Legal
Q and A Village Districts: A Commonly Misunderstood Municipal Entity By Natch Greyes, Municipal Services Counsel
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illage districts have a long history in New Hampshire. Many of village districts were created by special legislative act – i.e. the legislature passed a bill creating each of those districts and giving them certain powers – at a time before RSA chapter 52, governing village districts, was enacted. Yet, despite that long history, there are probably no municipal entities more misunderstood than village districts. Often, they are thought of as subservient to a town or city, rather than as independent municipal entities. That can have big consequences, as we witnessed with the disbursement of CARES Act Funds. So, it’s important to get a firm understanding of village districts: how they operate and what they do. Q. What are Village Districts? A: RSA 52:3 specifies that a village districts is a “body corporate and politic, and shall have all the powers in relation to the objects for which it was established that towns have or may have in relation to like objects, and all that are necessary for the accomplishment of its purposes.” In
other words, a village district is a political unit organized for a specific purpose. For example, to provide firefighting services to a certain area or to provide water or sewer service to a certain area. This can make things complicated when the state or federal government provides funds as towns and cities don’t double dip on services, nor do the towns or cities have power over the districts. As such, it is important for village district officials to keep abreast of funding legislation and advocate for inclusion of village districts. Q. How are Village Districts Created? A: While it’s true that many village districts were created by special legislative act, many have also been organized (or reorganized) under the provisions of RSA chapter 52. In either case, the village district is created for a specific purpose. Often, these include firefighting or providing water and/or sewer to a certain area. It’s important to know that village districts aren’t restricted to one municipality. They can – and many do – cross town
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