MetroWest Daily News
FRAMINGHAM The city is comprised of a variety of diverse neighborhoods, from Nobscot to Saxonville to Lokerville, each with its own identity and history.
“We’re really a community of a bunch of neighborhoods,” said District 8 City Councilor John Stefanini, a resident of the Coburnville-Tripoli neighborhood.
Stefanini is seeking an ordinance to create Neighborhood Advisory Groups throughout the city that would harness neighbors’ expertise, experience and energy, create a stronger sense of community and give residents a louder voice in city government.
Several other cities, including Boston and Newton, have formed neighborhood groups to connect community members with city leaders to promote their neighborhoods and ensure the areas retain their unique characteristics and vitality. Stefanini said strong, engaged neighborhoods are key to creating a healthy, vibrant and thriving city.
FRAMINGHAM City councilors on Tuesday gave their initial approval to a proposal to plug a $2.5 million deficit in the city’s sewer and water enterprise fund.
But councilors continued to say that raiding city revenues to cover the deficit is a less than ideal solution and stressed that a plan to fix the structural problems with the fund needs to be developed.
The fix for the multimillion-dollar gap will come from dipping into the city’s free cash reserve. The water and sewer department enterprise funds will each be cut by $100,000 and $200,000 more will be taken from the general reserve fund. The proposal includes using $2.1 million from free cash to cover the deficit.
UpdatedWed, Dec 16, 2020 at 3:38 pm ET
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The last step to transform Framingham from a town to a city happened Tuesday with a switch from bylaws to ordinances. (Samantha Mercado/Patch)
FRAMINGHAM, MA Framingham took the final step to becoming a city on Tuesday night.
The City Council approved the conversion of the old town bylaws into ordinances a massive undertaking that meant figuring out how to distribute the duties of the old Board of Selectmen to the mayor, City Council and various city board and commissions.
The transfer has taken place over the three years following the 2017 referendum to become a city. The Council Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee headed by Chair District 8 Councilor John Stefanini, Vice Chair District 9 Councilor Tracey Bryant and District 6 Councilor Philip Ottaviani has been working since the spring on the final conversion.