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NewsLink
is a bi-weekly newsletter of the New Hampshire Municipal Association.
Its purpose is to keep you up-to-date on the latest information
of interest to municipal officials.
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Early Bird Discount Valid Until October 11!
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Please join us on Wednesday and Thursday, November 13 and November 14, at The DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel in Manchester, for NHMA's 78th Annual Conference and Exhibition.
This is New Hampshire's premier conference for municipal officials, featuring over 55 educational program sessions on timely and relevant topics, as well as ample opportunities to meet and great with exhibitors and sponsors ready to offer you the latest products and services.
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REGISTRATION FEES
You must be an NHMA Member (employee or representative) to attend or a member of an NHMA Affiliate Group to attend.
Member Early Bird Rate (valid until 10/11/2019)*
ONE DAY $80.00 / TWO DAYS $130.00
*EARLY RATE ONLY BY CREDIT CARD PAYMENT
Member Rate (valid after 10/11/2019)
ONE DAY $110.00 / TWO DAYS $160.00
Affiliate Member Rate
ONE DAY $175.00 /TWO DAYS $225.00
EARLY BIRD RATES VALID UNTIL OCTOBER 11TH
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CHECK OUT OUR NEW ONLINE FEATURES!
You may begin your registration form and return to complete it within one day.
Please click 'save' at the bottom of the form and a link will be emailed to you.
Register up to five people on one form.
Enter information accordingly, then click 'add registrant' to add another person.
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Regional Right-to-Know Law Workshop in Lebanon!
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NHMA Regional Workshop: The Right-to-Know Law and Governmental Records
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
River Valley Community College, 15 Hanover Street, Lebanon, NH
$35.00 without publication
$55.00 with publication, A Guide to Open Government: New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law
Join NHMA's Legal Services team who will share strategies to assist municipalities in handling governmental record matters arising under the Right-to-Know Law.
Handling governmental records requests requires an understanding of all aspects of request processing including: the requirements for availability, storage, electronic records, redaction, cost estimates, mandated access for certain records and appointments for review of records.
Guidance will be provided on determining what is a governmental record, and when and how access and copies of public records must be provided. This workshop 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. In addition, guidance will be provided on the retention of governmental records and how claims under the Right-to-Know Law are enforced.
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2020 Important Date Calendars Now Available Online
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Go to
www.nhmunicipal.org
to download the
2020 Important Date Calendars
which detail important dates and deadlines for March and May traditional meetings and March, April and May SB2 meetings, as well as a general calendar.
Printed calendars were distributed to members in September.
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2019 Land Use Law Conference Sold Out!
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Sorry folks, the 2019 Land Use Law Conference is now SOLD OUT!
If interested in being placed on a waiting list, please contact NHMA's Ashley Methot at amethot@nhmunicipal.org or by phone at 603.230.3340. |
NHMA Webinar:
Using the Attorney General's Polling Place Checklist to Run a Better Election
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Join Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Nicholas Chong Yen and NHMA's Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley who will discuss and review the Attorney General's Polling Place Checklist.
Learn what are the critical polling place set up and operation requirements that will be inspected when representatives of the Attorney General visit to ensure compliance with New Hampshire's election laws. The checklist will be used to address political signs, presence of elections officials, voting booths, accessible voting systems, electioneering, voter check-in procedures, absentee balloting, challengers and the voter registration process.
This webinar is open to all NHMA members and will benefit moderators, town clerks, supervisors of the checklist and governing body members who want a refresher course on correct polling place procedures.
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NHMA Webinar:
Regulating Short-term Rentals in New Hampshire
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
How to regulate home-sharing and short-term rentals has become one of the hottest topics among city and town officials across New Hampshire. Many municipalities continue to grapple with the positive and negative consequences of increased "tourism" in their residential settings.
Join NHMA's Government Affairs Counsel Cordell Johnston and Municipal Services Counsel Natch Greyes as they discuss the legal bases for regulating short-term rentals and different approaches to regulation. They may include zoning, site plan review, building and fire code enforcement, parking and noise ordinances, and nuisance actions.
This webinar is open to members of NHMA and will be of interest to governing bodies, land use board members, planners, building inspectors, code enforcement officers, and anyone else involved in land use regulation.
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NHMA Webinar: What Municipal Officials Need to Know About Cable TV Franchising Today!
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
This summer the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to make dramatic changes to cable franchise agreements, many of which are managed by municipal governments. These changes may have serious negative impacts on cities and towns that collect franchise fees from cable operators.
This webinar will cover the basics of what you need to know for negotiating a franchise agreement with your local cable TV company. This includes a review of key features of cable television franchise agreement, how your cable television franchise may affect broadband in your community, as well as how the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) recent order on cable television franchising may reduce franchise fees and formerly "free" services in New Hampshire communities.
Join
DTC Lawyers Katharine B. Miller and Brendan A. O'Donnell
who will review these and other key issues including guidance on legal considerations when negotiating cable franchise agreements or renewals.
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LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN
Special Legislative Alert Needs Your Attention!
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New Hampshire Summit on Economic Inclusion and Digital Equity
October 28-29, 2019
$35 per day or $60 for both days
The
New Hampshire Summit on Economic Inclusion and Digital Equity is being organized by the National Collaborative for Digital Equity, based in Weare New Hampshire, in partnership with the New Hampshire Bankers Association, Diversity Workforce Coalition, New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (NHBEA), Economic Vitality New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, among others.
The gathering will be of special relevance for New Hampshire municipalities seeking investments in broadband infrastructure.
On Day Two of the summit, a workgroup, co-facilitated by Margaret Byrnes, NHMA executive director, and NHBEA director of broadband technology, Carol Miller, will explore with interested municipal, regional development, and banking leaders development of a statewide network of municipalities and banking leaders to secure investment for affordable broadband in underserved areas statewide.
Attendees can participate in either Day One (on economic inclusion strategies) or Day Two (on removing digital divide barriers to economic inclusion), or both days.
The summit's aim is to bring together state and community leaders in banking, education, workforce development and philanthropy, to share promising Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)-funded practices in economic inclusion and digital equity, and to spur action planning.
The summit will be keynoted by Barry Wides, Deputy Comptroller, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He will affirm federal policy support for CRA investments in digital equity for economic inclusion.
Among the action planning strands at the summit will be workgroups exploring how best to d
evelop a statewide plan for bank CRA-supported investment in broadband infrastructure development for underserved areas of the state.
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GSRWA Offers Two-Day Training for Stormwater Inspector/Rural Communities Certification
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Wednesday - Thursday, October 2-3, 2019
Center at 25 Triangle Park, Concord, NH
Rural communities are encouraged to develop stormwater discharge controls and many construction and industrial activities are subject to mandatory permit compliance. This two-day course will help individuals understand the complexities of stormwater permitting and permit enforcement. Topics include:
ï‚· Clean Water Act
ï‚· Understanding CSI-Rural Communities
ï‚· Voluntary RMS4 Controls
ï‚· Municipal Pollution Prevention
ï‚· Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
ï‚· Public Participation
ï‚· Construction Permit Review and Controls
ï‚· Industrial Permit Review
ï‚· Wastewater Sector Study
ï‚· Land Field Sector Study
For more information, and to register, go to GSRWA website.
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Preservation Grant Resources Available!
Historic preservation projects with strong community and economic revitalization potential in Carroll, Cheshire, Coos and Sullivan counties and certain municipalities in Belknap and Grafton counties may be eligible for a new grant program sponsored by the N.H. Preservation Alliance. The Preservation Alliance, along with Maine Preservation, Preservation Trust of Vermont and the Preservation League of New York State recently received a grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) for this work. More on this opportunity for non-profit and municipal shovel-ready "bricks and mortar" grants
here.
To request application information when they are available later this fall, you can email projects@nhpreservation.org.
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NHPR Hosts Program on Cybersecurity Challenges Facing State and Municipal Governments
Join NHMA's Executive Director Margaret Byrnes and Commissioner of New Hampshire Department of Information Technology Denis Goulet who discuss the challenges faced by state and municipal governments in defending against cyber attacks.
This New Hampshire Public Radio program aired on Thursday, September 19, 2019 and is roughly 58 minutes in duration.
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NHDES Seeking Surface Water Data
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is preparing for the 2020 Surface Water Quality Assessment process, as required by Sections 305(b) and 303(d) of the Clean Water Act
. The first step in this process is to make sure that NHDES has as much available data as possible on which to base our water quality assessment decisions. To that end, NHDES encourages anyone who has surface water data/information, to submit it to NHDES electronically. For inclusion in the 2020 Surface Water Quality Assessments, data must be submitted no later than November 15, 2019.
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Reimbursement of Oil Spill Prevention and Cleanup Costs
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) Oil Fund Disbursement Board is proposing to readopt with amendments administrative rule Odb 400 dealing with the requirements and procedures for reimbursement of petroleum spill prevention and cleanup costs under RSA 146-D. The proposed amendment will address recent statutory changes, clarify existing definitions and requirements along with other amendments.
A copy of the proposed rule is available by contacting Jennifer Marts at 271-2570
Jennifer.Marts@des.nh.gov
. A public hearing on the proposed rule is scheduled for 9:30 am on Monday, September 23, 2019,
in Room 305 of the Legislative Office Building, 33 North State Street, Concord. The deadline for submission of written comments is 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1, 2019.
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NHFPI Issue Brief: New Hampshire's Workforce, Wages and Economic Opportunities
The essence of a labor market is the workers in it. When an economy improves, it is often assumed that conditions for workers, including wages and job opportunities, improve as well. In the decade since the Great Recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, New Hampshire's economy has seen growth in its inflation-adjusted Gross State Product, increases in the number of available jobs and in the size of the labor force, and continued decreases in the unemployment rate.
On the surface, it appears that this combination of factors would lead more workers to being better off than they were before the Great Recession.
However, the economic recovery and expansion that New Hampshire has experienced is complex. The diversity of New Hampshire's distribution of jobs, wages, and other economic resources add more intricacies to understanding the well-being of workers in the state. Differences in wages and job opportunities show disparities between different counties and industries. These disparities also exist when analyzing other indicators of the health of the economy.
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Funding Available to Low Income Homeowners to Replace or Upgrade Old Heating Oil Tanks Through SAFETANK Program
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is currently accepting Safetank qualification applications and will approve system replacements or upgrades based on leak risk factors, working with installation professionals, community action programs, fuel oil dealers, manufactured housing communities, and other groups accordingly. Income-qualified homeowners should be aware that variations in both available funding and demand may result in significant delays in the completion of Safetank work.
The Safetank Program is available to income-qualified homeowners in New Hampshire to upgrade or replace their fuel oil storage tank system. In the majority of cases, installation professionals are paid directly for upgrade or replacement work approved by NHDES.
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CDFA Update on Proposed Programs for 2020 Action Plan
As part of the development of the 2020 Action Plan, which guides the administration of the Statewide Community Development Block Grant Program in New Hampshire, CDFA has proposed policy updates based on data, trends and public participation that will:
- Increase the funds to and capacity for communities to develop, implement and sustain impactful projects.
- Provide additional resources for the development of affordable housing that supports the revitalization of New Hampshire's downtowns.
- Align economic development tools to better leverage public and private resources to have a positive community impact.
For a comprehensive understanding of the proposed policy updates, please reference the following documents:
Participation by key stakeholders in the program updates is critical and ongoing. To those of you who participated in our process and provided experienced counsel thus far - thank you. Immediate opportunities for further engagement on the 2020 Action Plan include a public hearing that will be held on
October 1, 2019 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM in the Board Room of New Hampshire Housing (32 Constitution Drive, Bedford, NH) and/or submit feedback to
comments@nhcdfa.org.
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Public Hearings on NHDOT's Draft 2021-2030 Ten Year Transportation Plan
RSA 228:99 and RSA 240 require that the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) propose a plan for improvements to the State's transportation system every two years. The purpose of the Ten Year Plan is to develop and implement a plan allowing New Hampshire to fully participate in federally supported transportation improvement projects as well as to outline projects and programs funded with State transportation dollars.
The Draft 2021-2030 Ten Year Plan, which includes
project listings by municipality
, is available on the NHDOT
Ten Year Plan website
. Twenty public hearings on the Draft 2021-2030 Ten Year Plan have been scheduled throughout the state from
September 10 through October 28, 2019.
A copy of the Public Hearing Schedule is available
here.
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***Electrification***
Trucks, Buses, Lawn Mowers, Solar
...
How can you harness this power?
You are invited to participate in a FREE EVENT:
Interested in electric vehicles, equipment & charging technology?
Get hands-on with the vehicles and vendors!
Hear from fleet managers - walk thru site planning
Learn how the technology fits into your fleet, school or municipality!
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NHDES Offers Asset Management "Strategic Communication" Workshop
8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Wednesday, October 2, 2019
NH National Guard Facility, 772 Riverwood Drive, Pembroke
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is offering an asset management workshop focused on strategic communication. The goal of the workshop is to provide New Hampshire drinking water, wastewater and stormwater system managers and operators with a systematic, multi-stakeholder approach to improve communications internally and externally. This workshop will provide an opportunity to interact with experts that have implemented these methods around the country, testimonial presentations from peers and panel discussions. The workshop is geared towards drinking water, wastewater and stormwater utility managers and operations staff, administrative assistants, public works directors, city and town managers, commissioners, selectmen, finance managers and all of the asset management devotees.
Cost: $45.00 (Includes lunch)
Registration Deadline: September 20, 2019
Click here for workshop registration form under
"Strategic Communication: Holistic Understanding of Asset Management".
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Agritourism: Building Connection Between Farmers, Customers and Communities
12:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Monday, November 4, 2019
Portsmouth Country Club, Greenland
The
11th Annual New Hampshire Direct Marketing Conference
will be held on Monday, November 4, 2019 from noon - 5:30 p.m. at the Portsmouth Country Club, 80 Country Club Lane in Greenland.
A slate of speakers will cover creating tourist - oriented directional and attraction signs, promoting agriculture events and goods in New Hampshire and beyond, working with local government to support your farm, and reducing liability risk when visitors come to your farm.
Registration starts at noon. New Hampshire Commissioner of Agriculture Shawn Jasper will kick off the conference with a presentation about what is or what is not considered agritourism.
Registration is $30 per person by October 28 and after that date it will be $35 per person. Afternoon refreshments are included in the registration. Registration is now open; see the conference details at
http://bit.ly/2019Agritourism
. For more details, contact Nada Haddad, UNH Extension Food and Agriculture Field Specialist, at
nada.haddad@unh.edu
or 603-679-5616.
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National League of Cities:
Making Sense of Municipal Budgets
For most, the budget process is viewed as an accounting exercise that involves a multitude of spreadsheets, request forms and formulas all leading to a "balanced budget". Oftentimes, the process seems to be cloaked in mystery because no one is quite sure what happens between the time budget requests are submitted and the point at which a draft budget is presented for review.
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Before you act on an employment or labor issue,
call the
Drummond Woodsum
EMPLOYMENT LAW HOTLINE
@ 623.2500
The Employment Law Hotline is an NHMA Member Benefit
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Benefit Plans for the Public Sector
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September 25th TRIVIA QUESTION:
Name the New Hampshire city or town that houses Hazens. It was the last town granted two years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Please send your response to
newslink@nhmunicipal.org
. A winner will be recognized in the next
NewsLink
issue and be eligible for a grand prize of no particular value whatsoever at the end of the year.
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September 11th TRIVIA QUESTION:
Name the New Hampshire city or or town
that has houses Rowes Corner, Sargent Corners and Crane Crossing. Incorporated in 1749 as "Newtown" (because it was a new town) by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth, the New Hampshre Legislature voted to change the town to this name in 1846. According to the town's website, the original charter is stored in a safe in the Selectman's Office at the town hall.
Correct Response: Town of Newton
September 11th Winner: Thomas B. Irving, Planning Director, Town of Conway
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Learn More About SVM360 Program at 781.686.4130
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SAVE THESE DATES - UPCOMING EVENTS!
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New Hampshire Municipal Association, 25 Triangle Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301
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