Another bit of news: tonight the Franklin School Board will be discussing the fate of Franklin High School principal Alice Rogers-Farris, who was suddenly put on administrative leave last week.
The meeting is non-public, so I don't know if they are going to eventually give the reason why the action was done. But she's only been in there a short time. The school district here has a lot of problems as it is -- I would think that it would have to be at the level of a previous Laconia middle school principal in order to warrant a firing.
We'll keep an eye on this. In the meantime, if you leave a comment either in support or against Rogers-Farris' firing, make it respectable, please.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Last Night's Candidate's Forum
In her story that was in The Citizen today, Gail Ober focused more on the mayoral race between Ken Merrifield and Clayton Gassett. If anyone has details on what was said in the other races, let me know so I can make sure all the details are up here.
In the meantime, here is the full text from The Citizen:
It didn't take long at Monday's candidates debate before the mayoral contenders got to the nitty-gritty of what the majority of the citizens in the packed Opera House came to see — a discussion about the recent tax cap override.
In a debate sponsored by Choose Franklin, challenger and former Mayor Clayton Gassett told the crowd how he felt about incumbent Mayor Kenneth Merrifield's decision to veto the city council override of the 20-year cap.
"I didn't think the present mayor should have threatened the council before he vetoed [the override]," said Gassett, who took a question about the role of the city mayor as a chance to talk about the recent override.
"I did not believe the people had the money to give up, with 10 percent of the city unemployed," said Merrifield, who reiterated his long-held position that the tax cap should only be overridden by referendum. "And I didn't think the charter allowed us to go back and collect it."
It's been nearly 20 years since Franklin became the first New Hampshire city to vote for a tax cap and, responding to a mistake in revenue projects, the Franklin City Council became the first of the subsequent cities that adopted similar caps to break it.
In 2008 and 2009, the city fell victim to a near perfect storm of economic disaster. A $449,807 mistake on the annual revenue projections coupled with plummeting property values and a 10 percent unemployment rate left the city with a nearly $1 million shortfall.
Spending and hiring freezes were ordered by City Manager Elizabeth Corrow and cuts were made to the proposed budget, but when all was said and done, the council voted 7-1 to adopt a fiscal year 2009-2010 budget that exceed the cap by the amount of the mistake — $449,807.
Defending his veto of the budget vote, Merrifield told the audience that his goal as mayor was to see a vibrant, thriving Franklin and keeping the taxes low was one of the only way the city was going to reach his goal.
While not disagreeing with Merrifield's goals, Gassett said his issue with the override and Merrifield's veto was that it was too little, too late.
"If you knew about this mistake, why wasn't something done then?" he asked. "I don't see that as leadership."
Gassett said the finance committee was aware of the mistake "shortly after it was made" and that's when the council should have acted.
Merrifield agreed that the finance committee was aware of the mistake but noted that Corrow briefed it and the full council the next meeting after he found the mistake.
"If the council had wanted to, they could have taken action at any time," Merrifield said.
Responding to a question regarding the next budget cycle that promises little improvement over the last, Merrifield said he could continue his regular lobbying of the state government to continue distributing tax revenues to the communities.
"A robust economy and the economic development of our undervalued property is how we reach our goals," Merrifield said.
"I think if the council puts its nose to the grindstone, we can tighten next year's budget," Gassett said, adding that he had to "be careful about what he said because it could get him in trouble later."
Answering a question about the city's support of outside agencies such as the Community Action Program (CAP) and the Franklin Business and Industrial Development Corp. (FBIDC), both said they support the work of all of them.
Gassett said he especially supported CAP because of the number of people helped through its programming while Merrifield said his support for FBIDC was unwavering.
"This city needs some kind of economic development arm," he said, adding that any decision to defund the FBIDC should only be accompanied by a decision to support a similar agency.
City elections take place next Tuesday. There are contested races for all three city council seats and candidates for all open School Board seats.
In the meantime, here is the full text from The Citizen:
Tax cap discussion dominates debate
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
It didn't take long at Monday's candidates debate before the mayoral contenders got to the nitty-gritty of what the majority of the citizens in the packed Opera House came to see — a discussion about the recent tax cap override.
In a debate sponsored by Choose Franklin, challenger and former Mayor Clayton Gassett told the crowd how he felt about incumbent Mayor Kenneth Merrifield's decision to veto the city council override of the 20-year cap.
"I didn't think the present mayor should have threatened the council before he vetoed [the override]," said Gassett, who took a question about the role of the city mayor as a chance to talk about the recent override.
"I did not believe the people had the money to give up, with 10 percent of the city unemployed," said Merrifield, who reiterated his long-held position that the tax cap should only be overridden by referendum. "And I didn't think the charter allowed us to go back and collect it."
It's been nearly 20 years since Franklin became the first New Hampshire city to vote for a tax cap and, responding to a mistake in revenue projects, the Franklin City Council became the first of the subsequent cities that adopted similar caps to break it.
In 2008 and 2009, the city fell victim to a near perfect storm of economic disaster. A $449,807 mistake on the annual revenue projections coupled with plummeting property values and a 10 percent unemployment rate left the city with a nearly $1 million shortfall.
Spending and hiring freezes were ordered by City Manager Elizabeth Corrow and cuts were made to the proposed budget, but when all was said and done, the council voted 7-1 to adopt a fiscal year 2009-2010 budget that exceed the cap by the amount of the mistake — $449,807.
Defending his veto of the budget vote, Merrifield told the audience that his goal as mayor was to see a vibrant, thriving Franklin and keeping the taxes low was one of the only way the city was going to reach his goal.
While not disagreeing with Merrifield's goals, Gassett said his issue with the override and Merrifield's veto was that it was too little, too late.
"If you knew about this mistake, why wasn't something done then?" he asked. "I don't see that as leadership."
Gassett said the finance committee was aware of the mistake "shortly after it was made" and that's when the council should have acted.
Merrifield agreed that the finance committee was aware of the mistake but noted that Corrow briefed it and the full council the next meeting after he found the mistake.
"If the council had wanted to, they could have taken action at any time," Merrifield said.
Responding to a question regarding the next budget cycle that promises little improvement over the last, Merrifield said he could continue his regular lobbying of the state government to continue distributing tax revenues to the communities.
"A robust economy and the economic development of our undervalued property is how we reach our goals," Merrifield said.
"I think if the council puts its nose to the grindstone, we can tighten next year's budget," Gassett said, adding that he had to "be careful about what he said because it could get him in trouble later."
Answering a question about the city's support of outside agencies such as the Community Action Program (CAP) and the Franklin Business and Industrial Development Corp. (FBIDC), both said they support the work of all of them.
Gassett said he especially supported CAP because of the number of people helped through its programming while Merrifield said his support for FBIDC was unwavering.
"This city needs some kind of economic development arm," he said, adding that any decision to defund the FBIDC should only be accompanied by a decision to support a similar agency.
City elections take place next Tuesday. There are contested races for all three city council seats and candidates for all open School Board seats.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Where is Our Money Going?
Parents in the Franklin School District are not getting the answers they need from the school district. The lack of communication has been known for awhile. But this just kind of takes the cake.
I think I found this part of it disturbing, but not all that surprising. When I was a reporter, and covered certain Franklin school district events, I had heard these complaints, as well.
My son is going to be going to school in this district in about five years. I am hoping that these issues get fixed before he starts school, or they are going to be seeing me on a regular basis at the school board meetings.
To be fair, they said that the textbooks have been ordered, but it shouldn't have taken a month into the school year to address this problem.
Triggered by a complaint from parent and City Council candidate Brian Boynton about a lack of textbooks in his children's classes, Superintendent Jo Ellen Divoll said she was unaware of the problem.
"I can't address what I don't know about," said Divoll who said if the complaint was never mentioned to the teacher and/or the principal, then it would not have been on her radar.
"The teacher told me she had no right to speak to me and told me to talk to the superintendent," said Boynton.
"That's wrong," replied Divoll who said the agreed-upon communication route between parents and faculty was for the parent to speak first to the teacher, next to the principal, and finally to the superintendent. If there was no resolution, the School Board would take up the issue.
I think I found this part of it disturbing, but not all that surprising. When I was a reporter, and covered certain Franklin school district events, I had heard these complaints, as well.
Parent Lawrence McGrath said he has heard that some teachers are "intimidated" by the administration and School Board from speaking to teachers about their problems.
My son is going to be going to school in this district in about five years. I am hoping that these issues get fixed before he starts school, or they are going to be seeing me on a regular basis at the school board meetings.
To be fair, they said that the textbooks have been ordered, but it shouldn't have taken a month into the school year to address this problem.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Another Reminder about Candidates Night
Candidates Night for the upcoming election will be on September 28th at the Franklin Opera House in Franklin. Doors will open at 6:30 PM, the event starts at 7 PM.
The Candidates Are:
Mayor: Ken Merrifield, Clayton Gassett
City Council Ward I -- Rosemary F. Mellon, Robert J. Morin Jr., Marty G. Russo, and Bob Sharon
City Council Ward II -- Glen Feener and Brian Boynton
City Council Ward III -- Scott R. Clarenbach and Jeffrey Whitney
School Board Ward I -- Betty Tobey (1 year), Kathleen Russo (2 year), and Karen Grzelak (3 year)
School Board Ward II -- (3 year) Ryan Fairchild and Desiree McLaughlin
School Board Ward III -- (3 year) Logan Barbosa
Unfortunately I'm not able to go because I have a class that night. If someone would like to cover the event and be a guest blogger on this site, let me know.
The Candidates Are:
Mayor: Ken Merrifield, Clayton Gassett
City Council Ward I -- Rosemary F. Mellon, Robert J. Morin Jr., Marty G. Russo, and Bob Sharon
City Council Ward II -- Glen Feener and Brian Boynton
City Council Ward III -- Scott R. Clarenbach and Jeffrey Whitney
School Board Ward I -- Betty Tobey (1 year), Kathleen Russo (2 year), and Karen Grzelak (3 year)
School Board Ward II -- (3 year) Ryan Fairchild and Desiree McLaughlin
School Board Ward III -- (3 year) Logan Barbosa
Unfortunately I'm not able to go because I have a class that night. If someone would like to cover the event and be a guest blogger on this site, let me know.
There May Be No Hope Of Keeping The Tax Cap?
That's what Foster's Daily Democrat is saying about the possible tax cap in Manchester since the state Supreme Court will be ruling on the decision soon.
A petition on the legality of them was sent to the courts. Manchester is considering a tax cap, but those opposed to it say that it's "unconstitutional."
If ruled in that direction, it could mean that Franklin's tax cap will be gone.
I honestly don't know what to say about this. But if it happens to go in that direction, we still need to fight to ensure that our representatives here in Franklin are accountable to us, the people. Considering that Franklin has one of the higher unemployment rates in the state, we need to remind them that we can't afford for our taxes to go higher, and maybe get them to talk to the budget committee in Bristol on getting some pointers to keep the budget down.
A petition on the legality of them was sent to the courts. Manchester is considering a tax cap, but those opposed to it say that it's "unconstitutional."
If ruled in that direction, it could mean that Franklin's tax cap will be gone.
I honestly don't know what to say about this. But if it happens to go in that direction, we still need to fight to ensure that our representatives here in Franklin are accountable to us, the people. Considering that Franklin has one of the higher unemployment rates in the state, we need to remind them that we can't afford for our taxes to go higher, and maybe get them to talk to the budget committee in Bristol on getting some pointers to keep the budget down.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Speaking of Guest Writers...
I'm always looking for guest writers to write for the Franklin TEA Party. With me being a graduate student who is a year away from graduation, it's hard for me to be everywhere at once == for example, I wasn't able to attend the meeting regarding the recycling plant, and I know I won't be able to attend Candidate's Night on September 28th.
If you're interested, let me know at scooppc11@yahoo.com.
If you're interested, let me know at scooppc11@yahoo.com.
Guest Editorial: Tony Guinta
Originally published in the Weirs Times, September 10, 2009
I’m sure many of you have already heard the news about Franklin’s City Council breaking New Hampshire’s first taxpayer mandated taxpayer endorsed tax cap. But the big news is this councils’ continuing contempt towards its citizens. Before we get into their most recent inexcusable actions, let me first dispel the “excuse” this council asserts in support of their momentous cap over-ride.
Excluding Mayor Merrifield and councilor Glen Feener who both fought valiantly for taxpayers, those who broke the cap deny they did anything of the sort. They claim they were merely recapturing last year’s lost revenue (due to an “accounting error”) and are only raising this year’s tax rate by the amount allowed under the charter. Barring the fact that this is no year to be “reaching back” to take past due monies from recession weary unemployed taxpayers, this year’s budget should end all debate about the debilitating affects of tax caps! By regaining their due from last year and taxing us to the rate of inflation this year, our politically tone-deaf council yielded enough cold hard cash to send them on a spending spree. While our state and other municipalities are imposing hiring freezes, furloughs, and lay-offs, Franklin is preserving all current staff and filling four vacant positions. While private industry has had to dramatically reduce expenditures to the point of (gasp) having to clean their own offices, Franklin renewed an $80,000 private cleaning contract. Oh, and my personal favorite… our “frugal” council has requested $850,000 for a new “mandatory” recycling program of which many in our City are completely unaware. As we struggle through the worst economy in 75 years, Franklin has shiny new recycling trucks on their way and has destined our recyclables to a receiving facility that has yet to be built. Yup, the first broken cap in 20 years (out of absolute necessity they’ll remind you) and they’re spending money like it’s going out of style!
How did taxpayers react to this council’s “spend-thrift” ways? They packed City Hall and for nearly two hours barraged the council with overwhelming opposition to the proposed budget. You’d think they would have listened! But even with all this outrage, it took them only minutes to completely dismiss weeping taxpayers, over-ride a mayoral veto, and pass the first budget in 20 years to break the cap. If that weren’t enough, the greatest snub was yet to come. During their August public comment period, a nearly 300 signature citizen’s petition was presented to the council demanding this learned body reconsider the budget. Not only did the council remain mute on a vote to reconsider, they deadlocked 4-4 to even accept the petition from the taxpayers of Franklin. Imagine the arrogance of “our” public servants to not even acknowledge their own citizen’s petition? They say “voters’ have short memories”. But being snubbed, especially during a time when constituents are really hurting, has a way of sticking with you. Unless this council reverses its actions, my bet is there will be hell to pay when the people get their chance to speak where they cannot be ignored… at the polls!
Tony Giunta served as Mayor of the City of Franklin from 2000-2004 and during his tenure worked to strengthen the city’s tax cap charter provision.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)