HAPPENINGS

Help Us To Serve You Better!

Please Update Municipal Roster by May 31st and Wage Survey by June 30th!

Having accurate and up-to-date contact information allows us to reach our members with important information in a timely manner. We ask you to update your contact information online after each election.

STEP ONE: Update Your Organization (by May 31st)

Please log onto www.nhmunicipal.org and go to Manage Organization in the Members Account Administration (green) box. This is the section where you confirm office hours, mailing address, email information, website address, etc. pertaining to your local municipal operations. If you don’t know who in your city or town has access to do this, please send an email to nhmainfo@nhmunicipal.org requesting who your Account Administrator is for your city or town.

Under Manage Organization, you will see a screen requesting certain information regarding employee benefits. Please indicate whether your city or town has any collective bargaining agreements, whether it offers health insurance to employees, and what the percentage is of employee contribution toward health care coverage.

After each election, we ask that you update us about your elections, office hours, and meeting schedules, etc. If you are unsure how to do this, please watch this short tutorial on how to update this information: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=nmGhJl353_Y (Duration: 5:14)

STEP TWO: Update Your Officials (by May 31st)

Under Manage Officials, we ask that you add, remove, and update the names and contact information of your local municipal roster resulting from the most recent election. For each municipal employee/position on your municipal roster, you will see a new screen asking if this position is paid hourly, by salary, or by stipend. That’s it! It’s that easy!

If you are unsure how to do this, please watch this short tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xa0TGeCUhw

(Duration: 3:09)

Thank you in advance for your time and efforts by updating your municipal roster and by completing this basic wage information. It is only due to your participation that we are able to provide this valuable business management tool to our membership.

STEP THREE: Update Your Wage Data (by June 30th)

NHMA coordinates this Wage Survey for the benefit of our member municipalities, but it is our members who must take the time to input their local wage data so that other members may benefit from this shared information.

Under Manage Wage Data, we ask that you provide hourly or annualized wage data for the 153 elected and appointed positions we have identified in municipal government operations. We ask that you best fit your data into the 153 positions or roles provided even though certain positions may not be a perfect fit.

If you are unsure how to do this, please watch this short tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-SQxXkumkQ

(Duration: 5:15)

Important Updates To NH Homeowner Assistance Fund

Have You Heard About GOFERR’s Municipal Boat Launch Investment Program?

The New Hampshire Homeowner Assistance Fund has recently updated its Plan and Policy that went into effect at the end of February 2023.

• Program and Assistance Type Caps: Total assistance available per household has been increased to $40,000 and can be utilized for one or a combination of any of the following:

• Total assistance available for Mortgage Reinstatement increased to $40,000

• Total assistance available for Property Charges increased to $40,000

• Total assistance available for Utilities increased to $5,000

• The six-month waiting period for reapplication has been eliminated.

• Proof of loss mitigation is still required for those requesting mortgage reinstatement assistance; however, if an applicant can show that they have completed loss mitigation any time after January 2020, they will not be required to complete it a second time.

It is still the policy of NH HAF to only cover past due expenses. Expenses are considered past due as early as the day after they are due.

Property taxes fall under the Property Charges assistance type which now has a cap of $40,000. NH HAF will cover all delinquent taxes, including deferred taxes, up to the assistance cap.

For more information: https://homehelpnh.org/

The Municipal Boat Launch Investment Program (MBLI) provides awards to cities and towns seeking to upgrade municipally-owned boat launches located at New Hampshire lakes, ponds, and rivers that provide general public access (access to both residents and non-residents of a municipality). Village districts, as well as school, water, sewer and fire districts, or similar cooperative municipal districts are not eligible. However, a locality or group of localities that such a district serves could apply for expenses that will benefit and be used by the district.

The application period is open from December 1, 2022, to June 1, 2023. Projects must be completed by July 31, 2024, with all invoices for which reimbursement is sought submitted to GOFERR by August 31, 2024. Awarded projects will receive funds on a reimbursement basis.

To apply for this program, please visit the program page on GOFERR’s website. On that page, scroll down to and click on the “Apply Now” button for the program.

Applications will be reviewed, and funds will be awarded, on a rolling basis for eligible applicants with supporting documentation for eligible expenses, with monthly funding rounds until the funds are depleted. If, in the final round of funding, there is insufficient funds to cover all eligible applications received, eligible applications will be awarded on a pro rata share of what remains in the program fund. In that circumstance, projects may not receive a full award of 75% of eligible costs, up to $100,000.

It is highly recommended that municipalities do not wait to file an application. The program application period will close once the funds are depleted, or June 1, 2023, at 4:00 PM, whichever comes first.

The maximum award for any individual project is $100,000. However, the program requires the municipality to contribute 25% of the total eligible invoiced costs submitted for reimbursement. As a result, the program will award up to 75% of such costs through ARPA SFRF (up to $100,000).