Your couple of minutes view on what's coming or just happened in Franklin MA

From charter review to 250 event brainstorming to Administrator Evaluation to Tax Rate workshop and a bunch of other items in between are on tap this week.

The Ad-hoc charter review subcommittee is scheduled to meet early on Monday. Let’s hope nothing happens like the prior two causes for meeting cancellation. 

The 250 Celebration Committee holds a session at the Senior Center Monday morning to outline plans for the events in 2028 to seek feedback, additional ideas and perhaps some volunteers to help with the effort.

The Town Administrator evaluation Subcommittee, the Agricultural Committee, the Library Board of Directors,  and the 250 Subcommittee on historical significance are also scheduled to meet on Monday.

The School Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday to get an update on the October 1 enrollment, hear about a potential new international trip for FHS, and get an update from Liz Harkins, the new Executive Director at Franklin TV.

The Franklin High School Auditorium is the setting for the 2nd of three tax rate workshops being held by the Town Council. Hopefully many folks will come out for this session. 

The Economic Development subcommittee and the Zoning Board of Appeals are scheduled to meet on Thursday to close out the week of meetings.

The last Farmers Market for the season comes around on Friday, Oct 30 at the Town Common. The Winter Farmers Market at Fairmount Fruit Farm has two dates each month from Nov to March scheduled.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news/ where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between. 

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1841-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-10-25-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 10/23/26 5:00 PM ***

Ad Hoc Town Charter Review Committee Meeting

Monday, October 26 Time: 10:00 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10262026-2534 

Franklin 250 Brainstorming

Monday, October 26 Time: 10:00 AM

No agenda for this interactive session

Town Administrator Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee Meeting

Monday, October 26 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10262026-2571 

Franklin Agricultural Committee Meeting

Monday, October 26 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10262026-2578

Library Board of Directors Regular Meeting

Monday, October 26 Time: 7:00 PM 

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10262026-2580 

250th Anniversary Celebration Historical Significance Subcommittee Meeting

Monday, October 26 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10262026-2579 

Franklin School Committee

Tuesday, October 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10272026-2581 

Council on Aging Board Meeting

Wednesday, October 28 Time: 11:00 AM

No agenda available at this time

Town Council Meeting @ Franklin High School Auditorim

Wednesday, October 28 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10282026-2583 

October 29, 2026 - Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, October 29 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10292026-2582 

Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Meeting

Thursday, October 29 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10292026-2574 

*** Looking back at the week that was ***

There were several video productions by Franklin TV during the past week both broadcast live and pre-recorded for publication via YouTube.

Town & School meetings

Planning Board meeting on 10/29 Recap & video link https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/10/planning-board-reviews-traffic-parking.html 

Finance Committee on 10/21 Recap & video link

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/10/finance-committee-gets-insights-on.html 

Conservation Commission on 10/22  video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JptqXV8ksM 

FHS Sports

FHS boys soccer vs Mansfield on 10/21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdmhvY0L9Gg 

FHS volleyball vs Stoughton on 10/23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0224oSody8 

All Access Channel

Franklin Senior Expo held at the Senior Center on 10/02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzdbgW0wOo 

Franklin Matters

MA State Senator Becca Rausch 10/14/26 - 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/10/senator-rausch-provides-legislative.html 

Town of Franklin's Boston Post Cane Presented to Lydia Dolitka 10/22/2026

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/10/town-of-franklins-boston-post-cane.html 

-----------

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news/ where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx         

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar       

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html      

Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html

The meeting outlook in less than 5 minutes for the week of May 10, 2026 (audio)

May is fully here. That means Town & School meetings galore this week. 

The schedule has filled out like the tree leaves bringing green and other vibrant colors to the landscape.

Much of the agenda items cover the normal business by the various boards and committees. Of particular interest are the joint Town Council and School Committee meeting Tuesday, the regular Town Council meeting on Wednesday,, and the Economic Development Subcommittee meeting on Thursday. 

The joint Council and SchCmte meeting focuses on the selection of a vendor for the strategic plan meant to guide us to an answer for how we will deal with our structural budget issues and maintain some levels of service for the community.

The School Committee separately has an agenda for their own portion of business after the joint discussion is complete.

The Council on Wednesday gets the annual update on the funding requirements and progress made for the Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) as well as votes on the second readings for the zoning changes to the MBTA Compliance code, the Crossing Neighborhood District and an adjustment to the meeting schedule for October.

The Economic Development Subcommittee meets with the UMass Boston folks who are proposed to develop a unified plan for downtown Franklin during the Fall of 2026. As this project would be as part of the UMass Boston graduate level class work and free, an agreement on scope and approval is likely to be received.  The subcommittee is also scheduled for discussion to set their goals and objectives.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to pay attention, this would be a good week to tap in as these meetings can be critical to determining the future for Franklin. And by the way, the budget hearings come up next week on May 20, May 21.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Audio link -  https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1744-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-05-10-26/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town pages 5/08/26, 7:30 PM ***

Housing Authority
Monday, May 11 Time: 4:30 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05112026-2298

Planning Board Meeting
Monday, May 11 Time: 7:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05112026-2301

Norfolk County Regional Emergency Planning Committee Meeting
Tuesday, May 12 Time: 10:30 AM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122026-2292

Franklin School Committee - Policy Subcommittee Meeting
Tuesday, May 12 Time: 6:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122026-2303

Communications Subcommittee Meeting
Tuesday, May 12 Time: 6:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122026-2310 

Friends of the Franklin Public Library Meeting
Tuesday, May 12 Time: 6:00 PM

Franklin School Committee
Tuesday, May 12 Time: 7:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122026-2307

Town Council Meeting (at School Committee)
Tuesday, May 12 Time: 7:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122026-2302

 
Charles River Pollution Control District
Wednesday, May 13 Time: 3:30 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05122026-2304

Town Council Meeting
Wednesday, May 13 Time: 6:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05132026-2308

 
Cultural District Committee Meeting
Wednesday, May 13 Time: 7:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05132026-2299

Town Council Monthly Office Hours
Thursday, May 14 Time: 8:30 AM

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting
Thursday, May 14 Time: 2:00 PM
Agenda not available at this time

Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting
Thursday, May 14 Time: 6:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05142026-2311

ZBA Meeting
Thursday, May 14 Time: 7:30 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05142026-2280 

*** Looking back at the week that was ***

Town/ School meetings

• The Conservation Commission meeting on 5/07/26 was broadcast. https://www.youtube.com/live/lYkjAxgs5tI?

FHS live streaming 

• Girls lacrosse on 5/04/26. https://www.youtube.com/live/dYG0ucymU9c
• Girls softball on 5/04/26. https://www.youtube.com/live/ARr-g_VNQms
• Spring jazz 5/05/26. https://www.youtube.com/live/AolLT1skR4I
• Boy lacrosse on 5/06/26. https://www.youtube.com/live/e_rZwZwr_Cw
• Baseball on 5/08/26. https://www.youtube.com/live/bM5-gVXO9C0

Podcast episodes released

• Favorite poem reading at Library in April https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/05/you-can-listen-to-poetry-conversation.html
• Board of Heath audio exclusive of their meeting 5/06/26 https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/05/franklin-board-of-health-votes-to.html
• Talking with Amy Adams about the wind phone https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/05/talking-with-amy-adams-about-wind-phone.html

Check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx       

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar      

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html       

Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html   

More snow, more cold, more budget = winter in New England; Franklin news in less than 5 minutes

More snow, more cold, ah, yes, it is winter in New England. 

February also brings a beginning to the FY 2027 budget cycle. And yes, there is more daylight in the forecast so there is hope on that side. Hope not so much on the budget front especially if you were looking for prior cuts to get restored.

Tuesday, Feb 10 the School Committee holds the public hearing on their FY 2027 budget proposal. Of note, the meeting also moves to a 6 PM opening to provide sufficient time for line item review by committee and community. 

Per the preview we received at the Jan 27th meeting, they will bring in a level service budget at 2.5%. Which also means cuts made last year don’t come back. Fees at this point, don’t change (up or down).

Wednesday, Feb 11, the Town Council gets the Capital budget and the 5 year fiscal forecast with plenty of info on the seriousness of our budget situation especially given the prior override failures. 

Town Administrator Jamie Hellen writes that using one time money to balance this budget “I have provided a model to give everyone time to strategize a game plan for the future without any department cuts or conversations about property tax increases in FY27.”

What that statement doesn’t say is 

• nothing previously cut gets restored (especially on the School budget, but also across the Town departmental budgets)

• AND we will start out the next budget cycle (FY 2028)  in the hole (by however much one time funds are used)

The Capital budget proposal is less than normal as $2 million in ‘free cash’ is held aside to help balance the (FY 2027) budget as noted above. And by kicking the can down the road again (using ‘free cash’), digs us a hole for the next budget cycle.

Fasten your seat belt for these budget conversations, they won’t be easy.

There are a number of other regular board and committee meetings scheduled for this week. Some adjusted to avoid the school vacation coming next week.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1655-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-02-08-26/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 2/06/26, 7:00 PM   ***

Franklin Housing Authority Meeting

Monday, February 9 Time: 4:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02092026-2126 

Franklin Public Schools Community Relations Subcommittee Meeting

Monday, February 9 Time: 6:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02092026-2123 

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, February 9 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02092026-2124 

Bi-County Collaborative Meeting

Tuesday, February 10 Time: 2:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02102026-2132 

Franklin School Committee

Tuesday, February 10 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02102026-2129 

Friends of the Franklin Public Library Meeting

Tuesday, February 10 Time: 7:00 PM 

No agenda for this session

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, February 11 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02112026-2130 

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 2:00 PM

No agenda posted at this time

Charles River Pollution Control District Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 4:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02122026-2131 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/553?fileID=7915 

Cultural District Committee Meeting

Thursday, February 12 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02122026-2125 

*** Looking back at the week that was ***

The School Committee conducted their brief and ‘remote only’ meeting to authorize the transfer of accounting for health care to the Town budget line 910. Franklin.news has the recap and video link

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/school-committee-votes-to-move-health.html 

The Town Council conducted their shortest session of this new term in part by punting on setting goals and reserving time for a lengthy executive session to review property decisions. Franklin.News has the recap and video link

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/town-council-discusses-goals-hears-last.html 

On the High School video performance recorded/broadcast by Franklin TV

• Girls basketball Tuesday 2/3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Bb55JhQwk&t=846s

• Boys basketball on Friday 2/6 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMotZm6amyE 

• FHS Winter Jazz concert of  1/27 was published - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcMlZhD7DL8 

On the Community video front

• Joe Landry’s presentation on Industry through the years in Franklin is available - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfEsSvTOq3A

• The presentation at the Library on the Tommaso Juglaris’s mural held in October 2025 is now available for viewing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7heZtFtT9GQ 

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx      

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar     

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html      

Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html