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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.
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Wishing Members a Safe and Happy July 4th Celebration!
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| NHMA offices closed on Friday, July 3rd, in observance of the holiday. |
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Your Feedback and Input is Critical
Please Complete Municipal Reopening Survey by July 10th!
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NHMA's Municipal Reopening Survey
Please take a quick moment to complete the survey no later than Friday, July 10 at 5:00 pm.
A summary of the survey results will be provided to NHMA membership.
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NHMA's Legal Services Team to Host Weekly Call on Thursdays!
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Local Officials & Employees Urged to Join NHMA at 1:00 pm Every Thursday
Beginning at 1:00 pm on Thursdays, NHMA attorneys are hosting a weekly call for municipal officials and employees on issues and matters arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. All municipal officials from member municipalities are encouraged to listen in. The purpose of the calls is to learn about continuing and new issues municipalities are facing, as well as to try to answer questions.
The call-in information will be provided on our Calendar of Events
and sent in a separate email from NHMA to members. We hope you will join us on Thursdays for this weekly call.
________________________________________________________________________________
+1 925-338-9902 United States, Concord (Toll)
Conference ID:
727 655 019#
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NHMA is Making the Switch!
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NHMA Migrating to New Email Marketing Tool, Mailchimp
In an effort to improve your user experience, NHMA is migrating to a new email marketing tool, Mailchimp. We decided that this new marketing provider will allow us to better target content to specific segments of our membership.
We have already launched several campaigns with Mailchimp and we hope you like the new look.
Making this switch, however, may mean there will be some unanticipated hiccups. When we launch this new marketing platform later in July, keep an eye out for a form that will enable you to subscribe to NewsLink again if we should lose you along the way. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience that may result from this switch.
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Important Message Regarding Remote Meetings
NHMA has received a number of questions regarding the transition from 'Stay-at-Home' to 'Safer-at-Home' and the associated Emergency Orders.
While citizens are no longer being asked to stay at home, no changes have been made to Emergency Order #12, allowing municipalities to hold remote meetings, or Emergency Order #23, relaxing statutory deadlines. These Orders are slated to remain in effect for the duration of the State of Emergency, and we do not anticipate any future Orders changing their duration. Boards may still meet remotely, and we encourage even those which choose to meet in-person to continue to provide remote access options to the public, and abide by social distancing guidelines.
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NHMA is providing members with updated informaton and available resources from federal and state agencies in order to assist cities and towns in developing appropriate responses at the local level regarding COVID-19.
Please check our website frequently for any new information or updates. Members can access this information by going to
www.nhmunicipal.org and by clicking Resources and Publications (far right tab on menu bar). You will find a new tab labeled
COVID-19 Resources at the top of the side menu. Please check back regularly as we will update this page as new information and resources develop.
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Recent Activity of Interest to Municipalities
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NHMA Offers Customized "On-Demand" Training Services During Times of COVID-19 for
Only $350!
Thanks to COVID-19, we're doing things a little differently with our "On-Demands" training. Instead of having a legal services attorney travel to your city or town, we're now offering "On-Demands" as virtual presentations via Microsoft's Teams platform.
Attendees would log in to the training program from the comfort of their home or office and attend virtually, with the ability to ask live questions of the presenting attorney. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information!
NHMA will offer this alternative method of training on a date and time that would be suitable for your board and staff, and you could always invite surrounding member municipalities to participate and contribute to the total cost.
The cost is only $350.00.
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NHMA Looking for Session Proposal Ideas
NHMA's 2020 Virtual Annual Conference will be held over three days this year -
Wednesday, November 18
Thursday, November 19
Friday, November 20
To propose an educational session, please complete this form by
Friday, July 31, 2020. Session proposals will be reviewed by the Association's conference planning committee which will notify you, no later than August 3, 2020, to let you know if your session was approved.
Questions? Please contact our Event Coordinator, Ashley Methot at
[email protected] or 603-230-3340.
Tips to Maximize Your Proposal's Selection:
* NHMA will not accept proposals for sessions that appear to be selling a product or service.
* Subject matter and presentation styles should be directed primarily toward city and town officials.
* NHMA is increasingly looking for creative session formats, including those that encourage interaction with and among participants.
If approved, all sessions will be pre-recorded prior to the conference in November and presenters will need to be available for the live Q&A during the scheduled session slot during the virtual conference. Additional details regarding session recordings will be provided in September.
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Four Complimentary Webinars in July!
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Safer at Home 2.0 Municipal Guidance
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Both in New Hampshire and nationally, policymakers, public health professionals, and other stakeholders are beginning to roll back the restrictions and resuming more typical government, business and social activities. To ensure the safety of all Granite Staters, all employers and employees must take certain steps to stay open or reopen safely.
Join New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Service's (DHHS) Deputy Director Trish Tilley, Division of Public Health (DPHS) Program Manager Matt Cahillane, and NHMA's Municipal Services Counsel Natch Greyes for Safer at Home 2.0 Municipal Guidance.
Hear from state health experts about COVID-19's trends, lessons-learned, best practices for keeping staff and the public safe, and learn more about the ever-changing legal authority to do so from NHMA. Learn what is known about COVID-19 and what is necessary to protect the public's health and allow New Hampshire to remain open for business.
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Right-to-Know Law and Governmental Records
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Join Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Natch Greyes who will provide guidance on handling governmental record matters arising under the Right-to-Know Law, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 webinar 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.
Recent New Hampshire Supreme Court decisions on exemptions for internal personnel practices and personnel records will be addressed in detail. In addition, guidance will be provided on the retention of governmental records and how claims under the Right-to-Know Law are enforced.
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The New Art of Utility Valuations
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Recent legislation, HB 700 (Chapter 117, Laws of 2019) established a uniform methodology for the valuation for local property tax purposes of utility company distribution assets.
Beginning May 1, 2020, every utility company must report to both the municipality and NHDRA, the original cost and net book value of each category of assets located within the municipality. The methodology will be phased in over a 5-year period. The value in the first year (the tax year effective April 1, 2020) will be a weighted average of 80 percent of the final locally assessed value for the 2018 tax year and 20 percent of the value determined using the methodology. The value determined using the methodology will be weighted an additional 20 percent in each subsequent year until the methodology is fully implemented in the fifth year.
Join Scott Bartlett, Assessor in the Town of Goffstown, and Catherine Capron, NHDRA's Utility Tax Appraiser, who will review this new methodology being utilized in the determination of local utility values.
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Reengineering Your Employment Procedures in Light of Recent Court Decisions
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that a landmark federal civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers. The Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination "because of sex," includes gay and transgender employees.
Closer to home, the New Hampshire Supreme Court overruled its decision in Union Leader Corp. v. Fenniman, 136 N.H. 624 (1993) that "internal personnel practices" are categorically exempt from disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV. In Fenniman, the Court ruled that under the "internal practices" exemption a public agency's records concerning the internal discipline of an employee were categorically exempt from disclosure. The Court has now concluded that the "internal personnel practices" exemption only applies to a narrow set of governmental records pertaining to an agency's internal rules and practices governing operations and employee relations.
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CHECK OUT
NEW COURT UPDATES!
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NLC's 35th Annual City Fiscal Conditions Survey
Please complete by Thursday, July 2nd!
The National League of Cities (NLC) is currently conducting its 35th Annual City Fiscal Conditions survey. This survey has provided NLC with critical information and data needed to demonstrate the needs of locals to the federal government. NHMA encourages all of our cities, towns and villages to participate in the survey to ensure the voices of New Hampshire
communities are well-represented in this effort.
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Governing Webinar: Effective Strategies and Technologies for Engaging Citizens During Time of Crisis
1:00 pm, Thursday, July 2, 2020
In a crisis, government communication with citizens must be clear, consistent and broadly available. This session will explore how states and localities are communicating authoritative information about COVID-19 to the news media and directly to citizens to explain evolving conditions and policies, and to counter misinformation. This half-hour webinar will look at best practices emerging from the pandemic response and what they mean for public sector communication and citizen engagement strategies moving forward. Our panelists will cover:
Building and maintaining credibility
Effective communication strategies as the nation enters what's likely to be a protracted recovery
Meeting citizen information and engagement demands at the speed of social media
Maintaining consistent messaging across multiple platforms
Adapting traditional news conferences to social distancing requirements
Speakers:
Ervan Rodgers II, State Chief Information Officer, Assistant Director, Ohio Department of Administrative Services, Office of Information Technology
Rafael Mena, Chief Information Officer, Orange County, Florida
Phil Bertolini, Moderator Co-Executive Director, Center for Digital Government
Register now for this complimentary, half-hour webinar. All attendees will have the opportunity to download a certificate of attendance at the completion of the webinar on July 2.
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CDFA to Allocate Approximately $5.4 Million Under CDBG Program
Application Process Starts July 8, 2020
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ough the CARES Act, the State of New Hampshire was allocated approximately $5.4 million to be deployed under the Community Development Block Grant program to respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). These funds, known as CDBG-CV, are to be used specifically for the prevention of, preparation for, and response to COVID-19.
CDFA is focused on rapidly deploying these additional funds, as well as shifting existing resources, to meet the needs of New Hampshire communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Next Steps for Potential Applicants
As you prepare your community to apply for CDBG-CV funds, applicants should take the following steps.
- Schedule a pre-application meeting with CDFA staff. Contact Shelley Hadfield, Director of Housing and Community Development ([email protected]/603-717-9112) to schedule. Applications submitted without a pre-application meeting will not be considered.
- Begin a community needs assessment. Guidance for how to conduct an assessment is available here. The completion of an assessment will be considered when scoring applications.
- Hold a public hearing to adopt a Housing and Community Development plan if your community does not have one.
Accessing Additional CDBG Funds to Respond to COVID-19
Housing and Public Facilities applications that clearly demonstrate consistency with the directive of the CARES Act to prepare for, respond to or recover from the COVID-10 pandemic; and, which also meet CDFA's CDBG Emergency Program criteria may be submitted through the CDBG Emergency Program application process. Applicants with potential projects must contact CDFA for a pre-application meeting to determine if the proposed project meets the criteria. A circular with additional information is available here.
Relevant Resources
All relevant Community Development Block Grant - CV program resources can be found on CDFA's Resource Hub: https://resources.nhcdfa.org/programs/community-development-block-grant/. These resources include:
CDFA is continuing to work diligently to respond to community needs, provide flexibility and deploy resources as quickly as possible to support critical work. For more information on other COVID-19 resources available to our current grantees/borrowers, municipalities, nonprofits and businesses, please visit:
https://nhcdfa.org/covid-19-resources/
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Relevant Resources
CDFA will post additional information related to CDBG-CV as they receive further guidance from HUD.
For more information on other COVID-19 resources available to our current grantees/borrowers, municipalities, nonprofits and businesses, please visit:
https://nhcdfa.org/covid-19-resources/.
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"Farms for the Future: A Skill-building Workshop Series for Municipalities, Land Trusts, and Non-profits to Support Farmers in Northern New England
Please complete survey by July 6th!
A series of webinars are being developed by American Farmland Trust, Maine Farmland Trust, Southeast Land Trust of NH, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, and the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, and with financial support from the Jane's Trust Foundation. These webinars are being designed as introductory-level workshops to offer skill-building resources, guidance, and networking to municipalities, land trusts, and organizations interested in protecting more farmland, increasing land access for all farmers, building climate resiliency, and supporting local land-based economies. The webinars will be presented in online forums in August and September 2020 and will be recorded and available afterwards on the Farmland Information Center (
www.farmlandinfo.org).
These groups are now looking for input from you about workshop topics and content you feel would be most interesting and impactful to your organization and the communities you serve. Your experience and input will help to directly inform the subjects and content they develop.
Please take a few minutes to fill out this SURVEY by July 6th!
If you would like to know more about the project, feel free to contact American Farmland Trust staff Megan Faller (
[email protected]) or Jamie Pottern (
[email protected]).
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"Financial Wellness" Grants Available for Towns and Cities
Grants are available to state or local governments looking to improve an existing employee financial wellness program or establish a new one. Applications are due by July 15, 2020.
Funded by the
Wells Fargo Foundation, the initiative is administered via a collaboration among
SLGE, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (
IPMA-HR), and the National Association of State Treasurers' Foundation (
NASTF).
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SWANA Taking Orders for Free Face Masks Through July 17
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA)
is collecting orders online for cloth face coverings through July 17 on behalf of the entire U.S. solid waste and recycling industry. These face coverings will be available at no cost to companies and agencies in the industry. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), along with other federal partners, are distributing cloth face coverings at no cost to essential critical infrastructure workers in the United States and has asked SWANA to assist in the distribution.
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BMP's for Managing eWaste at Tranfer Stations
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Wednesday, July 8
We will be discussing electronic waste management at solid waste transfer stations in NH. Attendees will learn the state's definition of electronic waste and how it differs from that of their vendor; and how that definition determines compliance with the law. Instructors will divulge best management practices on making ewaste collection work at your facility; how to market the items that your facility collects regularly; and tips on choosing the right vendor and why.
Join the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, your recycling nonprofit, for this webinar to discuss these issues. Tara Albert is the SWOT Coordinator at New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services.
New Hampshire solid waste operators will receive one hour of continuing education credit for participating and completing post webinar survey.
Refill Not Landfill
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Friday, July 10
For years, we have focused on recycling as the way to manage our ever changing waste stream. The industry has done a wonderful job finding new ways to use our waste in products. The Solid Waste Hierarchy gives guidance as to how we should approach waste management decisions. The first two concepts are "reduce and reuse". It is time we take a hard look at these methods for managing waste and how they fit into an integrated waste management system. The City of Lebanon started an outreach campaign in 2018 that focused on reuse.
Join the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, your recycling nonprofit, for this webinar to discuss these issues. Marc Morgan is the Solid Waste Manager at the Lebanon, NH Recycling Center and Emily Rogers is the Member Education Manager of the Food Coop Store in Hanover, NH.
New Hampshire solid waste operators will receive one hour of continuing education credit for participating and completing post webinar survey.
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NHRS Trustees Reduce Assumed Rate of Return
Rate Change is Part of Several Adjustments to Actuarial Assumptions
The Board of Trustees of the New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) voted June 9, 2020, to adopt revised actuarial assumptions based on the results of a four-year experience study conducted by its consulting actuary. In an accompanying vote, the Board voted to reduce the retirement system's investment assumption, lowering the assumed rate of return from 7.25 percent to 6.75 percent. Overall, the changes to actuarial assumptions approved this year are expected to increase employer contribution rates in fiscal years 2022-2023, which begins July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023.
NHRS Executive Director George P. Lagos stated that "The Trustees have a legal obligation as fiduciaries to adopt actuarially reasonable assumptions, including the assumed rate of return. The decision to adopt these assumptions is consistent with the Board's duty to act in the best interests of the retirement system's members and beneficiaries. In taking this action, the Board is responding responsibly to capital market projections, anticipated continued low, long-term interest rates, and other economic and demographic data points that are key to projecting the pension system's liabilities."
The 6.75 percent rate represents what NHRS Trustees believe the plan can realistically earn from its investments on an annual basis, when averaged over the long-term. In any given year, investment returns are likely to be higher or lower than the long-term assumed rate.
Lagos also noted that the four-year experience study conducted for the period July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2019, does not take into consideration any market volatility or potential economic impact related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Additional information about the Board's decision is available in the NHRS news release.
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NHDES Proposes Amendments to the Drinking Water Programs and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund Program
Virtual Public Hearing Set for 1:00 pm, July 16, 2020
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is proposing
important amendments to various sections of administrative rules Env-Dw 1100.
The existing rules, Env-Dw 1100, implement RSA 486:14, which authorizes the Department to participate in federally-funded drinking water revolving loan funds or grants under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The rules are proposed to be readopted with amendment in response to an audit of the program that identified several deficiencies, including needing to clarify how interest rates are selected during the supplemental loan agreement process. In addition, revisions are proposed to (1) better align the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF) rules with the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (CWSRF) rules and the Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund (DWGTF) rules and (2) update the rules, including but not limited to the following:
(a) Clarify existing definitions, add missing definitions, and delete definitions that are not needed;
(b) Expand the categories of eligible infrastructure projects to match the federal rules;
(c) Clarify the process for review of draft Environmental Assessments;
(d) Adjust how the interest rate is determined to allow flexibility within each authorizing grant period;
(e) Reorganize and clarify the rules regarding public hearings, the development of original loan agreements and supplemental loan agreements, the environmental review process, and bidding requirements;
(f) Incorporate all program requirements into the rules instead of incorporating forms by reference; and
(g) Add existing policies and procedures for the program that are currently missing from the rules, including procedures for entering into loans with non-governmental water systems.
The rules affect any public water system owner/operator that wishes to receive financial assistance from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF), that has applied for financial assistance from the DWSRF, or that already receives financial assistance from the DWSRF.
A copy of the proposed rules,
Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund Program, are available on the
DES Rulemaking website. A virtual public hearing via WebEx on both sets of proposed rules is scheduled for
Thursday, July 16, at 1:00 p.m. Contact Kathryn Sanders at
[email protected] to obtain the link, meeting number, and password. You also may call in to the meeting: Call in Number: +1-415-655-0001 Access Code: 160 891 7098. The deadline for submission of written comments is
4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 31, 2020.
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DESPITE RECENT RAINS: Moderate Drought Declared for Southern New Hampshire
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the southern half of the state has been elevated from "Abnormally Dry" (D01) to "Moderate Drought" (D1), while the remainder of the state continues to experience "Abnormally Dry" (D0) conditions. These conditions, a result of an exceptionally low snowpack this winter and lack of precipitation, have impacted rivers and streams, groundwater, soil moisture, and reservoirs. Due to these conditions the State Drought Management Plan is being implemented. This plan ensures the State develops, coordinates and implements all possible approaches to responding to the drought. One of the first steps, based on the increasing intensity of the drought will be the initial coordination of the State Drought Management Team (DMT), a collaborative team of state, federal, municipal and regional agencies; industry and non-governmental organizations; and academia. Ongoing actions include: assessing reservoir impacts and adjusting operations, working with drinking water systems statewide and ensuring the public is informed of the impacts and conservation measures that should be employed now to avoid serious problems later in the summer.
Earlier this week, NHDES advised public water systems to carefully track water supplies and implement outdoor water use restrictions as needed. The state has requested systems report restrictions to NHDES to be publicized on the Drought Management webpage. Ninety-four systems have reported implementing outdoor usage restrictions.
NHDES is asking the public to abide by restrictions so essential and critical water needs of the community, residents, and businesses are met. NHDES encourages those relying on private residential wells to begin conserving now. Due to COVID-19, people are at home more often, which means a higher than usual demand on residential well supplies. To protect your well supply, it is recommended that outdoor water use be limited and water use be staggered, allowing the well time to recharge between demands.
To view a map of drought conditions, a list of utilities restricting water use, and drought guidance for private well owners, go to the "A-Z list" at www.des.nh.gov and scroll down to Drought Management.
Additional municipal guidance can be found in this four-page guidance document, prepared by NHDES, including sample model regulations to restrict water usage.
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GASB Issues Guidance on Cloud Computing and Similar Subscription-based IT Arrangements
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued new accounting and financial reporting guidance for subscription-based information technology arrangements (SBITAs), which have become increasingly common among state and local governments in recent years.
Statement No. 96,
Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements, is based on the standards established in Statement No. 87,
Leases. Although existing GASB literature addresses computer software that is internally developed or commercially purchased through perpetual licensing agreements, stakeholders have raised questions regarding '
cloud computing' and other subscription-based forms of software applications and data storage. The new guidance should remedy existing inconsistencies in accounting and financial reporting for SBITAs. Statement 96 is available on the GASB website,
www.gasb.org.
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Benefit Plans for the Public Sector
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OMNIA Partners is the largest and most experienced organization for public and private sector procurement.
CHECK OUT COVID-19 RESOURCES!
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| As the country begins to reopen, OMNIA Partners is available to help source your most crucial needs. Per the Office Depot contract, there are KN95 and 3-play masks available. If you have need for these masks or other PPE products, please reach out to Frank Radcliff at [email protected]. You can also reach Frank via phone at 615-651-7803. |
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July 1st TRIVIA QUESTION:
According to its website, what New Hampshire town was incorporated in 1979 and was originally part of two towns? The town gets its name from both its location and also from the Senter family, who were holders of the original land grant and the original settlers. It was a favorite spot of John Greenleaf Whittier and the home of Dudley Leavitt, author of the first Farmer's Almanac in 1797.
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.
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June 17th TRIVIA QUESTION:
According to Wikipedia, name the New Hampshire city or town that was originally named Coventry, after Coventry, Connecticut, hometown to many of the original settlers. On December 4, 1840, the name was changed to honor a Missouri senator who championed American westward expansion.
Correct Response: Town of Benton
June 17th Winner: Carol A. Bears, Tax Collector, Town of Hebron
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SAVE THESE DATES FOR UPCOMING EVENTS!
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NewsLink. It's Ridiciously Helpful Information!
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New Hampshire Municipal Association, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301
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