DOVER At the end of a long night of impassioned pleas one more Dover Teachers Union rally, the City Council slashed more than $5 million from the default city school district budget Wednesday night.
The default school budget of a little more than $73 million for fiscal year 2022 was reduced to about $68 million, allowing Dover to achieve a total city budget that falls under the city tax cap. School leaders will now have to make final decision of their own, but previously said this cut could result in enacting a contractual clause to eliminate $1.7 million in raises for educators and reducing 29 positions, about half through retirements. The final Dover school budget will be approximately $68 million, about $1 million more than last year.
DOVER – The City Council voted unanimously to approve a development agreement with builder Eric Chinburg for his plan to redevelop the former old Strafford County Courthouse building.
Chinburg, who already owns two downtown mills, is planning to renovate the historic but run-down courthouse building on Second Street and add a new four-story addition on First Street.
The windows on the existing building are boarded up on both Second and First streets, and the former courthouse is marked with graffiti on both sides.
When completed, according to City Planner Christopher Parker, the property will be transformed into a new mixed-use development with 60 apartments, including 12 that will be rented at HUD rates.