. ■Chair
Dellorco said he agrees. ■Mr. Hellen said the OPEB was recommended to be taken out by the finance
committee. He said his revised budget will incorporate every recommendation the finance committee made.
He said the reduction will be in his revised budget. He said they will have further conversations on June 10
and June 17. Whenever there is excess free cash that will be included in the metric. He explained he will

7
have a recommendation once the health care comes in. He talked about that the community preservation act
is coming and other items on upcoming agendas including procedural votes.
►Councilor Callaway-Tripp asked to have a discussion about the uses of free cash and where everything is
being projected now. She said she knows numbers are going to change, but we have done the questions to
departments, but we need an understanding of where we feel individually based on recommendations from
the town administrator and finance committee and the overall issue with the budget and how we look to
rectify it and asked if they can do that before they close the meeting. She said she would like to know how
everyone else feels about using free cash. ►Councilor LeBlanc said he agrees. He asked if Superintendent of
Schools Lucas Giguere was able to answer the question he asked last night. ►Mr. Giguere said if we applied
the funding of $300,000 for example, to the highest paid sports for example, the $1,000 could come down a
few hundred, and the smaller fees would get less of a break. He said transportation as well could come down
somewhat, but not too drastic. That is what the impact would be. He said he did the model based on the
question that you asked if we put it as a pass-through direct to citizens. He said he was not really ready for a
question about $300,000 infused in, and the school committee would have to vote on that. ►Councilor
LeBlanc said everyone knows his stance. He agrees with additional funding to use free cash for two years to
buy time. He said there are seven new councilors. He said it is going to take time. The meetings are too long.
We all have to figure it out. We are all learning how government has to work. He said it is not sustainable to
use free cash. He is asking the community personally for two years of doing this so a plan can be put together
that has long-range goals to it, and he himself and the other three members of Economic Development, we
are going to find ways to drive economic development in this town to drive up new growth. That is why we
need a deputy. He said he wants to add an economic development person to this budget full time as it pays
for itself. ►Councilor Morrongiello said it is really tough. He said if they do not raise revenue, there will be
really painful cuts in the future. He said he does not think we recognize the severity of what is before us in
the future. He said we really need to start organizing now. Every year we use free cash; it is a little more
every year. And then you will have to cut everything you were using free cash for and then more. We have to
be frugal with free cash. He said we do have to look at the public need. He said we need some breathing
room and take action now. He said there is a danger to using free cash. He said this is a short-term option to
give political breathing room to come together as a community to do what needs to be done. But he is
nervous because we are acting as normal when the place is on fire. ►Councilor Callaway-Tripp said with
this budget she is split down the middle. She said she was the voice that said you do not hire new people
when you are in a deficit. She was the Facebook posts. She fully believes in that. She said we are using free
cash. What we should use if for to buffer is take the departments as they are as an FY26, add what we need to
for the increment cost updates or the COLA raises or the things we have no control with, and just take
enough free cash to balance their budgets so there are no layoffs, there are no cuts, and we can all breath for
the next year. And we should be using the saved cash for that reason only, and we have other stabilization
funds or whatever, and if we have to shift it over, shift it over, but the goal is to eventually get free cash to be
what it is for which is capital expenses. She said this will not get there overnight. She said we are just getting
started with subcommittees. She said we still have to sit and talk with all departments. If we did not restore
anything we would be able to keep roughly $775,000 in free cash. What we also have to remember in the
Health Department, we are going to be absorbing $67,850 into our operating budget because the grant is
over. She said restoring and bringing new positions totals $775,000, and next year they get a 2.5% increase
on their salaries, and that brings you up more in the FY28 budget. That is more free cash we have to use. She
said she is torn because she could justify the deputy town administrator. Even though she knows it looked
like she was against having one, and she understands things even more now that she is sitting here. She noted
the succession plan is important. She said she can justify that one also as they are violating that contract and
it is not a good look for the town. She could almost see restoring the SROs because they touch every part of
the community from top down. She is not against a Munis person or an assessor person, but if we don’t know
how we are going to pay for them, if we don’t have free cash, we have no right bringing them in and have
departments count on them. She said she thinks they are juggling with fire. She does not know if she could
approve the budget as is. The other option is that if Mr. Hellen does not want to push for an ATA and wants
to wait, we say no to all of it and just balance everybody where they are and give ourselves a year. She said

8
the bottom line is if something happens, what happens. She said free cash is a safety net we can use, but it
has to be used strategically. It does not mean bringing back everything. She said we need to count on free
cash for a long period of time to sustain us. She said we should not be depleting it. She said they have to
protect the employees as much as the residents, and using free cash and brining in new employees we are
pushing someone closer to the unemployment line. She said we need to be fiscally responsibility here. We
need to stay within the budget we can afford. ►Councilor Malloy said he supports the use of free cash, not
all of it. He said Councilor Callaway-Tripp makes a good point. We should use what we need to and save a
good portion of it. He said adding back positions they have talked about makes sense. He said he has some
thoughts on reductions to the budget as listed today. He said they should not just spend a lot of free cash. He
would like to propose some trimming. He said to use the free cash to get us where we need to be to stabilize,
and then as Mike said to work hard to focus on the growth side of this to build revenue. He would like to
spend the next year thinking about the growth and look harder to a couple of departments to become more
efficient and a bit more lean or smarter on how we deliver services. There are potential savings there. He said
the fiscal deficit is $2 million. He said he reminds himself that our house values have increased in the past
three years. He said so we really paid 6% increase on the property tax side. Somehow commercial and
industrial went down. He said people are paying more already and enterprise funds have increased and the
community preservation act. People are paying a lot more. He has no problem using free cash as little as
possible. ►Councilor Griffith said Councilor Callaway-Tripp said it all. She said step one is don’t hire
people with free cash because you run the risk of having to let them go in another year. She said they made
the cuts last year. They would love to restore things, but they are just setting themselves up for a bigger hit.
She would love to have the SROs back and the Munis administrator, but it is not necessarily fiscally
responsible. She said she does not think we should be restoring things. She thanked the finance committee.
She said the fiscally responsible way to look at the budget is to look at what the departments did last year and
with inflation and then add back. We start at zero and then add back. And then we figure out how to make
money from there. ►Councilor Comier-Leger noted his having a few years on the Town Council is an
interesting perspective. He explained he has served on the capital subcommittee. He is now reconciling in his
head they have to do something different. For 20 years the town and schools have come together and said
they don’t have enough money. He said we just keep saying the same thing. He said he is now saying
Councilor LeBlanc has championed the use of free cash to supplement the use of free cash for positions that
are revenue drivers. He said he is of the mindset that they have not been able to come up in all these years
with revenue that we need, so he is in a compromise with Councilors LeBlanc and Callaway-Tripp that we
may need to use some of that money for some of these positions with a goal of two years we are going to
work hard to see if that works, and try to bring revenues up and see what those positions do, and see if at the
end of that time if something has worked. He said historically free cash brings us $4 million a year. He said
there is no easy solution. He said he recognizes that Mr. Hellen needs help, and it will get us out of breach of
contract, and he applauds the schools keeping it 2.5%. He said maybe they cannot use the whole amount and
not bring back all the positions, but maybe they need to do something. He said it is something new and
something to try. He talked about making some of the items whole again. He said we need to start elevating
people and making people feel a little better. We are not going to get there if we keep taking things away and
just adding more fees. He said the plan has his support for probably 75% of it as presented. He would like to
take the remainder of the free cash and do some creative things with it so people get a little help, and if there
is any money left over in any of that conversation, then it goes to savings, and it goes to some of these other
funds that we have not been able to properly fund, then so be it. ►Councilor Grella said he is in the same
camp as Councilors Cormier-Leger and Malloy. Some of the free cash to definitely restore the deputy TA
position and use as little free cash as possible. He said you don’t want to use free cash for recurring expenses.
He said it is better to be conservative about restoring positions. He said in the past they have said if you don’t
pass the override, this is what we are going to cut. He said he was uncomfortable with that. He said there are
ways of growing revenues through new growth. He talked about when residents saw their tax bills which
went up 6% and then wondered what it would have been like if the override did pass. He talked about a split
tax rate. He said he is open to growing new growth, and the deputy TA can help build that and have creative
ways to bring in new business. ►Chair Dellorco said he is in line with Councilors Grella, Cormier-Leger,
Malloy, and LeBlanc. He would like to restore the ATA and SROs. He thinks kids seeing the SROs in school

9
is a good thing. He said he believes they are responsible to help with the students, and he likes the idea about
giving the schools $300,000, and it is our job to help them out, and he also likes the idea of taking the
$75,000 out and giving it to the schools to fix the auditorium and noted they raised $25,000 for that. He said
they do not know the final numbers. They are going to have to start working very hard with economic
development. He said just to bring the town together we have got to help them, and that is our goal. He said
let’s move some money around, and we won’t have to use as much free cash. It is going to be an interesting
two weeks. ►Mr. Hellen said we are trying to put the final numbers on, and waiting for the GIC numbers,
and he has a meeting with the superintendent and our finance staff. We will have a new budget book and a
revised TA budget on Friday, May 29. The finance committee will review it on June 3. It will all come back
to the Town Council on June 10 and June 17. He said a lot of hard work has been done. ►Chair Dellorco
congratulated Senior Center Director Sarah Amaral as she is getting married. ►Chair Dellorco declared the
public hearing closed.
LEGISLATION FOR ACTION:
Note: Two-Thirds Vote requires six votes; Majority Vote requires majority of members present and voting.
a.​ Bylaw Amendment 26-952: A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 82, §82-6,
Schedule of Service Fees - First Reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 26-952 to a Second
Reading - Majority Vote). ►Councilor Cormier-Leger read the bylaw amendment. ►MOTION to
Move Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-946: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code of the Town of
Franklin at Chapter 185, Attachment 7, Part VI Use Regulation Schedule to a Second Reading by Grella.
SECOND by Callaway-Tripp. Discussion: ►Councilor Griffith said for things such as variance/special
permits-residential and variance/special permits-commercial, they don’t have previous amounts so those
are new fees. ►Mr. Hellen said correct. ►Councilor Griffith confirmed the list of abutters is for a
variety of things. She said she appreciates the increase in the recycling center. ►Councilor Morrongiello
asked if the community assistance is still on the table for the future, and he asked about the trash and
recycling carts. ►Mr. Hellen said yes for the community assistance. ►Environmental Affairs
Superintendent Derek Adams said we don’t offer a small trash cart with a large recycle cart. You can
either get two large carts or two small carts. It keeps uniformity for the program. They can look at it.
►Councilor Morrongiello said they want people to do more solar as it is good for the environment. He
wants to make sure this fee will not hamper people. ►Building Commissioner Gus Brown said it has
always been that price; it has just never been a line item. ►Councilor Callaway-Tripp asked weren’t we
talking about increasing the parking fee for people who stay on the road in the snow. ►Mr. Hellen said
they did a whole fee market study two years ago, and Ms. McCann did a great job. Through the budget
process a lot of department heads came to us regarding price increases, and Mr. Bown can speak to the
variance for residential and commercial and the new fees. He said people who apply for some permits
pay nothing, and we did not think that was fair, so we came forward with these fees. He said you can
amend this bylaw to add or change or adjust now or at the second reading. ►Mr. Cerel explained
Councilor Callaway-Tripp is talking about a fine not a fee. ►Mr. Hellen asked if the Town Council
would like to review all the fines. ►Town Council members said yes. ►Mr. Cerel said the amendments
should not be later than the first reading. ►Councilor Callaway-Tripp said she was talking about fines.
►Councilor Morrongiello said he would like an amendment if someone is willing to second it to lower
the extra cart recycling annual fee from $168 to $100. He wants to make it easier for people to recycle.
►MOTION to Amend Zoning Bylaw Amendment 26-946: A Zoning Bylaw Amendment to the Code
of the Town of Franklin at Chapter 185, Attachment 7, Part VI Use Regulation Schedule to lower the
extra cart recycling annual fee from $168 to $100 by Morrongiello. SECOND by Grella. Discussion:
►Mr. Adams said it is commodities based, and we don’t make money on recycling, so keep in mind that
we want to promote recycling, but we have to be careful with that because the more we collect is
associated with more of a tipping fee. We are under the threshold for contamination, and our rate is
better. We should be cognizant of the trends that we see that the more available you make something for
cheaper, the less particular attention perhaps some people would pay. ►Mr. Cerel said what is the per
unit cost to the town to buy them in the first place. ►Mr. Adams said $75 and that was one calendar year

10
ago. He explained recycling gets tipped and trash gets disposed of. They are separate. He can look at it
several ways and give some options. ►Councilor Grella said he knows a lot about this. Ultimately, we
pay less of a cost of deposing of that trash. Anything we can do to incentivize people to do more
recycling is always better. He said he does not think people would choose it if they did not want to
recycle more. ►Councilor Griffith discussed her concern with lowering the recycling fee. She would
love to lower the recycling fee to $130 keeping in mind all the things we just heard. If we raise the trash
cart fee at the same time, her concern would be that instead of throwing things away in the trash, they are
going to throw things in the recycling because they have spare space there. Then we will have a higher
contamination rate and lose our tipping rate and end up cutting ourselves off at the knees. She said she is
for lowering the recycling to $100; if that seems like it would not make sense, she is fine lowering it to
something like $125 or $130. ►Mr. Hellen said if people read the national community survey, they will
remember that recycling was extraordinarily high for an approval rating in this community. He explained
he does not think you have a problem with recycling in this community. He said he gets the incentive, but
he does not think you will see an improvement because people here already recycle and are dedicated to
it. You will not get a huge bang for your buck by changing the fee structure, and you are also going to
lose revenue, so you are going to have to start shuffling around the costs and the economics. ►Mr.
Adams noted that if you have a recycling center pass, you can bring unlimited quantities of recycling
there. He said there is a per household fee for any cart for each household. ►Councilor LeBlanc said he
will not vote for the amendment, and we did not do our homework before this. He said Councilor
Morrongiello just made up a number, and we do not know what that impact is. He said maybe next year;
you have to do it before the meeting. ►Mr. Cerel explained an issue came up that we were missing a fee,
and as a matter of housekeeping we reached out to staff to make sure that we were not missing any other
fees. His recommendation is to do what is essential tonight to get these gaps filled and get further
investigation and discussion at a later date. ►VOTE (for the proposed amendment): Yes-1, No-7,
Absent-1. ►Councilor LeBlanc asked about the comprehensive permit fee and if it was new. ►Mr.
Brown said it was always there. He said this applies to 40Bs. ►Councilor LeBlanc asked about the
sewer and water for Union Street and a unified fee and process for that. ►Mr. Hellen said it would be
addressed in the water/sewer bylaws. ►Councilor Morrongiello said he hopes this can be brought up
next year and be studied. ►Mr. Hellen said you can bring items up whenever you want. He said a good
idea would be to meet on the side about this and look at the data, and then if there is a recommendation
that comes out of such a meeting, let’s talk about that. ►VOTE (to move to a second reading): Yes-8,
No-0, Absent-1.
ADJOURN: ►MOTION to Adjourn by Cormier-Leger. SECOND by Callaway-Tripp. No Discussion.
►VOTE: Yes-8, No-0, Absent-1.
Meeting adjourned at 9:33 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Lizardi
Recording Secretary

MEMORANDUM
June 12, 2026​
​
To: ​​
Town Council​
From: ​
Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
RE: ​​

Annual Reappointments of Boards and Committee Members

The Council will consider annual reappointments of board & committee members whose terms will expire at the
end of June. There is also one new member, Jim Lane, being appointed to the Finance Committee with a term to
expire in 2029, and two term expiration date amendments for Kyle Galvin (Design Review) and Gail Karner (Board
of Assessors) to correct clerical errors made at the time of their respective appointments.
Of the forty-six (46) members with expiring terms, thirty-four (34) will be renewing, eleven (11) will not be
renewing and one (1) is to be determined. Note, the appointments for the Community Preservation Committee
members will be ratified at the Town Council’s July 22nd meeting.
As of July 1st we anticipate the following committees will have vacancies:
Committee Name

# Vacancies as of 7/1/26

Agricultural Commission

4 (2 Full, 2 Associate)

Community Preservation Committee

2 (Citizen at Large)

Cultural Council

4 (Full)

Design Review Commission

4 (2 Full, 2 Associate)

Finance Committee

1 (Full)

Historical Commission

3 (1 Full, 2 Associate)

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust

1 (Full)

Police Station Building Committee

1 (Full)

We will publish a vacancy announcement within the next couple of weeks and encourage all residents who are
interested in getting more involved to submit a volunteer application!
Applications can be found here: https://franklinmaboards.vt-s.net/newcaf.php.

COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS​​
June 17, 2026​ ​
​
​
The Town Administrator has appointed the following individuals to serve on Town boards and committees with
terms effective July 1, 2026:
COMMITTEE NAME
Member Name​

​

​

​

BOARD OF REGISTRARS
Gail Karner (Term Expiration Correction)​
Gail Karner​
​
​
​
​

​

Street Address​

​

​

Term Expiration

​
​

48 Indian Lane​​
48 Indian Lane​​

​
​

​
​

June 30, 2026
June 30, 2029

​

​

June 30, 2029

CHARLES RIVER POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT
Mark Cataldo​ ​
​
​
​
​
63 Cleveland Ave.​
COMMISSION ON DISABILITY
Randall Jay​ ​
​
​
Cheryl Fisher​ ​
​
​
Kelly Quinlan ​ ​
​
​

​
​
​

​
​
​

294 Country Way​
​
69 Central Park Terrace​
36 Shady Lane​​
​

​
​
​

June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029

CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Lui Puga​
​
​
​
Roger Trahan​ ​
​
​

​
​

​
​

621 Old West Central St.​
1 Green St.​
​
​

​
​

June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029

COUNCIL ON AGING
Kimberly Mu-Chow​ ​
Carolyn O’Brien​
​
Elizabeth Sawyer​
​

​
​
​

​
​
​

​
​
​

4 Briarwood Rd.​
31 Daniels St.​ ​
10 Pear Tree Lane​

​
​
​

​
​
​

June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029

CULTURAL COUNCIL
John Ristaino​ ​
​

​

​

​

29 Washington St.​

​

​

June 30, 2029

​
​
​

​
​
​

146 Longhill Rd.​
626 Old Farm Rd.​
50 Cottage St.​​

​
​
​

​
​
​

June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029​

​

27 Church Ave. #2​

​

​

June 30, 2028​​

CULTURAL DISTRICT COMMITTEE
Sue Cass​
​
​
​
Patrick Conlan​​
​
​
Peter Rochat​ ​
​
​

DESIGN REVIEW COMMISSION ​
Kyle Galvin (Term Expiration Correction)​

FINANCE COMMITTEE
James Lane (New Member)​ ​
Thomas Sullivan​
​
​

​
​

​
​

154 Longhill Rd.​
7 Townline Rd.​ ​

​
​

​
​

June 30, 2029​​
June 30, 2029

HISTORICAL COMMISSION​
William Lee​ ​
​
​
Phyllis Malcolm​
​
​

​
​

​
​

18 Martin Ave.​ ​
37 Uncas Ave​ ​

​
​

​
​

June 30, 2029
June 30, 2029

HOUSING AUTHORITY
Andrew Kepple​
​

​

​

579 Pond St.​ ​

​

​

June 30, 2031

​

​

12 Greensfield Rd.​

​

​

June 30, 2029

MUNICIPAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST
Christopher K Feeley​ ​
​
​
​
Mark Minnichelli​
​
​
​
​
Christopher Vericker​ ​
​
​
​
Kimberly Mu-Chow​ ​
​
​
​
Susan Younis​ ​
​
​
​
​

5 Taft Dr.​
​
31 Longfellow Dr.​
63 Dean Ave. ​ ​
4 Briarwood Rd​
47 Stone Ridge Rd.​

​
​
​
​
​

​
​
​
​
​

June 30, 2027
June 30, 2027
June 30, 2027
June 30, 2027
June 30, 2027

NORFOLK COUNTY ADVISORY BOARD
Peter Padula​ ​
​
​
​

​

14 Fort Apache Dr.​

​

​

June 30, 2027

RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
Robert Dellorco​
​
​

​

​

7 Wilson Rd.​

​

​

June 30, 2027​

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
Isabella Carter​​
​
​

​

​

407 Oakland Pkwy.​

​

​

June 30, 2029​

​

LIBRARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kathleen Gerwatowski​​
​

​

Motion to Ratify the Annual appointments to the following boards and commissions.

DATED: ____________ , 2026​​

​

​

​

VOTED: __________________________

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

UNANIMOUS: _______________

A TRUE RECORD ATTEST:​ ​

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ABSTAIN:_____ ABSENT: _____

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RECUSED: __________________
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Nancy Danello, CMC
Town Clerk​ ​
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Ted Cormier-Leger, Clerk
Franklin Town Council​
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MEMORANDUM
June 12, 2026​
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To: ​​
Town Council​
From: ​
Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
RE: ​​

FY26 Closeout

The Council will consider two pieces of legislation to close out the FY26 budget:
End of Year Transfers
●​ End of year budget transfers are a routine part of the fiscal year closing process.
●​ The total amount of transfers being requested is $345,716, which reallocates unspent
appropriations between departments at the end of the fiscal year.
●​ These transfers do not increase the overall operating budget.
●​ This equals 0.24% of the overall FY26 operating budget.
●​ This is the lowest amount of required transfers for municipal departments in over a
decade.
●​ The reasons for transfers are below:
○​ $170,000 in benefits is due to the mid fiscal year increases to retiree health care
premiums (Aetna). These premiums increased due to the elimination of subsidies
in the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid within the federal “Big,
Beautiful Bill’s” approved by Congress and the President in July 2025.

○​ $137,316 are due to altered assessments from Tri-County, Norfolk Aggie and the
regional dispatch center.
○​ $38,400 are due to municipal departments:
■​ $35,000 is for the Fire Department to cover the costs of additional
unscheduled overtime due to a long term absence from an injury on duty.
■​ $3,400 in the Assessor’s office for temporary help during a personnel
transition.
●​ “Uses” are the line items over budget, or assessments changed.
●​ “Sources” are the line items with unspent funds to make up those differences.
●​ Once the fiscal year closes on 6/30, staff expect to provide an estimate of turnbacks at
the July Council meeting.
Snow and Ice Stabilization Transfer
●​ $709,390 is needed to pay the deficit bill for this past winter.
●​ The Snow & Ice Stabilization Fund has $86,287 remaining.
●​ Governor Healey is anticipated to sign a supplemental budget this week containing
$80 million statewide for the winter snow and ice storm costs. The funds will be
distributed based on the Chapter 90 formula for road miles. When we get our figure,
we’ll let you know.

TOWN OF FRANKLIN
RESOLUTION 26-36
GENERAL FUNDS APPROPRIATIONS, TRANSFERS AND ADJUSTMENT FY26

APPROPRIATION: General Funds Appropriations, Transfers and Adjustments FY26
PURPOSE: To transfer FY26 Appropriations to cover unanticipated shortfalls as follows:
Uses
Department No.
141
220
225
390
390
910

Line Item
Salary
Salary
Expenses
Expenses
Expenses
Expenses

Department
Assessors
Fire Dept
Regional Dispatch
Norfolk Aggie
Tri-County Regional School
Employee Benefits
Total Uses

Sources
Department No.
123
164
171
177
196
422
510
543
945

Type
Line Item
Salary
Expenses
Salary
Salary
Expenses
Salary
Expenses
Expenses
Expenses

Department
Department
Town Administrator
Elections
Conservation
Planning
Central Services
DPW
Board of Health
Veterans Benefits
Risk Management
Total Sources

Amount
$3,400
$35,000
$20,326
$27,275
$89,715
$170,000
$345,716
Amount
Amount
$20,000
$3,400
$26,106
$14,000
$32,000
$60,000
$16,575
$44,600
$129,035
$345,716

MOTION:
Be it Moved and Voted by the Town Council that the sum of Three Hundred Forty-Five Thousand, Seven
Hundred Sixteen (345,716) dollars be transferred from the sources indicated above, to the uses in the
respective amounts stated above, prior to June 30, 2026.
This Resolution shall become effective according to provisions of the Town of Franklin Home Rule Charter.

DATED: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲, 2026​

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VOTED: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

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UNANIMOUS: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

A TRUE RECORD ATTEST:​ ​

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YES: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ NO: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

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ABSTAIN: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ABSENT: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

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RECUSED: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲
Nancy Danello, CMC
Town Clerk​ ​
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̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲
Ted Cormier-Leger, Clerk
Franklin Town Council

TOWN OF FRANKLIN
RESOLUTION 26-30

APPROPRIATION: Snow and Ice Stabilization Account Transfer to the FY26 Operating Budget
TOTAL REQUESTED: $709,390
PURPOSE: To transfer from the Snow and Ice Stabilization Fund to the General Fund for FY26 and
appropriate to the Department of Public Works (DPW) FY26 Operating Budget.
Transfer to:

Reason

Source

Amount

General Fund
Budget

Transfer and Appropriate to
Department 442 DPW Snow & Ice

Snow and Ice
Stabilization Account

$709,390

MOTION:
Be It Moved and Voted by the Town Council that the sum of Seven Hundred Nine Thousand Three Hundred
Ninety Dollars, ($709,390) be transferred from the Snow and Ice Stabilization Fund to the General Fund
Budget for FY26 and appropriated to the DPW/Snow and Ice FY26 Operating Budget.
This Resolution shall become effective according to the provisions of the Town of Franklin Home Rule
Charter.
FINANCE COMMITTEE ACTION:​

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Meeting Date: June 3, 2026 ​

DATED: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲, 2026​ ​

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VOTED: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

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UNANIMOUS: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

A TRUE RECORD ATTEST:​

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YES: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ NO: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

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ABSTAIN: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ABSENT: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲

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Vote: 9-0 Passed

RECUSED: ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲
Nancy Danello, CMC
Town Clerk​
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̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲
Ted Cormier-Leger, Clerk
Franklin Town Council

MEMORANDUM
June 12, 2026​
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To: ​​
Town Council​
From: ​
Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
RE: ​Resolution 26-37: Gift Acceptance - Veterans Services Department

The Veterans Services Department has received several generous donations in the total amount of
$750.00. These donations will be applied toward the Franklin Veterans Services Gift Fund to be used
at the Department’s discretion in support of local Veterans and their families.
The Town extends our sincere appreciation to all who have donated to the Franklin Community.
Thank you for your continued generosity and support!
Donation Summary:
Veterans Services Department - Gift Fund
●​ Franklin Newcomers and Friends $350
●​ Donald Todd Quinn
$200
●​ Jane Giallonardo
$200
DONATION TOTAL: $750.00

TOWN OF FRANKLIN
RESOLUTION 26-37
ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS - VETERANS SERVICES DEPARTMENT

WHEREAS,​ the Franklin Veterans Services Department has received several generous donations in the total
amount of Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750) to be used at the discretion of the Department as follows:
Donation Summary:
FRANKLIN VETERANS SERVICES DEPARTMENT - $750
●​ Donations to be used at the discretion of the Veterans Services Department, through the Veterans Gift
Fund, in support of local Veterans and their families.
List of all donors is included in the June 17, 2026 Town Council meeting agenda packet.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Town Council of the Town of Franklin, on behalf of the Veterans Services Department, gratefully accepts
these generous donations to be used at the discretion of the Department for the purpose noted above.
This Resolution shall become effective according to the provisions of the Town of Franklin Home Rule Charter.
DATED: ____________ , 2026​ ​

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VOTED: __________________________

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UNANIMOUS: _______________

A TRUE RECORD ATTEST:​

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YES: _________ NO: __________

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ABSTAIN:_____ ABSENT: _____

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RECUSED: __________________
Nancy Danello, CMC
Town Clerk
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Ted Cormier-Leger, Clerk
Franklin Town Council