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Upcoming Events
For more information or to register for an event, visit our online Calendar of Events at www.nhmunicipal.org. If you have any questions, please contact us at nhmaregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.
MARCH
Informational Webinar with Congresswoman Kuster and National League of Cities
11:00 am – 12:00 noon Friday, March 4
NHMA Webinar: Unite with Us New Hampshire!
12:00 noon – 1:00 pm Tuesday, March 15
NHMA Board of Director’s Meeting
9:00 am – 11:00 am Friday March 18
APRIL
NHMA's Legislative Policy Process - Organizational Day
25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord 9:00 am – 11:00 am Friday, April 1
2022 Local Officials Hybrid Workshops
Free for members! 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Tuesday, April 5
NHMA Webinar: ZBA Basics
12:00 noon – 1:00 pm Wednesday, April 13
NHMA Board of Director’s Meeting
9:00 am – 11:00 am Friday April 15
NHMA Workshop: The Right-to-Know Law and Public Meetings and Governmental Records
9:00 am – 1:00 pm Thursday, April 28 Zoom/$55.00
Please visit NHMA’s website @ www.nhmunicipal.org frequently for the most up-to-date
event and training information. Thank you.
Longing for a “Normal” Town Meeting
By Cordell Johnston, Henniker Town & School District Moderator
When I was presented with the prospect of running for town moderator in 2018, one of the points in favor was that the job involves a limited time commitment. Many years earlier, I had served as a planning board member and then as a selectman, but when my day job became insanely busy and my parental obligations increased, I had decided I could no longer handle the long biweekly meetings and additional obligations that those positions required.
The moderator’s job, I reasoned, is different. Although it is not to be taken lightly, it involves just a few days of work— admittedly, intensive work—every year. Even when I consented to adding the school district moderator’s position to my syllabus in 2019, it seemed manageable.
The early 2020s, however, have turned out to be challenging times for moderators. I wrote in this publication a year ago (“A Nightmare on Main Street,” January/February 2021) about our disastrous effort to hold a safe, socially distanced town meeting during a declared state of emergency in 2020. Even before that extended town meeting season ended, moderators statewide were beginning to plan for the state and federal elections, trying to figure out how to keep the crowds safe during the fall COVID surge. Happily, with guidance and lots of additional equipment from the state, the fall 2020 elections went remarkably smoothly.
Which brought us to the 2021 town meeting season. In retrospect, while 2020 was arguably more difficult than 2021, it was less complicated. We were fortunate that the COVID pandemic hit New Hampshire in 2020 after almost all SB 2 deliberative sessions had been held, and just after the town and school district elections and many of the traditional business sessions. The problems in 2020 were only for traditional meeting towns (like mine) that postponed their business sessions and towns with April or May meetings.
In early 2021, the COVID surge was a concern for every town and school district meeting and election. With infections peaking in December and January, local officials and attorneys spent several weeks trying to understand their options. Could the moderator use the authority of RSA 40:4, II to postpone the meeting? Could the virtual option that some school districts had used in 2020 be used in 2021? Would there be legislation or an executive order to clarify things?
With impressive speed, the newly convened Senate passed legislation (inconveniently designated SB 2) on its first day in session, January 6, that enabled towns to postpone their meetings based on COVID concerns. That bill, however, hit a wall in the House and eventually died.
The clock was ticking. SB 2 towns and school districts would be holding their deliberative sessions between January 30 and February 6—unless they decided to postpone. Could they postpone? Should they? What about the March elections? And especially what about the coordination of March town and school district elections?
This is where things got complicated. My town, Henniker, is part of the John Stark Regional School District (JSRSD), with the town of Weare. In January 2021, town and school district officials in Henniker and Weare held numerous meetings trying to sort out the options and the consequences of each.
The three school districts—the JSRSD and the Henniker and Weare school districts—all use the SB 2 form of annual meeting. Even assuming unlimited postponement authority, if any of the school districts wanted to postpone its deliberative session by more than a few days, it would also need to postpone its election date; otherwise the two sessions would be too close together. But the school districts coordinate their elections with the towns, and the town and school elections could not (at this point) be separated.
Thus, none of the school districts could postpone their elections unless both towns did so as well, and that could happen only by agreement of the town moderators. And if the school districts couldn’t postpone their elections, they couldn’t postpone their deliberative sessions by any meaningful interval.
This required some serious coordination. On January 21, after some discussion among the town administrators and moderators, the Henniker and Weare select boards held a joint meeting to discuss the timing of deliberative/business sessions and elections. (No one was really concerned about the elections—we had held elections without much trouble in November, and everyone expected the COVID situation to be better by March. The much bigger concern was gathering 100 people or more in a room in early February for a meeting that might last several hours.)
Like the three school districts, the town of Weare uses SB 2; the town of Henniker is the only one of the five entities that has a traditional meeting. At the joint meeting, the Weare selectmen and town moderator made it clear that they had no interest in postponing anything, even assuming they could—they were going forward with their deliberative session in early February and with their town election on March 9.
The Henniker selectmen were less adamant, but it didn’t matter: because of the shared school district, if Weare wasn’t postponing its election, neither was Henniker. And if the town elections were not postponed, the school district elections could not be postponed, and therefore the deliberative sessions, as a practical matter, could not be postponed. (The business session of the Henniker town meeting, ordinarily held the Saturday after the election, was not a pressing concern yet. The selectmen could schedule it whenever they wanted, and this would not affect anything else.)
So that was that—nothing was being postponed. Not everyone was happy, but at least we had a clear decision. That changed the next day. On January 22, the governor issued Emergency Order 83, authorizing the governing body (not the moderator) of a town or school district to postpone the business or deliberative session of its annual meeting “to one or more dates later in 2021,” and to “postpone the official ballot voting day to the second Tuesday of April, May, June, or July.”
In my mind, this changed nothing—although it clearly authorized postponement, the school district and town elections were still inextricably intertwined, and the order did not explicitly unravel the twine. But our school district’s attorney read the order more broadly—he believed it did allow school districts to separate their elections from the town elections and postpone them, regardless of what the towns did. He gets paid to represent the district, and I don’t, so I was not going to argue.
So . . . after some more discussions among counsel, moderators, and board chairs, the three school boards convened a joint meeting on January 27. At that meeting, the Henniker and JSRSD school boards voted to postpone their deliberative sessions, but the Weare school board voted 3-2 against postponing. The Weare district would hold its deliberative session in early February as scheduled, while the Henniker district and JSRSD would move theirs to April.
This meant, of course, that the Henniker School District and JSRSD elections also had to be postponed, even though the town elections were not; so voters would be voting on two different days, one in March and one in May (after the deliberative sessions). The Weare School District election did not need to be postponed, but Weare voters also would have a second election date—that of the JSRSD election.
In the end, the town of Weare and the Weare School District held their deliberative sessions in February; the towns of Henniker and Weare and the Weare School District held their elections on the regular election date,
“NORMAL” TOWN MEETING from page 13
March 9; the JSRSD deliberative session was on April 5 and the Henniker School District deliberative session on April 7; and the JSRSD and Henniker School District elections were held on May 11. After some more discussion about postponement, the Henniker town meeting’s business session went ahead as planned on the Saturday after the town ballot voting day, March 13.
That was 2021. For 2022 the question of postponement has received remarkably little discussion, even though we began the year with by far the biggest COVID surge so far. Fortunately, as I write this article, we appear to be on the downhill side of that surge. Our town and school district are going ahead with our meetings on schedule, but there certainly will still be some apprehension and the now-familiar scene of a roomful of people wearing masks.
Perhaps by 2023 things will be back to “normal,” whatever that means now. I am not complaining, but I would love to get back to worrying about whether a proposed amendment is allowable and the rules about secret ballot votes, rather than trying to decide whether it’s even safe to hold a meeting.
Cordell Johnston is the Henniker town and school district moderator and a municipal attorney. He recently retired after 18 years as Government Affairs Counsel at NHMA.
Cordell A. Johnston
Attorney at Law Representing towns and cities
P.O. Box 252 Henniker, NH 03242 603-748-4019
cordell@cajohnston.com
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Johnston Receives New Hampshire Bar Association Award for Outstanding Service in Public Sector/Public Interest Law
Former NHMA Government Affairs Counsel, Cordell A. Johnston, received the prestigious Outstanding Service in Public Sector/Public Interest Law recently from the New Hampshire Bar Association. Nominations were reviewed and considered by the Public Sector/Public Interest Award Committee, comprised of members of the public sector/public interest legal community in New Hampshire, and appointed by the NHBA Bar President and Bar Officers. The Committee of six contained a diverse representation of PS/PI practice, including the various sectors such as local, state and federal government, prosecution and defense, and public interest.
The award recognizes an individual’s or an organization’s exceptional contributions and achievements in one or more of the following areas:
• Outstanding commitment and service to the public as a public sector or public interest lawyer or organization;
• Outstanding legal contribution as a public sector or public interest lawyer or organization, which contribution can be in the area of advocacy, public policy, scholarly contributions, education or legislation;
• Outstanding mentorship contribution to public sector/public interest lawyers through sharing knowledge, experience, skill and commitments with students or other lawyers.
In selected excerpts from the nomination letter offered by NHMA, the staff simply amplified what is now Cordell’s legacy: Over the course of his nearly two-decade career advocating for New Hampshire’s 234 municipalities, Cordell has taken time to serve on the planning board, select board, and currently as the moderator in his hometown, Henniker. Using his knowledge of local election procedures and town meetings, Cordell has led the effort to address the election and town meeting issues that have arisen - from snowstorms to pandemics. Throughout, he has been instrumental in ensuring that municipalities continue to have the resources they need to quietly provide the services that their citizens expect. Most importantly, he has been instrumental in maintaining and nurturing citizen directed, self-government.
Along with this summary of Cordell’s outstanding commitment and service to local government and outstanding contributions to legislative advocacy on behalf of local government, we would further offer examples of Cordell’s sharing his knowledge with members of the public and other attorneys. Cordell has contributed numerous articles to NHMA’s publication, Town and City, on a wide variety of municipal law subjects. He was the prime editor and author of NHMA’s Legislative Bulletin, a weekly publication issued every Friday when the New Hampshire Legislature is in session. Without a doubt, Cordell’s insightful summary of the week’s legislative business affecting municipalities was, and still is, the indispensable guide for our members on pending legislation.
“Cordell has functioned as the face of local government at the New Hampshire statehouse for nearly two decades, and he has had an outsized impact on the legislation advanced there. His testimony on the effects of various bills has greatly shaped the formation of the law as it pertains to municipal functions, and he has been involved in crafting reforms to laws that affect every aspect of local government.
Cordell’s legacy with NHMA is legendary. His devotion to NHMA and our membership has been the hallmark of Cordell’s time with NHMA. During legislative sessions, Cordell always maintained a 24/7 approach to his work. He always placed the needs of our membership and the Association first. He is leaving a legacy of devoted commitment to the legislative success of this Association and has set the bar high for those who will follow him.
In support of the NHMA’s nomination letter, Attorney Ben Frost, Managing Director, Policy and Public Affairs with the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, had this heartfelt offering:
“Despite our different perspectives, I’ve found Cordell always to be consummately professional and collegial as we’ve worked to iron out our differences and to find the “middle way” of compromise that serves both interests. For years, I’ve witnessed his testimony in legislative committees, where he has gracefully guided the deliberative process with expert knowledge and well-timed dry wit. Cordell and I have also presented together to audiences of municipal officials, and so I’ve seen firsthand the high esteem in which they hold him. Cordell possesses an innate ability to communicate complex legal principles in an easily relatable manner to a lay audience. In short, he has been an invaluable source of knowledge for volunteers and professionals involved in New Hampshire’s local governments.
As Cordell approaches his retirement from the New Hampshire Municipal Association, I find myself feeling a profound sense of loss. While no one is irreplaceable, Cordell comes as close to that as anyone I’ve known. It is difficult for me to imagine another person with whom I will have such rich debate over the nature and impact of law and whose demeanor will allow me to see the other side so easily. His service to the public has been truly outstanding.”
Similarly, Derry Town Administrator Dave Caron wrote the following:
“Representing municipal interests before the State Legislature in New Hampshire is a daunting process as towns and cities are required to fund most of its services through the local property tax. With the Legislature oftentimes seeking to impede the use of these funds at the local level or attempting to downshift responsibilities to municipalities, we rely upon Cordell and the advocacy team at NHMA to identify legislation adverse to local taxpayers, marshal the resources of local elected and appointed officials necessary to testify and coordinate presentations before various legislative committees.
As I enter my 40th year in local government here in New Hampshire, it is comforting to reflect that during almost half of my tenure, Cordell has supported and contributed to the wellbeing of our cities and towns. And I’ll miss those Sunday morning emails Cordell would send when the Legislature was in session reminding us of upcoming hearings and requesting assistance as we all strived toward achieving our common goals. I cannot think of a more deserving person to receive this award based upon Cordell’s knowledge, communication skills, dedication, and perseverance.”
Cordell has strategically guided NHMA’s advocacy program through some of the most successful and productive legislative years in the Association’s 80-year history. Thank you, Cordell, for your 18 years of dedication to improving local government in New Hampshire and congratulations on this prestigious recognition from your peers.
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53 Ideas on How You Can Govern Better
1Learn all you can about your city or town, its history, its operation, its financing. Do your homework. Know your city or town ordinances. Dust off your comprehensive plan. 2 Devote sufficient time to your office and to studying the present and future problems of your city or town. 3 Don’t burn yourself out on the little things but recognize that they are often important to the public. Save some energy – and time – for the important matters.
4Don’t act as a committee of one; governing a city requires a team effort – practically and legally.
5Don’t let honest differences of opinion within the governing body degenerate into personality conflicts.
6Remember that you represent all the people of your community, not just neighbors and friends. Be wary of personal experiences coloring your public decisions. 7 Take your budget preparation job seriously for it determines what your city or town does or does not do for the coming year and will influence what happens in future years as well.
8Establish policy statements. Written policy statements let the public, and the municipal staff, know where they stand. They help the governing body govern and writing them provides a process to develop consensus.
9Make decisions on the basis of public policy and be consistent. Treat similar situations similarly and avoid favoritism. 10 Focus your attention on ways to prevent problems rather than just trying to solve them as they occur. Filling potholes is one approach to governing – developing plans to prevent them is more important. 11 Don’t be misled by the strong demands of special interest groups who want it done now, their way. Your job is to find the long-term public interest of the community as a whole, and you may be hearing from the wrong people. 12 Don’t be afraid of change. Don’t be content to just follow the routine of your predecessors. Charge your appointed officers and employees with being responsible for new ideas and better ways. Listen to what they have to say. 13 Don’t rush to judgment. Few final actions have to be taken at the first meeting they are considered. Avoid crisis management. 14 Don’t give quick answers when you are not sure of the real answer. It may be embarrassing to appear ignorant, but it can be more embarrassing, and damaging, to tell a person something that is wrong. 15 As an individual, even if you are the mayor, don’t make promises you can’t deliver! Most decisions and actions require approval of the governing body, and this takes a majority vote. 16 Remember that you have legal authority as a governing body member only when the governing body is in legal session.
17 Don’t spring surprises on your fellow governing body members or your municipal staff, especially at formal meetings. If a matter is worth bringing up for discussion, it’s worth being on the agenda. Surprises may get you some publicity, at the embarrassment of others, and tend to erode the team approach to governance. 18 Conduct your official public meetings with some formality and follow rules of procedure. Have an agenda and follow it. Most governing body members agree that formal meetings expedite the process, and tend to promote better decision making. 19 Participate in official meetings with the dignity and decorum fitting those who hold a position of public trust. Personal dress and courteous behavior at meetings help create an environment for making sound public decisions. 20 Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is one of the ways we learn. But do your homework by studying agenda material before meetings.
21 Vote yes or no on motions. Don’t cop out by abstaining, except when you have a conflict of interest. A pass does not relieve you of responsibility when some decision must be made.
22 Once a majority decision of the governing body has been made, respect that official position, and defend it if needed, even if you personally disagree. 23 Respect the letter and intent of the open meetings (Right-to-Know) law. But also keep private and confidential matters to yourself –don’t gossip. 24 Retain competent, key employees. Pay them well, trust their professional judgment and recognize their authority and responsibilities. 25 Don’t bypass the system! If you have a manager or other chief administrative officer, stick to policymaking and avoid personal involvement in the day-to-day operations of the municipality. If you do not have an administrative officer, make sure you have some management system that officers, employees, and the public understand. 26 Don’t let others bypass the system. Insist that people such as equipment or service suppliers first work with your municipal staff. If direct contact with governing body members is necessary, it should be with the governing body as a whole, or a committee, and not on a one-on-one basis. 27 Don’t pass the buck to the staff or employees when they are only following your policies or decisions. 28 Don’t always take no for an answer. The right question may be “How can we do this?” instead of “May we do this?” Be positive! 29 Learn to evaluate recommendations and alternative courses of action. Ask your staff to provide options. Encourage imaginative solutions. 30 Avoid taking short-term gains at the expense of longterm losses. Be concerned with the long-term future of the city/town. 31 Be friendly and deal effectively with the news media. Make sure what you say is what you mean. Lack of good communication, with the media and the public, is one of the big problems of municipalities.
53 IDEAS from page 19
32 Remember that what you say, privately and publicly, will often be news. You live in a glass house. Avoid overpublicizing minor problems. 33 In determining the public interest, balance personal rights and property interests, the possible harm to a few versus the good of the many. Recognize that in some situations, everyone can’t be a winner. 34 Remember that cities and towns are for people! Be concerned with the total development – physical, economic, and social – of your community. 35 Don’t act as if the city operates in a vacuum. Cities and towns must work within the intergovernmental system to be effective. Keep in contact and cooperate with your federal, state, county and school officials. 36 Know your neighbors. Get to know the officials of neighboring and similar size cities or towns. Visit other municipalities, particularly those with a reputation of being well run.
37 Keep your constituents informed and encourage citizen participation. 38 Learn to listen – really listen – to your fellow governing body members and the public. Hear what they are trying to say, not just the words spoken. 39 Expect and respect citizen complaints. Make sure that your governing body members, and your city, have a way to effectively deal with them. Have a follow-up system. 40 Be careful about rumors. Check them out. Help squelch them when you know they are false. 41 Appoint citizen advisory committees and task forces when you need them but be prepared to follow their advice if you use them. 42 Take care in your appointments to boards and commissions. Make sure they are willing and capable as well as representative of the whole community. 43 Never allow conflicts of interest to arise between your public duties and your private interests. Be sensitive to actions you take that might even give the appearance of impropriety. 44 Seek help. Use manuals, guides and other technical assistance and information available from NHMA and other agencies. Attend workshops and conferences put on for the benefit of you and your city. 45 Pace yourself. Limit the number of meetings you attend. Set some priorities, including the need to spend time with your family. Recognize that life – and the city/town– is dependent on a lot of things you have little control over. 46 Be a leader, as well as part of the team of elected and appointed officials who were selected to make your city/ town an even better place to live. 47 Establish some personal goals and objectives. What do you want to help accomplish this year? Next year? 48 Help develop some short-term and long-term goals and objectives for your city and check your progress at least every six months. 49 Help your city/town develop a vision of the future. Plan going from the future to the present and listen to different community voices along the way. 50 Focus on the future and try to leave your community better than that which you inherited as an elected officer. 51 At least once a year, schedule a governing body discussion about how you are governing. Review the processes and procedures. Sit back and ask, “How are we doing? How can we do things better?” 52 Be enthusiastic about your public service, and the privilege you have, and let the public know it. But maintain your sense of humor. Don’t take yourself or the business of government so seriously that you don’t enjoy it. It should be fun as well as a rewarding experience. 53 Celebrate! Always focusing on problems and issues may lead you and the public to believe that nothing positive ever happens. Good things do happen. Let the public share our successes.
Source: Association of Washington Cities, www.awcnet.org
New Hampshire Municipal Association
Free VIRTUAL workshops for newly-elected and seasoned municipal officials and employees of member municipalities.
2022 Local FREE FREE Officials Virtual Workshops
9:00 am—4:00 pm, Tuesday, April 5, 2022 9:00 am—4:00 pm, Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Presented virtually by NHMA’s Legal Services attorneys, these workshops provide municipal officials with tools and information to effectively serve their communities. Topics will include the Right-to-Know Law, ethics and conflicts, effective meetings, town governance, municipal roads, budget and finance, and more. Ample time allowed for questions, answers, and discussion.
For more information and to register visit: www.nhmuncipal.org
Attendees will receive a complimentary copy of NHMA’s 2022 edition of the publication, Knowing the Territory.
By David L. Stack, Bow Town Manager
The preparation and adoption of a Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) is an important part of a municipality’s financial planning and budgeting process. The purpose of the plan is to recognize and resolve deficiencies in existing public facilities and anticipate and meet future demand for capital facilities and the replacement of vehicles and equipment. A plan typically includes all of the anticipated capital expenditures of a town/city, library and school district for the next six-year period.
A CIP is an advisory document that can serve a number of purposes, among them to:
Guide the Board of Selectmen, School Board, Library Trustees and Budget Committee in the annual budgeting processes;
Contribute to stabilizing the Town’s real property tax rate; Aid the prioritization, coordination, and sequencing of various municipal improvements;
Inform residents, business owners, and developers of planned improvements;
Provide the necessary legal basis, continued administration and periodic updates of impact fees.
Authorization for the formation of a CIP Committee is found in RSA 674:5. The statute provides two options: 1) assign the responsibility for preparation of the plan to the planning board or 2) permit the governing body of the municipality to appoint a capital improvement program committee, which must include at least one member of the planning board and may include, but not be limited to, other members of the planning board, the budget committee, or the town or city governing body. Both options require the approval of the provisions of the statute by the legislative body. Prior to 2013, Bow’s Capital Improvement Plan was prepared by a sub-committee of the planning board. The process typically took only a few hours and the sub-committee only reviewed the new projects that were being proposed. The large bulk of the plan involved the replacement and purchase of trucks, police cars and equipment. The plan did not include an important and integral piece of any good CIP plan including capital projects, construction and renovation of building, bridge replacement, culvert replacement and similar type projects.
A few years back, the town was going to be making the last bond payment on the new high school that was built by the town in 1996. There was concern that there would be a “mad rush” by the board of selectmen, school board and library trustees to fill the gap with large capital projects utilizing the amount of the annual debt service on the bond to offset the tax impact of the new projects. As such, there was a need to manage this process and review and prioritize the capital needs of the town. This concern was raised with the board of selectmen and it was proposed that approval be sought at the next town meeting to approve the “alternative” approach for forming a CIP committee. This alternative was adopted in the Town of Pembroke when I served as Town Administrator for that community. In time, the process became a recognized and important piece of the planning
and budgeting process. The CIP concept of capital planning became a very familiar document to all and reference to the plan became the norm during board and committee meetings, as well as the annual town meeting. This has proven to be the case in Bow as well.
The proposal for a new committee structure and process was presented to and approved by the Bow Town Meeting. The adopted proposal calls for the committee to consist of one planning board representative, one budget committee representative, one board of selectmen representative, one school board representative and three citizens at large.
Bow’s CIP plan includes requests that have been placed in the six-year CIP program for projects exceeding $25,000, spreadsheets of the schedule, funding sources, tax impacts, and other required information. Projects not meeting either CIP criteria or projected six-year window are identified as possible future projects.
There are five steps used to develop the CIP plan in Bow:
First Step: The first step in the process is the collection of project sheets from all departments. The sheets are tailored by the CIP Committee and finance director to generate information that defines the relative need and urgency for projects, and which also enables long-term monitoring of the useful life and returns from projects.
Second Step: A draft of the plan is compiled by the finance director and submitted to the town manager. This provides an opportunity for the manager and department heads to review and discuss the projects and make adjustments. Step Three: The draft plan is submitted to the board of selectmen for its review and comment before presenting the plan to the CIP Committee.
Step Four: The CIP Committee meets with the town manager and finance director throughout the spring and summer to review the draft and develop the final plan. Requestors are sometimes asked to come before the CIP Committee, as needed, to explain their capital needs and priorities. The Committee also explores any alternative approaches available to meet the capital needs of the town, including the use of capital reserve funds, bonding, grants, etc.
There are several different financing methods utilized to fund capital projects. Four methods require appropriations; either as part of the town’s annual operating budget or as independent warrant articles at town meeting.
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CIP from page 23
General Fund (GF) is the most common method, and refers to those projects proposed to be funded by property tax revenues within a single fiscal year.
Capital Reserve Fund (CRF) requires appropriations over more than one year, with the actual project being accomplished only when the total appropriation meets the project cost.
Lease/Purchase (LP) method has been used by the school district and other departments for the purchase of major vehicles.
Bonds (BD) are generally limited to the most expensive capital projects, such as major renovations, additions, or new construction of school or municipal buildings or facilities, and allows capital facilities needs to be met immediately while spreading out the cost over many years in the future. Fund Balance (FB) may be used to finance capital projects as approved by town meeting.
Impact Fees (IF) are collected from new development to pay for new facility capacity and placed in a fund until they are either expended within six years as part of the project finance or returned to the party they were collected from. Grants (GR) are also utilized to fund capital projects in Bow. Typically, grants will cover a portion of the overall project cost, and the town is responsible for the remaining percentage of the project cost.
To Be Determined (TBD) Uncertain of cost, funding or project timeline.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts allow the town to use increases in valuation of property to directly pay off bonds for infrastructure improvements and capital projects in the district. TIF Districts are set up and administered according to RSA Chapter 162-K.
Public/Private Partnerships (PPP)
Lastly, the town can take advantage of public/private partnerships, where a private organization shares the costs of funding a capital project.
Step Five: Once adopted by the Committee, the CIP is submitted to the town manager, board of selectmen, school board, and library trustees for consideration during the preparation of their proposed budgets.
It must be emphasized that the CIP is purely advisory in nature. Ultimate funding decisions are subject to the budgeting process and the annual town meeting. The CIP Committee brings project requests and needs to the attention of the town’s leaders and citizens, along with recommended priorities, in the hope of facilitating decision making by the town.
A CIP is not just a wish list. In one community, a member of the board of selectmen asked if the plan was going to be shown to the budget committee and the citizens. This selectman was concerned that it would be felt that the town was just proposing large expenditures of funds and searching for ways to spend the taxpayers’ money. That is quite the opposite of why a CIP is formulated and updated each year. The purpose of a CIP is to provide this information in a clear and transparent manner. Over time, the plan is seen as a vital component of the budgeting process and as financially prudent planning for the future.
David L. Stack was appointed as Bow Town Manager in 2010. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Keene State College and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Stack is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and is also a Board of Director of the New Hampshire Municipal Association and a member of the Municipal Management Association of New Hampshire (MMANH). David can be reached at dstack@bownh.gov or by phone, 603.223-3910.
Right-to-Know Law and Public Meetings and Governmental Records
WHEN: 9:00 am—1:00 pm Thursday, April 28, 2022
Join NHMA’s Legal Services team who will discuss the requirements for holding a proper public meeting, as well the exceptions to the meeting requirement (the so-called "nonmeeting").
The attorneys will also provide guidance on handling governmental record matters arising under the Right-to-Know Law. Handling governmental records requests requires an understanding of all aspects of request processing including: the requirements for availability, storage, electronic records, redaction, cost estimates, mandated access for certain records and appointments for review of records. This workshop will also address what records are exempt from disclosure, along with whether a record request that would require a search for multiple documents must be fulfilled or whether a request impermissibly seeks to create a record that does not exist. In addition, guidance will be provided on the retention of governmental records and how claims under the Right-to-Know Law are enforced.
Attendees will receive an electronic copy of NHMA's updated publication, A Guide to Open Government: New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law. Additional materials such as the PowerPoint presentation and handouts will also be distributed electronically.
For more information and to register visit: www.nhmuncipal.org
Covid -19 Precautionary Measures for Town Meeting 2022 – An FAQ
Municipal Election Officials are again facing the management of public health concerns due to the lingering pandemic when scheduling and conducting town meeting. With this FAQ we wanted to highlight key suggestions taken from the Universal Best Practices publication from the State of New Hampshire, and then provide guidance on measures municipalities can implement to help prevent the further spread of Covid-19 and its variants at business meetings, deliberative sessions and the official ballot voting day.
Getting prepared for municipal meetings and elections starts with planning consultations involving the moderator, governing body (select board, school board, village district commissioners), town & district clerk, supervisors of the checklist, health officer, emergency management director, fire chief and police chief. Those planning meetings should consider the following precautionary measures
Management and arrangement of the polling or meeting place to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet or more of physical separation between people or related groups. Consider mandating the wearing of a face mask by voters attending polling stations and meeting places. Throughout the pandemic, face mask use has increasingly been shown to be an important measure for controlling the spread of COVID-19. Face mask use protects the person wearing the mask, and others around that person in the event that they are asymptomatically infected. Face masks should not be required for people who are under the age of 2 years. Face masks should also not be required for a person with a valid medical or developmental reason that prevents that person from wearing a face mask. Consider using cohorting strategies and limiting group size. “Cohorting” involves creating small groups of individuals, keeping those individuals consistently together in one group, and preventing interaction between people of different groups.
Can face coverings be required in the polling place on the official ballot voting day?
Part 2, Art. 32 of the N.H. Constitution provides that elections “shall be . . . governed by [the] moderator,” and, as such, the moderator has the authority to manage the polling place, including the authority to choose whether to require a mask at the polling place.
Note, of course, that governing bodies also have a role if the election takes place in a municipal building. A building may make itself available to outside groups subject to rules, such as requiring users to wear masks, and RSA 41:11-a gives governing bodies authority over town buildings.
How about requiring voters to wear face coverings at business meetings and deliberative sessions?
There are two sources of authority to require the wearing of face masks at town meeting business and deliberative sessions. First, under RSA 40:4, the moderator has the authority to regulate the business of the meeting and prescribe rules of procedure, which could include the wearing of a face mask by all of those in attendance. Second, if the facility being used for the meeting is under the management of the governing body, such as a select board under RSA 40:11-a, the select board could implement use regulations of the public building and require the wearing of face masks by those attending town meetings.
If we require wearing face masks in the polling place or for those in attendance at business or deliberative sessions, how do we address voters without face coverings?
While the moderator may require masks in the polling station or location of town meeting, every qualified voter must be given an opportunity to cast a ballot or participate in town meeting, even if not wearing a mask. Therefore, moderators who require masks must establish alternative means of participation for voters who do not wear masks. This could include separate entrances and exits for those not wearing masks, and separate seating areas and other accommodations to allow those who decline to wear a mask to vote or fully participate in the town meeting.
What are the potential alternatives for non-masked voters?
Any moderator contemplating requiring masks should call the Attorney General Office’s election hotline 1-866-868-3703 to discuss alternatives. Each polling place is unique and no one-size-fits-all solution will work everywhere, but alternatives such as separate spaces within the polling place for unmasked voters, outdoor spaces for unmasked voters, or, potentially, accessible voting pursuant to RSA 659:20-a may be permissible in your particular situation. Assuming that such alternatives are available and refused, it may be permissible to deny the unmasked voter entry to the polling place, but such a possibility should be discussed with town counsel and the election hotline prior to the election.
What is the source of the authority for the municipality to require face coverings at public meetings and public places?
The governing body (select board or town or city council), in consultation with the Health Officer/Board of Health and Emergency Management Director, can adopt public health regulations on gaining access to public buildings under RSA 147:1, RSA 47:17, XV and RSA 41:11-a. Those regulations could include regulating public access to town or city hall and other public buildings to respond to the local public health emergency arising out of the community spread of Covid-19. Considering recent guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a governing body could conclude that those entering town and city buildings must wear a face covering or mask. This could include the requirement that those who attend public meetings at public facilities be required to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth. Similar authority to regulate access to library property can be exercised by the Library Trustees.
Local Airports Offer Many Benefits to New Hampshire Residents
New Hampshire’s public airport system consists of 24 public and private use airports. These airports range from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, New Hampshire’s largest public airport handling the majority of New Hampshire’s commercial airline service on its 9,250’ paved runway, to Colebrook Airport, with a 2,450’ grass runway. Not only do these local airports serve as an important infrastructure (particularly in times of distress); they also serve as public gathering places, family activity centers, and are an economic engine for tourism and businesses.
New Hampshire relies on its local airports as staging areas for the National Guard, Red Cross, and other non-governmental organizations that deliver vaccines, food, clothing, or evacuate people to safety. Whether it is a pandemic or a natural disaster, these local airports connect people living in New Hampshire to the rest of the world.
One mile of runway can move people and critical aid to communities to and from anywhere in the world, whereas one mile of highway will only move people and aid one mile.
New Hampshire’s System of Local Airports Supports the Following Functions for the Public, Industry, and Government:
• Medical Flights • Law Enforcement and National Security • Emergency Response • Aerial Firefighting • Disaster Relief • Search and Rescue • Remote Populations and Island Access • Air Taxi and Charter Services • Essential Air Cargo Services • Corporate and Private Flights • Recreational Flying • Manufacturing and Distribution • Flight Instruction • Charter Businesses • Aircraft Manufacturing and Maintenance • Aircraft Storage • Aerospace Engineering and Research • Tourism and Access to Special Events • Intermodal Connections to Rail/Ship Cargo • Skydiving and air shows • Agricultural • Aerial Surveying/Mapping • Oil/Mineral Surveying • Utility/Pipeline Inspection Control • Business Flight Service • Express Delivery • Air Cargo
Changes to New Hampshire State Legislature that Benefit Local Airports
New Hampshire is already an attractive state for business. Without a personal income tax, our state is among the best places for business owners to call home. Since 2019, the State has passed two bills that could attract even more businesses and aircraft to base their operations in New Hampshire. These two bills are:
Q House Bill 124: This bill greatly reduces the cost of registering jet aircraft in New Hampshire. Up until a few years ago, registering a Gulfstream G550 at Hanscom Airport in Massachusetts cost approximately $300, while 40 minutes away at Nashua Airport, registering this same jet cost approximately $340,000. A comparison showed that Hanscom had 72 registered jets, while Nashua only had 4 registered jets. House Bill 124 made New Hampshire’s aircraft registration fees more competitive with Massachusetts to attract additional businesses to the state. The new fee structure resulting from House Bill 124 is a based on the weight of the aircraft and ranges from $100 to $3,500.
Q House Bill 1182: This bill made New Hampshire the first state in the country to make “roadable aircraft,” better known as flying cars, legal. Companies such as Terrafugia and Samson Motors have recently been
granted FAA approval to begin selling these aircraft to consumers as early as 2022.
Economic Benefits for New Hampshire Communities
The aviation industry provides many economic benefits for New Hampshire:
Q EMPLOYMENT: 10,000 Jobs Q ECONOMIC OUTPUT: $1.2 Billion/year (money generated in NH economy) Q TAXES GENERATED: $30 Million/year Q NH COST TO MAINTAIN*: $25.5 Million/year (or 0.1% of money generated)
Consider that the FAA contributes 90%, New Hampshire contributes 5%, and Airports contribute 5% to all eligible airport improvement projects. The FAA has calculated that for every project dollar spent by FAA, $7 in economic output is generated in the local, regional, and state economies. This
level of subsidy by the FAA is a great deal for New Hampshire.
In short, the New Hampshire system of airports is significant infrastructure that should be valued and maintained.
Nikolas Ippolito, P.E., is Chief Aviation Engineer with Gale Associates, Inc.
2022 Municipal Trustees Training Virtual Workshop
9:00 am—3:00 pm Thursday, June 9, 2022
Municipal trustees—cemetery trustees, library trustees, trustees of trust funds— have very important and varied duties. This virtual workshop is geared to give you the tools you need to perform your duties legally and understandably.
$70 Please Join Us!
FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND REGISTRATION
Please call us at 603.224.7447 or email us at registrations@nhmunicipal.org.
NHMA Gears Up for 2023-2024 Legislative Policy Process: It’s Never Too Early to Submit Policy Suggestions
Our Advocacy Efforts Matter! Your Voice Matters More!
Established in 1941 as a voluntary association of New Hampshire’s cities and towns, the New Hampshire Municipal Association has served as the primary legislative advocate for New Hampshire’s municipalities, representing its members at the state legislature and before numerous federal and state administrative agencies.
We are a unique advocacy organization in that we do not support or endorse any candidate or political party. Our ability to maintain significant political relevance is tied directly to our advocacy efforts and the relationships we have cultivated over many years with state and municipal leaders, the New Hampshire Legislature, state agency officials and other stakeholder groups.
As many municipal officials already know, our legislative work is a full-time, year-round job. It is an ongoing process and staff members have already been working on laying the foundation for the next legislative biennium. The success of NHMA’s legislative efforts, in large part, depends on you. You work at the level of government that is closest to the citizen and you are uniquely situated to help legislators understand how pending legislation affects your city or town.
Step One: Get Involved – Volunteer for a Policy Committee
• General Administration and Governance – elections, Right-to-Know Law, labor, town meeting, charters, welfare, public safety, other governance and legal matters. • Infrastructure, Development, and Land Use – solid/ 2019-2020 hazardous waste, transportation, land use, environmental regulation, housing, utilities, code enforcement, economic development. Legislative When you contact us, please indicate your first and second choices for a committee assignment. We will do our best to accommodate everyone’s first choice, but we do need to achieve approximately equal membership among the committees. We hope to have 15-20 members on each committee. Policy Positions There will be an organizational meeting for all committees on Friday, April 1. After that, each committee will meet separately as many times as necessary to review the policy proposals assigned to it—typically three to five meetings, all held on either a Monday or Friday, between early April and the end of May. The committee process will allow for in-depth review and discussion of policy suggestions so all aspects of each proposal, both positive and negative, will be examined. Based on that review, each committee will make recommendations for the adoption of legislative policies. Once the committees complete their work, their policy recommendations will be sent to every municipal member of NHMA. Each municipality’s governing body will be encouraged to review the recommendations and establish posi-
As a first step, we are recruiting volunteers to serve on our three legislative policy committees. These committees will review legislative policy proposals submitted by local officials and NHMA affiliate groups and make recommendations on those policies, which will go to the NHMA Legislative Policy Conference in September.
Each of the committees deals with a different set of municipal issues. The committees and their subject areas are as follows: • Finance and Revenue – budgeting, revenue, tax exemptions, current use, assessing, tax collection, retirement issues, education funding.
New Hampshire Municipal Association New Hampshire Municipal Association
2023-2024 Legislative Policy Process 2023-2024 Legislative Policy Process
Submitted by (Name):
Explanation of Proposed Policy
Date:
Title of Person Submitting Policy:
City or Town: Phone:
To see if NHMA will SUPPORT/OPPOSE:
Municipal interest to be accomplished by proposal:
Explanation:
A sheet like this should accompany each proposed legislative policy. It should include a brief (one or two sentence) policy statement, a statement about the municipal interest served by the proposal and an explanation that describes the nature of the problem or concern from a municipal perspective and discusses the proposed action that is being advocated to address the problem. Mail to NHMA, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301; or e-mail to governmentaffairs@nhmunicipal.org no later than the close of business on April 15, 2022.
LEGISLATIVE POLICY from page 24
tions on them. Members will also have an opportunity to submit floor policy proposals in advance of the Legislative Policy Conference in September.
At the Legislative Policy Conference, each member municipality is entitled to cast one vote on every policy recommendation submitted and on any floor proposals. Each policy proposal must receive a two-thirds affirmative vote of those present and voting in order to be adopted as an NHMA policy.
Step 2: Create Change - Submit a Legislative Policy Proposal
Every NHMA legislative policy begins with a proposal submitted by a local official, board, or committee. If there is a law affecting municipal government that you think needs to
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Policy Review Checklist
In order to make sure that each policy has been thoroughly considered and all pros and cons discussed, the following checklist should be applied to each recommendation.
Where does the policy come from?
What is the need for this legislative change/how widespread is this problem?
What could we lose and what are the risks of pursuing this proposal? What could we gain?
Who would likely be opposed to this proposal? Who would likely support it?
Does this proposal require financial analysis?
Would the policy cost money for municipalities? For the state?
Would the policy be divisive for municipalities? Would it tend to pit one community against another?
be fixed, or if you have an idea for how the functions of local government might be improved through legislation, this is your opportunity to make a change.
Accompanying this article is a Legislative Policy Proposal Form that can be used to submit a proposal for consideration. The deadline for submitting proposals is April 15, although earlier submission is encouraged. Please follow the instructions on the form for submitting your proposal.
We leave you, then, with two assignments, should you choose to accept them: • Contact the Government Affairs
Staff (soon!) if you are interested in serving on a legislative policy committee (send us an email at governmentaffairs@nhmunicipal. org); and
• Submit a legislative policy proposal if you have an issue that you would like to be considered as part of this year’s policy process. If you have a policy suggestion, it is not too early to send it in! Policy proposals may be submitted by a board or a local official from a member municipality. Please use the form found in this issue and email to us at governmentaffairs@nhmunicipal.org.
