Along with being available to assist you with questions about local government and regional issues, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments also provides multiple resources, such as county road maps, surveys, directories, FRCOG assessment notices, and myriad training opportunities for municipal officials. Here are some highlights of our municipal resources:
Wage and Salary Survey : The FRCOG publishes the results of its Wage and Salary survey each winter, providing detailed information on municipal compensation and benefits packages for Franklin County local officials. Click this link for the most recent survey results: FRCOG FY22 Municipal Wage and Salary Survey
Municipal Directory: The Franklin Regional Council of Governments publishes a Municipal Directory which lists contact information for municipal officials, departments, and services for each of the county’s 26 municipalities. FRCOG 2018-2019 Municipal Directory (update coming later in 2022).
If you find any inaccuracies or wish to update the information from your municipality for either the Wage and Salary Survey or the Municipal Directory, please contact Rebekah Boyd at admin@frcog.org or 413-774-3167, ext. 100.
Assessments to Towns
Each year, following the passage of the budget in late January, the FRCOG Finance Department releases the municipal assessments for annual membership and for the fee-for-service programs for the next fiscal year. The Franklin County Emergency Communication System (FCECS) Assessments are also released at this time. Links to both spreadsheets can be found below.
Approved FRCOG FY23 Municipal Membership and Fee-For-Services Assessment Notice
Approved FY23 Franklin County Emergency Communication System Assessment Notice
District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA)
Thanks to the Baker/Polito Administration and the Legislature, the FRCOG is pleased to once again be able to offer member towns technical assistance on a wide variety of priority issues. Among the priorities that can be addressed using these DLTA funds are the Massachusetts Community Compact Best Practice Areas.
Vacant and Abandoned Buildings: Options for Town Officials Vacant and abandoned buildings can be a financial drain on towns, can pose health and safety issues for residents and first
responders, and can decrease the value of nearby properties. FRCOG Planning staff, partnering with our Cooperative Public Health Service, developed a Toolkit to help towns address vacant and abandoned buildings, focused on housing. The toolkit includes: 1) How to form a task force and who should serve on it, 2) How to inventory vacant and abandoned properties and set priorities for resolving issues and 3) how to follow various paths a town can pursue to clean up these properties. Click here to download a copy of the Toolkit. Learn about the Attorney General’s Abandoned Housing Initiative here. More information: Phoebe Walker at walkerATfrcog.org or (413) 774-3167 x 102.
Local Official Capacity Building Workshop Series
The Workshop Series is a monthly series that provides new and veteran town officials with continuing education on statutory requirements, best practices, and emerging issues of town governance. All town officials are always welcome. The workshops are free but we request that you register ahead of time. A flyer will be available before each workshop on the Meetings and Events calendar on this website.
Most workshops will continue to be held virtually, as virtual meetings have enabled participation from a wider range of Franklin County towns than when we held workshops in person.
2022 Local Official Capacity Building Workshops: Topics & Handouts
- Ask The Inspector: Recreational Camps: https://frcog.org/event/ask-the-health-inspector-recreational-camp-qa/
- Pre-Rental Housing Inspections: A Tool For Improving Health: https://frcog.org/event/pre-rental-housing-inspection-regulations-workshop/
- MA Attorney General’s Neighborhood Renewal Program for Abandoned Housing: https://frcog.org/event/neighborhood-renewal-workshop/
- State Funding Information Sessions for Western MA Municipalities – Tuesdays from 3-5pm – April 12, April 26, May 10, May 24, final date TBD.
- Click here to register for these information sessions.
- Click here for the full list of session topics, as well as session recordings and other handouts.
- Selectboard 101. August 4, 2022.
2021 Local Official Capacity Building Workshops: Topics & Handouts
- Diversifying Rural Housing Opportunities: a presentation & discussion about undoing racial and economic inequities in Franklin County’s housing market – January 14, 2021. Co-presentation with the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA).
- Funding Municipal Water & Sewer Infrastructure in Small Towns – February 24, 2021. Co-sponsored with BRPC, PVPC, Sens. Comerford & Hinds, and Rep. Blais.
- Click here for the event page, which contains all of the workshop slides.
- SAPHE Grant Information Session – March 18, 2021.
- Click here for the event page, which contains all of the workshop materials.
- Covid Vaccine Information Session (Co-sponsor with LifePath), March 30, 2021.
- Webinar: Massachusetts’ New State Model Floodplain Bylaw. April 14, 2021.
- Click here for the event page, which contains all workshop materials.
- Vaccine Community Conversation for Black, Indigenous and Person of Color Communities, April 29, 2021.
- Attorney General Office Neighborhood Renewal Division – Receiver Training, May 13, 2021.
- Short Term Rentals: Zoning, Building Codes, and State Sanitary Codes, June 3, 2021.
- Selectboard 101 – August 19, 2021.
- Cybersecurity Workshop Series (8 sessions) – Fall 2021.
- ARPA: Overview, Procurement, and Compliance, November 18, 2021
2020 Local Official Capacity Building Workshops: Topics & Handouts
- Safety Planning for Town Offices, Libraries, & Other Municipal Workplaces — notes & handouts from 1/9/2020 workshop
- Franklin County COVID Testing Capacity Fall Forecast – August 13, 2020
- Selectboard 101 – August 20, 2020.
- Municipal Reimbursement for COVID Expenses: An Information Session for Small Towns – September 10, 2020
- FinCOM 101 – November 5, 2020
- OSHA Compliance at Transfer Stations – November 12, 2020. Click on event title for full list of workshop handouts available.
- Roles & Responsibilities of Boards (Co-sponsor with Citizen Planner Training Collaborative and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission) – December 2, 2020
Materials from Local Official Capacity Building Workshops prior to 2020
- Budget and Tax Recap – DOR DLS –– from 10/7/19 workshop
- Age-Friendly Community Planning — materials and resources from 12/5/2019 workshop
- Town Moderator Resources – from the 2/20/20 Moderator Roundtable
- Short Term Rental Resources for Towns — from 3/7/19 workshop
- Slides from the State of the County’s Emergency Preparedness Training on 12/6/18
- Materials from the November 2018 Municipal Finance training:
- Short Term Rentals and Your Town
- Elected Officials Preparedness Series
- Mass Atty General Office Adult Use Cannabis Muni Info Session Notes
- Abandoned Property Toolkit (see above)
- Cannabis Control Commission presentation on final regulations
- marijuana-and-the-developing-brain-july-5-2016
- Commercial Wood Heat and Air Quality Peltier
- MassDEP-wood-heat-air quality
- kp-565115-v4-public_records_law_training_sessions
- the-new-public-records-law-top-ten-practical-and-policy-issues
- Local Officials Climate Change Workshop Presentation materials
- Public Records Law workshop 6/29/17: KP Law Presentation Slides
- Sample-Guidelines-for-Public-Records-Requests
- Copy of 950 cmr32[1]
- USDA Rural Devpt. Presentation
- USDA Program Matrix Handout Rev. 04 2015 (3)
- DESE Regional School District Minimum Contribution Formula Presentation 2015.12.10
- Town Financial Management Review 2015.9.16
- Selectboard 101
- Click here to review presentations from the Selectboard Essentials Series of 2014-2015
- Click here to review presentations from the Selectboard Essentials Series of 2013-2014
- Click here to see the materials from our 2014/15 Municipal Financial Management Workshop Series
- Click here for materials from our 204/15 Conservation Commission Workshops
Please contact admin@frcog.org for hard copies of the materials from a particular session.
Relevant Links for Local Officials
Franklin County Town Meeting dates
Funding/Procurement
- Web Portal for Municipal Grants</li
- COMMBUYS (State Procurement)
Other Municipal Agencies
Massachusetts Municipal Association
Franklin County Regional Agencies
- Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
- Franklin County Solid Waste Management District
- Franklin County Regional Housing Authority
- Franklin County CDC
State Agencies
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Office of Public Safety and Security
- Department of Housing and Economic Development
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Revenue
- Division of Local Services
- MassGIS
- Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
- State Data Center
Regional Planning Agencies
- Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
- Cape Cod Commission
- Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
- Martha’s Vineyard Commission
- Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
- Metropolitan Area Planning Council
- Montachusett Regional Planning Commission
- Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission
- Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
- Old Colony Planning Council
- Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
- Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District
