NASHUA, NH – Legislation R-24-089, approving an exemption for fiscal year 2025 from the charter’s limitation on budget increases is on the agenda for the Board of Alderman meeting on Tuesday night.
If approved, the resolution would exempt the total debt service principal and interest payment of municipal bonds appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget. This would increase the available budget under the cap so that approximately $33 million worth of projects could be appropriated.
According to a communication from director of administrative services Tim Cummings to the Board of Aldermen, there is currently $1,402,021.10 left within the budget cap. The amount could decrease to $654,521 if pending legislation R-24-094 is passed.
- $17.2 million of the $33 million would account for two bonds ($15 million for parking garages and $2,142,351 for landfill compactors);
- $6 million would be appropriated into a CERF fund; and
- $9.8 million would be for capital projects.
- Approximately $12 million would be remaining, which would be used for unanticipated expenses, the accepting of unanticipated grants, or emergencies if they were to arise.
Cummings said an example of such emergencies could be Stellos Stadium, which currently needs about $1 million to repair the field.
A special Board of Aldermen meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, Oct, 10 for further discussion on the resolution. The first hour of the meeting will include a non-public session. Afterward, Cummings will make a presentation outlining the current situation.
The full communication from Cummings and the notice of the Special Board of Alderman meeting can be found on the agenda.
Four Nashua residents spoke against the resolution during the budget review committee meeting on Sept. 19. Things became contentious with comments back and forth between Laura Colquhoun, Laurie Ortolano and Alderman-at-Large Michael O’Brien, who referred to the two women as “the peanut gallery.”
The committee passed the resolution in a 3 to 2 vote. In favor were Alderman Richard Dowd, Alderman-at-Large Michael O’Brien and Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire. Opposed were Alderman John Sullivan and Alderman Tim Sennott.
“How does this affect us going forward because inflation is going down and has been going down,” Sullivan said. “We can exempt it but it’s still there and we still have to pay for it, and we can exempt it from the budget all we want but it still affects us. My concern is that this could just come back to haunt us in future years and we’re going to be back here again, knowing that inflation is going in the way that it’s going, that the spending cap is going to get tighter and tighter.”