New Hampshire Town and City Magazine, September-October 2022 by New Hampshire Municipal Association

September/October 2022 TownandCity NEW HAMPSHIRE A PUBLICATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION Issue:ThisIn Changes to Planning & Zoning Laws in 2022: A Guide for Municipalities ........................................................................ 10 How Much Housing Do We Need? New Hampshire’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment 16 The Value of Municipal Local Welfare ..................................................... 22 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Workplace Possibilities 26 2023-2024 Legislative Policy Conference .............................................. 28

The New Hampshire Public Deposit Investment Pool (NH PDIP) has provided public entities with investment options since 1993. NH PDIP focuses on safety, liquidity, and a competitive yield in order to meet the distinct needs of cities, towns, school districts, and other political subdivisions. This information is for institutional investor use only, not for further distribution to retail investors, and does not represent an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any fund or other security. Investors should consider the Pool’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in the Pool. This and other information about the Pool is available in the Pool’s current Information Statement, which should be read carefully before investing. A copy of the Pool’s Information Statement may be obtained by calling 1-844-464-7347 or is available on the NHPDIP website at www.nhpdip.com. While the Pool seeks to maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money investing in the Pool. An investment in the Pool is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Shares of the Pool are distributed by PFM Fund Distributors, Inc., member Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (www.finra.org) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) (www.sipc.org). PFM Fund Distributors, Inc. is an affiliate of PFM Asset Management LLC. Galperin Services Group 1.844.464.7347

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1www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 Contents Table of 2826221610 September/October 2022 Volume LXV • Number 5 Cover: Town of Northwood, Communications Staff. New Hampshire Municipal Association Phone: 800.852.3358 (members only) NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY (USPS 379-620) (ISSN 0545-171X) is published 6 times a year for $25/member, $50/non-member per year, by the New Hampshire Municipal Association, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301. All rights reserved. Advertising rates will be furnished upon application. Periodical postage paid at Concord, NH 03302. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301. NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY serves as a medium for exchanging ideas and information on municipal affairs for officials of New Hampshire municipalities and county governments. Subscriptions are included as part of the annual dues for New Hampshire Municipal Association membership and are based on NHMA’s subscription policy. Nothing included herein is to be construed as having the endorsement of the NHMA unless so specifically stated. Any reproduction or use of contents requires permission from the publisher. POSTMASTER: Address correction requested. © Copyright 2022 New Hampshire Municipal Association Official Publication of the New Hampshire Municipal Association 25 Triangle Park Drive • Concord, New Hampshire 03301 Phone: 603.224.7447 • Email: nhmainfo@nhmunicipal.org • Website: www.nhmunicipal.orgNew MagazineTownHampshireandCityStaff Executive Director Margaret M.L. Byrnes Editor in Chief Timothy W. Fortier Contributing Editors Margaret M.L. Byrnes Natch Greyes Production/Design Evans Printing Co. Changes to Planning & Zoning Laws in 2022: A Guide for Municipalities How Much Housing Do We Need? New Hampshire’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment The Value of Municipal Local Welfare Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Workplace 2023-2024PossibilitiesLegislative Policy Conference 3 A Message from NHMA Executive Director 5 Happenings 9 Upcoming Events 14 Win with Water 30 HR Report: Communicating with Unionized Employees During Negotiations and the Impact of Appeal of State of New Hampshire 33 Court Update 34 Tech Insight: Why Data Backup and Recovery Need Separate Plans – and Separation from Each Other 36 Legal Q&A: Current Hot Topics Regarding Road Issues 38 NLC Report: National State of the Cities Report 47 This Moment in NHMA History 47 Name That City or Town 48 Upcoming Webinars Centerspread Getting Used to Different! NHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and Exhibition

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chief Assessor, Hudson Dennis Shanahan Councilor, Dover Holly Larsen Finance Director/Tax Collector, Berlin

Cheryl Lindner - Secretary Treasury Management Officer, Nashua Conner MacIver Town Administrator, Barrington

Jim Michaud

Neil Irvine Town Administrator, New Hampton Patrick Long Alderman, Manchester

Judie Milner City Manager, Franklin Jim MaggioreImmediate Past Vice Chair Selectman, North Hampton Dale Girard Mayor, Claremont April Hibberd Selectman, Bethlehem

Stephen Fournier Town Manager, Newmarket

David Caron Town Administrator, Derry Shelagh Connelly ConservationHoldernessCommission, Phil D’Avanza Planning Board, Goffstown

Lisa Drabik - Treasurer Asst. Town Manager, Londonderry Jeanie Forrester Selectman, Meredith

Our Mission NHMA is a non-profit, nonpartisan membership association established in 1941. It is a mem ber-funded, member-governed, and member-driven association that works to strengthen New Hampshire cities and towns and enhance their ability to serve the public. Through the collec tive power of cities and towns, NHMA promotes effective mu nicipal government by providing education, training, advocacy and legal services.

Joanne Haight Selectboard Chairman, Sandwich

New Hampshire Municipal Association

2 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

Elizabeth Fox - Vice Chair Asst. City Manager, HR Director, Keene David Stack Town Manager, Bow

Candace Bouchard City Councilor, Concord Shaun MulhollandImmediate Past Chair City Manager, Lebanon Laura Buono - Chair Town Administrator, Hillsborough

Do you have any ideas for legislation for the 2023 session? The start of the 2023 session will be here before you know it! Contact your government affairs team at governmentaffairs@nhmunicipal.org. Let us know what issues you’re thinking about, what you’re talking to your legislators about, and what we can do to help.

Of course, we top off the fall with NHMA’s Annual Conference on November 16 – 17! This will be our tradi tional two-day, in-person conference in Manchester, which we haven’t been able to do since 2019 due to the pan demic—and we’re so excited! We do plan to continue our new feature: livestreaming of some of the conference’s key sessions for those who can’t join us in person. The conference will offer more than 50 educational sessions, over 100 exhibitors, a networking cocktail hour, and plenty of time to meet new people and catch up with old We’llfriends.kick of the first day with keynote speaker Jim Mathis, the “Reinvention Pro,” whose presentation, Getting Used to Different, is sure to inspire local leaders to embrace change, reinvent themselves and their leadership, and changing their municipality’s strategic outlook.

A fromMessagethe

NHMA’s land use conference then returns in October. This virtual, all-day event is catered to land use board members and features an impressive lineup of knowledgeable speakers, with sessions like planning board and zoning board basics, a land use law update, and basic meeting mechanics for board members.

3www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 W

elcome to the September/October issue of Town & City! Perhaps the most beautiful time of the year in New Hampshire, September here at NHMA also means training, education, and networking for local officials.

But wait, there’s more! Due to Primex’s sponsorship of the 2022 conference, we are so pleased to kick off the second day with keynote presenter Jonathan Fanning, the best-selling author of Who are you BECOMING? Attendees will learn the four pillars that the greatest leaders have in common and a simple formula for raising their leadership “lid.”

Please see our website for registration for all of our upcoming events!

Warmest regards, Margaret M.L. Byrnes, NHMA Executive Director

September also means it’s budget preparation time for most our members, so it’s also the right time to attend NHMA’s Budget & Finance Workshop—whether to learn municipal budget law for the first time or for a re fresher. This is a key workshop for all budget committee and select board members—and all other local officials involved in the budget process.

DirectorExecutive

We’ll kick of the fall season with the beginning of another Academy for Good Governance: a six-session certificate program for elected governing body members from towns, cities, school districts, and village districts. This program features educational sessions from experienced NHMA, Primex, NHSBA, and HealthTrust staff—and it’s virtual and free! We hope you’ll join us and earn your certificate in 2022.

Margaret M.L.Byrnes NHMA

4 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org Concord | 603-224-7791 Hillsborough | 603-464-5578 Peterborough | 603-924-3864 Portsmouth | 603-436-7046 “All our thoughts and notions of civil government are inseparably associated with counties, cities, and towns...” STATE V. HAYES, 1881 law@uptonhatﬁeld.com or uptonhatﬁeld.com MUNICIPAL LAW GROUP Representing Municipalities in all areas including Administration & Finance Land Use Tax Abatements Labor & BankruptcyEnvironmentalEmploymentLitigation

HAPPENINGS 5www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 Important Date Calendars Now AvailableNHMA Mourns the Passing of NHMA Board of Director, Bill Duschatko

Bill Duschatko, who has served on NHMA”s board of directors since November 2021, died suddenly on June 14, 2022 in Manchester. Bill has served on the NHMA’s Board since November 2021. Bill was a successful entrepeur with a varity of business and finan cial interests. He graduated from Berskshire School and went on to earn degrees from Dartmouth College and Tuck Business School. Bill will be remembered for his endless dedication to the Town of Bedford. Bill was truly passionate about serving the Bedford community, serving on the Town Council, Planning Board, Water & Sewer Advisory Committee, Telecommunications Subcommittee, and the Facilities Subcommittee. He was also a member of the Southern NH Planning Commis sion. We will remember Bill as a caring, knowledge able man, and he always treated people as he wanted to be treated. to the Resources and Publications section on NHMA’s website as well as

(www.nhmunicipal.org) to download your 2023 Important Date Calendars which detail important dates and deadlines for March and May traditional meetings and March, April and May SB2 meetings,

a general calendar. 2022 Important Dates General Calendar 2023 Important Dates General Calendar 2023 Important Dates - SB2 March Town Meeting 2023 Important Dates - SB2 April Town Meeting 2023 Important Dates - SB2 May Town Meeting 2023 Important Dates - Traditional March Town Meeting 2023 Important Dates - Traditional May Town Meeting Please stay tuned for a downloadable iCal Calendar that will be available soon! CMA pursue excellence ENGINEERS PORTSMOUTH, NH | MANCHESTER, NH | PORTLAND, ME Transportation | Water& Wastewater | Solid Waste | Structural www.cmaengineers.com

Training recording can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCvtUR9x128

FOR MORE INFORMATION: NHDES, APPLETREE Principal Investigator, Robert Thistle, PhD, Robert.Thistle@des. nh.gov; Dartmouth Cancer Center, Office of Community Outreach and Engagement, Judy Rees, BM, BCh, MPH, PhD, Judy.Rees@dartmouth.edu.

6 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org HAPPENINGS from page 5

Municipal officials and other stakeholders are strongly encouraged to utilize and share these new environmental health edu cational resources within their cities and towns.

New Hampshire’s APPLETREE Program – run jointly between New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) and De partment of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) - teamed up with the Dartmouth Cancer Center’s Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) team to develop training resources to support local leaders who respond to community environmental health concerns.

Statewide Partnership Develops New Hampshire Environmental Health Resources Guide for Local Stakeholders - Free Training Resources Available Too!

The team collaborated with municipal, legislative, and healthcare stake holders to better understand types of concerns heard from local communi ties in order to inform the development of resources that could be helpful to them. Three training topic areas were identified, and a table of resources titled: New Hampshire Environmental Health Guide (NH-EHG) was developed. This guide is designed to help legislators, city and town health officers, municipal officials, administrators, and other stakeholders find the appropriate State resource or agency quickly to address environmental concerns raised by members of their community.

Available trainings include:

Training recording can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SjkKg_UcIM&feature=youtu.be

Training 2: Cancer Concerns in the Community outlines the principles that underlie cancer concern investiga tions and describes an approach to use if someone in the community raises a concern about the numbers of cancers in their neighborhood. Stay tuned, this training will be released soon!

Training 3: Understanding Environmental Contamination and Risk introduces the audience to environmental contamination, environmental health hazards, and provides information on risk communication and risk percep tion relative to understanding and communicating the risk of environmental contaminants.

Training 1: NH Environmental Health Resource Guide (NH-EHG) introduces the audience to partners avail able to assist them (e.g., NHDES, APPLETREE, DHHS) and reviews an example of how to use the NH-EHG). PDF can be viewed/downloaded here: https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/nh-ehg.pdf

The free trainings are available online via the New Hampshire APPLETREE webpage at https://www.des.nh.gov/newhampshire-appletree.

One of the resources listed in the NH EHG is the NH Radon Program. The Dartmouth Cancer Center team is developing a Healthy Homes initiative to increase the community’s use of this program which provides free radon test kits to New Hamp shire residents: https://drhomeair.fmbetterforms.com/#/new-hampshire-free. We encourage you to share this information broadly within your communities. Please contact DCC’s COE Associate Director, Dr. Judy Rees (judy.rees@dartmouth.edu) if you have ideas about how to increase community participation in this program and hear from any cities and towns who post this information on radon testing on their municipal websites.

• Utility/Internet

Assistance Payments and Processing: NH HAF payments are not made to homeowners, but rather to the servicer, provider, and/or municipal ity. Thus, it is necessary for the NH HAF program to collect some general information for each municipal ity regarding their preferred method of payment. This request may come from Speridian Technologies, Tidal Basin, New Hampshire Housing, or RCL Consulting.

• NH RSA 80:69 - “Any person with a “legal interest” in land subject to a real estate lien may redeem the same by paying or tendering to the tax collector, at any time before a deed thereof is given by the collector, the amount of the real estate lien…”

• To address the questions raised as to the legality of New Hampshire Tax Collectors accepting tax lien payments from those without a “legal interest” in a given property, the following procedures have been implemented:

• Payments will be made in accordance with the provider’s preferred method of payment and in accordance with details shared below.

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• Homeowners are not permitted to deduct any property tax payments that were not paid from the Homeowner’s own sources (such as NH HAF assistance).

* Total

• All property tax payments will be issued as a two party check payable to both the homeowner and the mu nicipality and mailed directly to the municipality. The homeowner will be required to indorse the check over to the municipality for payment of the delinquent proper ty taxes, thus transforming the payment into one made by the property owner.

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Background Information: •

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New Hampshire Homeowner Assistance Fund: A Statewide Federal Homeowner Assistance Program NH HAF is a federally funded program through the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery and is administered by NH Housing. New Hampshire Housing has contracted with a fullservice vendor named Speridian Technologies, LLC, along with their sub-contracted case management vendor, Tidal Basin Group. Correspondence from these two entities can be trusted and will be sent to you on behalf of the NH HAF program. There is a NH HAF Application Guide and Checklist to provide general information regarding the program as well as help interested homeowners prepare for the application process. types of assistance offered NH Reinstatement Maximum benefit of $20,000* Maximum benefit of $20,000* Payment Assistance Maximum benefit of $3,000* assistance per property is $20,000 whether utilized for one type of assistance or a combination of any of the three.

If you wish to assist a homeowner with the application pro cess, Click HomeHelpNH to access the website.

• When an applicant applies for property tax or water and sewer utility assistance, NH HAF, through Sperid ian Technologies and Tidal Basin, will reach out to the municipality to verify homeowner information and de linquency.

• NH HAF assistance will not be considered taxable income for the Homeowner.

• There are three

• Property Charges Default –

Program Details: •

7www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

through

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•HAF:Mortgage Loan

Protections & Law:

8 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org Welfare Workshop

In June, Jonathan Cowal, NHMA’s Municipal Services Counsel and Ste phen Buckley, NHMA’s Municipal Services Counsel, addressed members of the professional welfare commu nity in providing a basic overview of the New Hampshire law governing local welfare administration.

NHMA Government Affairs Team Tour Franklin Wastewater Treatment Plant

Above, NHMA’s Jonathan Cowal covers im portant tips and best practices on how assistance is best provided. Bill Signing Ceremony

Summer Edition of National Civic Review Now Available!

To access this edition, go to the table of contents where you will be prompted to enter your unique access code: NHMA22.

On Wednesday, July 20th, the NHMA Government Affairs Team took a tour of the Franklin Wastewater Treatment Facility organized by NHDES Facility Administrator Ray Gordon. The Government Affairs Team learned about the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program and the steps that NHDES and wastewater administrators across the state are taking to ensure that the toilets keep flushing even in a time of drought. Above, NHMA’s Government Affairs Counsel, Natch Greyes, is all smiles during his tour of the Franklin facility.

In July, NHMA’s Government Finance Advisor, Katherine Heck, Govern ment Affairs Counsel, Natch Greyes, attended the bill signing of SB 401, a bill that will provide New Hampshire municipalities with money for roads, bridges and other needed equipment.

Starting on the left: Flanked by NHMA’s Gov ernment Finance Advisor, Katherine Heck, Gov ernment Affairs Counsel, Natch Greyes, and Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (upfront), Governor Chris Sununu gestures before signing SB 401 at Conway Town Hall (with town offi cials and state representatives).

In this issue of the National Civic Review, published in collaboration with the Kettering Foundation, we explore some of the successful strategies that educators, librarians, nonprofit groups, debate associations, public agencies, and collaborative partnerships are adopting to provide or encourage effective civic learning.

Civic learning, a key ingredient of any successful democracy, can take a variety of forms and ought to occur in multiple settings, not just high school classrooms.

HAPPENINGS from page 7 Cordell AttorneyJohnstonA.atLaw Representing towns and cities P.O. Box Henniker,252NH 03242 603 748 4019 cordell@cajohnston.com

OCTOBER

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday, October 5 2022 Hard Road to Travel Hybrid Workshop 9:00 am – 12:30 pm Thursday, October 6 $65 in-person; $55 virtual Columbus Day (NHMA Offices Closed) Monday, October 10 The Academy for Good Governance (Preventing Discrimination, Retaliation and Workplace Hostility) 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday, October 12 2022 Right-to-Know Hybrid Workshop on Meetings and Records 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Thursday, October 13 $65 in-person; $55 virtual 2022 Municipal Land Use Law Virtual Conference 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Saturday, October 15 $70/Whova 2022 Right-to-Know Hybrid Workshop for Law Enforcement 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Wednesday, October 19 $65 in-person; $55 virtual The Academy for Good Governance (Managing Your Public Entity’s Liability Risk) 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday, October 19 NHMA Board of Director’s Meeting 9:00 am – 11:00 am Friday, October 21 Please visit NHMA’s website @ www.nhmunicipal.org frequently for the most up-to-date event and trainingThankinformation.you.

SEPTEMBER Labor Day (NHMA Offices Closed) Monday, September 5

The Academy for Good Governance (Governing Roles and Responsibilities) 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday, September 7 The Academy for Good Governance (Financial Responsibilities) 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday, September 14 NHMA Webinar: The Right-to-Know Law and Public Meetings 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm Wednesday, September 14 NHMA Board of Director’s Meeting 9:00 am – 11:00 am Friday, September 16 2022 Budget & Finance Workshop 9:00 am – 4:45 pm Tuesday, September 20 $100 in-person; $70 virtual The Academy for Good Governance (Effective Meetings and Right-to-Know Law) 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday, September 21 NHMA’s Legislative Policy Conference 9:00 am – 12:00 pm 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord Friday, September 23 NHMA Webinar: The Right-to-Know Law and Governmental Records 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm Wednesday, September 28

The Academy for Good Governance (Understanding Employee Benefits)

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 nhmaregistrations@nhmunicipal.orgat. www.nhmunicipal.org 9SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

Summary of Changes Pursuant to HB 1661

Section 73: Written Findings – Expands language requiring local land use boards (planning boards, zoning boards of ad justment, historic district commissions, building inspectors, and building code boards of appeal, agricultural commis sions, and housing commissions) to provide specific written findings of fact that support an approval or disapproval. The degree in which a local land use board should make detailed findings of fact in support of an approval may vary based on the level of controversy associated with the application. If there is a level of controversy, the board should consult with their town counsel to prepare complete and legally sound findings of fact. In general, the board should be clear with identifying how the application meets their regulation and checklist requirements for the findings of fact portion of the approval. Findings of fact should not replace conditions of approval. For denials, a local land use board should consider what are the things about the application that is preventing it from saying yes. These things should be anchored in the standards of the regulations and describe how the application does not meet the standards of the regulations; but may also include the exercise of independent judgment, experience, and knowledge of the area by the board. The findings of fact should be complete, so that (1) a reviewing court knows all of your reasons, and (2) the applicant has instructions if they want to try a second time. The board should always enlist their town counsel to aid in the issuance of the findings of fact. Failure of the board to make specific written findings

July 2022

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The new law will have significant effects on how municipal land use boards conduct business. In addition, a new law was passed relative to local regulation of properties used primarily for reli gious purposes. That bill, HB 1021, is also summarized below.

• Section 72: Incentives – Gives municipalities that offer in creased density, reduced lot size, expedited approval, or other dimensional or procedural incentives to housing for older persons a one-year period (until July 1, 2023) to make any adjustments to those incentives before they automatically apply to developments of workforce housing.

• Section 71: Publication of Fees – Requires that any fee which a city or town imposes on an applicant shall be pub lished in a location accessible to the public during normal business hours or the fee shall be waived. A city or town may comply with the publication requirement by publicly post ing a list of fees at the city or town hall or by publishing a list of fees on the city or town’s internet website. A separate document labeled as “Notice of Land Use Board Fees under RSA 673:16, III” should be created that provides a complete listing of fees charged for land use board applicants before the planning board, zoning board of adjustment, historic district commission, building inspector, and building code board of appeals. This change goes into effect on August 23, 2022.

In the fall of 2019, the Governor’s Housing Task Force pub lished a set of recommended legislative changes to address the housing shortage including additional training and tools for communities. These recommendations were incorporated into HB 1629 and HB 1632 in 2020, HB 586 in 2021, and SB 400 in 2022. After much negotiating, some provisions of SB 400, were attached to HB 1661 and became law.

10 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

A Joint Advisory of the New Hampshire Municipal Association and the New Hampshire Office of Planning and Development at the Department of Business and Economic Affairs

• Section 70: Training – Replaces existing language on per missible training offered by the Office of Planning and De velopment (OPD) with new language which clarifies that any planning board or zoning board of adjustment (ZBA) member (including alternate members) may receive training from OPD or another organization, such as NHMA, which offers such training. Also requires OPD to develop specific, optional training materials and corresponding tests for plan ning board and ZBA members. This change goes into effect on August 23, 2022.

Changes to Planning & Zoning Laws in 2022: A Guide for Municipalities

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Allows the superior court to require a bond from the appealing party when ever an appeal is filed and allows the court to award attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party. Howev er, attorney’s fees and costs are not allowed against the party appealing the land use board’s decision or the local land use board unless that person or body acted with gross negligence, in bad faith, or with malice in either filing the appeal or making the deci sion. This change goes into effect August 23, 2022.

Section 77: Fee Shifting & Bond –

Summary of Changes

Pursuant to HB 1021 HB 1021 was modeled after Massachusetts’s Dover Amendment which was en acted in 1950 in response to local zoning bylaws that prohibited religious schools within a town’s residential neighborhoods. However, the exact wording of the two statutes differs. New Hampshire’s reads, in relevant part: “No zoning ordinance or site plan review regulation shall prohibit, reg ulate, or restrict the use of land or structures primarily used for religious purposes…”

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Section 79: TIF Districts for Hous ing – Allows municipalities to designate municipal economic de velopment and revitalization districts (TIF districts) for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, reconstruct ing, improving, altering, extending, operating, maintaining, or promot ing residential developments aimed at increasing the available housing stock within the municipality. This change goes into effect August 23, 2022.

11www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 of fact supporting a disapproval shall be grounds for automatic reversal and remand by the superior court upon appeal, unless other grounds exist for disapproval. This change goes into effect on August 23, 2022.

• Section 76: 90-Day Extension Elim inated – Eliminates the ability of the planning board to request an exten sion from the governing body to take final action on an application. Prior law allowed the planning board to pe tition the governing body to extend the time to act on an application by 90 days. Now, the law reads that for the planning board to have more than 65 days (or 95 days in the case of de velopments of regional impact) to act upon an application, the applicant must waive the statutorily specified time period, and the board and ap plicant must agree upon the time of the extension. This change goes into effect August 23, 2022.

*2021’s HB 332, which was signed into law, extended the planning board’s deadline to act by 30 days where the board determined that the development was one of regional impact. HB 1661 introduced a gram matical error into the statute. There was no intent on the part of the draft ers to remove the additional 30 days for developments of regional impact, and the statute should continue to be read to include the additional 30 days in the case of developments of regional impact. As such, the plan ning board has a total of 95 days (65 + 30) in the case of developments of regional impact to act upon the ap plication. This change goes into effect on January 1, 2023.

Section 78: Acquiring Property for Workforce Housing – Expands the definition of “public use” under the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) stat ute, RSA chapter 162-K, to allow any party including a municipality to acquire real property – except by eminent domain – for the purpose of constructing housing units which meet the statutory definition of work force housing. Said construction may occur either through private develop ment or private commercial enter prise. This change goes into effect August 23, 2022.

• Section 74: ZBA Timeline – Pro vides that a ZBA has 90 days to begin consideration and approve or disap prove of an application, unless the applicant agrees to an extension. If the ZBA determines that it lacks suf ficient information to make a final decision on an application and the applicant does not consent to an ex tension, the board may deny the ap plication without prejudice, allowing the applicant to reapply for the same relief. This change goes into effect on August 23, 2022.

• Section 75: Planning Board Timeline – Continues to allow a planning board to have 30 days to determine whether an application is complete but clarifies that the statutory time frame for acting on a completed ap plication is 65 days.* If the planning board determines that it lacks suf ficient information to make a final decision on an application and the applicant does not consent to an ex tension, the board may deny the ap plication without prejudice, allowing the applicant to reapply. If the plan ning board does not act on the appli cation within the 65-day period, then the governing body is required to ap prove the application. Failure of the governing body to approve the appli cation allows the applicant to appeal to the superior court, which must act within 30 days and may order the municipality to pay the applicant’s reasonable costs, including attorney’s fees, if it finds that the governing body’s failure to act was unjustified.

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The new statute, which went into effect on July 1, 2022, would override any munici pal limitations – but is silent on state and federal regulations, meaning those would still apply – for land or structures used primarily for religious purposes. However, the new law would likely permit site plan review that is limited to controlling the heights of structures, yard sizes, lot area, setbacks and building coverage require ments provided such requirements apply equally to non-religious and religious uses and do not substantially burden religious exercise. Planning boards should be aware

In addition, communities should be aware that a separate statute, RSA 72:23, III, exists that may be helpful in interpreting the requirements of this new statute, at least in the context of property exempted from property taxation due to religious use. RSA 72:23, III. That statute lists the following as exempt from property taxa tion:“Houses of public worship, parish houses, church parsonages occupied by their pastors, convents, monas teries, buildings and the lands ap pertaining to them owned, used and occupied directly for religious train ing or for other religious purposes by any regularly recognized and consti tuted denomination, creed or sect, or ganized, incorporated or legally doing business in this state and the personal property used by them for the pur poses for which they are established.”

Does your municipality already have a listing of land use fees and post those either on your website or some other publicly available location?

To deal with these new laws, a munici pality should begin by asking a few ques tions. Most of this will require updates to local land use board procedures, but some may require input from other local officials.

It is recommended that any existing or proposed use of land for religious purpos es claiming the protection of RSA 674:76 be required to provide an affidavit like the one attached. Complicating matters, the statute does not define “substantially burden,” either. Municipalities looking to impose the allowable local site plan regula tions on qualifying religious land or struc tures should carefully consider whether the local regulations would impermissibly “substantially burden” the exercise of the religion. When a governmental land use regulation substantially interferes with a religious practice, that land use regulation must be necessary to achieve a compelling governmental interest. State v. Mack, 249 A. 3d 423 (N.H. 2020). A careful analy sis of each use seeking the zoning and site plan review exemption is warranted, and we encourage you to consult with legal counsel on these matters.

August 23 is the deadline for having those fees posted in accordance with the law. As such, all municipalities should review what, if any, land use fees are posted on their websites or in any other publicly available location. Municipalities without such postings are encouraged to create one, centralized list that may be posted either in one dedicated section of its web site, municipal bulletin board, or other location available to the public during business hours in order to comply with the law. That listing of fees should include fees for the planning board, zoning board of adjustment, historic district commis sion, building inspector, and building code board of appeals. (Effective August 23, 2022) Do the relevant boards and officials know what your municipality’s incen tives are for housing for older persons and does the town wish those incentives to go into effect for workforce housing?

12 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

Town meeting will soon be upon us. Any proposed changes to local zoning ordi nances must be posted and hearings held in accordance with RSA 675:3 and RSA 675:7, which, for most municipalities, will be in early January. Town officials will need time to publicize and explain the proposed changes, so the earlier that boards can meet, review, and agree upon proposed changes, the better the odds the changes will be enacted at town meeting next year. Failure to enact changes will cause those incentives to automatically apply to proposals for workforce housing beginning July 1 of next year. Have your municipality’s planning and zoning boards met to discuss and incor porate into their procedures the statuto ry changes to their respective timelines for action?

Although the new statute provides no definition for what constitutes “primar ily used for religious purposes,” it is likely that “primarily” will be interpreted by the courts pursuant to its dictionary defini tion, i.e. “mostly.” In the case of a struc ture, presumably, more than half of the building would be used for religious pur poses for more than half of the time that the building is in use.

Presumably, the exemption from zoning and site plan review regulations would apply to a religious use previously ap proved for a religious real estate tax exemp tion under RSA 72:23 as both concern the particular use of the land and categorize it as a religious purpose. But it is likely that the exemption from zoning and site plan review could apply to other religious uses that have not yet qualified or might not be eligible for the real estate tax exemption.

CHANGES TO LAWS from page 11 that other site plan review requirements, such as lighting, signs, noise, on-site and off-site drainage, erosion and sediment control, layout of streets and sidewalks, utility design and installation, open space, pervious/impervious area, landscaping, and parking/access management require ments, etc., would not be applicable to qualifying religious properties.

However, legally authorized enforcement of state and federal laws, such as compliance with the state building and fire codes, local driveway regulations, septic and sewer regulations, shoreland protection require ments, wetlands, etc., would continue to apply to qualifying properties.

Where to Begin?

Planning and zoning boards are statutorily required to have written procedures, and these often incorporate definite timelines for board action that reflect current statu tory timelines. With the statutory changes to the ZBA timeline going into effect on August 23, 2022, and the statutory chang es to the planning board deadline going into effect on January 1, 2023, boards need to review their local procedures to ensure that they reflect these statu tory changes. Boards should also consider what, if any, internal and external pro cesses and timelines need to be adjusted to ensure that they comply with the new statutory timelines. Under RSA 676:1,

Does your municipality want to get involved in acquiring or (further) in centivizing workforce housing or residential development generally?

This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s)) as a duly authorized representative of (name of religious organization party on behalf of whom instrument was executed).

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

The undersigned swears or affirms that the use of land or structures at (insert street address and tax map and lot #) located in the (insert name of town or city) is or will be used at least 51% of time, and that 51% of the area of the lot and/or structures, will be used for religious purposes, including but not limited to the following religious purposes: houses of public worship, parish houses, church parsonages occupied by their pastors, convents, monasteries, buildings and the lands appertaining to them owned, used and occupied directly for religious training or for other religious purposes by any regularly recognized and constituted denomination, creed or sect, organized, incorporated or legally doing business in this state and the personal property used by them for the purposes for which they are established.

The new law provides several options for how municipalities may either want to ac quire or otherwise further incentivize de velopment of workforce housing or other residential development. These include the optional expansion of incentives for older persons housing prior to the July 1, 2023 deadline, which would then also be applicable to workforce housing, the acquisition of property – except via emi nent domain – for the purpose of building workforce housing, and the designation of municipal economic development and revitalization districts for the purpose of increasing the available housing stock.

When applications come in for properties “primarily used for religious purposes,” local planning and zoning boards need to be aware that such properties may only be subject to objective and definite regula tions concerning the height of structures, yard sizes, lot area, setbacks, open space, and building coverage requirements as long as said requirements are applicable regardless of the religious or non-religious nature of the use of the property and do not substantially burden religious exercise.

Time to Get Started Most of the provisions of HB 1661 go into effect on August 23 of this year, but the provisions specific to planning board timelines go into effect January 1, 2023, and some incentives for workforce hous ing become mandatory on July 1, 2023. That gives municipalities a little time to evaluate their existing local regulations, processes, and procedures, and determine what, if any, changes need to or should be made in advance of the law going into effect. HB 1021 is already in effect as of July 1, 2022. Please understand that this article is only an overview of the changes to these laws. Many of the issues outlined here will re quire careful review of existing local ordi nances and regulations, and municipalities are strongly encouraged to consult with their legal counsel or professional plan ning staff as they consider how to comply with the new law. NHMA’s legal staff and OPD staff also is available to answer ques tions about the law, although we do not have the resources to assist with reviewing and drafting ordinances or local regula tions. However, we have drafted a sample affidavit to assist municipalities in com plying with HB 1021. That sample affida vit follows this guidance.

www.nhmunicipal.org 2022

AFFIDAVIT OF RELIGIOUS USE OF LAND OR STRUCTURES – RSA 674:76

(Signature of notarial officer) (Seal, if any)

All of these options require approval by the municipal legislative body – town meeting for most municipalities – and the latter are options that may be adopted by city coun cils as soon as August 23.

$ land use board rules of procedure can be adopted at a regular meeting of the board or body and shall be placed on file with the city, town or village district clerk for public inspection.

It is likely that some properties in your municipality already qualify for such an exemption based on their existing reli gious use and may continue to qualify if the use continues to be primarily religious.

Printed Name Signature

Name of Religious Organization State of (County) of

Is your municipality aware of what lots may already qualify for the “primarily religious use” exemption?

Brandon Kernen, Administrator, Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services

Many of these funding programs are also being used to access funds to reduce the concentration of arsenic and man ganese in drinking water. PFAS have impacted private wells statewide. The NHDES sampling map can be viewed at

KernenandThroughlessorinventoryand-child-care-programs).GroundwaterlevelconcentrationLastly,DisasteringatedInofferswateravailableml?appid=66770bef141c43a98a445c54a17720e2&extent=-73.5743,42.5413,-69.6852,45.4489)(https://nhdes.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.htInadditiontothefinancialassistanceprogramsforpublicwatersystems,NewHampshirehasestablishedaprivatewellPFASrebateprogramforownersofprivatewellsthatproducewithaPFASconcentrationthatexceedsastatestandard(https://www4.des.state.nh.us/nh-pfas-investigation/?page_id=1419).Thisprogramarebateofupto$5,000toinstalltreatmentand$10,000toconnecttoawatersystem.responsetothefrequentre-occurrenceofdroughtsinNewHampshireandtheassociatedimpactsonprivatewellowners,NewHampshirecreanewinitiativetoprovideshort-termreliefandfinancialassistanceforlow-incomehomeownersservedbyresidentialwellsthatareexperiencinsufficientwaterornowaterduetodroughtconditions.ThisnewprivatewellassistanceprogramiscalledtheWaterAssistanceforNatural(WAND)ImpactstoLow-IncomeResidentialWellOwners(https://www4.des.state.nh.us/nh-dwg-trust/?page_id=1572).recentchangesinstatelawrequirethatschoolsanddaycarestestandmitigateanyfixturethatcanbeaccessedfordrinkingwateriftheofleadexceeds5parts-per-billion(ppb)whichislowerthantheUnitedStatesEnvironmentalProtectionAgency’s(USEPA)actionof15ppb.NHDESisutilizinggrantsfromUSEPAtopayforthetestingcostsandgrantsfromtheNewHampshireDrinkingWaterandTrustFundtopartiallypayforthemitigationoffixturesinschools(https://www.des.nh.gov/water/drinking-water/lead/schools-USEPAisalsorequiringthatbyOctober2024approximately1200watersystemsinNewHampshirecompleteafullofwaterservicelinesforeachofitscustomersandidentifywhichservicelinesmaycontainleadandthusrequireadditionalassessmentscompletereplacement.NHDESisassistingwiththisworkbyofferingtheservicesofcontractorspaidforbythestateforwatersystemsservingthan1500peopleandofferinggrantstowatersystemsthatservewatertomorethan1500people.collaboration,thestateistakingthestepsitneedstoensurethereisasafeandreliablesupplyofdrinkingwaterforNewHampshirenowintothefuture.Ifyourcommunityhasquestionsorwouldliketodiscussdrinkingwatersupplyrelatedissues,feelfreetocontactBrandonat6032711168ormailto:Brandon.Kernen@des.nh.gov.

Drinking Water Systems, Communities and New Hampshire Lead the Nation to Overcome Unprecedented Challenges and Create Opportunities

Over the past five years, public water systems and owners of private wells in New Hampshire have faced unprecedented challenges. Poly and per fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have contaminated hundreds of wells for public water systems and thousands of private wells throughout the entire state, especially in the southern population centers. Droughts of varying degrees of magnitude have been declared in five out of the last seven years. The health threats posed by arsenic, manganese and lead moved policy makers to implement new standards and approaches to deal with these contaminants. These challenges coupled with COVID, inflation, supply chain issues and a shrinking labor market have brought extraordinary stress on communities, residents and water systems throughout the state. New Hampshire is responding to these challenges. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), water systems, and partner associations such as the New Hampshire Municipal Association, New Hampshire Water Works Association, Granite State Rural Water and local and statewide community groups are informing residents and policy makers at all levels. Elected officials at the local, state and federal level are engaged in these issues and have responded by providing policies and financial resources needed to initially respond to the exposure to PFAS and other contaminants in drinking water. Financial assistance programs consisting of grants and low-interest loans are available to public water systems. More information regarding grant and loan programs such as the State Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund, PFAS Remediation Loan and Grant Fund, Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund Grants and Loans, and PFAS treatment design grants and water system consolidation studies to address water quality issues can be found at https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/2020-01/ pws-funding-resources.pdf.

14 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

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In advance of the public launch of the RHNA process, the RPCs collaboratively created standard surveys to collect input from a wide range of stakeholder groups (residents, business es, and social service providers) essential to understanding the on-the-ground conditions of our regional housing markets. These surveys were launched though a joint press release and housed on a central website developed by the NHARPC where a member of the public could access individual surveys for each region.

The RPCs worked together to provide statewide resources that could be leveraged by each in RPC throughout their community outreach and engagement efforts. This included an Outreach Matrix, which identified key audience groups and stakeholders and the most efficient and effective outreach approach for each group.

In the North County Region alone, over 420 people gave input on their housing needs, and those of their community, through our resident survey. The surveys are shining a light on some of the regions’ biggest challenges. In the Southwest Region, for example, among the 57 employers that respond ed to the business survey, approximately 80% of employers said that the housing supply shortage has impacted their abil ity to keep and attract workers and 63% of the employers reported a financial loss in the last 5 years due to staffing

Contributing authors from New Hampshire’s nine Regional Planning Commissions: Sylvia von Aulock, SNHPC; Jennifer Czysz, SRPC; Rachel Dewey, SRPC; Dave Jeffers, LRPC; J.B. Mack, SWRPC; Jay Minkarah, NRPC; Emma Rearick, NRPC; Zack Swick, SNHPC; Mike Tardiff, CNHRPC; Sarah Tatarczuk, RPC; Kaela Tavares, NCC; Olivia Uyizeye, UVLSRPC; James Vayo, SNHPC

Housing is a hot issue. In New Hampshire and throughout the country, scarce available hous ing is putting a strain on working families and preventing businesses from recruiting and retaining work ers. Impacts from the housing crisis are rippling through communities. Studying housing issues is a core-function of NH’s Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) and through 2022, each RPC has been hard at work preparing a Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) aimed at addressing this issue. These updates are a function of RPCs per NH State Statute, RSA 36:47. This project, funded by the American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Grant and coordinated by NH Office of Planning and Development (OPD), provides an indepth look at housing needs within each region and across income levels. The RHNAs are built upon a common frame work, extensive public outreach, data analysis and research. They will provide a foundation for change by including tools, recommendations, and strategies for local decision makers to address these issues in their communities.

16 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

Early in the RHNA development, the RPCs identified a common need for various components of outreach and en gagement resources which included guidance for an inclusive process, common language for promotional materials, stake holder contact lists, and best practices for outreach methods.

The group worked alongside the drafting of the stakeholder surveys to provide best practices for distribution, con tact databases for stakeholders such

How Much Housing Do We Need? New Hampshire’s Regional Housing Needs Assessments

Project Surveys and Kick-Off

Keyshortages.survey and outreach questions were developed for vari ous stakeholder groups including residents of the regions; employers and businesses; social service providers; housing professionals such as builders, contractors, and develop ers; landlord and property managers; and municipal lead ership. Those key questions, intended to focus in on the expert knowledge and input of each group, have been used to inform focus group events and key informant interviews conducted by each RPC. Additionally, the RPCs have co ordinated with other housing outreach and data collection occurring across NH such as the efforts of the Governor’s Council on Housing Stability.

Outreach and Engagement

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The Rockingham Planning Commis sion has also been working to follow up with employers and community members to participate in spotlight in terviews which will be featured in the RHNA. Existing Conditions and Trends

Meanwhile, homes in the Strafford Region were selling at an exceptionally fast pace – in 2021, single family homes spent an average of 23 days on the market, down from 49 days in 2019. The nine RPCs are working closely with OPD, NH Housing, and Root Policy Research to reduce duplica tive efforts, expand each partner’s data analysis capability, and ensure compa rable data is available from region-toregion. Staff from each of the RPCs

The RHNA project’s central website has been instrumental in allowing statewide promotion while maintain ing region-specific platforms and en gagement opportunities. Ultimately, each RPC has unique and diverse com munity outreach and engagement strat egies and tools but hosting common resources and leveraging statewide tools have been beneficial to the overall pro cess and level of engagement.

RPCs have hosted focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and roundtable events with employers, developers, municipal staff and volunteers, and other key stake holders such as state agencies, housing advocates and realtors.

17www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 as regional employers, and trouble shooting survey platform hosting across the nine regions.

To schedule a meeting, obtain debt service schedules, or for details about our schedule, fees, Bond Anticipation Note programs, and current interest rates, please contact Tammy J. St. Gelais, Executive Director, at tstgelais@nhmbb.com. Visit our website at www.nhmbb.org.

To understand future housing needs, the RPCs must first understand ex isting conditions and trends are that impact each region. The RPCs identi fied demographic, socio-economic, and housing supply metrics that illustrate current trends. These metrics look at the people – who lives in each region, what they can afford for housing, and whether they rent or own their homes; as well as the housing choices available to them – how many housing units exist, how much do they cost, and are there affordable housing options for people who qualify for various hous ing assistance programs. For example, New Hampshire Housing Finance Au thority’s 2021 NH Residential Rental Cost Survey Report showed that only 14 percent of 2-bedroom units in Straf ford County were below what was considered affordable market rent.

In the Rockingham Planning Commis sion region, staff recently hosted a series of municipal focus groups to discuss housing trends, challenges, and oppor tunities with our municipal staff and volunteers. Each focus group included representatives from various communi ties facing unique challenges which al lowed for new and innovative ideas to be shared across municipal boundaries.

Current Housing Needs Does available housing meet the needs of the current populations around the state and regions? Identifying current need builds upon the work described in the two previous sections –input gained from the outreach processes and broad, yet detailed, statistical data. For example, seventy-five percent (75%) of the responses received on the Employer Survey in the Lakes Region (86/115) indicated that a housing supply short age was impacting their ability to at tract or retain employees. In addition to the availability of and waiting lists for income-restricted housing, the RHNA’s each assess the af fordability of market-rate housing as a share of people’s income. Further, each region has characterized the quality of housing stock, overcrowding, and the specific needs of communities of inter est, as well as potential impacts on af fordability.

18 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org HOW MUCH? from page 17 have analyzed statewide data from vari ous sources including the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development; NH Hous ing Finance Authority, Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, Department of Education, Secretary of State Vital Statistics, Department of Revenue Administration, Coalition to End Homelessness, Association of Realtors; Federal Financial Institu tions Examination Council; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Ad ministration, and Zillow.

Communities of Interest, Concerns, and Segregation As the Regional Planning Commis sions set out to understand housing needs, they account for populations vulnerable to housing shocks. Popula tion groups such as minorities, reli gious groups, people of specific familial status are protected by the Federal Fair Housing Act. Additional groups such as young and elderly persons are pro tected by the State of New Hampshire. The Commissions gathered location data and population trends on these groups to better understand the hous ing vulnerabilities they face. The map included here demonstrates where minority populations live within the Southern New Hampshire Plan ning Commission’s (SNHPC) region.

Using a standard deviation calculation, commissions can determine census tracts where populations are living in high concentrations. When several populations are measured together, an index can be created to identify “Com munities of Concern.” RPCs are doing so for low income, minority, limitedEnglish proficient, senior, disabled, and no car access populations within their region. SNHPCs results identi fied many groups overlap and that the populations were largely concentrated in Manchester’s City Center. This analysis helps the RPCs to ex plore housing needs specific to areas under distress from the combination of housing vulnerabilities and to identify solutions and housing strategies mu nicipalities can use to address disparate housing conditions.

Future Housing Needs

The RHNA will also be informed by trends and shocks with potential to influence future housing needs. Some conditions are supported by long stand ing demographic and lifestyle trends, such as aging demographics driving future housing needs for smaller and more accessible homes. The RPCs are in close coordination with consultant Root Policy Research, who is model ing the state’s projected population and housing needs to be included in the TheRHNAs.largely unexpected, COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the dynamics of the state’s housing with increases in cost, more out-of-state buyers, a building trades workforce shortage, and supply chain challenges for essential building materials. The effects were felt in housing markets across all regions. For example, in Straf ford County, the annual median price for single family homes went from $305,000 in 2020 to $360,000 in 2021 – an 18% increase. Communities and regions across the state need to be better prepared for the next new trend or shock than when the COVID-19 pandemic started.

19www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

Together, the RPCs are identifying a short list of additional future condi tions to consider in the RHNAs. These include the state of the short-term rental market, student fluctuation in college towns, construction costs, eco nomic disruptions affecting supply and demand, federal monetary policy, federal legislation, and climate change impacts and related climate migration. Although each trend or shock will vary in its impact across the regions of the state, the RHNAs share a foundation of resources.

Recognizing the importance of the unified effort to address New Hamp shire’s pressing housing needs, the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) contracted with Root Policy Research, a nation ally recognized firm with extensive expertise in housing related issues to assist the RPCs in developing a robust fair share housing methodology. Root Policy is working with a subcommit tee comprised of representatives from the state’s RPCs and OPD to conduct a “peer review” of other states with similar workforce housing statutes to identify fair share housing allocation scenarios for consideration so that a methodology best suited to the distinct needs of New Hampshire can be devel oped. It is anticipated that this unprec edented effort will be completed in the early fall of 2022.

Fair Share Allocation of Workforce Housing Needs

Housing Choice Opportunities and Barriers

For many of those that call New Hampshire home, housing costs are

New Hampshire Statute (RSA 674:59) requires that municipal zoning or dinances and land use regulations “provide reasonable and realistic op portunities for the development of workforce housing.” RSA 674:59, III, further states that a municipality is in compliance if its “existing housing stock is sufficient to accommodate its fair share (emphasis added) of the cur rent and foreseeable regional need for (workforce housing) ...” It is essential, therefore, to develop a reasonable and defensible methodology to estimate the region’s overall workforce housing need and each community’s fair share to allow municipalities to evaluate their compliance with the workforce housing law. Further, this information aids development of local master plans and ensures housing needs of all exist ing and future residents are considered when adopting or amending local land use ordinances and regulations.

The current RHNA effort places em phasis on implementing change and

Housing Solutions Toolbox

20 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org often shocking and housing availability appears to be quite limited. Interest ingly, many residents across the state have shared that there is not enough af fordable housing yet are uncertain how to help their communities grow while maintaining their community charm. This section of the RHNA is intended to identify barriers and to provide op portunities to increasing affordable housing. Barriers may be due to limited infrastructure, restrictive attitudes, or out-of-date regulations. Opportunities to increase housing may come in the form of innovative zoning allowances, collaborative approach to processing development requests, or improving infrastructure. For example, some com munities in the Nashua Region rely on private wells and septic systems, which limits how many housing units can be built and increases the cost of develop ment, while others have access to mu nicipal water and sewer service, which can support higher density housing. New housing units benefit residents the most when they are located near essentials such as jobs, transportation, healthcare, and schools. “Opportunity areas” refers to places where residents have easy access to amenities correlated with health, educational achievement, and economic stability. To consis tently identify these opportunity areas across the state, the RPCs collaborated to select specific, relevant indices that measure transportation, housing, and job availability. Understanding barri ers and identifying opportunities, for housing and for people, is the key to this section.

HOW MUCH? from page 19 providing resources to enable the hous ing New Hampshire communities’ need. There are many tools available for municipalities to support and encour age a variety of housing opportunities, but they can be difficult to implement or promote, especially in smaller com munities without staff to support some of the more complex tools. The goal of the housing toolbox is to develop clear and concise descriptions of the tools that outline how a tool can be used, how to get started, things to keep in mind, and provide examples and suc cess stories about how the tools have been used in other New Hampshire communities. Different tools may be included or emphasized in the individ ual RHNAs developed by each RPC, and all will be included in an interac tive, online-based housing toolkit to be completed in early 2023. Some examples of the tools to be in cluded in the toolbox include Clus ter Development (or Open Space) ordinances, Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinances, Planned Unit De velopments, Tax Increment Finance (TIF) districts, Workforce Housing ordinances, and the development of Housing Commissions. Basically, the intent of the toolbox is to provide com munities with a straightforward set of tools to assist in the implementation of the housing strategies that they may wish to implement in the future. To Learn More Interested in learning more or getting involved? Reach out to your Regional Planning Commission. www.nharpc. org/rhna/

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21www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

President of the New Hampshire Local Wel fare Administrators Association (NHLWAA) Todd Marsh, who also serves as the city of Rochester’s Municipal Welfare Director, ex plained local municipal welfare is one of the oldest legal obligations in the state of New Hampshire and intended to assist people considered poor and unable to maintain basic life living standards, including housing and utilities. Unlike forms of direct cash or food assistance provided by New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, which can be used with more discretion, municipal local welfare assistance is normally in the form of direct payments to vendors, including mortgage companies, landlords, and utility companies.

The New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association’s Execu tive Board unanimously approved an Ethics Resolution Guidance Agreement to improve fair and equitable financial li ability best practices and foster increased municipal government support for emer gency housing sheltering, including emer gency overnight winter warming centers throughout the state.

The resolution guides local welfare officials not to end or avoid acquiring local welfare financial responsibility by en couraging persons not to apply for assistance or to discon tinue residency in the municipality in which they currently reside. Also, local welfare officials should not require, per suade or financially assist persons to establish permanent residency in another municipality, unless the persons indi cate a need and intent to move to another municipality for non-local welfare related reasons. An assessment of financial sustainability for proposed rental assistance into a new mu nicipality should be completed by the municipality of origin to determine eligibility.

The Value of Municipal Local Welfare NH Local Welfare Administrators Association Adopts Guidance to Promote Financial Fairness and Foster Increased Emergency Housing Throughout the State

The resolution’s intent is to increase com munication, collaboration, and provide guidance to municipal local welfare depart ments when determining residency regard ing permanent and emergency housing placements from a municipality of origin into another.

Regarding emergency housing, the resolution reads, in part, “Persons receiving short-term emergency housing assistance (e.g., homeless shelter or motel) shall continue to maintain their legal residence in the municipality of origin, for local welfare purposes, as it existed at the time of entering the emergency housing.”

believes the resolutions summer approval should assist municipalities with emergency housing decision making for the upcoming winter.

“Planning for winter emergency housing should occur when it is 85 degrees and not 45 degrees, similar to recent collab orative planning efforts in the Tri-Cities of Rochester, Somersworth, and Dover,” said Marsh. “Minimizing financial liability concerns for emergency housing host municipalities should assist with decision making.”

NHLWAA executive board member Charleen Michaud, who serves as the city of Manchester’s Welfare Director, agrees the resolution agreement should increase fairness for municipali Todd Marsh, President, New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association

Marsh shared that although city or town residency is usu ally very clear due to property ownership, rental, and utility addresses; residency for people relocating into other municipalities for emergency services can be less clear and can cause municipal government hesitations to support emergency housing out of concern for added financial assistance liabili Marshties.

22 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

The resolution further reads, “A person that leaves emergency housing of their own free will and remains in a situation of homelessness or is exited from emergency housing for noncompliance or policy violations, for local welfare purposes, remains a resident of the municipality of origin for thirty (30) days.” Additional language is included to ensure municipalities communicate and coordinate assistance options with each other, including reimbursements from municipalities of origin (RSA 165:20-a), when it is determined unreasonable for the person to physi cally return to the municipality of origin due to transportation, timing of need for assis tance or residency is unclear.

Arlene Fogg, who serves as the town of Wakefield’s Welfare Director, believes smaller towns with limited services, including emergency housing, should follow the approved guidance.

City of Somersworth Mayor Dana Hilliard, who was a primary initiator of the former Tri-Cities Mayor’s Taskforce on Homelessness, which resulted in an agreed collaborative master plan on homelessness for the cities of Somer sworth, Rochester, and Dover, includ ing resulting winter warming center efforts, believes New Hampshire needs these common ground approaches and appreciates the local welfare associa tion’s efforts.

“Smaller towns like Wakefield should do right by not encouraging our resi dents to relocate out of town or break residency ties simply to save the town money,” said Fogg. “When we refer Wakefield residents into emergency housing outside of Wakefield, we inform them they remain our residents while in emergency housing and for a time directly after, unless they transi tion into permanent housing.” Fogg added, “I welcome this more formal agreed approach.”

NHLWAA executive board member Natalie Darcy, who serves as the city of Keene’s Human Services Welfare Manager, describes Keene as a hub for support and emergency services in a rural area of the state. Darcy views the resolution as the approval of improved best practices that fosters fairness and consistency between municipalities.

The New Hampshire Local Welfare Ad ministrators Association (NHLWAA) is a professional non-profit organiza tion that educates and supports its municipal members to foster compli ant, humanitarian, and fiscally respon sible assistance practices when assisting residents with New Hampshire RSA 165 statutorily obligated basic needs. The Executive Board is the governing body of the NHLWAA and is made up of board members elected by the full membership. The association’s website (https://nhlwaa. org/) includes, but is not limited to, helpful information regarding offered trainings, assistance resources, a section for newer municipal local welfare administrators to learn “The Art of Local Welfare” with in troductory resources, and the recently approved ethics guidance agreement. Robert L. Vachon, (603) (603) attention contact: Vartanian,

CPA 608 Chestnut St. • Manchester, NH 03104 Phone:

622-7070 Fax:

23www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

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“People experiencing homelessness often seek or are referred to Keene from around our region,” said Darcy. “As a community, Keene can take pride that we are supportive of humanitarian initiatives. This approved resolution supports humanitarian efforts, while acknowledging responsibility from municipalities of origin.”

ties that host shelters and motels used for emergency housing.

“This initiative is fair for taxpayers and insightful with its intentions to main tain and increase support for emer gency housing,” said Hilliard. “It is an important piece to a larger puzzle of Marshsolutions.”believes in the value of Municipal Local Welfare. “Local welfare departments through out the state continue to be accessible, aware, and accountable to people in need and to taxpayers that pay to meet that need,” said Marsh. “We collabo rate with the vast network of unique and eclectic services throughout our state and are the inside voices of social services within our city and town halls. We often serve as a bridge of communication between advocacy organiza tions and municipal government.”

“This is a common sense and common ground New Hampshire approach at a time when common sense and common ground approaches are be coming increasingly rare across our country,” said Marsh. “Those that ben efit will be people in need and people paying for that need.”

www.vachonclukay.com622-1452 We want to be part of your team. For personal

“This agreement provides guidance to local welfare administrators as they navigate issues of municipal welfare li ability,” said Michaud. “It should mit igate the concerns municipalities have regarding assuming financial liability for individuals and families from else where who find themselves solely in a municipality for the services offered. It provides clarity and financial fairness to our cities and towns while ensuring the humanitarian purpose of RSA 165 is carried out and that is why I con tinue to support it.”

Jarad

Marsh believes the ethics resolution agreement is a practical approach to solution finding.

CPA

Enforcement;

Jonathan Fanning is an entrepreneur, parent, and leadership development expert. Jonathan was voted best speaker at a TEDx Conference and has inspired and challenged audiences with his message in 49 states and on 3 continents. After traumatic car accident provided a much needed wake up call, Jonathan knew he needed to make some serious changes. Since then, he’s shared his gift of combining story telling, humor, emotion, and tough questions to help audiences discover practical game changers for their work and lives.

9:00 am, Thursday, November 17, 2022

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Mathis, The Reinvention ProTM

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonathan Fanning

9:00 am, Thursday, November 17, 2022

Jim Mathis is a bestselling author, corporate speaker and trainer, International Platform Certified Speaking Professional (IPCS), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and Certified Speaker & Trainer with the International John Maxwell Team (CJMT). He has been writing, speaking, and consulting for over 40 years with proven results. Jim has a passion to help business leaders who want to improve their skills and reinvent their organizations in changing and challenging economies while leading energetic, interactive, and entertaining presentations.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonathan Fanning

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Mathis, The Reinvention ProTM Jim Mathis is a bestselling author, corporate speaker and trainer, International Platform Certified Speaking Professional (IPCS), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and Certified Speaker & Trainer with the International John Maxwell Team (CJMT). He has been writing, speaking, and consulting for over 40 years with proven results. Jim has a passion to help business leaders who want to improve their skills and reinvent their organizations in changing and challenging economies while leading energetic, interactive, and entertaining presentations.

9:00 am, Wednesday, November 16, 2022

mentronmentalyondLegislative Thank you Sponsors!

Who Should Attend?

9:00 am, Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Who Should Attend?

Mayors; Select Boards; Council Members; Municipal Managers; Finance Officers; Public Works; Road Agents; Planners: Assessors; Welfare Officials; Code Enforcement; Information Technology; Cemetery Trustees, Trustees of Trust Funds, Building Inspectors and anyone in municipal government! Conference

Getting Used to Different!

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24 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org Thank you Sponsors!

Officials;

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonathan Fanning

Getting Used to Different!

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Mathis, The Reinvention ProTM

Who Should Attend? Mayors; Select Boards; Council Members; Municipal Managers;

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9:00 am, Wednesday, November 16, 2022

mentronmentalyondLegislative Thank you Sponsors! Getting Used to Different!

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Works; Road Agents; Planners: Assessors;

9:00 am, Thursday, November 17, 2022

Save Wednesday,

Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire’s elected and appointed city and town officials. From economic development to Right to Know Law, conflicts of interest to human resources, the plus 50 program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind. This year’s conference will be held as a live, in person event in Manchester both days with simultaneous live streaming for virtual attendees. Beronmental to Defend Against Today ’s Community still getting used to different and adapting to officials have been faced with touch challenges and opbest meet the changing needs of their residents. November 16 and Thursday, November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire’s elected and appointed city and town officials. From economic development to Right to Know Law, conflicts of interest to human resources, the plus 50 program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind. This year’s conference will be held as a live, in person event in Manchester both days with simultaneous live streaming for virtual attendees. Working Preparing to Defend Against Today ’s Cyber Community ment still extraordinary the pandemic. and appointed officials have been faced with touch challenges and opportunities new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents. November 17 to be sure you can attend this event planned just for New Hampshire’s elected and appointed city and town officials. From economic development to Right to Know Law, conflicts interest human resources, the 50 plus program sessions at this annual event are all designed with municipal officials in mind. This year’s conference will be held as a live, in person event in Manchester both days with simultaneous live streaming for virtual attendees. Pleasejoinus ($90 if pay electronically) if

“

Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate 2 days=$130.00 ($120

Threats;

Cyber Threats;

25www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 NHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and Exhibition Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel gainGetinspired,learnsomethingnew,connectwithmunicipalcolleagues,skillsandbringthisnewfoundknowledgebacktoyourcityandtown! For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.

“getting used to different ” and adapting to the

’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are still “getting used to different ” and adapting to the extraordinary events of the pandemic. Elected and appointed officials have been faced with touch challenges and opportunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents.

Save Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday,

PleasejoinusinNovember! Conference Sessions Include: Legislative and Court Updates; Right to Know Law Meetings & Records; Succession Planning; Conflict Management; Looking

in November! Virtual Attendance Rates Member Rates 2 days=$100

Engagement Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…! Different! In person Attendance Rates Member Rates (1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$170 ($160 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate (1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) Join us live, in person for 2 days of training and networking! Virtual Attendance Rates Member Rates 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 2 days=$130.00 ($120 if pay electronically) NHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and Exhibition Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel gainGetinspired,learnsomethingnew,connectwithmunicipalcolleagues,skillsandbringthisnewfoundknowledgebacktoyourcityandtown! For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org ’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are

”

Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire; Preparing

the extraordinary events of the pandemic. Elected and appointed

Engage-

under

yond the Surface with Brownfields Funding; Wage and Hour Compliance for Local Governments; Working Together to Promote Envi-

events of

portunities to create new programs and services that

to create

pay electronically) NHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and Exhibition Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel gainGetinspired,learnsomethingnew,connectwithmunicipalcolleagues,skillsandbringthisnewfoundknowledgebacktoyourcityandtown!

Questions?

For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org Calendar of Events. Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.

PleasejoinusinNovember! Conference Sessions Include: Legislative and Court Updates; Right to Know Law Meetings & Records; Succession Planning; Conflict Management; Looking Beyond the Surface with Brownfields Funding; Wage and Hour Compliance for Local Governments; Working Together to Promote Environmental Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire; Preparing to Defend Against Today ’s Cyber Threats; Community Engagement Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…! In person Attendance Rates Member Rates (1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$170 ($160 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate (1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) Join us live, in person for 2 days of training and networking! Virtual Attendance Rates Member Rates 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 2 days=$130.00 ($120 if pay electronically) Get inspired, learn something new, connect with municipal colleagues, gain skills and bring this newfound knowledge back to your city and town! For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.

It’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are still “getting used to different ” and adapting to the extraordinary events of the pandemic. Elected and appointed officials have been faced with touch challenges and opportunities to create new programs and services that best meet the changing needs of their residents.

Together to Promote Environmental Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire;

Elected

Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…! In-person Attendance Rates Member Rates (1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$170 ($160 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate (1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) Join us live, in-person for 2 days of training and networking! Virtual Attendance Rates Member Rates 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate 1day=$100 ($90 if pay electronically) 2 days=$130.00 ($120 if pay electronically) NHMA’s 81st Annual Conference and Exhibition Wednesday, November 16 and Thursday November 17 DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel gainGetinspired,learnsomethingnew,connectwithmunicipalcolleagues,skillsandbringthisnewfoundknowledgebacktoyourcityandtown! For details, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events. Questions? Call 603.230.3350 or email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org. Conference Sessions Include: Legislative and Court Updates; Right to Know Law—Meetings & Records; Succession Planning; Conflict Management; Looking Beyond the Surface with Brownfields Funding; Wage and Hour Compliance for Local Governments; Working Together to Promote Environmental Health; Status of Broadband in New Hampshire; Preparing to Defend Against Today ’s Cyber Threats; Community Engagement Tools to Advance Housing Policies; Hot Topics in Highway Regulation, and much more…! Different! In person Attendance Rates Member Rates (1 day)=$135 ($125 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$175 ($165 if pay electronically) Affiliate Member/State Agency Rate (1 day)=$190 ($180 if pay electronically) (2 days)=$240 ($230 if pay electronically) Join us live, in person for 2 days of training and networking! It’s been nearly two years and New Hampshire municipalities are

By Rosina McNeil-Cusik, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist III, City of ColoradomentSpringsandhow

they integrate equity, diversity and inclusion practices with regard to city contracts and the vendors we work with. To have true equity, diversity and inclusion in a workplace, it must be operationalized top to bottom, left to right. Our goal is to have equity, diversity and inclusion be top of mind for all employees and have it become part of the work they do every day. We want our employees to continu ally ask how to be more equitable, diverse and inclusive, and then follow through to meet these efforts. So where do you start? The equity journey is not linear. It has peaks and valleys, and sometimes a bridge or three in between. A good place to consider starting is with leadership. It is important to have the buy-in of leadership for many of reasons.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Workplace Possibilities

First, influence. Equity, diversity and inclusion involves a lot of change and change can be challenging for many employees. So having leadership’s backing can help influence the rest of the staff and We represent towns and ci�es throughout the state and bring value to our clients through decades of experience and adhering to the budgetary constraints under which municipali�es operate. emphasize preven and mely legal counsel to clients with a view toward avoiding problems that result in

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26 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

To have a true equity, diversity and inclusion program, it must span beyond human resources and recruit ment practices, though those are also extremely important. It must intentionally be embedded in departments, for exam ple communications and how they look at collateral or our social media presence. Another example would be procure

li�ga�on. Special counsel services include:  Telecommunica�ons  Appellate  Water  U�lity & Infrastructure  Tax Assessment  Labor & Employment  Growth Control  Police  Eminent Domain  Li�ga�on  Land Use & Planning  Environmental Also available for conict counsel services OFFICES IN EXETER, PORTSMOUTH, MEREDITH & CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE WWW.DTCLAWYERS.COM DONAHUE, TUCKER & CIANDELLA, PLLC E mail: info@DTCLawyers.com Toll Free: (800) 566 0506 For inquiries please contact Christopher Boldt or Sharon Somers

The City of Colorado Springs has been actively work ing in the field of equity, diversity and inclusion for many years, and recently, like many other cities, has made a commitment to continue to enhance its efforts in the field. Under the current leadership of Mayor John Suthers and Chief of Staff Jeff Greene, the City of Colorado Springs has not only made equity, diversity and inclusion a priority for the organization, but it has also made it an integrated business practice. Many people may think it is the responsi bility of human resources to carry out the efforts of equity, diversity and inclusion. In our organization, we like to re member that equity, diversity and inclusion cannot exclu sively be a human resources program. It’s really imperative to “include all employees, all departments.” (Pun very much intended.)

the direction you want to take equity, diversity and inclusion. Second, strategy. To help our employees reach this goal, the City of Colorado Springs has worked to provide enhanced equity, di versity and inclusion education and ex ing without retention. Nevertheless, our recruitment team has continued to work diligently on equity, diversity and inclusion and hiring diverse talent

28 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

2023-2024 Legislative Policy Conference

9:00 am, Friday, September 23. 2022 NHMA Offices

Proposed legislative policies are initially reviewed by three policy committees of volunteer municipal officials. The organizational meeting of those committees this year was on April 1st and the committees completed their work in late May, and legislative policy recommendations for 2023 2024 were e mailed to each municipality’s governing body on June 8th. (If your municipality did not receive them, please notify us immediately at governmentaffairs@nhmunicipal.org, or call us at 603-224-7447).

25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord The 2023 2024 NHMA Legislative Policy Conference will be held on Friday, September 23, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. at NHMA offices at 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, NH 03303. This is an in person event. Each member municipality will be asked to appoint a voting delegate to cast its vote at this conference. Each member municipality, regardless of size, has one vote on all policy matters.

We strongly encourage each municipality’s governing body to review the legislative policy recommendations and determine a position on each recommendation. These positions should not be sent to NHMA. Rather, they should be communicated to the person who will serve as the municipality’s delegate to the NHMA legislative policy conference. Otherwise, the delegate is free to vote as he or she sees fit on all policy recommendations. NHMA’s bylaws require a two thirds affirmative vote of those members present and voting for approval of any NHMA legislative policy or principle.

Thank you to all who volunteered their time to serve on one of the three legislative policy committees which convened this spring to bring forth these legislative recommendations. NHMA is so grateful for your participation and support. Without you, this legislative event wouldn’t be possible.

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Under the Public Employees Labor Relations Act (PELRA), employers are required to negotiate in good faith with the union selected by employees to represent a bargaining unit. Negotiations are expected to be made across the bargaining table between employer and union representatives, each of whom are selected solely by their own side. This process can at times be frustrat ing, particularly when an employer believes that a union negotiating team is keeping bargaining unit members in the dark or misinforming them about the employer’s proposals.

Employers who attempt to educate employees regarding the status of negotiations and management proposals are often accused of committing unfair labor practices. Unions argue that direct communication with bargaining unit members during negotiations violates the obligation to bargain with the chosen employee representative and constitutes unlaw ful “direct dealing.” Unions further argue that direct com munication with employees interferes with the internal operation of the union and interferes with employees in the exercise of their collective bargaining rights.

The HR REPORT

The SEA filed unfair labor practice charges, alleging that the Governor’s communication with employees constituted unlawful direct dealing, interference with union members’ rights and the administration of union business, and an un authorized communication with the Union membership.

30 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

Communicating with Unionized Employees During Negotiations and the Impact of Appeal of State of New Hampshire

Finally, regarding the disputed obligation to submit the fact finder’s report to the Executive Council, the Court noted that the PELRA makes the Governor the State’s sole representative in collective bargaining. The Court concluded that as the Ex

In Appeal of State of New Hampshire, decided on July 21, 2022, the New Hampshire Supreme Court, in a rare 3-2 decision, held that the PELRA does not place broad restric tions on an employer’s ability to communicate with employees while negotiations are ongoing. The case arose from negotiations between the State and the several unions that represent State employees. When negotiations that began in 2018 reached an impasse, the parties engaged a fact finder to assist in reaching an agreement. A fact finder’s report was issued in November 2019. Governor Sununu rejected the fact finder’s report and refused to submit it to the Ex ecutive Council. Instead, he made an alternate proposal to the unions. Just prior to an announced State Employees’ Association (SEA) membership meeting to consider the fact finder’s report, Governor Sununu sent an email to all State employees, including SEA unit members. In that email, he compared the State’s recent proposal with the fact finder’s recommendation and encouraged the unions to reconsider the State’s proposal.

By Mark T. Broth

The SEA further alleged that the Governor was obligated to submit the fact finder’s report to the Executive Council.

The PELRB ruled in the SEA’s favor on each of these allegations. On appeal, the Court reversed the PELRB. The Court held that the Governor’s communication with em ployees did not interfere with employee rights, as it did not contain any threats that employees would lose their jobs or be the victims of retaliation if they voted in favor of the fact finder’s report. The Court held that even if the Gov ernor’s email contained misrepresentations, as the Union had alleged, it would not be considered an interference with employee rights unless the statements had a tendency to intimidate, coerce, or unduly influence employees with regard to the State’s bargaining proposal. The Court further held that the Governor’s email did not constitute unlawful direct dealing. The Court noted that the Governor’s email did not contain threats of retaliation or job loss, did not solicit feed back about state employee’s views on the negotiations, or encourage employees to deal directly with the State if they were displeased with their Union representation. The Court pointed out that the email acknowledged the Union’s role in negotiations and did not disparage unions generally or with regard to these negotiations. The Court further found that RSA 273-A:12, which establishes a procedure for employ ers to speak directly to bargaining unit members and labor representatives to speak directly to governing bodies did not preclude the Governor from emailing State employees directly. The Court concluded that the Governor’s action was not an attempt to bypass the unions and negotiate directly with the workforce.

31www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 Drummond Woodsum’s attorneys are experienced at guiding towns, cities, counties and local governments through a variety of issues including: • Municipal bonds and public finance • Land use planning, zoning and enforcement • Ordinance drafting • Tax abatement • General municipal matters • Municipal employment and labor matters • Litigation and appeals We use a team approach – small groups of highly specialized attorneys that work together to offer clients the counsel and support they need, precisely when they need it. It’s an efficient way to practice law. It’s also extremely productive and cost effective for our clients. Learn more about what our municipal group can do for you: dwmlaw.com | 800.727.1941 We have all the tools to meet your needs.

32 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org 3 Your Partner — Always We’re here for you. Offering Property & Liability, CompensationCompensation,Workers’andUnemploymentPrograms to NH municipalities, schools, counties and special districts. Trust. Excellence. Service. In addition to offering comprehensive coverage and risk management training, Primex3 consultants are always available to help you navigate challenges –including Human Resource and Legal matters, Cyber Security concerns, and much more. We know your needs are evolving, and so are we. Not sure? Give us a call. 800.698.2364 Bow Brook Place 800-698-2364 46 Donovan Street 603-225-2841 Concord, NH 03301-2624 www.nhprimex.org

Providing Utility and other Special Purpose Property, USPAP Compliant Valuations and Assessment Reports for Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric, Gas, Water, Oil, Telecommunications, Cable TV, Wireless, and all Forms of Renewable Energy. Regulatory, Policy, Expert Witness, and Eminent Domain Consulting Offices in Lancaster, NH and Fountain Inn, SC. Phone: (603) 788-4000 Website: Sansoucy.com Email: gsansoucy@sansoucy.com Sansoucy Associates

ecutive Council is not a legislative body, has no official role in the bargaining process and cannot override the Gov ernor’s rejection of a fact finder’s report. Therefore, the Governor has no obliga tion to submit the fact finder’s report to the Executive Council.

HR REPORT from

Drummond Woodsum & MacMahon, P.A. makes no representa tions that this is a complete or final de scription or procedure that would ensure legal compliance and does not intend that the reader should rely on it as such.

The Court’s decision means that public employers may be able to provide carefully worded communications to employees while labor negotiations are ongoing. Before doing so, employ ers should consider the overall impact of communications on the bargaining process. Collective bargaining takes place in non-public settings to allow for the free exchange of ideas. In a public setting, the ability to compro mise, which is at the heart of all ne gotiations, would be hindered by the pressure to posture for each parties’ respective constituency. Accordingly, the Court’s decision will likely place page 30 greater importance on ground rules negotiated by the parties that establish limitations on communications away from the bargaining table. This is not a legal document nor is it intended to serve as legal advice or a legal opinion.

33www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 Court Update Now available online:

Municipalities Can Adopt Sign Codes that Impose More Stringent Regulations or Prohibitions for Off-premise Signs as Opposed to On-premise Signs, City of Austin v. Reagan National, United States Supreme Court Docket No. 20–1029, 04/21/22

May 2022 When Expressing Official Points of View, Local Government Can Control the Content of Signs and Flags Displayed on Municipal Property Under a Written Policy, Shurtleff v. City of Boston, United States Supreme Court Docket No. 20–1800, 05/02/2022

By Stephen C. Buckley, Legal Services Counsel and Jonathan Cowal, Municipal Services Counsel

The State Supreme Court Essentially Affirmed the Superior Court’s Opinion that an Investigative Report into a Police Officer’s Conduct is Subject to the Privacy Interest v. Public Interest Balancing Test, Provenza v. Town of Canaan, New Hampshire Supreme Court Case No. 2020-0563, 04/22/2022

April 2022

1. Having your data backup and disaster recovery solu tion all in one place defeats the purpose of disaster recovery. The point of data backup is quick recovery, and the point of disaster recovery is the ability to recover after the “worst” happens—usually a major disaster or devastating event that affects your electronic information. Think about it. If your data backup solution resides entirely in the same place where a disaster could hit, then both your data and data backup solution will be destroyed at once. It’s as if you don’t have data backup at all.

• A natural disaster that affects city hall will likely affect buildings nearby.

• Storing “offsite” data at someone’s house or a bank vault risks manual error, lapses in regular backups, and liability issues.

An offsite disaster recovery solution really means OFF SITE—such as storing your data backups at data centers far from your geographical location. This way, your data is safe and recoverable after even the worst disaster that can befall your city. The separation of the two solutions is key.

2. Having your data backup stored entirely offsite de feats the purpose of quick recover y. Conversely, a city that only stores its data backup offsite can run into problems. Backing up data offsite is a differ ent process than onsite data backup. Let’s say you have a smaller incident occur such as a city employee accidentally deleting an important file, or a server fails. If you relied only on your offsite data backup, then you might run into data availability issues. The data may be recoverable, but it will take a while to access. Also, offsite data backups often occur once a day, so data lost an hour ago may not reside in the offsite data backup.

34 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org Tech Insights

Here are a few reasons why this separation is important, and how towns and cities may misconfigure their data backup and disaster recovery solution.

Data backup and disaster recovery are more impor tant than ever to municipalities. In addition to tra ditional disasters such as fire, flooding, tornadoes, and hurricanes, ransomware has now become a devastating modern disaster for municipalities across the United States.

Why Data Backup and Recovery Need Separate Plans –and Separation from Each Other

By David Donavan, Senior Infrastructure Architect

However, our observations of towns and cities when we start working with them reveal a few major concerns with how they think about data backup and disaster recovery. A common theme with many of these concerns is that mu nicipalities sometimes don’t understand the importance of a clear separation between data backup and disaster recovery.

When a disaster hits, permanent data loss is often not close behind if a town or city doesn’t have the right data backup and disaster recovery solution in place.

Some municipalities think backing up data in another nearby building, a bank vault, a city employee’s house, or a neighboring city counts as “offsite” data backup. Two risks exist with this approach:

We applaud attempts by municipalities to back up data.

www.nhmunicipal.org

3. Using an online consumer-grade “offsite” data backup solution is not proper offsite backup. Many consumer-grade data backup solutions exist that seem like they are offsite backup. You install them on your computer, the software copies all your files to the cloud, and you have all your data stored “offsite.” But is it really offsite?

It is important to note that storing files in the cloud does not mean back ing up files in the cloud. There is a difference between syncing and backing up. Otherwise, common syncing applications such as One Drive and Google Drive would count as “data backup.” They aren’t. Un fortunately, many consumer-grade data backup solutions are essentially sophisticated cloud storage solutions that sync the files on your computer to the cloud location. But if files sync, then a ransomware virus affecting your files will sync those corrupted files to your consumer-grade data backup— rendering the backup useless.

Both your onsite data backup and off site disaster recovery needs to restore everything, including these complex files, applications, and software.

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5. Disaster recovery is different than simply restoring data. Sure, you may have all your data backed up somewhere. But when a di saster hits, it’s not very helpful when the data looks like a big pile of random stuff. How do you piece it all back to gether? Overlooked pieces of critical data that an improperly configured or limited data backup and discovery so lution may miss include:

• Make sure your data backup pro cess carves out completely separate data storage siloes. You need to make completely different, sep arate copies of your data and store them in walled off, completely separate places. That way, you ensure you have a copy of your data completely walled off from a ransomware attack.

An onsite data backup solution is more immediate, backing up data in real time as the day progresses. If you lose a file, you can retrieve it from your onsite data backup server relatively quickly. If a server fails, a copy of that server can get turned on and working quickly. Make sure you have an onsite data backup solution in place, in addition to your offsite data backup, that can handle smaller incidents.

• Databases

4. Storing your data offsite reduces your onsite data storage costs and avoids hitting storage limits.

• Specialized software and applica tions

To avoid these risks:

•

Assuming your disaster recovery solu tion includes an unlimited offsite data storage component, it’s better to store your data backups offsite to reduce the risks of realizing your own inability to store that data. Onsite data stor age requires you to purchase expen sive servers that have limited storage. By contrast, affordable data storage solutions exist that are perfect for disaster recovery. Most of your data won’t change day to day, so it’s more cost effective to store it offsite and only update it daily with any new and changed data. If you try to back ev erything up onsite, then you can hit storage limits and risk not backing up important critical data.

• Use a professional enterprise data backup and disaster recovery solution: Consumer-grade data backup solutions just can’t handle the demands of a town or city. You may also run into storage limits or files that can’t be backed up.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

• Specific, unique files (such as op erating system files)

This is commonly referred to as a “right-of-way” where the town does not actually own the land beneath the roadway.

The select board has inherent authority over the roads in town and that includes posting signage around construction sites.

A. RSA 265:3-b is the statute that directly addresses the au thority of flaggers on the road. This statute provides flaggers with the authority to direct, control or regulate traffic within any construct ion, maintenance or utility work area and states that their direction shall be obeyed. Any violation of this stat ute constitutes a violation level offense and is punishable by a fine of $100 for the first offense and $250 for any subsequent RSAoffense.265:6-a also deals with construction zone issues. This statute requires vehicles to yield the right-of-way to any au thorized vehicle or person working on a highway within a construction zone. This statute also imposes fines on any in dividual who fails to abide by the provisions of the statute.

By Jonathan Cowal, Municipal Services Counsel

A. The first thing that you must determine is who actually owns the soil underneath the road. This is determined by looking back to how to road was originally created. In most instances, the town only has an easement over the land per mitting public use of that easement for “viatic” purposes. .

Q. I am looking for some clarification over how to handle situation(s) on rights of way vs town owned roads. In the instance of a town owned road, do we fully own the trees/brush growing in/on it? As a follow up to that, is the legal definition of a tree “growth with a circumference of greater than 15 at 4ft off the ground” and anything under that measurement would be considered brush?

For this issue’s edition of Legal Q&A, we will be focus ing on some common questions relating to local road issues. Our legal services team here at NHMA answer a variety of legal questions involving many different issues, however from time to time we notice trends in certain topics popping up more often than others. Maybe it is the fact that the summer months tend to be the time when municipalities engage in the majority of their road maintenance, or perhaps it is the thought of the fast-approaching cold weather that has everyone’s mind turning to road conditions and regula tion. Whatever the reason, we have decided to present you with some of our more common/interesting road law inqui ries and answers in the hopes that the explanations associated with these questions may help with some of the concerns you are currently dealing with or may soon be dealing with in the near future.

Q. We have some road construction going on in our town. Recently there has been a few issues with drivers interfering with flaggers and questions about what types of signs we can post around the construction area. Are there any relevant RSA’s we can refer to that will help with these issues?

Finally, the town could also enact an administrative enforce ment procedure for violations of these policies under RSA 31:39-c and d. Using these statutes, you should be able to es tablish any policies the town deems necessary to protect road construction and be able to enforce them.

There are many ways in which a road can be created where ownership of the underlying land was not deeded to the town

36 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org LegalQ and A Current Hot Topics Regarding Road Issues

All posted traffic signs enjoy a presumption of legality under RSA 236:5 and RSA 265:9, III. In addition, when the select board adopts a policy under RSA 41:11, the statute holds that a violation of one of those policies constitutes a violation level offense which can be punished with prosecution and a fine.

RSArights. 231:158

Q. A long time ago a subdivision was approved with the roads built by the developer and deeded to the town. The subdivided lots remained in the hands of one owner and after time, the town stopped maintaining the roads. It has been at least 15 years since any maintenance has been done. Now the proper ty owner wants to sell the parcels. The question is, what is the town’s obligation in open ing up these deeded roads, bringing them back up to town specs and maintaining them?

A. Generally, a municipality will not lose ownership of a public road even if a private entity has appeared to, or actu ally maintained complete control over that road for a signifi cant period of time. For example, there is a case, Williams v. Babcock, where a private citizen barricaded a road for more than 20 years, but the court ruled that the town still main tained ownership of that road. Therefore, your first concern is to confirm that the town actually took possession of the road built by the developer as a public way either by vote of town

A. SB 401 provided an additional and immediate infrastruc ture resource to cities and towns. Using state general fund sur plus generated in fiscal year 2022, this law appropriates $36 million for the repair and maintenance of municipally-owned bridges, $30 million in additional municipal highway block grants, and $1 million toward the body worn and dashboard camera fund. SB 401 provides funding with restricted uses, meaning that it may be used to supplement (not supplant) local budgets; The “supplement not supplant” provision re quires that these funds must add to (supplement) and not replace (supplant) local budgeted funds when providing ser vices that repair, maintain, and construct municipal bridges (bridge -aid); repair and maintain class IV and V roads or acquire the equipment necessary to maintain Class IV and V roads (additional highway block grant).

Jonathan Cowal is the Municipal Services Counsel with the New Hampshire Municipal Association. He may be contacted at 603.224.7447 or at legalinquiries@nhmunicipal.org.

37www.nhmunicipal.org 2022 and instead remains the property of a private landowner, but the town was granted an easement which includes the public’s right to viatic use of the right of way. In order to know who owns the trees growing along a stretch of road, you will need to research how the road was created to see if the town was deeded ownership of the actual land, or just given easement

meeting accepting the road as a town road or by the governing body if the town has adopted RSA 674:40-a. .

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

defines a tree as any woody plant which has a circumference of 15 inches or more at a point 4 feet from the ground. Anything that doesn’t satisfy these measurements is not “legally” considered a tree for the purposes of the statutes that confers protection for trees the cannot be removed without permission of the abutting property owner, . .

If the road has not been maintained and repaired by the town in suitable condition for travel for five or more successive years the road would have lapsed to Class VI status. RSA 229:5, VII. If the property owner wants to sell the subdivided lots for home building purposes, the owner and select board could use RSA 231:28 to conditionally layout a Class V road over the existing Class VI road upon completion of improvements to bring the road back up to Class V standards.

Q. Our town is receiving some additional funds after the passage of SB 401 for the repair of municipally owned bridges. What specifically can that money be spent on?

Email: info@roberts-greene.com 603-856-8005

47 Hall Street Concord, NewRobertsHampshire & Greene, PLLC Comprehensive Governmental Auditing and Accounting Services Accuracy Communication Timeliness Contact us for: Audits of Financial Statements Financial Statement Preparation Accounting Assistance Staff ManagementTraining Advisory Services

38 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

In the wake of the pandemic, cities have reopened and are rebuilding with the support of unprecedented federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These opportunities are reflected in mayoral priorities this year as cities are finally able to plan the ways the an repair outdated infrastructure and spur economic development.

years, the National League of Cities has released its State of the Cities report. This research, which examines mayoral state of the city speeches delivered between October 2021 and April 2022 provides a clear and consistent voice about the current priorities of local leaders. This year is no different. Armed with a fresh infusion of funding from the federal government, our Nation’s cities are ready to get to work.

The State of the Cities 2022 delves into the key areas that mayors nationwide are focused on in their cities. Local governments are working hand-in-hand with the federal government to help cities build back in a more equitable, forward-facing direction. The once-in-a-generation level of support provided to cities through ARPA, tied together with the passage of the BIL, is having an incredibly positive impact from the unprecedented impacts of the pan Fordemic.nine

Download the full report at www.nlc.org/resources/state-of-the-cities.

This year’s State of the Cities report, which highlights the top ways cities plan to use their BIl and ARPA funding to revitalize and reinvest in infrastructure and transpor tation, equitable grown their local economies, and take new approaches to address public safety, among other priorities.

Despite immense challenges municipal governments have faced in the last two years, the state of America’s cities is strong, according to the National League of Cities’ 2022 State of the Cities report, released in June.

National State of the Cities Report

2022 Top Trending BudgetEconomicInfrastructureTopicsDevelopmentandManagementPublicSafety

39www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 Questions? EmailRegisterNHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.orgonlineatwww.nhmunicipal.orgunderCalendarofEvents 2022 Right-to-Know Workshop on Meetings and Records 9:00 am— 1:00 pm Thursday, October 13 $65 In-person; $55 Virtual 2022 Right-to-Know Law for Law Enforcement Workshop 9:00 am— 12:00 pm Wednesday, October 19, 2022 $65 In-person; $55 Virtual SAVE THESE DATES

Presented by Margaret Byrnes, NHMA Executive Director 9:05 am 10:30 am Fundamentals of the Municipal Budget Process

Presented by: Stephen Buckley, Legal Services Counsel, Jonathan Cowal, Municipal Services Counsel and Katherine Heck, Government Finance Advisor

Thank

Presented By: NHDES/NHDOT/SWRPC 3:30 pm 3:45 pm Afternoon Break 3:45 pm 4:45 pm Spending State Aid

sponsor!

Presented By: Stephen Buckley, Legal Services Counsel and Jonathan Cowal, Municipal Services Counsel 10:30 am 10:45 am Morning Break 10:45 am 12:00 noon Fundamentals of the Municipal Budget Process (continued) 12:00 1:00 pm Lunch Break 1:00 pm 2:30 pm You Have Questions? We Have Answers!

40 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org Please visit www.nhmunicipal.org for registration details. 2022 Budget & Finance Hybrid Workshop 9:00 am—4:45 pm Tuesday, September 20, 2022 Derryfield Country Club, Manchester, NH $100 In-person; $70 Virtual (Zoom) 9:00 am Introduction

Attendees receive 2022 update to The Basic Law of Budgeting publication. Additional materials such as the PowerPoint presentation and handouts will be distributed electronically. you to our

Presented By: Katherine Heck, NHMA Government Finance Advisor

2:30 pm 3:30 pm Funding Sewer/Water/Roads/Bridges/Broadband

41www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 Member Highlight: Classified Ads Postings NHMA offers an online job and/or classified ad postings at Thewww.nhmunicipal.org.postingsareavailable to members without a charge and appear on the website for up to two months, or less, depending on your schedule. This can include job postings, bids, for sale items, Request for Proposals (RFPs), and Request for Qualifications (RFQs). Municipal employers posting jobs can include information on the position’s hours, job description, qualifications, pay, application process and deadline. If you would like to post a classified ad to NHMA ’s website, but not quite sure how to do it, please contact NHMA’s Timothy Fortier at 603.226.1305 or tfortier@nhmunicipal.org.

The workshop will help local officials understand some of the more complicated areas of highway law including a review of the local regulation of highways by the select board, mailbox location, driveway regulation by the planning board, defining the difference between a right of way, a public road and a private road, and determining exactly which public entity has the final s ay in regulating the roads within our

42 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org If you’re not getting it, you’re not getting it. Don’tbecaughtwithoutit! NewsLink gives you all the latest information on upcoming workshops, webinars and other training events. This bi weekly electronic newsletter is the most comprehensive resource for local government officials in New Hampshire. To get all the news you can’t afford to miss, subscribe to NewsLink at www.nhmunicipal.org. The E newsletter of the New Hampshire Municipal Association Thursday, October 6, 2022 9:00am to 12:30pm

8:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast. Lunch will not be provided.

PROGRAM

Registration Fees: $65.00 (in person); $55.00 (virtual)/Zoom PROGRAM

Pre registration and pre payment is required. If you register but cannot attend, a recording of the workshop will be provided a s long as payment has been received. Questions? Please contact us at 603 230 3350 or nhmaregistrations@nhmunicipal.org

towns.Registration

This workshop will be held in a hybrid format (in-person and a virtual attendance option). In person attendance limited to 60 people at 25 Triangle Park Drive in Concord.

Attendees will receive an electronic copy of NHMA's 2022 updated publication, A Hard Road to Travel: New Hampshire Law of Local Highways, Streets, and Trails . Additional materials such as the PowerPoint presentation will also be distributed electronically. No print outs of the materials or hard copy of the publication will be provided.

Pre-registration and pre-payment is required. If you register but cannot attend, a recording of the workshop will be provided as long as payment has been received. Questions? Please contact us at 603-230-3350 or nhmaregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.

Attendees will receive an electronic copy of NHMA’s 2022 updated publication, A Hard Road to Travel: New Hampshire Law of Local Highways, Streets, and Trails. Additional materials such as the PowerPoint presentation will also be distributed electronically. No print outs of the materials or hard copy of the publication will be provided.

The workshop will help local officials understand some of the more complicated areas of highway law including a review of the local regulation of highways by the select board, mailbox location, driveway regulation by the planning board, defining the difference between a right-of-way, a public road and a private road, and determining exactly which public entity has the final say in regulating the roads within our towns.

Join NHMA Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Jonathan Cowal for this year ’s A Hard Road to Travel workshop and the debut of our first fully updated publication since 2015! Not only will this workshop delve in to the details of how roads are formed, classified and maintained, how weight limits are established, and the basics of developm ent on Class VI roads, the attorneys here at NHMA have also conducted a review of all the legal inquiries over the past few years and will be providing insight on some of the most common road related legal issues facing towns and cities. These topics involve OHRV’s and snowmobiles, municipal liability and highway maintenance requirements, discontinuing and re classifying of roads and more!

Join NHMA Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Jonathan Cowal for this year’s A Hard Road to Travel workshop and the debut of our first fully updated publication since 2015! Not only will this workshop delve into the details of how roads are formed, classified and maintained, how weight limits are established, and the basics of development on Class VI roads, the attorneys here at NHMA have also conducted a review of all the legal inquiries over the past few years and will be providing insight on some of the most common road related legal issues facing towns and cities. These topics involve OHRV’s and snowmobiles, municipal liability and highway maintenance requirements, discontinuing and re-classifying of roads and more!

Fees: $65.00 (in person); $55.00 (virtual)/Zoom

8:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast. Lunch will not be provided.

Thursday, October 6, 2022 9:00am to 12:30pm This workshop will be held in a hybrid format (in person and a virtual attendance option). In person attendance limited to 60 people at 25 Triangle Park Drive in Concord.

Got an employment issue? Before you act, call 603.623.2500 or email at ehotline@dwmlaw.com.

Drummond Woodsum attorneys will be available to answer employment related questions before you act and will make every effort to have every call responded to within 24 hours by an employment lawyer. The Hotline attorneys will let you know if you are facing a potential liability and how to best proceed. Drummond Woodsum will keep confidential any information which it receives relative to the employment matter.

43www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

The Hotline is a service available to only administrators, managers, department heads and elected officials from NHMA city and town members, and only concerning questions regarding employees subordinate to the caller. For example, the Hotline will not respond to inquiries from a department head regarding the authority of a town manager, or from a town manager regarding the authority of elected officials.

Drummond Woodsum labor law attorneys are available to provide legal advice on matters including Title VII, Family Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, employee discipline, sexual harassment, wrongful termination and age, sex and race based discrimination.

What Can You Expect?

Who Can Call the Hotline?

Is There a Fee?

The Hotline is FREE, available at no charge, to NHMA city and town members, and will provide up to ½ hour of legal advice per employment issue. It is anticipated that most general employment law questions can be answered in less time.

Access to Employment Law Attorneys at NO COST!

Go Gr een!

Help Us Go Digital!

Help Us Out! Go Green with Town and City !

Thank you for your consideration to move from a print edition to a digital version of Town and City magazine.

Contact Timothy Fortier, Communications Coordinator, at 603.226.1305 or at tfortier@nhmunicipal.org

44 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

Go Gr een!

Help Us Go Digital!

Currently our bi monthly magazine, New Hampshire Town and City, is published as a member benefit and distributed to approximately 2,300 municipal officials across New Hampshire.

Help Us Out! Go Green with Town and City!

Currently our bi monthly magazine, New Hampshire Town and City, is published as a member benefit and distributed to approximately 1,800 municipal officials across New Hampshire. We are pleased to continue to deliver the print edition to member subscribers, however, should you find the digital version sufficient and no longer require a print copy, please let us know at nhmainfo@nhmunicipal.org. or by contacting Tim Fortier. Thank you for your consideration to move from a print edition to a digital version of Town and City magazine.

Help Us Go Digital!

Timothy Fortier, Communications Coordinator, at 603.226.1305 or at tfortier@nhmunicipal.org

Contact Timothy Fortier, Communications Coordinator, at 603.226.1305 or at tfortier@nhmunicipal.org

We are pleased to continue to deliver the print edition to member subscribers, however, should you find the digital version sufficient and no longer require a print copy, please let us know at nhmainfo@nhmunicipal.org. or by contacting Tim Fortier.

Help Us Out! Go Green with Town and City!

July/August 2022 TownandCity NEW HAMPSHIRE A PUBLICATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION Issue:ThisIn Carrying on a Civic Tradition in Rye, New Hampshire ...........................10 Taking the Mystery Out of Fund Balance................................................16 Pursuing Racial Equity Through Intentional Community Engagement ..........................................................................20 Recent First Amendment Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court ...........22 State House Report: A Very Good Year Legislatively ...........................24 2023-2024 Legislative Policy Process Update ........................................26

Thank you for your consideration to move from a print edition to a digital version of Town and City magazine.

Go Gr een!

Help Us Go Digital!

Currently our bi monthly magazine, New Hampshire Town and City, is published as a member benefit and distributed to approximately 2,300 municipal officials across New Hampshire. We are pleased to continue to deliver the print edition to member subscribers, however, should you find the digital version sufficient and no longer require a print copy, please let us know at nhmainfo@nhmunicipal.org. or by contacting Tim Fortier. Thank you for your consideration to move from a print edition to a digital version of Town and City magazine.

Contact

Contact Timothy Fortier, Communications Coordinator, at 603.226.1305 or at tfortier@nhmunicipal.org

Go Gr een!

Help Us Out! Go Green with Town and City!

Drummond Woodsum Cordell Johnston,

and Development Noah

45www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 Questions? Email NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org Register online at www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events TENTATIVE AGENDA Housing Appeals Board Update

Mitchell Municipal Law Meeting Mechanics of Land Use Boards

building

City of Concord Matt

boards, plan-

code

and Development Stephanie Verdile,

Lebanon Shawn

DTC Lawyers Laura

Senior

Christine Fillmore, Esq., Esq. Frost, Esq., Executive Legal Officer, Boldt, Esq., Spector Esq.,

day virtual conference for municipal land use officials including

Full members of planning and zoning ners, councilors, inspectors, enforcement

Legal Update Ben

NH Housing Afternoon of the Living Cases: Older Supreme Court Decision Still Haunting ZBA’s and Planning Boards Christopher

Tim Corwin, Esq., Planner, of M. Tanguay,

City

Planning and Development Planning Board Procedures 101 Heather Shank, City

Morgan,

land use administrators, select boards, town and city

Esq., Drummond Woodsum 9:00 am —3:00 pm Saturday, October 15, 2022 Cost: $70.00 2022 Virtual Land Use Law Conference

officers and public works personnel. Presentations will focus on the legal authority and procedures these land use boards must understand with content structured to be beneficial to both novice and experienced municipal officials.

Klass,

Deputy

Principal

Michael Esq. Gilbert, Director, Office of Planning Hodgetts, Principal Planner, Office of Planning Principal Planner, Office of Planner, Monahan, Planner,

Director, Chief

Central NH Regional Planning Commission ZBA Decision Making Process

Housing Appeals Board Member Zoning 101 Jennifer

NCDE proposes that interested members allocate to NCDE a portion of their municipality’s ARPA Local Relief Funds (based on population, see below) to join the broadband investment planning network, whose priorities will be to: (1) assist the participating municipalities to develop one or more joint broadband investment funding proposals, (2) design investment plans to support for profit and nonprofit business models that incorporate affordable pricing (<$15/ month) for low- and moderate-income households; (3) assist participating municipalities to become “Broadband Ready” communities while developing NHMA’s capability to provide this support as an ongoing support to members generally; and (4) other broadband projects as deemed Broadbandfundable.planning network cost schedule, based on population: 25-4,999: 10,0005,000-9,999$7,500$5,000andgreater: $10,000 The New Hampshire Municipal Association (NHMA) has partnered with the National Collaborative for Digital Equity (NCDE), founded and based in New Hampshire, to help communities that are interested in using Local and Fiscal Recovery Funds (LFRF) to improve broadband. NHMA and NCDE are working together to bring interested members the opportunity to join a NHMA/NCDE broadband planning network and to undertake broadband investment planning together. Network, please NHMA’s Executive Director Margaret Byrnes at 603.224.7447

46 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

Overview of the Statewide Broadband Planning Network

or via email directlyNCDE,mationYourmbyrnes@nhmunicipal.org.atnameandcontactinfor-willbesharedwithwhowillfollow-upwithyou.

Sign-up Today to Learn More About the Network If you are interested in learning more about this

contact

Please note that NHMA receives a fee for each municipality that joins the Statewide Broadband Planning Network with NCDE.

Interested in Joining the Statewide Broadband Investment Planning Network?

The Local Government Leadership Institute, held in partnership with Antioch New England Institute, graduated a class of 55 students in Levels 1 and 2. The two-part levels provided municipal leaders an opportunity to earn continuing education credits.

Mayors from across the state gathered in March for a Mayors Roundtable at Manchester City Hall. The meeting provided an opportunity to brainstorm common issues, share ideas and new programs, and provide support for one another in an effort to lead city government more effectively. Three issues were identified as needing action: tax increment financing; retirement system shortfalls; and the research and development tax credit and its effect on eco nomic development. – 16 years ago…

— This Moment in NHMA History —

2006

ANSWER TO PHOTO IN THE JULY/AUGUST ISSUE: The photo on page 46 in the last issue of New Hampshire Town and City magazine is that of the opera house in the Town of Littleton which once housed town offices and other departments (thanks Joyce).

Special thanks to Joyce McGee (Whitefield); Roy Sabourn (Thornton); Beverly Hill (Hollis); Boyd Chivers (Candia); Kristina Ostman (Hampton); Marshall Buttrick (Greenfield); Heidi Sagar (Landaff); Dawn Boufford (Bedford); Marjorie Roy (Andover); Michael McQuillen (Lit tleton) and Judy Bibbins (Franklin) who all responded with the correct answer.

According to its website, this town was incorpo rated in 1797 and gets its name from both its location and also from the Senter family who were holders of the original land grant and the origi nal settlers. Originally a small farming community, in the 1800’s the town became a central port for lake steamers and a stopping place for stagecoaches. Situated with shoreline on Lake Winnipesaukee, Squam Lake and Lake Waukewan, the town was a favorite spot of John Green leaf Whittier and the home of Dudley Leavitt, author of the first Farmer’s Almanac in 1797.

NAMETHATTOWNORCITY ?? ? ?

When you have figured out the answer, email it to tfortier@nhmunicipal.org. The answer will appear in the November/December 2022 issue.

NHMA’s Committee on Government Affairs (CGA) met in March to begin the de velopment of legislative policy proposals to present to the biennial Legislative Policy Conference in September.

47www.nhmunicipal.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

The Right-to-Know Law and Public Meetings

Recent New Hampshire Supreme Court decisions relating to exemptions for internal personnel practices and personnel records and use of a privacy balancing test to determine whether internal investigations are exempt from disclosure in whole or in part, 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.

12:00 noon 1:30 pm Wednesday, September 14, 2022

48 NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWN AND CITY www.nhmunicipal.org

Join Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Jonathan Cowal who will provide guidance on handling governmental record matters arising under the state’s Right to Know Law. Handling governmental records requests requires an understanding of all aspects of request processing including: the requirements for availability, storage, managing electronic records, redaction, 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.

NHMA will be hosting two complimentary webinars in September for members of the New Hampshire Municipal Association. For details and registration information, visit www.nhmunicipal.org under Calendar of Events Questions? Call 603.224.7447 or NHMAregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.email

Upcoming Webinar s

Join Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Jonathan Cowal who will discuss the procedural and notice requirements for holding a proper public meeting, as well the exceptions to the meeting requirement (the so called "non meeting"). This webinar will also address public comment at public meeting, and establishing rules or procedure for public comment. 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 and the recording and potential sealing of the minutes of a nonpublic session. This webinar 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.

The Right-to-Know Law and Governmental Records

12:00 noon 1:30 pm Wednesday, September 28, 2022

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atPostagePeriodicalPaidConcord, NH25 Triangle Park Drive Concord, NH 03301 800.527.5001 | www.healthtrustnh.org Medical and Prescription Drug | Dental | Benefit Advantage FSA and HRA Services | Disability and Life Slice of Life Wellness Program | HealthTrust 360 | LiveHealth Online | LifeResources EAP SmartShopper | Included Health | Corigen® Medication Safety Program In the coming weeks, HealthTrust will announce some exciting changes to our programs that could make a real difference in the lives of your employees and retirees. The new, innovative tools, resources, and support available to them will encourage daily interaction with their benefits to help them lead healthier, and possibly happier lives. Interested in learning more? Contact our Wellness Team today for a sneak peek at HealthTrust 2023…and the future of wellness. The Leaves Changing...AreAndSoAreWe!

New Hampshire Town and City Magazine, September-October 2022

Articles inside

Win with Water

Upcoming Webinars

Happenings

Legal Q&A: Current Hot Topics Regarding Road Issues

HR Report: Communicating with Unionized Employees During Negotiations and the Impact of Appeal of State of New Hampshire

Tech Insight: Why Data Backup and Recovery Need Separate Plans – and Separation from Each Other

Court Update

Upcoming Events