Franklin City Council approves sewer bond authorization and Community Crossings spending; introduces opioid, staffing and drug-fund ordinances

The Franklin City Council on April 7 voted to authorize issuance of Sewer Works revenue bonds and to approve spending the state's portion of a Community Crossings Grant, and it introduced three additional budgetary measures, including use of unrestricted opioid funds to pay for updated law-enforcement policy manuals.

City Attorney Lynn Gray told the council the sewer ordinance “allows us to go forward and seek the bonds necessary to do the improvements that the sewer money will then pay for,” and she emphasized the change does not alter current sewer rates.

The council also approved a budgetary ordinance to spend the state's portion of the Community Crossings Grant 2024 part 2. Clerk Treasurer Jan Jones said the state award was $609,482.95 and that the city will match that amount, creating a project total of $1,218,965.95.

Why it matters: the bond authorization clears the way for Franklin to issue debt to finance sewer-plant improvements; council records show the ordinance incorporates two prior ordinances that set sewer rates and adjusted the unmetered-user rate. Spending the Community Crossings grant directs roughly $1.22 million to road-related projects under the state program and uses matching city funds already planned in the budget.

What the council approved - Ordinance 25-03, authorizing issuance of Sewer Works revenue bonds: introduced earlier and approved after a public hearing. Gray said the current sewer rates will not change because previous ordinances already provided for repayment. - Budgetary ordinance 25-03, authorizing expenditure of the state's $609,482.95 Community Crossings Grant (2024 part 2) and the city's matching funds, totaling $1,218,965.95: approved after a public hearing.

Also introduced (no final vote this meeting) - Budgetary ordinance 25-04: appropriating $28,074.24 in unrestricted opioid funds to pay for Lexipol contracts to update the police and fire policy manuals and related training. Jan Jones and Gray described the Lexipol contract as a multi-part service that will allow the city to repeal outdated standard operating procedures, adopt Lexipol's model SOPs/SOGs, and receive annual updates and training. Gray said the Lexipol contract allows "update[s] in real time" and ongoing annual review. - Budgetary ordinance 25-05: amending Salary Ordinance 24-22 to reclassify the senior planner position as planning director (exempt) and to change an assistant city engineer title to project manager; the ordinance also corrects the Planning Commission member count from 16 to 14. Clerk Treasurer Jan Jones said the changes do not increase the bottom-line payroll total. - Budgetary ordinance 25-06: accepting $2,872.56 from Drug Free Johnson County; Police Chief Kirby Cochran said most of the grant money is restricted and will be used again for surveillance equipment for the narcotics unit.

Clarifying details and staff comments - Gray said the sewer ordinance circulated to council differs from the previously distributed draft only by adding the two ordinances the council approved last year (the ordinance text references that change on page 27). - Jan Jones said the city has both restricted and unrestricted opioid settlement funds; the introduced appropriation uses unrestricted opioid funds that the city has not previously spent. She and Gray said Lexipol provides annual updates and training as part of the contract. - On estimated Lexipol costs, Gray said one department’s initial figure was roughly $19,000 and the other about $12,000; she said she would provide exact numbers later. - For the Community Crossings Grant, Jones gave the state award amount ($609,482.95) and the city match, resulting in a $1,218,965.95 project total.

Votes at a glance - Approval of consent agenda (minutes of March 17): approved by voice vote. - Ordinance 25-03 (Sewer Works revenue bonds): approved by voice vote after public hearing. - Budgetary ordinance 25-03 (Community Crossings Grant spending; $609,482.95 state + city match = $1,218,965.95): approved by voice vote after public hearing.

What remains to happen - The introduced ordinances (25-04, 25-05, 25-06) were only introduced and will return for final consideration at a later meeting. Gray or Jones said staff will provide exact Lexipol cost breakdowns and any required annual fees in follow-up materials.

Council members used part of the meeting for brief comments thanking first responders and staff after recent local flooding; those remarks did not lead to new formal actions recorded in the meeting minutes.