 |
|
NewsLink
is a bi-weekly newsletter of the New Hampshire Municipal Association.
Its purpose is to keep you up-to-date on the latest information
of interest to municipal officials.
|
After Elections, Time to Update Your Official Rosters
|
|
Please Update Your Official Rosters and Member Contact Information
After each town or city election, we ask our members to identify and update all newly-elected and reelected officials from your city or town. By this action, you will help us maintain the
2019-2020 New Hampshire Municipal Officials Directory as a valuable member resource.
NHMA relies on this vital information to reach municipal officials and staff with timely information regarding available training, program and services as well as important legal and legislative updates throughout the year. This publication is also used extensively as a valuable reference tool by city, town, school and other local government officials.
Please log onto
www.nhmunicipal.org and go to Member Directory Updates in the Member Toolbox. If you don't know who in your city or town has access to do this, please contact NHMA's Judy Pearson at
[email protected] or via phone at 230.3355. This is also a good time to update who receives a complimentary New Hampshire Town and City magazine subscription as part of your membership with us.
Please update your official roster at your earliest convenience, but
no later than May 31st! Thank you in advance for all your help.
|
Free Workshops for Seasoned and Newly Elected Officials!
|
|
PROGRAM
9:00 am- 4:00 pm
Registration begins at 8:30 am.
Continental breakfast will be provided.
12:00 noon -1:00 pm (LUNCH ON YOUR OWN - except Rochester workshop)
Time provided for attendees to get lunch!
|
Presented 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, town governance, municipal roads, and more. Ample time allowed for questions, answers, and discussion.
Attendees will receive a complimentary copy of NHMA's 2019 edition of the publication,
Knowing the Territory.
Cancellation must be received 48 hours in advance. If cancellation is not received 48 hours in advance, NHMA will charge you $20 to cover workshop costs, including any meals.
|
A Word About Annual Town Reports
|
|
....but please don't.
Years ago when NHMA was under the umbrella of the Local Government Center (LGC), it held an annual town report contest which was very popular with our members. Every year our members would proudly send us their annual report in order to compete against other similarly-sized communities for bragging rights. A team of professionals would then evaluate each annual report and announce these awards at our annual conference held each year in November. Unfortunately, since the split from LGC in 2013, this annual award event has been discontinued.
Currently NHMA continues to receive copies of annual reports from our members. Although we appreciate you sending us your annual report, we respectfully ask that you don't. Thanks for your understanding.
Remember to File Annual Reports with Following State Agencies
However, please remember to file copies of your town reports with the following state agencies as required by statute:
* Department of Revenue Administration - One copy within 20 days of the close of the annual meeting (RSA 21-J:34,IX)
* New Hampshire State Library - Two copies (RSA 41:22 and RSA 202-A:18, I(d))
* Library of the University of New Hampshire - One copy (RSA 202-A:18, I (d))
|
Right-to-Know Law Affects All Municipal Officials!
|
|
Attend a Regional Right-to-Know Workshop Near You!
|
Southern New Hampshire Region
March 26 at Derry Municipal Center
|
|
NHMA Regional Workshop: The Right-to-Know Law and Governmental Meetings
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Derry Municipal Center
14 Manning Street, Derry, NH 03038
$35.00 without publication
$55.00 with publication, A Guide to Open Government: New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law
Join Executive Director Margaret Byrnes and Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley who will discuss the requirements for holding a proper public meeting, as well the exceptions to the meeting requirement (the so-called "non-meeting"). Then the attorneys will discuss the purposes for which public bodies may hold a nonpublic session, as well as the procedural requirements for a proper nonpublic session. This workshop will also address difficult "meeting" issues, such as communications outside a meeting and electronic means of communicating, and penalties and remedies provided in RSA Chapter 91-A.
|
North Country Region
April 3 at Berlin High School Library
|
|
NHMA Regional Workshop: The Right-to-Know Law and Governmental Meetings
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Berlin High School Library
550 Willard Street, Berlin, NH 03570
$35.00 without publication
$55.00 with publication, A Guide to Open Government: New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law
Join Executive Director Margaret Byrnes and Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley who will discuss the requirements for holding a proper public meeting, as well the exceptions to the meeting requirement (the so-called "non-meeting"). Then the attorneys will discuss the purposes for which public bodies may hold a nonpublic session, as well as the procedural requirements for a proper nonpublic session. This workshop will also address difficult "meeting" issues, such as communications outside a meeting and electronic means of communicating, and penalties and remedies provided in RSA Chapter 91-A.
There will be ample time for questions and answers.
|
Seacoast Region
May 3 at Dover Police Department Community Room
|
|
NHMA Regional Workshop: The Right-to-Know Law and Governmental Records
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Friday, May 3, 2019
Dover Police Department, Community Room
46 Chestnut Street, Dover, NH 03820
$35.00 without publication
$55.00 with publication, A Guide to Open Government: New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law
Join NHMA's Executive Director Margaret Byrnes and Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley who will share strategies to assist municipalities in 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.
Guidance will be provided on determining what is a governmental record, and when and how access and copies of public records must be provided. 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.
|
Free Community Water System Workshops
|
|
Free Workshop: Setting the Right Rates for Your System
8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
New Hampshire National Guard Facility, Edward Cross Training Complex, 722 Riverwood Drive, Pembroke, NH, 03275
This intermediate level workshop will help ensure the financial stability of your water system while providing safe, quality drinking water at fair rates. We will focus on how systems can select rate setting objectives and match those with appropriate rate structures.
You will learn how to:
1. Develop rate setting objectives
2. Determine the cost of providing water service
3. Anticipate changes in revenues year-to-year by changes in demand
4. Measure the affordability of rates for all of your customers
5. Create rate structures that promote water conservation or promote water use
Who Should Attend?:
This workshop is appropriate for any community water system that charges customers for water consumption. It is designed for drinking water system managers, clerks, treasurers, board members, and others who budget and/or set rates.
Trainer:
Glenn Barnes - Associate Director, The Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina
|
|
FREE WORKSHOP. Please Register by April 5, 2019
(Space is limited so register early). Please consider the environment prior to printing ticket or confirmation.
Credits: 4.5 Total contact hours (TCHs)/0.45 Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) will be awarded to NH certified drinking water, wastewater operators and engineers who attend the entire workshop. Questions/Contact: Emily Nichols, NHDES at 603-271-8320 or [email protected].
|
|
A Continuing Legal Education Seminar, hosted by NHMA and the New Hampshire Municipal Lawyers Association:
Exactions and Open Space: Avoiding Mistakes
Conservation Dedications: Doing it Right!
1:00 pm - 4:15 pm
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
NHMA Offices, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord
$40 per attendee/Online Registration Only
As the economy improves, local governments will face proposals for development. Along with regulatory compliance issues, these proposals will continue to create concerns with open space and conservation lands and land use takings in the context of exactions and dedications involving the delicate use of "rational basis" and "rough proportionality."
This seminar includes:
* An overview of law associated with exactions and dedications;
* Analysis of the consequences of climate change for nature and people, and how municipal planning can help communities both contribute to mitigating the drivers and adapt to the consequences;
* Defensible strategies and techniques to create connected and resilient open spaces; and
* Dedication and exaction practices designed to meet legal standards.
Presenters include: Amy Manzelli, Esquire, BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC; Dr. David Patrick, Director of Conservation, The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire; and Daniel Crean, retired attorney and consultant at Crean Municipal Consultation Services.
As with all NHMLA/NHMA seminars, this is an educational seminar and is not intended to provide legal advice, and attendance or participation does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Registration includes materials delivered electronically - no hard copies of materials will be provided.
|
|
Local Road Regulation & Enforcement: A New Hard Road to Travel
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Friday, April 26, 2019
NHMA Offices, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord
$65.00, includes 2019 Hard Road to Travel supplement
A resident is draining her sump pump into the street, what can we do?
Private snow plow operators are leaving snow piles in town roads, is that legal?
A citizen on a Class VI is digging in the right-of-way, can we stop him?
Join NHMA Executive Director Margaret Byrnes and Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and for the answers to these questions-and many more! The attorneys will discuss the enforcement of existing state laws that prohibit excavating in public streets without a permit, and that bar obstructing public roads with debris or improper drainage. This workshop will also provide a complete inventory of local regulations the governing body can adopt to regulate parking, street numbers, street names, OHRV and snowmobile operation, speed limits, weight limits, as well as driveway regulation by the planning board. Time will also be spent on Class VI and private roads, including what municipalities-and residents-can and cannot do on these roads.
The 2019 A Hard Road to Travel Supplement will be provided to each attendee.
The 2015 A Hard Road to Travel Publication is not included with your registration; however, if you'd like to purchase a copy of the 2015 edition, please visit NHMA's online shop here.
|
USDOL Workshop:
How to Avoid Costly Mistakes - A Wage & Hour Compliance Workshop for Cities and Towns
9:00 am - 12:30 pm,
Friday, May 10, 2019
NHMA Offices, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord
Cost: $35.00
(Seating is limited to first 70 registrants)
Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can be complicated, and many municipal employers unintentionally violate the law with common mistakes such as failing to properly pay employees for hours worked, incorrectly computing overtime, or misapplying overtime exemptions.
Steven McKinney, the Community Outreach Specialist for the Northern New England District Office of the United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, will discuss some of the most common FLSA pitfalls and errors, how to avoid these costly mistakes, and options for correcting unintentional underpayment.
Other topics will include volunteers, compensatory time, special exemptions that may apply to local government.
|
Upcoming NHMA Webinars -
Convenient, Easy to Attend, and Free!
|
NHMA Webinar:
Rethinking Recycling
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
The recent international recycling market upheaval has put a tremendous strain on municipal recycling budgets and programs. Many cities and towns across New Hampshire are re-evaluating whether it makes more financial sense to simply landfill or incinerate its trash or maintain their recycling programs until such a day the markets turn favorably toward single-stream collection again.
Join Mike Durfor, Executive Director of the nation's oldest recycling cooperative, Northeast Resource Recovery Association, who will explain what has happened to, and what the future portends for, recycling, glass, and trash, as well as the associated costs.
This webinar is open to NHMA members and is of interest to all municipal officials and employees. If you have input into or manage any part of a municipal budget, you can't afford to miss this webinar.
|
NHMA Webinar:
Legislative Half-time
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
It's legislative half-time and time for teams to swap ends of the field of play.
Join Executive Director Margaret M.L. Byrnes, Government Affairs Counsel Cordell Johnston, and Government Finance Advisor Barbara Reid for a look at the status of legislation affecting municipalities after "Crossover." Crossover is the date by which a bill must pass either the House or the Senate in order to "cross over" to the other chamber for consideration.
This webinar will discuss the current status of bills at the State House, and offer a postmortem on a few that have been killed. The discussion will include, among others, assessing issues, water quality standards, the Right-to-Know law, the retirement system, planning and zoning issues, election law matters, and of course, postponement of town meeting, and the biennial budget.
This webinar is open to NHMA members and is of interest to all municipal officials and employees.
|
NRRA Workshops -
Yes In My Backyard! Trainings
Learn composting basics and techniques, waste audit methodologies and safe handling of batteries. The YIMBY! workshops designed specifically for solid waste facility operators, schools and businesses will help attendees: Learn organics management techniques as you navigate the organics waste stream; Increase your understanding of the best management practices for waste batteries; connect with community waste reduction efforts; and earn credits for professional development and
certification.
Upcoming Workshop dates and locations
April 9, 2019: White Mountain Community College, Berlin, NH
May 2, 2019: Pease Public Library, Plymouth, NH
To learn more about these workshops and how to register: https://nrra.net/resources/usda-grant-presentations-webinars/
|
Registration Now Open for NHGFOA's New Government Accounting Certificate Program
Act Today - Space is Limited!
The New Hampshire Government Finance Officers Association (NHGFOA) recently announced that registration for the inaugural
year of The New Hampshire Government Accounting Certificate Program is now open.
Click here for 2019 program brochure!
There are a limited number of scholarships available and class size will be limited to 25 participants. Please email applications and all questions to NHMBB's Jill McNeil, Program Administrator, at [email protected].
|
|
|
|
NHDOS Proposes Amendments to DNA Database Rules
The New Hampshire Department of Safety (NHDOS) is proposing to readopt with amendments administrative rule Saf-C 6700 dealing with DNA database records. The rules specify the procedures for the dissemination of information contained in the DNA database. The proposed amendments:
- Update the procedures for collecting DNA samples;
- Clarify what a DNA record includes;
- Specifically name prosecutors as among those who can request a DNA record;
- Allow authorized law enforcement to verify by telephone if a DNA sample has been collected; and
- Describe how matching DNA information can be released.
Copies of the proposed rule are available by contacting Heidi Barba at 271-0040 or
[email protected]. A public hearing on the proposed rules is scheduled for
Friday, March 22, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. at the Department of Safety 2nd Floor Conference Room, 33 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03305. The deadline for submission of written comments is
3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 1, 2019.
|
POLICY BRIEF:
Improving Tax Increment Financing for Economic Development
Tax increment financing (TIF) is a popular economic development tool across the United States, but it often falls short of its promise to revitalize struggling neighborhoods. In this four-page Policy Brief, University of Illinois-Chicago economist David Merriman recommends several ways that state and local policy makers can reform TIF practices going forward, illustrated by case studies that show the effect of TIF on public education, government transparency, and municipal fiscal health. The brief draws from Merriman's Policy Focus Report, Improving Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for Economic Development, the most comprehensive assessment of tax increment financing (TIF) with practical recommendations for policy makers and practitioners.
|
|
|
|
New Information May Change NHDES Proposed PFAS Drinking Water Standards
After filing its Initial Proposal, new scientific information was evaluated by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) that may change the proposed drinking water standards. Specifically, a new assessment tool developed by the Minnesota Department of Health allows for a quantitative estimate of infant and child exposure to PFAS through breastmilk and/or formula. This peer-reviewed model was published at the beginning of January after NHDES filed its Initial Proposal. NHDES's assessment of the exposure model for the interaction of drinking water levels of PFAS and breastfeeding (Goeden et al, 2019) indicates that health-based drinking water or groundwater standards for PFOA and PFOS would potentially be lowered significantly below the Initial Proposal figures of 38 parts per trillion (ppt) and 70 ppt, respectively. NHDES is continuing to review the suitability of this assessment tool for PFHxS and PFNA based on this and other studies released in 2019. NHDES will need to complete a review of the technical and cost implications of these health-based calculations, and any public comment received, prior to issuance of the Final Proposal. NHDES feels that it is important to release this information prior to the upcoming PFAS public hearings, so that there is plenty of time for people and organizations to examine this model and its use while developing their comments.
|
|
National League of Cities: A Growing Number of Cities are Concerned About Contaminated Drinking Water
From Florida to Washington and many communities in between, local officials are facing drinking water contamination from per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). More cities, towns and villages are now becoming aware of the contamination and there is
growing concern across all levels of government regarding health risks and how to address the issue.
PFAS substances are a group of man-made chemicals that were made and used in a variety of industries around the globe. In the United States, these chemicals were manufactured beginning in the 1940s for use in fire-fighting foams, commercial household products and production facilities.
|
Don't Forget to Register for 2019 NHGFOA Annual Conference
May 2-3, 2019
North Conway Grand Hotel, North Conway, NH
The New Hampshire Government Finance Officers Association (NHGFOA) will hold their 2019 annual conference on May 2-3, 2019 at the North Conway Grand Hotel in North Conway, NH. Conference sessions will address financial policies; ethics for finance officials; online payments; fraud/scams/cyber security; wage and hour pitfalls; economic, GASB and legislative updates; and much more!
Please log onto www.nhgfoa.org to download the conference agenda and the hotel reservation form under the Events tab. Thursday night lodging is included in the $175 Member/Sponsor registration fee, however the hotel reservation form still needs to be completed and faxed to the North Conway Grand Hotel at 603-356-6028 to secure your room.
|
|
|
PLAN NH Accepting Applications for its Scholarship and Fellowship Program
Plan NH's Scholarship and Fellowship Program, in partnership with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, recognizes and honors outstanding students (undergraduate and graduate) who call New Hampshire home and who are studying a field related to Plan NH's mission: to "foster excellence in planning, design and development of New Hampshire's built environment." Studies may include, but not necessarily be limited to:
- Architecture
- Landscape Architecture
- Engineering
- Interior Design
- Construction-related field or trade
- Environmental science or similar field
- Land or community planning
- Historic preservation
Students must be in at least the first year of college when applying, or may be in a graduate program. Either may be anywhere in the world.
For more information about the program, and to download application materials, go here
and click on Scholarships. All application materials are
due April 12 2019
.
Plan NH brings information and inspiration - to New Hampshire communities and the planners, designers and developers who shape them - about ideas and practices that contribute to healthy, vibrant and delightful towns and neighborhoods.
|
NewsLink will periodically feature a segment that highlights recognition of our members (and any other good news that deserve notice) in a new segment called "Members in the News."
So please send any recognitions, awards, distinctions or any other news worthy items to us at
[email protected]. The emphasis is on good news and/or stories of how municipal professionals are transforming the way we serve our residents every day.
|
|
|
|
Get Schooled About New Hampshire's Town Meeting!
Check out NHMA's Government Affairs Counsel Cordell Johnston as part of a panel discussion with other municipal officials looking at town meetings in New Hampshire on NHPR's "The Exchange" program with Laura Knoy.
This program aired on Wednesday, March 6, and included the following guests:
- Howard Atschiller, Executive Editor, Seacoast Media Group
- Peter Basiliere, Milford Town and School Moderator
- Chris Hawkins, Newmarket Town and School Moderator
|
|
|
|
Episode 6 of NHPR's Civics 101 New Hampshire
Program Features NHMA's Byrnes and Buckley on Town Meetings
Town meetings are a New Hampshire institution. It's where all the year's town business is voted on by citizens in town halls, gyms, and community centers around the state. But for the uninitiated, town meeting can be confusing.
NHPR's Daniela Allee breaks down the history and function of this annual tradition with NHMA's Executive Director Margaret Byrnes and Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley.and others. Thank you for inviting NHMA on the show!
|
|
|
March 13th TRIVIA QUESTION:
Name the New Hampshire city or town that was originally known as "Great Meadows." One of Paul Revere's bells hangs in the Park Hill meetinghouse. The first settlers came up the Connecticut River in canoes from Northfield, Massachusetts in 1741, after the original charter was granted by the Massachusetts governor in 1736.
Please send your response to
[email protected]
. A winner will be recognized in the next
NewsLink
issue and be eligible for a grand prize of no particular value whatsoever at the end of the year.
|
February 27th TRIVIA QUESTION:
Name the New Hampshire city or town city or town that is a "pene-enclave," functionally accessible to neighboring New Hampshire towns only by traveling through the State of Maine first?
Correct Response: Town of Chatham
February 27th Winner: Linda Levy, Land Use Boards Assistant, Town of Holderness
|
|
Benefit Plans for the Public Sector
|
|
Before you act on an employment or labor issue,
call the
Drummond Woodsum
EMPLOYMENT LAW HOTLINE
@ 623.2500
The Employment Law Hotline is an NHMA Member Benefit
|
|
SAVE THESE DATES - UPCOMING EVENTS!
|
NewsLink. It's free. Subscribe today!
|
|
New Hampshire Municipal Association, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301
|
|
|
|
|
|
