Council approves budget adjustments, hires GIS coordinator and grants tax-abatement compliance waivers

Franklin — On March 16 the Franklin City Council approved several budgetary items, authorized the funding for a new GIS specialist, and accepted the city economic-development compliance reports. The council also granted two waivers related to missed Form 322 filings after staff detailed prompt corrections.

Clerk-Treasurer Jan Jones presented Budgetary Ordinance 26-05 to fund a GIS coordinator position; staff said the position's cost will be split among planning & engineering (about 45.7%), sewer utility (23.6%) and MS4 budget (30.7%). Because a full board was present and the ordinance was unchanged from a prior approval except for the added position, the council voted to hear and act on first reading and then approved the ordinance so the GIS specialist can start next week.

Community Development Specialist Dana Monson presented the EDC's yearly tax-abatement compliance reports and read a list of company filings recommended for approval. The council approved the compliance reports by voice vote.

Dana Monson also explained two separate waiver requests for missing Form 322 filings: NSK missed a filing because of erroneous tax advice but submitted the required documentation immediately after county staff notified the city; the council granted a waiver of non-compliance and noted NSK has an otherwise clean compliance record. The council granted a similar waiver for WK Investments (owner of a building leased by Rapid Prototyping), where a timing issue around a sale and partial county assessments led to a missed filing that was corrected promptly.

What happens next: The new GIS coordinator is expected to start next week; staff will continue to monitor abatement compliance and the Planning and Finance departments will implement the budget and position changes.