Board of Selectmen Meeting, January 6, 2025
Grader acquisition overturned due to legal issues. Legal demand letter received. Rats infest police cruisers. Facility maintenance needs outstrip funding.
Issues with the Board’s Last-Minute Spending
The board overturned its December 23 decision to buy a new $464k road grader due to concerns about the legality of that decision. It will instead present the issue to the voters as a warrant article.
While there was a complaint filed with the town that the board’s decision violated RSA 32.8, the board maintained that RSA 32.10 gave them legal authority for the decision. However, a review of the stipulations of the Highway Truck Capital Reserve Fund, established in 1984 by warrant article, showed that only the legislative body has the authority to tap that fund, not the board. The most recent use of that fund was for the acquisition of a six-wheel dump truck, which was submitted to the voters as a warrant article. As part of the funding for the grader was to come from that fund, the board determined that it was legally required to submit the issue to the voters.
The board maintained that its acquisition of a new off-road vehicle for the Police Department was allowed under RSA 32:10 as the board has authority to shift funds between line items as needed, and the budget has a funded line item for police vehicles.
The board addressed concerns that it had failed to follow its own procurement policy, which requires competitive bidding. The board noted that it has the authority to override its own policies. The board believes that the acquisitions have been well-researched - the grader has been on the CIP list for years - and that competitive bidding was not needed.
Demand Letter Received by Town
A rumor has circulated that the town received a legal demand letter from the attorney representing the town’s former Fire Chief. Another citizen and I emailed the Town Administrator to confirm the rumor, but neither of us received replies. During public comment, I questioned the board about the rumor. The town admitted that it had received a legal letter, but refused to disclose any details about it, claiming that the letter was sealed with the non-public minutes and therefore not subject to right-to-know. I am disputing that claim.
New Town Attorney
The board unanimously selected Drummond Woodsum as Town Attorney, replacing Upton & Hatfield. There will be a transition period during which new legal issues will be referred to the new attorney, but existing issues will be referred to the former attorney. Existing issues being referred to the former attorney include reviewing this year’s warrant articles and attending the deliberative session.
Budget
The Budget Committee made a small number of changes to the operating budget proposed by the board, mostly to shift some spending toward the maintenance of roads and buildings.
Keeping the Old Grader
Regarding concerns about whether it makes economic sense for the town to continue to use the old grader along with the new one it hopes to acquire, the recent repair bill for the old grader was $18k.
[Cost/benefit analysis. The old grader is a 2006 model; therefore, assume an 18-year useful life. The new grader costs $464k; therefore, depreciate the grader at 464k/18 = $25.8k/yr. Therefore, if it costs more than $25.8k/yr to repair the old grader, it’s not worth it to keep repairing it. This calculation will, of course, be more complicated when there are two graders.]
Rat Infestation at Town Hall
Remediation of the long ongoing rat infestation of Town Hall appears to have finally achieved success. No signs of rodents have been detected in the building for two months. However, rats are now infesting the police cruisers parked outside Town Hall.
Building Maintenance
The board conducted a long discussion with Facilities Manager Allan Trant about the town’s facilities maintenance needs based on a lengthy report he had submitted to the board. Considerably more repair needs have been identified than the town has funding set aside to address. Trant estimates that $150k of maintenance work is needed in the next one to three years for the town to catch up with its backlog of deferred maintenance.
The remaining money in the facilities maintenance fund will be prioritized towards completing projects already started and addressing paint and siding issues at the Recycling Center and Old Town Hall.
Fire Chief Selection Process
The board discussed whether it needed to submit a warrant article to the voters to allow it to directly appoint the Fire Chief rather than having the members of the department elect a candidate to be appointed. The board concluded no warrant article was needed.
Upcoming Events
January 14, 7:00 pm, Public Hearing on Town Budget Proposal
January 16, 7:00 pm, Public Hearing on School Budget Proposal
February 1, 9:00 am, Town Deliberative Session
February 5, 6:00 pm, School Deliberative Session
As the BOS are members from the community, it relies heavily on the town administrator to bring up guidelines, policies, etc, particularly where their decisions may be counter to its established policies or an over-reach of its authority. If a policy is going to be overridden, then consideration must be made to vote on changing a policy. As long as changing the specific policy doesn't cause the board to exceed its authority, then it can change the policy. But just like the superintendent is the professional who should provide guard rails to the school board, the TA should provide guard rails to the BOS. Charlie Brown did an outstanding job in this area, as did Chris Sterndale. They were both well versed and would do their homework before a topic came up on an agenda in order that the BOS did not go beyond its authority.
"The board noted that it has the authority to override its own policies."
Only those who make the rules may break them.