Category Archives: Hot News

by Chuck Douglas

On November 6 over 400,000 New Hampshire voters approved Constitutional Amendment #1 restoring the right of an average taxpayer to challenge illegal governmental spending in court.

For 150 years this had been the law until our Supreme Court decided the case of Duncan v. State of New Hampshire in 2014. At that point, the court adopted the restrictive federal standing requirements claiming they are the same under both Constitutions.

An overwhelming response by the legislature to amend the Constitution was forthcoming because the decision made no sense. Our Constitution was in effect for several years before there even was a federal Constitution, so the idea that the two documents are identical is wrong.

The challenge for both conservatives and liberals was to figure out how to gain support from the voters for an amendment that is hard to explain and contains 213 words. An analysis of the amendment revealed it would take almost a full minute just to read it and the ballot question was rated by linguists at a grade 13 level of readability, meaning that one would have to have high school plus one year of college education to read it and understand it.

A bipartisan coalition chaired by me with Bill Duncan as the Vice Chairman was created to raise money to provide information to the voters. The “Yes on NH #1” Political Action Committee included a former Republican Mayor of Manchester, Ray Wieczorek, and a former Democratic Mayor of Manchester, Sylvio Dupuis. Representatives in the legislature included Bob Backus from Manchester, who is a well known liberal and progressive voice, as well as Dan McGuire, a libertarian and conservative from the Republican side of the aisle.

Both political parties and both candidates for Governor supported Amendment 1 making it truly bipartisan in an era of warring tribes.

The Yes on NH 1 Committee was able to raise about $16,000 which resulted in an internet presence with 35,440 Facebook users, three Sunday newspaper ads and 30,000 palm cards. In addition, ads on WMUR and 500 yard signs urging a “yes” vote were part of the mix.

In the end, Yes on NH 1 worked hard in getting the word out, especially since Massachusetts TV was confusing us with Yes on 1 in Massachusetts that had to do with nurse staffing levels. It failed.

The end result is an Amendment to our Bill of Rights that restored Government accountability to the taxpayers. The 83% approval was 406,685 yes and 84,337 no votes.

This is an article that appeared in the April 2018 edition of The Bow Times.

Harry Judd and PSNH – What is the Connection?

This is an editorial that appeared in the June 2018 issue of the Bow Times.

Is the Sky the Limit for School Superintendent Compensation?

At its hearing at the Bow Memorial School on February 12 Budget Committee Chair John Heise announced that the combined school and town budgets result in no tax increase even after paying Public Service Company $5.7 Million.

Unlike last year when the school and budget committee numbers were $700,000 apart it was all smiles this year. The school budget for 2018-19 is $60,000 less than last year at $28,206,625. Due to revenues and increased state aid the school tax rate per thousand dollars of valuation went from $17.19 down to $16.65 for a $ .54 decrease.

That decrease was offset exactly by the $ .54 increase in the town tax rate. The town budget went from $9,987,107 for 2017-18 to $11,662,735 for 2018-19.

The major increase was $1,800,000 added in under the “Legal Services” line item to be used towards paying interest owed on the PSNH back taxes. The town tax rate went from $7.58 to $8.12.
As for warrant articles the only petitioned article is the one 532 voters signed to do the life safety compliance and electrical work in the Community Building.

It will be considered along with the town budget on Wednesday March 14 at 6:30 P.M. at the high school auditorium. There are no controversies in the school budget which will be voted on Friday March 16 at 7 P.M. at the high school gymnasium.

Updated 2-14-2018 at 2:13 PM

At the budget hearing on the town and school district budgets for the coming fiscal year Harry Judd, Selectboard Chair, announced that on February 12 the town delivered a check to PSNH for $5,722,373.

Judd said that amount covered the back taxes owed Public Service Company for 2012 and 2013, however, the interest accruing at 6% has not been paid. “By paying this money we stop interest from running” said Judd.

Estimates of about $2,000,000 in interest still owed were not confirmed nor how the town will come up with the funds to pay it.

Sources told this paper the town may choose to litigate the years 2014-2017, but would use a new expert on utility valuation. On several occasions in Superior Court Judge Richard McNamara’s opinion he found the town’s expert to lack credibility. The Supreme Court likewise hung its hat on the fact that it does not reconsider trial judge’s findings on credibility when it affirmed McNamara’s opinion.

When asked how many millions were involved in the years 2014-2017 Selectman Judd declined to even give a range from low to high.

The source of the $5.7 M was as follows:
1. Abatement overlay …………………….$1,400,000
2. Allocated fund balance ………………..$1,000,000
3. Unexpended balance in the town’s
“checkbook” termed the unassigned
fund balance …………………..$3,322,373

As for the future Chairman Judd said “It is unlikely there will be a global solution by town meeting.”

by Chuck Douglas

After learning that the Board of Selectmen were proposing a warrant article to spend $100,000 to level the Community Building, part-time Recreation Department Michele Vecchione, became a woman on a mission.

At her expense, Michele pulled together a Heart of the Community flyer and a citizen petition warrant article to keep the building operational by doing the life safety requirements called for by the Fire Safety Engineer Bob Cummings at a cost of $76,900 (fire alarm, fire retardant wallboard, etc.), as well as another $465 for fixing a threshold and fire retardant paint. Removal of the generator and fuel tank on the fire side come to $2,500.

Also included was $14,480 for necessary upgrades as called for by the Fire Marshall and Yeaton & Associates. Long time Bow Rotary member, John Ruggles of R & T Electric, provided a hard “will do it for that price” analysis with no fluff in it.

Michele took the numbers and the total came to $94,345 to save the building for a lower cost than destroying it in hopes of bonding a new one. The money would come from a municipal building reserve fund with over $300,000 in it so taxes would not be increased. It would bring the building into compliance with the State Fire Marshall’s concerns of several years ago. Her citizen warrant article reads:
“To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $94,345 for the purpose of Life Safety compliance and electrical upgrades to keep the Recreation Department side of the Bow Community Building open for assembly, operation of the Bow Recreation Department, and community use and to authorize the withdrawal of up to $94,345 from the Municipal Building and Grounds Capital Reserve Fund for the above purposes.”

Then came the sales job for Rotary, The Men’s Club, etc. and the petition soon went viral on social media. Group after group and neighborhood by neighborhood circulated it for voters to sign to have a choice at town meeting.

The 25 needed signatures were obtained the night she spoke to the Men’s Club, but on she went for more signers.

At the petition due date on Tuesday February 6, there were over 532 voters choosing to save the building and the activities in it.

That night as the Selectmen took up what to do with the Community Building the voter’s voices were heard. Selectman Chris Nicolopoulos moved to withdraw the proposed $100,000 warrant article calling for razing the building and prevailed by a 4 to 1 vote. Selectman Colleen Hunter, who wants a new building, voted no.

The board next discussed the recent price for the removal of asbestos by Penial Environmental Services. Their price of $21,200 is the same whether the building is destroyed or not.

Chuck Douglas told the board he expected a floor amendment to add that asbestos number to the $94,345 so that “all health and safety issues could be done once and for all.” Again, Selectman Nicolopoulos made a motion to add that number to the building maintenance line item. The vote in the affirmative was 4 to 1, with Harry Judd voting against it.

The board’s discussion recognized that their desire to have a new building was dramatically changed last month with the loss of power plant tax case in the Supreme Court. The board then went into nonpublic session to discuss a possible multi-million dollar settlement with Eversource.

The board hopes to have a proposal before town meeting on how to pay back the millions at stake.