Government of Framingham, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Framingham is a town in Middlesex County
, Massachusetts
, United States
. The structure of all New England
town governments is based on the same "three legged stool" as the Federal government
which has the executive (president), legislative (congress) and judicial (supreme court) branches. In Framingham a Strong Town Manager
(see below) and Board of Selectmen
governs the town as executive
, with a representative Town Meeting
serving as the legislative branch. The five member Board of Selectmen is officially the judicial branch, but in fact is responsible for policy decisions that have no impact on the town that exceed the three years of their elected office.
, hired by and reporting to the Board of Selectmen. The office of the Strong Town Manager does not have any executive powers but is responsible for all hiring and firing. Before Framingham had a Strong Town Manager, it had a Town Manager (without hiring and firing powers), and before that, Framingham had an Executive Administrator who operated on a daily basis with direction supplied by, what was then, a three man Board of Selectmen.
by population with a town meeting form of government
in the United States
. In addition to acting as the legislative branch, Town Meeting is also the Zoning
Authority and has the power to define zoning districts and is required to approve of Land Takings
.
Framingham Town Meeting has a total of seven Standing Committees. Each Standing Committee may have as a member a Town Meeting Member from each of the 18 Precincts. The Members of each Precinct will annually elect the members of each of the Standing Committees. These Standing Committees are:
These Standing Committees are responsible for reviewing and recommending disposition to the Town Meeting on all Articles on a Town Meeting Warrant which may be of interest to those committees.
The Town Moderator is a one year elected position, whose job it is to run the floor of Town Meeting. In addition, the Moderator is responsible for making appointments to six Committees:
The Board of Selectmen have a number of appointments that they are responsible for, but some of the more important ones include:
In addition, a ten-man committee created by Town Meeting, called the PILOT Committee (for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) was half appointed by the Board of Selectmen and half by the Town Moderator. Their task was to investigate the economic impact of social service agencies on Framingham and the comparative impact on other towns.
Besides the appointed Boards and Commissions, there is also a five person Planning Board which is responsible for reviewing both residential and commercial development plans. Their responsibility is to direct projects in such a way as to optimize their overall aestethic value while at the same time minimizing impact. The Planning Board is also responsible for periodic management of the update process for the Town's Master Plan.
Mission Statement: The mission of the Framingham Public Schools, a system that understands and values our diversity, is to educate each student to learn and live productively as a critically thinking, responsible citizen in a multicultural, democratic society by providing academically challenging instructional programs taught by a highly qualified and diverse staff and supported by comprehensive services in partnership with our entire community.
The Framingham School Department can trace its roots back to 1706 when the town hired its first school master, Deacon Joshua Hemenway. While Framingham had its first school master, it not get it own public school building until 1716. The first high school, the Framingham Academy, opened its doors in 1792; however this school was eventually closed due financing issues and the legality of the town providing funds for a private school. The first town operated high school opened in 1852 and has been in operation continuously in numerous location throughout the town.
The school system has grown to a total of thirteen public schools: a preschool program, eight elementary schools, three middles schools and the high school. The town also home to a regional vocational high school
and the Christa McAuliffe regional charter school
.
The Administrative Offices of the School Department is at the King Administrative Building on 454 Water Street with the Superintendent's office at 14 Vernon St.
A thirty member Tunnel Rescue Team, trained by the Boston Fire Department, is specially prepared to handle any emergency that may arise along and in the MWRA's 11 mile MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel
(MWWST) and the Hultman Aqueducts. The department also has a sixteen member Dive Rescue Unit and a seven member Hazardous Materials Unit, two of whom assist in running the State Hazardous Materials Program.
The FFD Headquarters is located with Station 3 at 10 Loring Drive, while the Framingham Fire Dispatch Center is operated out of Station 1 on Route 9.
In its history, FFD has lost three fire fighters in the line of duty:
Motto: Dedicated to Excellence in Public Service
The town first recognized the need for an organized police force in 1871, when the first actual police facility being built in town. It was built on Watson Place in Saxonville, on the site where one of the town's current fire station exists today. Individuals who served in a police capacity for the Town of Framingham from 1870 to 1891 performed basically the same duties throughout this time frame. An officer from 1870 could easily perform the activities of his 1891 counterpart with no additional training. The only difference was a very slight pay increase and a noticeable increase in level of activity. Local police officers during this time period received no formal training.
The current FPD Headquarters is located in the former Framingham Armory Building on Union Ave., next the Memorial Building. Renovated in the late 1990s, the building replaced the former facility at the same location which was operationally and functionally sub-standard. The current structure is a state-of-the-art building with training and recreational facilities, holding cells and dispatch center.
The Framingham Department of Public Works as it operates to day was shaped by local politician and DPW chair Anthony M. Colonna. The DPW operates out of a facility named for Mr. Colonna located on Western Ave adjacent to MCI Framingham.
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The structure of all New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
town governments is based on the same "three legged stool" as the Federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
which has the executive (president), legislative (congress) and judicial (supreme court) branches. In Framingham a Strong Town Manager
Council-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
(see below) and Board of Selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
governs the town as executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
, with a representative Town Meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
serving as the legislative branch. The five member Board of Selectmen is officially the judicial branch, but in fact is responsible for policy decisions that have no impact on the town that exceed the three years of their elected office.
General structure
A Strong Town Manager oversees the day to day operations of the town, acting as a Chief operating officerChief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
, hired by and reporting to the Board of Selectmen. The office of the Strong Town Manager does not have any executive powers but is responsible for all hiring and firing. Before Framingham had a Strong Town Manager, it had a Town Manager (without hiring and firing powers), and before that, Framingham had an Executive Administrator who operated on a daily basis with direction supplied by, what was then, a three man Board of Selectmen.
Town Meeting
Framingham is divided into 18 Precincts with 12 elected Town Meeting Members per precinct. Term of office is three years. The town is the largest municipalityMunicipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
by population with a town meeting form of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In addition to acting as the legislative branch, Town Meeting is also the Zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
Authority and has the power to define zoning districts and is required to approve of Land Takings
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
.
Framingham Town Meeting has a total of seven Standing Committees. Each Standing Committee may have as a member a Town Meeting Member from each of the 18 Precincts. The Members of each Precinct will annually elect the members of each of the Standing Committees. These Standing Committees are:
- Community Services
- Education
- Planning & Zoning
- Public Safety
- Public Works
- Rules
- Ways & Means
These Standing Committees are responsible for reviewing and recommending disposition to the Town Meeting on all Articles on a Town Meeting Warrant which may be of interest to those committees.
Elected boards
Besides the appointed town committees and boards, there are seven boards that are directly elected by the town's voters:- Selectmen (5 members)
- Library Trustees (12 members)
- Regional Vocational School Committee (8 members)
- School Committee (7 members)
- Planning Board (5 members)
- Housing Authority (4 members)
- Edgell Grove Cemetery Trustees (5 members)
Volunteer boards, commissions and committees
Like all government, Framingham has a system of Boards, Commissions and Committees. Almost all of the appointments are made by either the Board of Selectmen or by the Town Moderator.The Town Moderator is a one year elected position, whose job it is to run the floor of Town Meeting. In addition, the Moderator is responsible for making appointments to six Committees:
- Government Study Committee
- Finance Committee
- Real Property Committee
- Personnel Board
- Capital Budget Committee
- Technology Advisory Committee
The Board of Selectmen have a number of appointments that they are responsible for, but some of the more important ones include:
- Community Development
- Economic Development and Industrial Corporation
- Conservation Commission
- Human Relations Commission
- Fair Housing Committee
- Historic District Commission
- Historical Commission
- Zoning Board of Appeals
- Cultural Council
- Park and Recreation Commission
- Board of Public Works
- Board of Health
- Council on Aging
- Disability Commission
In addition, a ten-man committee created by Town Meeting, called the PILOT Committee (for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) was half appointed by the Board of Selectmen and half by the Town Moderator. Their task was to investigate the economic impact of social service agencies on Framingham and the comparative impact on other towns.
Besides the appointed Boards and Commissions, there is also a five person Planning Board which is responsible for reviewing both residential and commercial development plans. Their responsibility is to direct projects in such a way as to optimize their overall aestethic value while at the same time minimizing impact. The Planning Board is also responsible for periodic management of the update process for the Town's Master Plan.
School department
Mission Statement: The mission of the Framingham Public Schools, a system that understands and values our diversity, is to educate each student to learn and live productively as a critically thinking, responsible citizen in a multicultural, democratic society by providing academically challenging instructional programs taught by a highly qualified and diverse staff and supported by comprehensive services in partnership with our entire community.
The Framingham School Department can trace its roots back to 1706 when the town hired its first school master, Deacon Joshua Hemenway. While Framingham had its first school master, it not get it own public school building until 1716. The first high school, the Framingham Academy, opened its doors in 1792; however this school was eventually closed due financing issues and the legality of the town providing funds for a private school. The first town operated high school opened in 1852 and has been in operation continuously in numerous location throughout the town.
The school system has grown to a total of thirteen public schools: a preschool program, eight elementary schools, three middles schools and the high school. The town also home to a regional vocational high school
Vocational school
A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
and the Christa McAuliffe regional charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
.
The Administrative Offices of the School Department is at the King Administrative Building on 454 Water Street with the Superintendent's office at 14 Vernon St.
Fire
The Framingham Fire Department employs 140 firefighters, 17 lieutenants, 8 captains, and 7 deputy chiefs. 5 engines, 2 ladders, and 1 heavy rescue protect the town from 5 stations. Although the ambulance is privately contracted, the crew members assigned to the ALS trucks that cover the town, must meet and be approved by the fire chief before being allowed to work in the system.A thirty member Tunnel Rescue Team, trained by the Boston Fire Department, is specially prepared to handle any emergency that may arise along and in the MWRA's 11 mile MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel
MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel
The MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel is an advanced underground aqueduct that supplies potable water to residents of much of Greater Boston. It is part of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority water supply system....
(MWWST) and the Hultman Aqueducts. The department also has a sixteen member Dive Rescue Unit and a seven member Hazardous Materials Unit, two of whom assist in running the State Hazardous Materials Program.
The FFD Headquarters is located with Station 3 at 10 Loring Drive, while the Framingham Fire Dispatch Center is operated out of Station 1 on Route 9.
In its history, FFD has lost three fire fighters in the line of duty:
- Lt. John Costanza
- Capt. John McGrath
- Capt. Michael J. Dalton
Police
The town first recognized the need for an organized police force in 1871, when the first actual police facility being built in town. It was built on Watson Place in Saxonville, on the site where one of the town's current fire station exists today. Individuals who served in a police capacity for the Town of Framingham from 1870 to 1891 performed basically the same duties throughout this time frame. An officer from 1870 could easily perform the activities of his 1891 counterpart with no additional training. The only difference was a very slight pay increase and a noticeable increase in level of activity. Local police officers during this time period received no formal training.
The current FPD Headquarters is located in the former Framingham Armory Building on Union Ave., next the Memorial Building. Renovated in the late 1990s, the building replaced the former facility at the same location which was operationally and functionally sub-standard. The current structure is a state-of-the-art building with training and recreational facilities, holding cells and dispatch center.
Public Works
Motto: Managing your investment in the Public infrastructureThe Framingham Department of Public Works as it operates to day was shaped by local politician and DPW chair Anthony M. Colonna. The DPW operates out of a facility named for Mr. Colonna located on Western Ave adjacent to MCI Framingham.
State agencies in Framingham
- Massachusetts State PoliceMassachusetts State PoliceThe Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...
:
The main headquarters of the State Police is located on Route 9, adjacent to the MEMA Bunker. Until 1992, this facility was the Division of State Police's Training Academy, but is now officially known as the Department of State Police General Headquarters. - Massachusetts Emergency Management AgencyMassachusetts Emergency Management AgencyThe Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is a Commonwealth of Massachusetts agency. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is the Agency that coordinates Federal, State, local and private resources throughout the Commonwealth during times of disasters and emergencies.It is...
(MEMA):
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is responsible for inter-agency coordination between Federal, State, local and private resources throughout the Commonwealth during times of disasters and emergencies. Its headquarters are in the former Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
bunkerBunkerA military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
facility on Route 9, west of the Route 126 interchange, that was designed to protect the Massachusetts state government is case of nuclear warNuclear warfareNuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
with the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. - Massachusetts Department of CorrectionMassachusetts Department of CorrectionThe Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for operating the prison system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, US Massachusetts houses over 11,500 inmates throughout 18 correctional facilities and employs over 5,000 employees...
(DoC)
The DoC operates two facilities within Framingham, the Massachusetts Correctional Institute for Women (MCI Framingham) and the South Middlesex Correctional Center (SMCC). MCI Framingham is the primary women's prison in the state, housing all levels of prisoners. SMCC is a "pre-release" facility that is designed to help transition prisoners from incarceration to general life. It has drug treatment programs, work releaseWork releaseIn prison systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored to leave confinement to continue working at his or her current place of employment, returning to prison when his/her shift is complete...
and educational programs to help inmates who are going to be released from custody make the transition back in to the general population. - Massachusetts Trial Court:
The Mass Trial Court has two facilities in Framingham, the Framingham District Court on Concord St. and the Middlesex Juvenile Court Building on Mt. Wayte Av. - Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT):
MassDOT operates a salt and sand shed at the junction of routes 9 and 126, in the route 126 southbound to route 9 eastbound exit ramp loop. - Massachusetts National GuardMassachusetts National GuardThe Massachusetts National Guard was founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, and contains the oldest units in the United States Army. It is currently headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts and commanded by Major General Joseph C...
:
The MNG operates a supply and maintenance depot on Concord St., approximately one mile south of route 9. This facility has three buildings, an office/meeting complex that houses local administration facilities and the MNG recruiting center. The other two structures are automotive and equipment maintenance buildings.
Federal agencies in Framingham
- The Social Security AdministrationSocial Security AdministrationThe United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
:
The SSA maintains its local claims center in "?" building on Concord St. in Downtown Framingham. - US Military recruitment center:
- The US Postal Service:
The USPS maintains a large sorting center for the town of Framingham and the surrounding towns; the complex also hosts the regional USPS Vehicle Maintenance Facility. This is located at the main post office building on Cochituate Rd.
In 1997 the town, due to its size and population, was required to implement five Zip codes. The original 01701 Zip code was re-assigned to North Framingham (USPS dictated because the main post office, on Route 30 in the Golden Triangle, has to be in the main Zip code), while South Framingham was assigned the new 01702 Zip code. Zip codes 01703, 01704 and 01705 were assigned to the local post office satellite branches in Pinefield/Saxonville, Framingham Center and Downtown, respectively.