Time: 13 minutes, 37 seconds
MP3 File
Show Notes:
This is #76 in the series of internet radio shows or podcast for Franklin Matters.
The first snow has already fallen and the first outlook on the FY 2012 budget was previewed at the last Town Council meeting. Let's take a few minutes to listen to Town Administrator Jeff Nutting's update on the FY 2012 budget.
Notable quotes from Jeff Nutting:
“Original contract for architect came in about $860,000, we knocked it down about 3$00,000. the MSBA was surprised no one else had rejected a contract.”
“We are trying to watch the dollars right out of the gate and I think the committee is doing a good job.”
I look back over the last eight years, we have cut 1 out of 6 municipal jobs. We still provide a high level of quality services
“The CPI has avg 2.9%, our wage increases have avg 2.3% so we have been below the cost of living over several years.”
“On health insurance, the increase overall has been over 12% over the last several years. We have been 6.3% so we have been beating the bench mark. We have been doing the best and working with our employees.”
“In FY 2011, seven of nine unions on the municipal side have already agreed to contracts with zero increase.”
“I think we should save a big chunk of cash for unemployment for FY 2012”
“We are going to present a balanced budget. People say why can't the Town balance a budget, we have balanced a budget for a couple hundred years. People say, why can't we live within our means? We always live within our means. That is the law. The issue is there is gap between revenues that are available and services that are provided. And that is why we have 50 less employees than we had eight years ago and that is why the schools have cut back as well. So not only do we reduce jobs but I think this body knows as well that we have consolidated school and Town services and look at sharing services with other towns and look at any venue possible to make the ends work and to provide high quality municipal services.”
“We have a four to six million dollar gap for next fiscal year.”
“We'll be in a position to present the balanced budget. And that will obviously lead to make policy decisions on the Council's part as to priorities. A million dollars is twenty jobs, so you can do the math, is it 60 jobs or 80 jobs.”
“Our expense budgets are really small, they have been cut and cut over the years. We have a big challenge, we will meet the challenge.”
As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
- If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
- If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission
I hope you enjoy!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to listen to the audio podcast.
Franklin, MA
