Take The Needle Out Of Our Vein

"There's no crisis in Framingham", at least in taxes, according to comments said to be made by some Town insiders. Indeed, property taxes will be remain relatively stable, so say reports attributed to officials in the Administration. But, to the rank and file of taxpayers, it would be most wise for them to remember the biblical story of Joseph in ancient Egypt, and its warnings about how to prepare for problems in the immediate future.

Larry Schmeidler,
Pct 4, FTPA Board Member

The Framingham Taxpayers Association (FTPA) will once again play Joseph -- as it did in 2012 -- basing its statistical analyses on data provided in budget and tax projections, benchmarking of other towns and cities, corrective action taken by Worcester in eliminating manual overrides (special discounts), to name just a few elements. This effort will not be just a one-shot deal. It will be carried over into the Annual Town Meeting, a planned Special Town Meeting, and a possible town-wide referendum on an issue, if necessary.

It will also and hopefully be carried forward on social electronic media -- YouTube, Facebook, Twitter; blogs, and other electronic media -- so that the average taxpayers can ask questions and have a say on how their money is spent. News and commentary will thus not be "managed" in the traditional manner.


FTPA is an established, private group that speaks to many demographic groups: senior citizens on fixed budgets and in danger of outliving their incomes; those struggling to support their families and hoping against hope to send their children on to higher education; businessmen looking to set up shop in Framingham, to cite a few examples on how it reaches out to the grassroots.

So join FTPA in renewing this mission by participating in a public education forum at Heritage Senior Living (747 Water Street) on Saturday, April 11th, beginning at 2:00 pm. Parking will also be available at the adjacent Hemenway school, and across the street in the Nobscot shopping mall. And tell your friends and neighbors to come, too.

The Framingham Taxpayers Association held a well attended public meeting at the Main Library on February 11, 2011 to discuss the unusually high tax increase for FY2012.