Frontline 01 · City Hall

City of Franklin.

How the city raises and spends money, and the civic decisions shaping the next ten years. Budgets, ordinances, and meetings translated out of jargon and into plain English.

5 live walkthroughs Updated September 11, 2026

Featured · September 11, 2026

Deemed approved: the clock the state just put on Franklin's planning department.

From January 1, Franklin has 60 business days to act on a development application, two chances to ask for changes, and a refund bill if it then says no. Miss the deadline and the project approves itself. What the law says, how fast the city actually moves, and the calendar problem between here and the new year.

Jan 1

When the clock starts

Business days to act

292

Days Harlin took

Open the walkthrough

Coverage

What we've published.

4 walkthroughs · 2026

Rendering of the new Franklin City Hall, a three-story brick and limestone building facing the Public Square

City Hall · Construction watch

September 11, 2026

Inside the new City Hall, and the block being rebuilt around it.

Franklin is spending north of $100 million to rebuild an entire block behind the Public Square. The steel topped out in June. What goes inside, what each piece costs, and when it opens.

$104–112M estimate7 componentsFall 2027 opening

Aerial rendering of the approved Harlin village green, with a chapel and brownstones around an open green

Development · Walkthrough

June 3, 2026

Harlin, decoded: what Franklin approved on the old dairy farm.

Franklin annexed 311 acres and cleared a village of roughly 250 homes, 5 to 3. What got approved, what neighbors won on traffic, and why the road fix they want most is still a 2032 project.

5–3 BOMA vote311 acres annexed~249 homes planned

Aerial view of the Public Square roundabout in downtown Franklin

Budget · Walkthrough

May 22, 2026

FY 2027 Budget Proposal, the visual walkthrough.

An interactive, side-by-side comparison of the proposed FY 2027 budget against FY 2026. Where the money comes from, where it goes, and what changed line by line.

$293M proposed+6.4% vs FY 202612 departments

Aerial view of Franklin homes at golden hour

Housing · Report

February 9, 2026

The 2026 housing market is undergoing a healthy correction.

A plain-English walkthrough of the national picture, the Middle Tennessee story, and what Franklin's $850K median actually means for buyers and sellers right now.

6.3% mortgage rate+8.9% inventory YoY$850K Franklin median

On the watchlist

What we're watching next.

4 in the works

01 / Land use

The next round of rezoning decisions.

Parcel-by-parcel zoning maps and what each change means for traffic, schools, and density along the McEwen and Carothers corridors.

In reporting

02 / Schools

Williamson County school capacity through 2030.

Enrollment projections, building plans, and the funding gap, visualized.

In reporting

03 / Property tax

Where each $1 of property tax actually goes.

A sankey-style breakdown from collection to spending. Sourced from FY 2027 line items.

Drafting

04 / BOMA

Board of Mayor and Aldermen minutes, decoded.

A rolling, plain-English summary of decisions: what passed, what stalled, and who voted how.

Drafting

Tell us what to watch

A meeting, a decision, a line in the budget worth pulling apart?

City Hall moves on a calendar most residents never see. If something on the agenda matters to you, or a decision already passed that didn't get explained, tell us. We'll dig in.

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