41 minute read
Win with Water
Drinking Water Systems, Communities and New Hampshire Lead the Nation to Overcome Unprecedented Challenges and Create Opportunities
Brandon Kernen, Administrator, Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
Over the past five years, public water systems and owners of private wells in New Hampshire have faced unprecedented challenges. Poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have contaminated hundreds of wells for public water systems and thousands of private wells throughout the entire state, especially in the southern population centers. Droughts of varying degrees of magnitude have been declared in five out of the last seven years. The health threats posed by arsenic, manganese and lead moved policy makers to implement new standards and approaches to deal with these contaminants. These challenges coupled with COVID, inflation, supply chain issues and a shrinking labor market have brought extraordinary stress on communities, residents and water systems throughout the state. New Hampshire is responding to these challenges. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), water systems, and partner associations such as the New Hampshire Municipal Association, New Hampshire Water Works Association, Granite State Rural Water and local and statewide community groups are informing residents and policy makers at all levels. Elected officials at the local, state and federal level are engaged in these issues and have responded by providing policies and financial resources needed to initially respond to the exposure to PFAS and other contaminants in drinking water. Financial assistance programs consisting of grants and low-interest loans are available to public water systems. More information regarding grant and loan programs such as the State Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund, PFAS Remediation Loan and Grant Fund, Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund Grants and Loans, and PFAS treatment design grants and water system consolidation studies to address water quality issues can be found at https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/2020-01/ pws-funding-resources.pdf. Many of these funding programs are also being used to access funds to reduce the concentration of arsenic and manganese in drinking water. PFAS have impacted private wells statewide. The NHDES sampling map can be viewed at (https://nhdes.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.ht ml?appid=66770bef141c43a98a445c54a17720e2&extent=-73.5743,42.5413,-69.6852,45.4489) In addition to the financial assistance programs available for public water systems, New Hampshire has established a private well PFAS rebate program for owners of private wells that produce water with a PFAS concentration that exceeds a state standard (https://www4.des.state.nh.us/nh-pfas-investigation/?page_id=1419). This program offers a rebate of up to $5,000 to install treatment and $10,000 to connect to a water system. In response to the frequent re-occurrence of droughts in New Hampshire and the associated impacts on private well owners, New Hampshire created a new initiative to provide short-term relief and financial assistance for low-income homeowners served by residential wells that are experiencing insufficient water or no water due to drought conditions. This new private well assistance program is called the Water Assistance for Natural Disaster (WAND) Impacts to Low-Income Residential Well Owners (https://www4.des.state.nh.us/nh-dwg-trust/?page_id=1572). Lastly, recent changes in state law require that schools and daycares test and mitigate any fixture that can be accessed for drinking water if the concentration of lead exceeds 5 parts-per-billion (ppb) which is lower than the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) action level of 15 ppb. NHDES is utilizing grants from USEPA to pay for the testing costs and grants from the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund to partially pay for the mitigation of fixtures in schools (https://www.des.nh.gov/water/drinking-water/lead/schoolsand-child-care-programs). USEPA is also requiring that by October 2024 approximately 1200 water systems in New Hampshire complete a full inventory of water service lines for each of its customers and identify which service lines may contain lead and thus require additional assessments or complete replacement. NHDES is assisting with this work by offering the services of contractors paid for by the state for water systems serving less than 1500 people and offering grants to water systems that serve water to more than 1500 people. Through collaboration, the state is taking the steps it needs to ensure there is a safe and reliable supply of drinking water for New Hampshire now and into the future. If your community has questions or would like to discuss drinking water supply related issues, feel free to contact Brandon Kernen at 603 271 1168 or mailto:Brandon.Kernen@des.nh.gov.
How Much Housing Do We Need? New Hampshire’s Regional Housing Needs Assessments
Contributing authors from New Hampshire’s nine Regional Planning Commissions: Sylvia von Aulock, SNHPC; Jennifer Czysz, SRPC; Rachel Dewey, SRPC; Dave Jeffers, LRPC; J.B. Mack, SWRPC; Jay Minkarah, NRPC; Emma Rearick, NRPC; Zack Swick, SNHPC; Mike Tardiff, CNHRPC; Sarah Tatarczuk, RPC; Kaela Tavares, NCC; Olivia Uyizeye, UVLSRPC; James Vayo, SNHPC
Housing is a hot issue. In New Hampshire and throughout the country, scarce available housing is putting a strain on working families and preventing businesses from recruiting and retaining workers. Impacts from the housing crisis are rippling through communities. Studying housing issues is a core-function of NH’s Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) and through 2022, each RPC has been hard at work preparing a Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) aimed at addressing this issue. These updates are a function of RPCs per NH State Statute, RSA 36:47.
This project, funded by the American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Grant and coordinated by NH Office of Planning and Development (OPD), provides an indepth look at housing needs within each region and across income levels. The RHNAs are built upon a common framework, extensive public outreach, data analysis and research. They will provide a foundation for change by including tools, recommendations, and strategies for local decision makers to address these issues in their communities.
Project Surveys and Kick-Off
In advance of the public launch of the RHNA process, the RPCs collaboratively created standard surveys to collect input from a wide range of stakeholder groups (residents, businesses, and social service providers) essential to understanding the on-the-ground conditions of our regional housing markets. These surveys were launched though a joint press release and housed on a central website developed by the NHARPC where a member of the public could access individual surveys for each region.
In the North County Region alone, over 420 people gave input on their housing needs, and those of their community, through our resident survey. The surveys are shining a light on some of the regions’ biggest challenges. In the Southwest Region, for example, among the 57 employers that responded to the business survey, approximately 80% of employers said that the housing supply shortage has impacted their ability to keep and attract workers and 63% of the employers reported a financial loss in the last 5 years due to staffing shortages.
Key survey and outreach questions were developed for various stakeholder groups including residents of the regions; employers and businesses; social service providers; housing professionals such as builders, contractors, and developers; landlord and property managers; and municipal leadership. Those key questions, intended to focus in on the expert knowledge and input of each group, have been used to inform focus group events and key informant interviews conducted by each RPC. Additionally, the RPCs have coordinated with other housing outreach and data collection occurring across NH such as the efforts of the Governor’s Council on Housing Stability.
Outreach and Engagement
Early in the RHNA development, the RPCs identified a common need for various components of outreach and engagement resources which included guidance for an inclusive process, common language for promotional materials, stakeholder contact lists, and best practices for outreach methods. The RPCs worked together to provide statewide resources that could be leveraged by each in RPC throughout their community outreach and engagement efforts. This included an Outreach Matrix, which identified key audience groups and stakeholders and the most efficient and effective outreach approach for each group. The group worked alongside the drafting of the stakeholder surveys to provide best practices for distribution, contact databases for stakeholders such
as regional employers, and troubleshooting survey platform hosting across the nine regions.
The RHNA project’s central website has been instrumental in allowing statewide promotion while maintaining region-specific platforms and engagement opportunities. Ultimately, each RPC has unique and diverse community outreach and engagement strategies and tools but hosting common resources and leveraging statewide tools have been beneficial to the overall process and level of engagement. RPCs have hosted focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and roundtable events with employers, developers, municipal staff and volunteers, and other key stakeholders such as state agencies, housing advocates and realtors.
In the Rockingham Planning Commission region, staff recently hosted a series of municipal focus groups to discuss housing trends, challenges, and opportunities with our municipal staff and volunteers. Each focus group included representatives from various communities facing unique challenges which allowed for new and innovative ideas to be shared across municipal boundaries. The Rockingham Planning Commission has also been working to follow up with employers and community members to participate in spotlight interviews which will be featured in the RHNA.
Existing Conditions and Trends
To understand future housing needs, the RPCs must first understand existing conditions and trends are that impact each region. The RPCs identified demographic, socio-economic, and housing supply metrics that illustrate current trends. These metrics look at the people – who lives in each region, what they can afford for housing, and whether they rent or own their homes; as well as the housing choices available to them – how many housing units exist, how much do they cost, and are there affordable housing options for people who qualify for various housing assistance programs. For example, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s 2021 NH Residential Rental Cost Survey Report showed that only 14 percent of 2-bedroom units in Strafford County were below what was considered affordable market rent. Meanwhile, homes in the Strafford Region were selling at an exceptionally fast pace – in 2021, single family homes spent an average of 23 days on the market, down from 49 days in 2019.
The nine RPCs are working closely with OPD, NH Housing, and Root Policy Research to reduce duplicative efforts, expand each partner’s data analysis capability, and ensure comparable data is available from region-toregion. Staff from each of the RPCs
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have analyzed statewide data from various sources including the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development; NH Housing Finance Authority, Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, Department of Education, Secretary of State Vital Statistics, Department of Revenue Administration, Coalition to End Homelessness, Association of Realtors; Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Zillow.
Current Housing Needs
Does available housing meet the needs of the current populations around the state and regions? Identifying current need builds upon the work described in the two previous sections –input gained from the outreach processes and broad, yet detailed, statistical data. For example, seventy-five percent (75%) of the responses received on the Employer Survey in the Lakes Region (86/115) indicated that a housing supply shortage was impacting their ability to attract or retain employees.
In addition to the availability of and waiting lists for income-restricted housing, the RHNA’s each assess the affordability of market-rate housing as a share of people’s income. Further, each region has characterized the quality of housing stock, overcrowding, and the specific needs of communities of interest, as well as potential impacts on affordability.
As the Regional Planning Commissions set out to understand housing needs, they account for populations vulnerable to housing shocks. Population groups such as minorities, religious groups, people of specific familial status are protected by the Federal Fair Housing Act. Additional groups such as young and elderly persons are protected by the State of New Hampshire. The Commissions gathered location data and population trends on these groups to better understand the housing vulnerabilities they face.
The map included here demonstrates where minority populations live within the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission’s (SNHPC) region. Using a standard deviation calculation, commissions can determine census tracts where populations are living in high concentrations. When several populations are measured together, an index can be created to identify “Communities of Concern.” RPCs are doing so for low income, minority, limitedEnglish proficient, senior, disabled, and no car access populations within their region. SNHPCs results identified many groups overlap and that the populations were largely concentrated in Manchester’s City Center.
This analysis helps the RPCs to explore housing needs specific to areas under distress from the combination of housing vulnerabilities and to identify solutions and housing strategies municipalities can use to address disparate housing conditions.
Future Housing Needs
The RHNA will also be informed by trends and shocks with potential to influence future housing needs. Some conditions are supported by long standing demographic and lifestyle trends, such as aging demographics driving future housing needs for smaller and more accessible homes. The RPCs are in close coordination with consultant Root Policy Research, who is modeling the state’s projected population and housing needs to be included in the RHNAs.
The largely unexpected, COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the dynamics of the state’s housing with increases in cost, more out-of-state buyers, a building trades workforce shortage, and supply chain challenges for essential building materials. The effects were felt in housing markets across all regions. For example, in Strafford County, the annual median price for single family homes went from $305,000 in 2020 to $360,000 in 2021 – an 18% increase. Communities and regions across the state need to be better prepared for the next new trend or shock than when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Together, the RPCs are identifying a short list of additional future conditions to consider in the RHNAs. These include the state of the short-term rental market, student fluctuation in college towns, construction costs, economic disruptions affecting supply and demand, federal monetary policy, federal legislation, and climate change impacts and related climate migration. Although each trend or shock will vary in its impact across the regions of the state, the RHNAs share a foundation of resources.
Fair Share Allocation of Workforce Housing Needs
New Hampshire Statute (RSA 674:59) requires that municipal zoning ordinances and land use regulations “provide reasonable and realistic opportunities for the development of workforce housing.” RSA 674:59, III, further states that a municipality is in compliance if its “existing housing stock is sufficient to accommodate its fair share (emphasis added) of the current and foreseeable regional need for (workforce housing) ...” It is essential, therefore, to develop a reasonable and defensible methodology to estimate the region’s overall workforce housing need and each community’s fair share to allow municipalities to evaluate their compliance with the workforce housing law. Further, this information aids development of local master plans and ensures housing needs of all existing and future residents are considered when adopting or amending local land use ordinances and regulations.
Recognizing the importance of the unified effort to address New Hampshire’s pressing housing needs, the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) contracted with Root Policy Research, a nationally recognized firm with extensive expertise in housing related issues to assist the RPCs in developing a robust fair share housing methodology. Root Policy is working with a subcommittee comprised of representatives from the state’s RPCs and OPD to conduct a “peer review” of other states with similar workforce housing statutes to identify fair share housing allocation scenarios for consideration so that a methodology best suited to the distinct needs of New Hampshire can be developed. It is anticipated that this unprecedented effort will be completed in the early fall of 2022.
Housing Choice Opportunities and Barriers
For many of those that call New Hampshire home, housing costs are
often shocking and housing availability appears to be quite limited. Interestingly, many residents across the state have shared that there is not enough affordable housing yet are uncertain how to help their communities grow while maintaining their community charm. This section of the RHNA is intended to identify barriers and to provide opportunities to increasing affordable housing. Barriers may be due to limited infrastructure, restrictive attitudes, or out-of-date regulations. Opportunities to increase housing may come in the form of innovative zoning allowances, collaborative approach to processing development requests, or improving infrastructure. For example, some communities in the Nashua Region rely on private wells and septic systems, which limits how many housing units can be built and increases the cost of development, while others have access to municipal water and sewer service, which can support higher density housing.
New housing units benefit residents the most when they are located near essentials such as jobs, transportation, healthcare, and schools. “Opportunity areas” refers to places where residents have easy access to amenities correlated with health, educational achievement, and economic stability. To consistently identify these opportunity areas across the state, the RPCs collaborated to select specific, relevant indices that measure transportation, housing, and job availability. Understanding barriers and identifying opportunities, for housing and for people, is the key to this section.
Housing Solutions Toolbox
The current RHNA effort places emphasis on implementing change and
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providing resources to enable the housing New Hampshire communities’ need. There are many tools available for municipalities to support and encourage a variety of housing opportunities, but they can be difficult to implement or promote, especially in smaller communities without staff to support some of the more complex tools. The goal of the housing toolbox is to develop clear and concise descriptions of the tools that outline how a tool can be used, how to get started, things to keep in mind, and provide examples and success stories about how the tools have been used in other New Hampshire communities. Different tools may be included or emphasized in the individual RHNAs developed by each RPC, and all will be included in an interactive, online-based housing toolkit to be completed in early 2023.
Some examples of the tools to be included in the toolbox include Cluster Development (or Open Space) ordinances, Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinances, Planned Unit Developments, Tax Increment Finance (TIF) districts, Workforce Housing ordinances, and the development of Housing Commissions. Basically, the intent of the toolbox is to provide communities with a straightforward set of tools to assist in the implementation of the housing strategies that they may wish to implement in the future.
To Learn More
Interested in learning more or getting involved? Reach out to your Regional Planning Commission. www.nharpc. org/rhna/
The Value of Municipal Local Welfare
NH Local Welfare Administrators Association Adopts Guidance to Promote Financial Fairness and Foster Increased Emergency Housing Throughout the State
The New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association’s Executive Board unanimously approved an Ethics Resolution Guidance Agreement to improve fair and equitable financial liability best practices and foster increased municipal government support for emergency housing sheltering, including emergency overnight winter warming centers throughout the state.
The resolution’s intent is to increase communication, collaboration, and provide guidance to municipal local welfare departments when determining residency regarding permanent and emergency housing placements from a municipality of origin into another.
The resolution guides local welfare officials not to end or avoid acquiring local welfare financial responsibility by encouraging persons not to apply for assistance or to discontinue residency in the municipality in which they currently reside. Also, local welfare officials should not require, persuade or financially assist persons to establish permanent residency in another municipality, unless the persons indicate a need and intent to move to another municipality for non-local welfare related reasons. An assessment of financial sustainability for proposed rental assistance into a new municipality should be completed by the municipality of origin to determine eligibility. of origin (RSA 165:20-a), when it is determined unreasonable for the person to physically return to the municipality of origin due to transportation, timing of need for assistance or residency is unclear.
President of the New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association (NHLWAA) Todd Marsh, who also serves as the city of Rochester’s Municipal Welfare Director, explained local municipal welfare is one of the oldest legal obligations in the state of New Hampshire and intended to assist people considered poor and unable to maintain basic life living standards, including housing and utilities. Unlike forms of direct cash or food assistance provided by New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, which can be used with more discretion, municipal local welfare assistance is normally in the form of direct payments to vendors, including mortgage companies, landlords, and utility companies.
Marsh shared that although city or town residency is usually very clear due to property ownership, rental, and utility addresses; residency for people relocating into other municipalities for emergency services can be less clear and can cause municipal government hesitations to support emergency housing out of concern for added financial assistance liabilities.
Marsh believes the resolutions summer approval should assist municipalities with emergency housing decision making for the upcoming winter.
“Planning for winter emergency housing should occur when it is 85 degrees and not 45 degrees, similar to recent collaborative planning efforts in the Tri-Cities of Rochester, Somersworth, and Dover,” said Marsh. “Minimizing financial liability concerns for emergency housing host municipalities should assist with decision making.”
NHLWAA executive board member Charleen Michaud, who serves as the city of Manchester’s Welfare Director, agrees the resolution agreement should increase fairness for municipali-
Todd Marsh, President, New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association
Regarding emergency housing, the resolution reads, in part, “Persons receiving short-term emergency housing assistance (e.g., homeless shelter or motel) shall continue to maintain their legal residence in the municipality of origin, for local welfare purposes, as it existed at the time of entering the emergency housing.” The resolution further reads, “A person that leaves emergency housing of their own free will and remains in a situation of homelessness or is exited from emergency housing for noncompliance or policy violations, for local welfare purposes, remains a resident of the municipality of origin for thirty (30) days.” Additional language is included to ensure municipalities communicate and coordinate assistance options with each other, including reimbursements from municipalities
ties that host shelters and motels used for emergency housing.
“This agreement provides guidance to local welfare administrators as they navigate issues of municipal welfare liability,” said Michaud. “It should mitigate the concerns municipalities have regarding assuming financial liability for individuals and families from elsewhere who find themselves solely in a municipality for the services offered. It provides clarity and financial fairness to our cities and towns while ensuring the humanitarian purpose of RSA 165 is carried out and that is why I continue to support it.”
NHLWAA executive board member Natalie Darcy, who serves as the city of Keene’s Human Services Welfare Manager, describes Keene as a hub for support and emergency services in a rural area of the state. Darcy views the resolution as the approval of improved best practices that fosters fairness and consistency between municipalities.
“People experiencing homelessness often seek or are referred to Keene from around our region,” said Darcy. “As a community, Keene can take pride that we are supportive of humanitarian initiatives. This approved resolution supports humanitarian efforts, while acknowledging responsibility from municipalities of origin.”
Arlene Fogg, who serves as the town of Wakefield’s Welfare Director, believes smaller towns with limited services, including emergency housing, should follow the approved guidance.
“Smaller towns like Wakefield should do right by not encouraging our residents to relocate out of town or break residency ties simply to save the town money,” said Fogg. “When we refer Wakefield residents into emergency housing outside of Wakefield, we inform them they remain our residents while in emergency housing and for a time directly after, unless they transition into permanent housing.” Fogg added, “I welcome this more formal agreed approach.”
City of Somersworth Mayor Dana Hilliard, who was a primary initiator of the former Tri-Cities Mayor’s Taskforce on Homelessness, which resulted in an agreed collaborative master plan on homelessness for the cities of Somersworth, Rochester, and Dover, including resulting winter warming center efforts, believes New Hampshire needs these common ground approaches and appreciates the local welfare association’s efforts.
“This initiative is fair for taxpayers and insightful with its intentions to maintain and increase support for emergency housing,” said Hilliard. “It is an important piece to a larger puzzle of solutions.”
Marsh believes in the value of Municipal Local Welfare.
“Local welfare departments throughout the state continue to be accessible, aware, and accountable to people in need and to taxpayers that pay to meet that need,” said Marsh. “We collaborate with the vast network of unique and eclectic services throughout our state and are the inside voices of social services within our city and town halls. We often serve as a bridge of communication between advocacy organizations and municipal government.”
Marsh believes the ethics resolution agreement is a practical approach to solution finding.
“This is a common sense and common ground New Hampshire approach at a time when common sense and common ground approaches are becoming increasingly rare across our country,” said Marsh. “Those that benefit will be people in need and people paying for that need.” The New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association (NHLWAA) is a professional non-profit organization that educates and supports its municipal members to foster compliant, humanitarian, and fiscally responsible assistance practices when assisting residents with New Hampshire RSA 165 statutorily obligated basic needs. The Executive Board is the governing body of the NHLWAA and is made up of board members elected by the full membership.
The association’s website (https://nhlwaa. org/) includes, but is not limited to, helpful information regarding offered trainings, assistance resources, a section for newer municipal local welfare administrators to learn “The Art of Local Welfare” with introductory resources, and the recently approved ethics guidance agreement.
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Check out our Keynote Speakers! Check out our Keynote Speakers! Check out our Keynote Speakers! Check out our Keynote Speakers!
9:00 am, Wednesday, November 16, 2022 9:00 am, Wednesday, November 16, 2022 9:00 am, Wednesday, November 16, 20229:00 am, Wednesday, November 16, 2022 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Mathis, The Reinvention ProTM KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Mathis, The Reinvention ProTM KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Mathis, The Reinvention ProTM KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Mathis, The Reinvention ProTM
Jim Mathis is a bestselling author, corporate speaker and trainer, International Platform Certified Speaking Professional (IPCS), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and Certified Speaker & Trainer with the International John Maxwell Team (CJMT). He has been writing, speaking, and consulting for over 40 years with proven results. Jim has a passion to help business leaders who want to improve their skills and reinvent their organizations in changing and challenging economies while leading energetic, interactive, and entertaining presentations. Jim Mathis is a bestselling author, corporate speaker and trainer, International Platform Certified Speaking Professional (IPCS), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and Certified Speaker & Trainer with the International John Maxwell Team (CJMT). He has been writing, speaking, and consulting for over 40 years with proven results. Jim has a passion to help business leaders who want to improve their skills and reinvent their organizations in changing and challenging economies while leading energetic, interactive, and entertaining presentations. Jim Mathis is a bestselling author, corporate speaker and trainer, International Platform Certified Speaking Professional (IPCS), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and Certified Speaker & Trainer with the International John Maxwell Team (CJMT). He has been writing, speaking, and consulting for over 40 years with proven results. Jim has a passion to help business leaders who want to improve their skills and reinvent their organizations in changing and challenging economies while leading energetic, interactive, and entertaining presentations. Jim Mathis is a bestselling author, corporate speaker and trainer, International Platform Certified Speaking Professional (IPCS), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and Certified Speaker & Trainer with the International John Maxwell Team (CJMT). He has been writing, speaking, and consulting for over 40 years with proven results. Jim has a passion to help business leaders who want to improve their skills and reinvent their organizations in changing and challenging economies while leading energetic, interactive, and entertaining presentations.
9:00 am, Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:00 am, Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:00 am, Thursday, November 17, 20229:00 am, Thursday, November 17, 2022 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonathan Fanning KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonathan Fanning KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonathan Fanning KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonathan Fanning
Jonathan Fanning is an entrepreneur, parent, and leadership development expert. Jonathan was voted best speaker at a TEDx Conference and has inspired and challenged audiences with his message in 49 states and on 3 continents. After traumatic car accident provided a much-needed wake-up call, Jonathan knew he needed to make some serious changes. Since then, he’s shared his gift of combining story-telling, humor, emotion, and tough questions to help audiences discover practical game-changers for their work and lives. Jonathan Fanning is an entrepreneur, parent, and leadership development expert. Jonathan was voted best speaker at a TEDx Conference and has inspired and challenged audiences with his message in 49 states and on 3 continents. After traumatic car accident provided a much-needed wake-up call, Jonathan knew he needed to make some serious changes. Since then, he’s shared his gift of combining story-telling, humor, emotion, and tough questions to help audiences discover practical game-changers for their work and lives. Jonathan Fanning is an entrepreneur, parent, and leadership development expert. Jonathan was voted best speaker at a TEDx Conference and has inspired and challenged audiences with his message in 49 states and on 3 continents. After traumatic car accident provided a much-needed wake-up call, Jonathan knew he needed to make some serious changes. Since then, he’s shared his gift of combining story-telling, humor, emotion, and tough questions to help audiences discover practical game-changers for their work and lives. Jonathan Fanning is an entrepreneur, parent, and leadership development expert. Jonathan was voted best speaker at a TEDx Conference and has inspired and challenged audiences with his message in 49 states and on 3 continents. After traumatic car accident provided a much-needed wake-up call, Jonathan knew he needed to make some serious changes. Since then, he’s shared his gift of combining story-telling, humor, emotion, and tough questions to help audiences discover practical game-changers for their work and lives.
Who Should Attend? Who Should Attend? Who Should Attend?Who Should Attend?
Mayors; Select Boards; Council Members; Municipal Managers; Finance Officers; Public Works; Road
Agents; Planners: Assessors; Welfare Officials; Code Enforcement; Information Technology; Cemetery
Trustees, Trustees of Trust Funds, Building Inspectors and anyone in municipal government! It extraordinary events of the pandemic. portunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents. Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire flicts of interest to human resources, the plus 50 program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind.
Mayors; Select Boards; Council Members; Municipal Managers; Finance Officers; Public Works; Road Agents; Planners: Assessors; Welfare Officials; Code Enforcement; Information Technology; Cemetery Trustees, Trustees of Trust Funds, Building Inspectors and anyone in municipal government! It’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are still extraordinary events of the pandemic. portunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents. Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire flicts of interest to human resources, the plus 50 program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind.
Mayors; Select Boards; Council Members; Municipal Managers; Finance Officers; Public Works; Road Mayors; Select Boards; Council Members; Municipal Managers; Finance Officers; Public Works; Road Agents; Planners: Assessors; Welfare Officials; Code Enforcement; Information Technology; Cemetery Agents; Planners: Assessors; Welfare Officials; Code Enforcement; Information Technology; Cemetery Trustees, Trustees of Trust Funds, Building Inspectors and anyone in municipal government! Trustees, Trustees of Trust Funds, Building Inspectors and anyone in municipal government!
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NHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and ExhibitionNHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and ExhibitionNHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and ExhibitionNHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and Exhibition Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel
Join us live, in-person for 2 days of training and networking!Join us live, in-person for 2 days of training and networking!Join us live, in-person for 2 days of training and networking!Join us live, in-person for 2 days of training and networking!
It’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are still “getting used to different” and adapting to the extraordinary events of the pandemic. Elected and appointed officials have been faced with touch challenges and opportunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents. It’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are still “getting used to different” and adapting to the extraordinary events of the pandemic. Elected and appointed officials have been faced with touch challenges and opportunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents. It’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are still “getting used to different” and adapting to the extraordinary events of the pandemic. Elected and appointed officials have been faced with touch challenges and opportunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents. It’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are still “getting used to different” and adapting to the extraordinary events of the pandemic. Elected and appointed officials have been faced with touch challenges and opportunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents. Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire’s elected and appointed city and town officials. From economic development to Right-to-Know Law, conflicts of interest to human resources, the plus 50 program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind. This year’s conference will be held as a live, in person event in Manchester both days with simultaneous live-streaming for virtual attendees. Please join us in November! Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire’s elected and appointed city and town officials. From economic development to Right-to-Know Law, conflicts of interest to human resources, the plus 50 program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind. This year’s conference will be held as a live, in person event in Manchester both days with simultaneous live-streaming for virtual attendees. Please join us in November! Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire’s elected and appointed city and town officials. From economic development to Right-to-Know Law, conflicts of interest to human resources, the 50 plus program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind. This year’s conference will be held as a live, in person event in Manchester both days with simultaneous live-streaming for virtual attendees.Please join usin November! Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire’s elected and appointed city and town officials. From economic development to Right-to-Know Law, conflicts of interest to human resources, the plus 50 program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind. This year’s conference will be held as a live, in person event in Manchester both days with simultaneous live-streaming for virtual attendees. Please join us in November!
In-person Attendance RatesIn-person Attendance Rates In-person Attendance RatesIn-person Attendance Rates Member Rates Member Rates Member RatesMember Rates Virtual Attendance Rates Virtual Attendance Rates Virtual Attendance RatesVirtual Attendance Rates Member Rates Member Rates Member Rates
(1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$170 ($160 if pay electronically) (1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$170 ($160 if pay electronically) (1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$175 ($165 if pay electronically) (1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$170 ($160 if pay electronically)
Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate
(1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) (1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) (1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) (1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) Member Rates 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 2 days=$100 ($90 if pay electronically)
Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 2 days=$130.00 ($120 if pay electronically) 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 2 days=$130.00 ($120 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate 2 days=$130.00 ($120 if pay electronically) 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 2 days=$130.00 ($120 if pay electronically)
Conference Sessions Include: Legislative and Court Updates; Right-to-Know Law—Meetings & Records; Succession Planning; Conflict Management; Looking Beyond the Surface with Brownfields Funding; Wage and Hour Compliance for Local Governments; Working Together to Promote Environmental Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire; Preparing to Defend Against Today’s Cyber Threats; Community Engagement Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…! Conference Sessions Include: Legislative and Court Updates; Right-to-Know Law—Meetings & Records; Succession Planning; Conflict Management; Looking Beyond the Surface with Brownfields Funding; Wage and Hour Compliance for Local Governments; Working Together to Promote Environmental Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire; Preparing to Defend Against Today’s Cyber Threats; Community Engagement Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…! Conference Sessions Include: Legislative and Court Updates; Right-to-Know Law—Meetings & Records; Succession Planning; Conflict Management; Looking Beyond the Surface with Brownfields Funding; Wage and Hour Compliance for Local Governments; Working Together to Promote Environmental Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire; Preparing to Defend Against Today’s Cyber Threats; Community Engagement Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…! Conference Sessions Include: Legislative and Court Updates; Right-to-Know Law—Meetings & Records; Succession Planning; Conflict Management; Looking Beyond the Surface with Brownfields Funding; Wage and Hour Compliance for Local Governments; Working Together to Promote Environmental Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire; Preparing to Defend Against Today’s Cyber Threats; Community Engagement Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…!
Get inspired, learn something new, connect with municipal colleagues, gain skills and bring this newfound knowledge back to your city and town! Get inspired, learn something new, connect with municipal colleagues, gain skills and bring this newfound knowledge back to your city and town! Get inspired, learn something new, connect with municipal colleagues, gain skills and bring this newfound knowledge back to your city and town! Get inspired, learn something new, connect with municipal colleagues, gain skills and bring this newfound knowledge back to your city and town! Get inspired, learn something new, connect with municipal colleagues, gain skills and bring this newfound knowledge back to your city and town!
For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.
By Rosina McNeil-Cusik, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist III, City of Colorado Springs
The City of Colorado Springs has been actively working in the field of equity, diversity and inclusion for many years, and recently, like many other cities, has made a commitment to continue to enhance its efforts in the field. Under the current leadership of Mayor John Suthers and Chief of Staff Jeff Greene, the City of Colorado Springs has not only made equity, diversity and inclusion a priority for the organization, but it has also made it an integrated business practice. Many people may think it is the responsibility of human resources to carry out the efforts of equity, diversity and inclusion. In our organization, we like to remember that equity, diversity and inclusion cannot exclusively be a human resources program. It’s really imperative to “include all employees, all departments.” (Pun very much intended.) To have a true equity, diversity and inclusion program, it must span beyond human resources and recruitment practices, though those are also extremely important. It must intentionally be embedded in departments, for example communications and how they look at collateral or our social media presence. Another example would be procurement and how they integrate equity, diversity and inclusion practices with regard to city contracts and the vendors we work with. To have true equity, diversity and inclusion in a workplace, it must be operationalized top to bottom, left to right. Our goal is to have equity, diversity and inclusion be top of mind for all employees and have it become part of the work they do every day. We want our employees to continually ask how to be more equitable, diverse and inclusive, and then follow through to meet these efforts.
So where do you start? The equity journey is not linear. It has peaks and valleys, and sometimes a bridge or three in between. A good place to consider starting is with leadership. It is important to have the buy-in of leadership for many of reasons.
First, influence.
Equity, diversity and inclusion involves a lot of change and change can be challenging for many employees. So having leadership’s backing can help influence the rest of the staff and
We represent towns and ci�es throughout the state and bring value to our clients through decades of experience and adhering to the budgetary constraints under which municipali�es operate. We emphasize preven�ve and �mely legal counsel to our clients with a view toward avoiding problems that result in li�ga�on.
Special counsel services include:
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the direction you want to take equity, diversity and inclusion.
Second, strategy.
Leadership has a great pulse on the strategy of the organization from both a long-term and a short-term perspective. Incorporating equity, diversity and inclusion into your organizational strategy is a great way to ensure it is a priority for everyone. Not only is the City of Colorado Springs able to incorporate equity, diversity and inclusion into its strategy, we take it one step further and incorporate it into our performance management. Every city employee is required to meet an equity, diversity and inclusion competency as part of their annual performance goals. Employees can meet this goal through several avenues, such as education, allyship, behavior, awareness, or professional development opportunities. Regardless, equity, diversity and inclusion is something the entire city employee population must be a part of to be deemed successful. To help our employees reach this goal, the City of Colorado Springs has worked to provide enhanced equity, diversity and inclusion education and exposure. We began by creating an equity, diversity and inclusion internal branding image that is included on all equity, diversity and inclusion materials. From there we started to populate an employee resource webpage that is updated each month to help employees find ways to celebrate various differences, but more importantly celebrate similarities. We also have worked to make numerous vendor trainings available to employees that focus on topics such as bias, inclusion, and gender identity. In addition to the vendor trainings, we are currently in the process of developing our own in-house trainings to cover subjects such as equity, diversity and inclusion principles, microaggressions, allyship and more. We hope to use these various inclusive initiatives to not only recruit diverse talent, but also to retain employees for years to come. We understand our best resources are our human resources, and diversity is nothing without retention. Nevertheless, our recruitment team has continued to work diligently on equity, diversity and inclusion and hiring diverse talent through various means. Some of the ways include incorporating EDI questions into interviews, ensuring hiring managers involve a diverse hiring panel during the selection process and continuing to partner with various nationwide and community agencies and non-profits to post job vacancies.
So where do we go from here?
What is great, and also daunting, about equity, diversity and inclusion is that it is endless. However, with our commitment to a culture that values our employees’ unique individual qualities and fosters an inclusive environment where people want to be, as much as equity, diversity and inclusion is endless, so are the possibilities.
Rosina McNeil-Cusick,Colorado Springs Human Resources Supervisor. Previously published in Colorado Municipalities.
2023-2024 Legislative Policy Conference
9:00 am, Friday, September 23. 2022 NHMA Offices 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord
The 2023-2024 NHMA Legislative Policy Conference will be held on Friday, September 23, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. at NHMA offices at 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, NH 03303. This is an in-person event. Each
member municipality will be asked to appoint a voting delegate to cast its vote at this confer-
ence. Each member municipality, regardless of size, has one vote on all policy matters. Proposed legislative policies are initially reviewed by three policy committees of volunteer municipal officials. The organizational meeting of those committees this year was on April 1st and the committees completed their work in late May, and legislative policy recommendations for 20232024 were e-mailed to each municipality’s governing body on June 8th. (If your municipality did not receive them, please notify us immediately at governmentaffairs@nhmunicipal.org, or call us at 603-224-7447). We strongly encourage each municipality’s governing body to review the legislative policy recommendations and determine a position on each recommendation. These positions should not be sent to NHMA. Rather, they should be communicated to the person who will serve as the municipality’s delegate to the NHMA legislative policy conference. Otherwise, the delegate is free to vote as he or she sees fit on all policy recommendations. NHMA’s bylaws require a two-thirds affirmative vote of those members present and voting for approval of any NHMA legislative policy or principle.
Thank you to all who volunteered their time to serve on one of the three legislative policy committees which convened this spring to bring forth these legislative recommendations. NHMA is so grateful for your participation and support. Without you, this legislative event wouldn’t be possible.
