Every month I'll appear in your inbox with updates on Council activities, what I'm working on, and upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. This'll be one of the best ways to stay in the loop with me and D3.
🌱 D3 Dispatch: Reorganizing Government
Thoughts on the budget & reorganization, pools, and 613 Pleasant StreetSummer is usually a time when we slow down, relax and enjoy the warm weather. Here in Framingham, there is no slow down here - there is a lot to talk about between the budget, reorganization and what I'm working on. Here is what's in this month's issue:
Council UpdatesThe Fiscal Year '27 Budget and Reorganization PlanThe BudgetLast month, the Council and Mayor Sisitsky finalized the FY27 budget. This process was tough. After much debate and listening to residents, I voted against the final budget. Here’s why. From seniors, to Parks and Recreation, to Public Health, there were several changes and structural issues I simply could not support. Our SeniorsThe proposed budget eliminated the Director of Elder (Aging) Services position and placed the Council on Aging under the Library. Over the past month, I heard from countless seniors. We also received a letter from the Council on Aging asking the Mayor and Council to find a way to keep the position. The Director of Elder Services is more than a manager of the Callahan Center. They are an advocate, a service provider, and a leader in the trenches with a dedicated staff serving a growing senior population. Seniors deserve a voice in municipal government. After doing some research, I found a way to fund this position. Every year, the Commonwealth releases a State Formula Grant to every Council on Aging to fund senior services, initiatives, and activities. The state bases this funding on a rate of $16 per resident over the age of 60. Framingham’s over-60 population is 16,026, meaning the city will receive $256,000 in FY27 alone. Unspent funds carry over year to year, and Framingham currently sits on a surplus of $633,253.83. That surplus has historically covered part-time salaries, education and training, meals for functions, and technology and equipment. In the FY27 budget, six part-time salaries ($126,000) and $20,000 for a Needs Assessment are already allotted from this grant - leaving plenty of room to also cover the Director’s salary of $110,319. A rule of thumb in budgeting is to never depend on grants to fund a permanent need, and I want to be upfront about that. My proposal is a temporary bridge while Framingham regains its financial footing. I made a motion requesting that the Mayor and the Council on Aging work together to use this state formula grant to reinstate the Director of Elder Services. Because this funding is already legally restricted to senior services, the motion does not increase the budget’s bottom line. While it was a nonbinding motion, it passed 9-2. I want to thank the eight Councilors who supported it: Long, Ward, Cannon, Alexander, Ottaviani, Mallach, Stefanini, and Bryant. Public Health The budget also made critical cuts in Public Health. It defunded the Environmental Protection Officer, a public health nurse, and a Public Health Medical Assistant. I don’t believe we invest enough in public health in Framingham, and with thousands of residents expected to lose health insurance in the coming year, demand for these very services is likely to grow, not shrink. The old saying goes that budgets are a statement of priorities. As the newest Councilor, and with this being my first budget, that was always top of mind. Voting no was not something I took lightly. The Reorganization PlanParts of the budget served as a precursor to a broader city government reorganization. The Mayor’s full reorganization plan is on our Council agenda for tomorrow’s meeting, Tuesday, July 21. The proposal would create two new divisions: 1. Capital Projects, Facilities Management, and Parks and Recreation Division: combining the current Capital Projects and Facilities Management Division with Parks and Recreation. 2. Library and Community Services (LCS) Division: merging the Callahan Senior Center with the Library. ​You can read the Mayor’s full plan here.​ The concerns I raised during the budget debate remain. After reading the plan and talking with residents and staff, I’m still left with the same open questions: What specific problem is this solving? How much money would it save? What are the metrics for success — and for failure? And how does this fit into the city’s wider strategic planning? I don’t have answers to any of these yet, and remain skeptical that this reorganization will do more good than harm. Frankly, this also feels rushed, without enough forward thinking. Earlier versions of this plan had Veterans Services joining the Callahan Center under the Library as well. In the current proposal, Veterans Services is nowhere to be found. Where did it go? If a piece this significant can quietly disappear from the plan with no explanation, it tells me the plan itself hasn’t been fully thought through. From what I see in this plan is what I saw in the budget: it eliminates two positions.
Under this plan, the current Library Director would take on management of both the Library system (two branches) and the Callahan Center. The current Director of Capital Projects would similarly take on a second division. That raises real questions: Will they receive raises and reclassification for the added scope? Will the new Deputy Directors? I’m also concerned about Parks and Recreation specifically. It needs more support, not less. Folding it into Facilities risks diluting its core community mission with its many moving parts. And with Mary Dennison Park coming online soon, it will require staff to manage and maintain. These staff positions are not in the budget. We hear this reorganization is necessary due to budget concerns. Is eliminating two salaries, saving a total of $256,086 in a $400 million budget, worth this reorganization? I want Framingham to be bold. To be creative. To think differently. But I want us to do that as part of a wider strategic plan with a real vision for the future and buy-in from everyone involved. I’m frustrated that the elected Board of Library Trustees and the appointed Council on Aging were not part of these conversations from day one. Their expertise is critical, and it shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought. As I’ve said before: when I think about Framingham, I ask myself two questions. What kind of community do we want to live in? And is this the best path to that future? Tuesday is a public hearing — the beginning of the normal review process for a plan like this. If you have thoughts, now is the time to speak up: attend the meeting, call in on Zoom, or if you can’t make it, email your Councilor. Looking AheadOver the next year, I’ll keep looking for new ways to do things differently, suggest ideas, push for the economic development activity our city needs, and do my best as your representative on the Council. The budget isn’t going to get easier over the next few years. But with a new CFO, a renewed commitment to strategic planning, and real collaboration across every level of government, I’m hopeful we’ll be in a different place a year from now. Bringing Back Our Pools: A Blue Ribbon Commission for FraminghamCouncilor Stefanini and I introduced a resolution to establish a Blue Ribbon Public Pool Commission, charged with developing a plan for the return of a public pool. Framingham hasn't had a public pool in years. The city has closed all five of its public pools over the past three decades, and the loss of the Keefe Tech pool still stings for so many families. I hear about it constantly from residents: swim lessons, water safety, a place for the Framingham Frogs and other local swim teams to call home. What really pushed me to act was a visit to the Walsh Civics Fair, where I met four students who'd put together a presentation making the case for a public pool. Their research and passion were impossible to ignore. I left that morning knowing it was time to get moving. This new Commission will bring together voices from across our community, including the Park & Recreation Commission, Council on Aging, Disability Commission, Youth Council, Framingham State, our schools, and residents with swim coaching and parenting experience, to study potential locations, funding, and design, and build a real plan to bring a pool back to Framingham. The Commission will hold public hearings for resident input and report back by September 1, 2027. Stay tuned for updates and ways to get involved! Update about 613 Pleasant StreetAround District 3 & FraminghamFramingham Impact Awards Community NewsCelebrate A.R.T. on the C.R.T.This is your Plaza: A Free Multicultural Community CelebrationI try to fit as much as I can in this newsletter. To stay even more up to date with me and what I'm doing, I recommend following my Facebook page. I update it regularly.​ As always, if I can be of any assistance or if you have an idea, please do not hesitate to call/text me at 508-733-3153 or via email. I especially would like to hear more thoughts about the reorg plan. All the best, Mary Kate Feeney Authorized by the Feeney Committee. |
​D3 Dispatches
Every month I'll appear in your inbox with updates on Council activities, what I'm working on, and upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. This'll be one of the best ways to stay in the loop with me and D3.
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