7 minute read
Happenings
Public Works Employees are Now First Responders!
Governor Chris Sununu recently signed SB 325 into law, formally recognizing public works employees in New Hampshire as first responders! This makes New Hampshire only the second state in the country (after Mississippi) to formally and directly recognize public works employees and their role as first responders!
Taken directly from the legislation:
“First responders” means state, county, and local governmental and nongovernmental emergency public safety fire, law enforcement, public safety telecommunications or dispatcher, emergency response, emergency medical services providers including hospital emergency facilities, emergency management, public health, clinical care, public works, and other skilled support personnel, such as equipment operators, that provide immediate support services necessary to perform emergency management functions.
Congratulations to the New Hampshire Public Works Association who worked long and hard in advancing this important new law. It is important for all of us to recognize public works employees as first responders since they are responsible for emergency management and protecting, operating and maintaining critical infrastructure in our cities and towns.
The Clock Doc!
Phillip D’Avanza, the “Clock Doc,” was recently showcased on New Hampshire Chronicles. Phil has spent over 40 years keeping the clocks that dot the centers of many towns in New Hampshire ticking. Phil has served as a NHMA Board of Director for many years and currently serves on the planning board in the Town of Goffstown. Learn more about Phil and his clock business here: https:// www.wmur.com/article/nh-chroniclekeeping-the-clock-in-the-tower-ticking/39789369#.
ATTENTION MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS – Signs on State Roadways
Shari King, Supervisor of Outdoor Advertising at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation’s (NHDOT) Bureau of Traffic, is reaching to all town boards and/or departments with an update below on the rules and regulations regarding signage on state roadways. RSA 236:72 prohibits off-premise signs adjacent to a controlled route (any highway that is part of the turnpike system, interstate system or federal aid primary (FAP) system) without a permit. Not all state roadways are FAP, but applicants should check with our department (Bureau of Traffic) to find out if the roadway they are proposing a sign on is. If the State does control the road, applicants would need to apply for a permit before installing the sign. RSA 238:24 prohibits signs on Scenic & Cultural Byways. Again, the business or sign owner should contact the Bureau of Traffic to determine whether the road is a designated Scenic & Cultural Byway. RSA 236:88 prohibits signs from being located in the state right-of-way. This applies to all state roadways no matter their designation or rating. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Shari King at 603-271-8122 or shari.king@dot.nh.gov. If you would like a copy of the rules and regulations regarding signage on New Hampshire roads, please send Shari an email requesting same.
HAPPENINGS from page 5
The Low & Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program was designed to lessen the economic burden of the State Education Property Tax on certain at-risk taxpayers.
Chapter 95, Session Laws of 2021, HB 486 amends RSA 198:57 to increase the income limitations for the receipt of a Low & Moderate Income Property Tax Relief award as well as the maximum amount of tax relief available to an awardee for property taxes assessed on or after April 1, 2021
An eligible applicant for the Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief is a person who is:
• Single with adjusted gross income equal to or less than $37,000; or • Married or head of NH household with adjusted gross income less than or equal to $47,000; and • Owns a homestead subject to the State Education
Property Tax; and • Has resided in that homestead on April 1 of the year for which the claim is made.
For more information: https://www.revenue.nh.gov/ forms/low-moderate.htm
USDOT Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Discretionary Grant Program Applications due September 15, 2022
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced that the application process is now open for communities of all sizes to apply for $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2022 funding to help them ensure safe streets and roads for all and address the national roadway safety crisis. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary grant program provides dedicated funding to support regional, local, and Tribal plans, projects and strategies that will prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. The primary goal of the SS4A grants is to improve roadway safety by supporting communities in developing comprehensive safety action plans based on a Safe System Approach and implementing projects and strategies that significantly reduce or eliminate transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries involving pedestrians; bicyclists; public transportation, personal conveyance, and micromobility users, commercial vehicle operators; and motorists. Funding can also be used to support robust stakeholder engagement in order to ensure that all community members have a voice in developing plans, projects and strategies. Applications may come from individual communities, or groups of communities and may include Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), counties, cities, towns, other special districts that are subdivisions of a state, certain transit agencies, federally recognized Tribal governments, and multi-jurisdictional groups. The Safe Streets for All Notice of Funding Opportunity announced can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/ SS4A. Applications are due on or before Sept. 15, 2022.
Municipalities and other local governments are facing cyber threats like never before. While the issue has existed for years, new cyber occurrences are appearing almost daily and many of your municipal members have likely already fallen victim to successful attacks. Simply put, the local government space is an attractive target for bad actors to act - and many have already. Members that haven’t faced a breach likely will in the near future. Advanced ransomware plots, slow adoption of Multi-Factor Authentication and other proactive measures, and even nation-state cyber-attacks are creating an environment that makes your members more susceptible than ever. This is all compounded with a hardening cyber insurance market which is applying much scrutiny to the coverages they underwrite. It is imperative for cities to take proactive measures to mitigate their risks in the cyber realm. The National League of Cities NLC-RISC (Risk Information Sharing Consortium) and NLC Mutual Insurance Company offer recommendations to meet your cybersecurity needs. https://www.nhmunicipal.org/sites/default/files/uploads/legal/member_cyber_roadmap.pdf
ATTENTION: Municipal Infrastructure Partners
In this time of heightened risk due to the war in Ukraine, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) urges lowering the threshold for sharing information to raise our collective resilience to global cyber threats. Sharing information about cyber incidents allows CISA to fill critical information gaps, rapidly deploy resources and render assistance to victims suffering attacks, analyze incoming information from across sectors to spot trends, and quickly share that information with network defenders to warn other potential victims.
To facilitate the information sharing process, CISA developed the attached Cyber Event Information Sharing Fact Sheet, which provides stakeholders like you with clear guidance about what to share, who should share, and how to share information about unusual cyber incidents or activity. We encourage you to share this resource with your networks, on your websites, and across your social media accounts.
Cybersecurity is national security, which is why we also encourage your organization, stakeholders, customers, and employees to utilize the wealth of resources on our Shields Up webpage, including information for organizations and individuals, technical guidance for network defenders, free tools and services, among other offerings. It takes the entire nation to raise our collective cyber defense and we appreciate your support. CISA encourages you to share this information widely.
The Bond Bank’s Next Bond Issue will be on January 4, 2023
June 2022 Bond Sale Results -
True Interest Cost for:
5 year loans 10 year loans
2.36% 2.64%
15 year loans 3.10% 20 year loans 3.38% 25 year loans 3.66% 30 year loans 3.81%
Are you planning a capital project for 2023?
We can assist you with your planning by providing various scenarios based on level debt or level principal payments for different terms. Contact us now for your estimated debt schedules.
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.
Basic Loan Requirements:
• Bond issue approved by governmental entity
• Completed application approved by Bond
Bank Board
• Audit by CPA firm
• Local bond counsel opinion
Lebanon Middle School, Lebanon, NH
