Archive | Franklin Regional Planning Board
RSS feed for this sectionFRCOG signs the Stigma Pledge
Massachusetts is in the midst of a heartbreaking crisis of addiction and overdose, and one of the most important things we can all do to prevent further deaths is reduce the stigma experienced by people with substance use disorder. Only 1 in 12 people people with this disorder seek treatment — can you imagine if numbers were similarly low for diabetes?
FRCOG’s staff have signed the Boston Medical Center Stigma Pledge and will work to make sure we use non-stigmatizing language. Join us!
To learn more about the Pledge, click here.
To review an “Addictionary” of stigmatizing and non-stigmatizing language, click here.
The Spring Scoop: Updates from the FRCOG
Interested in new initiatives and our progress on current FRCOG projects? Check out the link below for quarterly updates presented to the FRCOG Council in April.
FRCOG 2017 Annual and Town Reports Are Here!
The FRCOG is pleased to present the 2017 Annual and Town Reports, highlighting the work and accomplishments of our programs and Franklin County communities. Please click on the image above or this link to access the reports.
Especially Friv games. If you don’t know what friv games are you have to check them out, because they can became a very helpful tools for you in terms of dealing with kids when you are busy.
How many employees do Franklin County businesses have?
According to the latest U.S. County Business Pattern data, 73% of our region’s private sector employers (i.e. not government establishments and not self-employed) had less than 10 employees. Interested in more of this data? Contact Jessica Atwood, Economic Development Program Manager at the FRCOG.
New Census Data on local population
The latest population estimate by county shows that Franklin County’s population declined from 2000 to 2017 by about 670 people (or <1%), while the state and nation grew by 4.8% and 5.5% respectively. Of the fourteen counties of Massachusetts, Franklin County along with Berkshire County and Barnstable County (which is Cape Cod) declined in population.
| Geography | 2010 Census Population | Population Estimate 2017 | 2010-2017 Difference | 2010-2017 Change |
| Berkshire County | 131,219 | 126,313 | -4,906 | -3.7% |
| Barnstable County | 215,888 | 213,444 | -2,444 | -1.1% |
| Franklin County | 71,372 | 70,702 | -670 | -0.9% |
| Hampden County | 463,490 | 469,818 | 6,328 | 1.4% |
| Hampshire County | 158,080 | 161,834 | 3,754 | 2.4% |
| Bristol County | 548,285 | 561,483 | 13,198 | 2.4% |
| Worcester County | 798,552 | 826,116 | 27,564 | 3.5% |
| Plymouth County | 494,919 | 515,142 | 20,223 | 4.1% |
| Norfolk County | 670,850 | 700,322 | 29,472 | 4.4% |
| Dukes County | 16,535 | 17,325 | 790 | 4.8% |
| Essex County | 743,159 | 785,205 | 42,046 | 5.7% |
| Middlesex County | 1,503,085 | 1,602,947 | 99,862 | 6.6% |
| Nantucket County | 10,172 | 11,229 | 1,057 | 10.4% |
| Suffolk County | 722,023 | 797,939 | 75,916 | 10.5% |
| Massachusetts | 6,547,629 | 6,859,819 | 312,190 | 4.8% |
| United States | 308,745,538 | 325,719,178 | 16,973,640 | 5.5% |
New Heating Oil Requirements improve air quality, sulfur emissions
FRCOG’s Fuel Bids for FY19 now dictate Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel instead of #2 Heating Oil. This phased-in law goes into full effect as of July 1, 2018. In our state alone, distillate oil contributed nearly 30,000 tons of SO2 emissions in 2008; the new regulation will reduce this amount to less than 1,000 tons in 2018 – reducing the allowable amount of sulfur from 500 parts per million in 2014 to only 15 ppm as of July 1 of this year. Costs are estimated to be slightly higher – perhaps 2-3 cents per gallon. The cleaner burning fuel will reduce service/cleaning costs in equipment which should mitigate the overall cost increase. The reduction of these fine sulfur particles will impact our respiratory and cardiovascular health, especially for the elderly and children, and significantly improve visibility (haze). FRCOG Fuel Bids will open on May 14 and there are 23 participants for FY19. More info on FRCOG Collective bids is at https://frcog.org/bids
Watershed-Based Resiliency Plan for the Deerfield River Completed
The Deerfield River, a major tributary of the Connecticut River, is widely regarded as one of the coldest and cleanest rivers in Massachusetts. The watershed supports a wide variety of ecological, recreational, and commercial uses. There are many active stakeholders who have a vested interest in maintaining the high quality and climate change resiliency of the watershed resources, including wetlands, floodplains, riparian corridors, forests and other vegetated open spaces that help to mitigate the impacts from severe storm events and flooding. FRCOG’s comprehensive watershed-based plan identifies mitigation, restoration, preservation and avoidance projects/strategies that address multiple threats to watershed health and resiliency. The recommendations apply to various scales – the Deerfield River Watershed, its ten HUC 12 subwatersheds and the 14 watershed towns in Franklin County. The plan is available here.
Franklin County Municipal Directory
The FRCOG is pleased to make available the all-new digital municipal directory, with contact information for every board and department in every town. Our thanks to town hall staff for providing the information.
Click here to access the directory.
2018 Wage and Salary Survey available
Click here to see the annual compilation of pay rates and benefits for all town positions in all Franklin County towns.
