âItâs time to stop the steal,â said Mayor Paul Grenier.
Grenier and the stateâs other 13 mayors sent a joint letter to the state Senate Finance Committee asking it to restore cuts made to revenues originally pledged to the cities.
The letter charges budget decisions made in Concord have cut revenues to the cities by $320 million in the past 10 years.
The letter said one of the most significant losses in revenue to municipalities has been in the distribution of Rooms and Meals Tax revenues.
When the tax was created in 1967, the bill called for the revenue to be split between the state and municipalities on a 60-40 basis with 40 percent of the revenues going to municipalities.
NH Business Review
NH Liberty Alliance-backed reps target city council powers, state-imposed property tax cap
April 5, 2021
The New Hampshire House will be taking up a handful of bills this week aimed at asserting the power of the state while shrinking the authority of its municipalities.
Much of the legislation has been introduced and supported by Republican lawmakers, many of them endorsed by and associated with the NH Liberty Alliance, a coalition formed in 2003. And for the most part it has met stiff opposition from the New Hampshire Municipal Association and local government officials.
City council authority
One, House bill 439, which would limit the authority of city councils, was called “one of the most serious attacks on local control this year” by the New Hampshire Municipal Association
NH Business Review
41% of localities have no women in top leadership, says NH Women’s Foundation report
March 8, 2021
‘More diverse governing bodies make for both richer conversations and more equitable policies being passed,’ says Tanna Clews, executive director of the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation. (Photo by Cheryl Senter)
In a state that boasts many “firsts” for women in elected office, it might be shocking to learn that 41% of New Hampshire select boards have zero women.
Matters report from the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation details a significant gender gap in elected representation for women at the local level. In 2020, the organization surveyed all 221 towns and found that 37% of the 1,642 people serving on school and select boards are women and just 29% of towns have achieved gender parity or majority women. Data regarding city councils and school boards is forthcoming.
Bethlehem officials discuss deliberative session options
January 13, 2021BETHLEHEM Bethlehem officials weighed options for the town s annual deliberative session at last week s Select Board meeting. At the suggestion of Town Moderator Mary Lou Krambeer, no decision was made that night. The election committee and elected officials have been thinking forward about what we are going to do. At this point, we have three options, noted Board Chair Gabe Boisseau.
Unlike Franconia officials, who considered five scenarios the previous week, Bethlehem s Select Board opted for three. The first would be to continue the status quo with an in-person deliberative session. The second option would be to take the process virtual, much like the weekly board meetings, but allow residents to vote in-person on March 9.