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Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 5

Regarding the fiscal responsibility of the current system. It has been presented that one of the reasons
behind this move is because the police department with commission approval has come in each year with a
budget that is above the cost of living which leads to a much higher tax rate. That statement doesn’t cover
the whole story. When contracts are negotiated, they usually cover a multi-year period usually three years.
The contracts are negotiated with the City’s Corporate Counsel present every step of the way. They’re
reviewed and approved by the Commission who has input throughout the process. The contracts then go
through the same system as every contract in the city. They must be approved by you the aldermen and
alderwomen. Some have passed and some have failed as part of the process. Each year the department
is given recommended increases to the budget from the previous year. If for example the police
department tis asked to come in at a zero percent increase, the reality is that is a cut in services after
contractual obligations are met even though those were previously agreed to. It is the responsible thing to
do for me to inform the city government what that change would look like. This year for example a zero
percent increase would only be achieved with the layoff of approximately 10 of our newest officers. Those
ten officers by the way are some of the most diverse officers this department has ever hired. | believe each
of you would be disappointed if | chose to layoff each of those employees and never informed any of you of
what that consequence was.

Instead, we’ve continued to meet and develop a strategy which will be proposed next week that will bring
us not only within the current request but will assist in funding next year’s budget. Regardless of what
happens, we have always stated that we will come in on budget no matter what that number is but we owe
it to everyone to show exactly what that would look like. It’s also important to note that each month we
meet with the commission in a public meeting. There are usually one to two aldermen and alderwomen
present at each of these meetings where they are able to ask questions and listen to the operations of the
department. The minutes for each meeting are posted on line after being approved. The Nashua Police
Department also posts our yearly goals and objectives and our five-year plan. We are very transparent and
willing to answer any questions or concerns our citizens may have.

In closing, | want you to know that | believe this proposal is not good for the City of Nashua or the Nashua
Police Department. It brings in local political influence to an accredited agency that is able to be
accountable yet independent to local political influence. Statements made about this change making us a
better police department are just not true. No one has been able to explain how this would make us better
other than giving more power and control to local influence. It would undermine our ability to effectively run
this organization as well as we have for the past 30 years. If you respect your police department which has
been an instrumental institution in having Nashua voted one of the best cities to live, then please do not
consider voting for this change. Thank you very much to everyone for your time tonight. As always, please
feel free to call me or e-mail with any questions or concerns. Thank you.

Chairman Caron
Thank you Chief.
Chairman Tollner would you like to add to the Chief's comments. Thank you.

Commissioner Jim Tollner

Thank you for the opportunity to speak. | will be brief.

The Nashua Police Commission works diligently to ensure that the Nashua PD is a well-run and respected
department making Nashua a safe place to live and raise a family. I’ve been on both sides of this issue —
as a Police Commissioner and as an Alderman and my opinion has never wavered. An independent
commission is best for Nashua.

Regarding the secret process, not the case. There is always an opportunity to speak with any sitting
Governor. Former administrations, past Mayors have absolutely had conversations opposing candidates

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 6

before a Governor. Choosing to ignore an opportunity is not the same as being excluded from the process.
Saying Nashua is the only remaining city with Governor appointed local Commissioners is true. | suggest
that be viewed as a positive as there are other New Hampshire police departments struggling to manage
the very change you are not contemplating.

Accountability. Every meeting as the Chief said is open to the public and for the last five months we have
held in-person meetings. Senior level staff at the police department participate on numerous local nonprofit
boards which lends itself to successful community policing. Each Commissioner is local, resides in
Nashua, and is responsible and responsive to the citizens in the exact same way as each member of the
Board of Aldermen.

As the Board of Aldermen are aware, the survey was incorrect with respect to the police department
budget. The Board of Commissioners proposes a budget in the exact same way that Nashua Fire and the
Board of Education does. The Mayor and the Board of Aldermen approve the final police budget. The
Commissioners do not. As | have always said, any business or municipality at times will have issues or
bumps in the road that need to be addressed. It is how you handle those situations that will prove the value
and integrity of each institution.

Over the course of time, the Commission has dealt with a few of those situations and has done so with the
utmost consideration of its citizens, staff, and city. | was just saying to some folks the other day, imagine if
you were at a Mayors convention and one Mayor says, my police department has one of the highest
CALEA scores nationally and last year has recruited the most diverse police class in the city’s history.
Despite the national climate is at full complement and actually it’s the only PD in the State with such a
distinction, and they have an outstanding relationship with the nonprofits and social service agencies.
Don’t take my word for it, ask them. And then this mayor says, as | always tell my community, we enjoy
living, working, and playing in one of the safest cities in America. People — that Mayor is Jim Donchess and
that city is Nashua. Why would you change it? You have local control but some of you are proposing is
total control. The only question we should be asking is how this legislation is deemed necessary and
worthy of a Charter change. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Chairman Caron
Thank you Chairman Tollner.
Before we get started, I’d like to acknowledge that Corporation Counsel Steve Bolton is here. Do we have

any board members that have any questions to the prior speakers before we get started to the testimonies?
Okay, seeing none.

Alderman Lopez

Madam Chair, | just wanted to let you guys know that | had showed up. | was a little late. Sorry.
Chairman Caron

Thank you Alderman Lopez. Alderman Lopez has shown up at 7:24. Thank you.

Okay, then we will start with testimony in favor and please remember that you must give your name and

address and you have three minutes to speak. Try to keep all your information as concise as you can. So
we will start. We'll warn you at 30 seconds I’ve been told. Thank you.

TESTIMONY IN OPPOSITION

Greg Murphy Good evening. I’m Greg Murphy from 231 Salmon Street in Manchester, NH. By way of
introduction | want to let the folks know that | appreciate the opportunity. | am currently the accreditation

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 7

manager for the Manchester, NH, police department that the Chief just mentioned. We are also a nationally
accredited agency and have been since 1990. I’m not going to reiterate everything that I’ve heard. | totally
agree | oppose this move based on a couple of things but | was a police officer for 2002 (inaudible) years since
22 years we started with a police commission that had similar authority to what you’re looking for. Fortunately
we went to an advisory only commission. That keeps the certain select citizens and residents involved. They
do not have any influence at all. They’re advisory. That’s a plus and being an accredited agency like Nashua
is, like we are, any undue influence from any political party could be devastating not only to accreditation but to
personnel issues, recruiting selection. It’s just not necessary to lead our office great guidance and best
practices and | don’t know if the Chief told you but five percent of law enforcement agencies in this country are
accredited. It’s great to be accredited. It’s a goal. It's not easy and when | think of Nashua, | dealt with them
for 15 years. We've done mock assessments. They are a great police department — highest integrity around. |
don’t want to say we’re second to them but we’re running close and it’s a tie.

| won’t take up the rest of the night by | fully support the Nashua PD, the Chief, police officers, their
accreditation manager. They are top notch. You should be proud of them as | am to call them my friends and
an agency that works with us. They come to Manchester. We go to Nashua for swat and high risk incidents. If
you vote this in, | think you’re making an absolute mistake. Leave it the way it is. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
When | think of Nashua, its pride, integrity, they're squared away, and | do believe it would tarnish the image of
the PD down the road if you allowed this to happen. Again | thank you for your time and the opportunity to
speak on behalf of my friends and colleagues at the Nashua PD.

Chairman Caron

There are a lot of hands up so we are just going to go across our screen. The next is Representative Ray
Neuman?

TESTIMONY IN FAVOR

Rep. Ray Neuman | am Representative Ray Neuman, | am a Representative in Ward 2 and | live at 25
Charlotte Avenue, Nashua. Amendment R-21-143 allows Nashua to remain vulnerable. We do not have home
or local rule. But only for the process of appointing the Police Commissioners. And all it does is place this on
the ballot for voter approval. Since 1891 we’ve had three person Commission appointed by the Governor.
Back then it might have been appropriate for the Governor and the Executive Counsel to have control of that
process but that is certainly not the case today. The Police Commissioners fix and appoint Police Officers and
fix their salaries. They have full power to make all the rules for Government at the Police Force. The Police
Commissioners also have full and complete care and control of all the lands and buildings used by the Police
Department.

Given these powers, it is very important for local City Officials who are more informed than State Officials about
what the Police Department needs and who have responsibility for the well-beings of Nashua that they also
have home rule for the appointment for Police Commissioners. All other cities have already regained home rule
and | think that is a good thing for the appointment of Police Commissioners. Again, all this amendment does is
put it on the ballot for voter approval. This amendment is fully compliant with the New Hampshire Constitution
and State Law. An example of how bad State rule can be is to consider a Bill that passed just last Thursday in
the House of Representatives. So when there is State Rule this Bill was passed even though it specifically
ignored both the Constitution and State Law. It removes Nashua’s Home Rule from all spending by reinstating
a spending cap that had been ruled unenforceable in the State Supreme Court. All 27 of Nashua’s State
Representatives support the defeat of this Bill. To bring Home Rule for appointments to the Police Commission
will allow for more transparency, accountability and increase the diversity in the selection of Police
Commissioners and it will also help the ...

Alderman O’Brien

30 seconds.

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 8

Rep. Neuman Some say if the appointment process isn’t broke don’t fix it. | say the appointment process is
broken. Let’s recapture home rule for the appointment of the Police Commissioner and make it responsive to
Nashua. For these reasons | ask you to let the voters vote by supporting this amendment. Thank you Madam
Chair.

Renae Lias Claffrey Yes Hi. Renae Lias Claffrey 32 Deerhaven Drive, Nashua. | support this measure and |
want to say first of all that supporting this does not mean that you are necessarily critical of the current Police
Force. | strongly support the current Police Force. This is really more about State versus local control. |
support this measure because it would broaden the number of Commissioners from 3 to 5 and that would give
us a better opportunity to have the Commissioners fully reflect the diversity of the City of Nashua. In the history
of the State-appointed Commission we only have had one woman serve as a Commissioner and | believe no
people of color and that does a disservice to our City.

| also support it because Police are a big part of this City’s budget and | find it hard to understand why their
funding requests would come in the way they do with the Police Commission the way it is now, to me it seems
like it should be more like Schools. I'd also point out that the current Commissioners would serve out their full
terms, this wouldn’t result in any rapid change and there are lots of checks and balances for the appointees
among the Mayor and the Aldermen. So finally even if you don’t feel really comfortable with the measure itself,
I’d argue to at least think about putting it on the ballot to let the voters decide. Thank you.

Amber Logue-Morgan Hi Amber Logue-Morgan, resident of 20 Locke Street and | do want to speak in support
of this measure. My statement is about the appointments of this position not any individual specifically and
before | do make my statement | want to thank our Police Department for their work each and every day and
specifically over the last year and how they conducted themselves during a very tumultuous year. With a
heightened environment around Police nationwide, what better way to back our blue then to bring this decision
of Police Commissioners local. Currently there are elected officials making these decisions that may not be
reflective of our City’s election. There are nuances and history that exist in any City that someone who does
not live here, would not be able to understand or frankly have the time to care about it as much as our residents
and our locally elected officials will.

We need a Police Commission that is reflective of our City. There have only been a handful of women ever

that have been appointed and currently there are no women and no black, indigenous or people of color. As

pointed out in the State of New Hampshire there is only one town or City that has Police Commissioners that
are appointed by the Governor and that’s Nashua. So that is a reflection as to why we do. Are we afraid of

change? So thank you to those that have brought this up and forward to the citizens of Nashua who like me
may be surprised that this is even a thing. So | ask that personal views aside, that we allow our citizens who
have elected each of you to decide and vote and put this on the ballot. Thank you.

Alderman Caron
Just a reminder these are for testimony in favor of the legislation. Next we have Representative Sherry Dutzy.

Rep. Sherry Dutzy 18 Swart Terrace and | would like to speak in support of the referendum. | will underscore
what the previous speakers have said and briefly this is not a referendum regarding the Police. | think we do
have a strong Police Department and we all appreciate it. | do think it is a good idea to think about expanding
the Commission from 3 to 5. | am a little uncomfortable with 3 and especially since | think a number of the
Police Commissioners basically go around in the same circles. It is just a little bit too comfortable | believe and
opening it up to more diversity | think would be a great idea. So | would hope that we would consider putting it
on the Agenda for the Charter Change because | think the citizens of Nashua should be the ones who are
deciding.

Cathy Abel Hi, my name is Cathy Abel, | live at 41 Manchester Street in Nashua. | have been a resident of
Nashua for 35 years. | am speaking in support of amending the City Charter to have Nashua Police
Commissioners chosen by the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen instead of the current system of the Governor
appointing them. Nashua is the only remaining City in the State to have its Police Commissioners appointed by

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 9

the Governor. It seems an outdated system to me because the current Police Commission does not reflect the
diversity of Nashua. Nashua is the most diverse City in the State of New Hampshire; 73% white; 13%
Hispanic; 8% Asian; and 4% Black or African American. There are more women than men in Nashua, 97 men
for every 100 women. But all three Nashua Police Commissioners are middle-aged white men which does not
reflect the make-up of the community.

Another concern for me is taxes. Police Commissioners have significant power over the Nashua City Budget,
indirectly by their ability to appoint Police Officers and set their salaries. When people complain about Nashua
taxes they need to ask if part of the problem may be the Police Commission consistently asking for budgets
that increase spending at a rate above the cost of living more than other City Departments. The Mission
Statement of the Nashua Police Department says that it strives to approve the quality of life in the community
and to protect people and property in the partnership with the citizens of Nashua. What better way to act in
partnership and to have the elected, local officials; people who Nashuans have elected or chosen serve as
Police Commissioners instead of people appointed by the Governor. | like knowing who my local officials are
and this is why | support amending the City Charter. Thank you.

Mike Ballentine Thank you Madam Chair. Hello everyone. | am Mike Ballentine, | live at 9 Bartlett Avenue. |
support this Resolution, | think local control is almost always preferable for local issues. The Police are as local
issues as you can get. If | imagine a person having trouble with the Police | would expect them to be able to
resolve that with the Department or the Chief or the Commissioners or then our local officials. But that’s not the
way it works. The chain of control, the chain of accountability goes from the Commissioners up to Concord. In
my experience the local level, Aldermen and Mayor are visible, accessible, transparent, much more than the
Counsel and Governor. It makes sense because they are closer to the community, so local is better than State
in my mind.

| also like increasing the number of Commissioners to 5. Along with local control and more people involved in
the appointment process, | think that will make it easier for the Commission to better reflect our City’s
population. So | think this should pass and be send to the citizens for a vote. Thank you.

Bernadette Halloran Hi everyone. | live at 2 Clocktower Place in Nashua. | am in favor, well first | want to say
thank you Chief Carignan and his predecessor Chief Lavoie. My interactions with the Police Department has
all been very positive. | think they do a great job and | feel very safe in Nashua.

(Background Interference)

Alderman Caron

Could you hold on Bernadette?

Alderman O’Brien

| just muted him.

Alderman Caron

We are trying to find out where the background noise is coming from. Thank you. You may start again.
Bernadette?

Ms. Halloran Let me gather my thoughts please.
Alderman Caron

OK we thought we lost you.

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 10

Ms. Halloran No. | am in favor of more oversight. When a Department is a $30 million dollar annual budget, |
am comfortable with more eyes on the budgeting process. So that change from 3 to 5 makes me more
comfortable. | just feel it is time, since Nashua is the only City for a long period of time, to have this specific
process that it has now, time to take a look at it, review it and | think it’s very important in today’s world for local
residents to have the opportunity to have their voice heard by a vote. So | would urge the Aldermen to approve
having this proposal as a referendum on the ballot. Thank you.

Alderman Caron

Thank you. | am going to ask again, is there anyone out there who wants to give testimony in favor of the
Legislation.

Sonia Prince — Yes please, Sonia Prince, 49 Tufts Drive. | am in favor of this, no one brags about the Police
Department more than | do and especially our Chief, | love him, | think he’s great especially with our training
and steps taken before use of force or before they use weapons. But it’s time that we step into the 21% Century
with transparency and oversight. Vetting our officers and training our officers won’t change, only sets of eyes
watching and added transparency will be added. An example of not being accountable in my opinion and
speaking of loyalty and influence is when a current Commissioner who has been appointed is married to a
sitting Alderman who votes on their $30 million dollar budgets, that is a huge political conflict of interest in my
opinion.

Another appointee is the Police Athletic Director. So transparency and oversight is important and needs to be
unbiased. The people who are against putting this question on the ballot may counter with — Oh but they don’t
understand what a policeman goes through as we do on other Boards we have professionals come in and
make their case and explain it and then we vote so the Commissions do just that. Every single City and Town
in New Hampshire has taken back local control. So why would the Department be afraid of a Board of
Aldermen nominated two people and the Mayor nominated 3 people than having 15 elected members of the
Board of Aldermen interview them, get input from the public then vote on those 5 nominees. With the current
system, do you really think our New Hampshire Governor spends a lot of time thinking of who would serve the
Nashua Police Commission best especially with all the issues going on. Let the people have input on where
their tax dollars go. Lastly as a woman | am appalled to discover that in 126 years only one woman was on the
Commission in the 1970’s. And she wasn’t just any woman she was a judge. So why is that? When women
are 50% of the Nashua population a minimum, some of us are tired of seeing Boards of white men which has
obviously been done by design in my opinion. At the very least, they should have appointed a women to show
respect to the women on the force. Anyone with a daughter, mother or sister should be alarmed. It’s time.
Please put this question on the ballot so we can join the rest of New Hampshire cities and towns in the 21°*
Century and let the people decide if they want an accurate representation of our population on all Boards
around the City.

I'll finish with a quote from Dan Rather, “In my book it is simple, if you work hard to prevent people from voting
on this question you pretty much admit your ideas aren’t popular and you feel the verdict of the people”. So
please approve this. Thank you.

David Victory- Hi there, David Victory, 53 Arlington Street, Nashua. | want to echo a lot of what many other
speakers have said. | have very positive feelings about our Nashua Police Department but | think it is time to
take back local control, | think that’s a good thing. Nashua is the only City in the State that has a Commission
appointed by the Governor and | am not OK with that. So this should go to the ballot. Thank you.

Sarah Paratore Hi my name is Sarah Paratore, | live at 7 Bartlett (?) Street in Nashua. | agree with all the folks
who have spoken before me and the issues that they have raised the existing system. But | would also like to
take the opportunity to point out two things. The Chief spoke of transparency and the existing system doesn’t
give the voters the opportunity to have the conversation with the Governor and the Executive Counselors to
discuss suitability of candidates of the Commission, that’s only for those individuals. So it’s not transparent
citizen just to the Governor and the Executive Counsel. And the other point that | would like to make is that |
think this is an opportunity, | think we should look at this as an opportunity. The Police Commission if it is

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 11

represented of a cross section of the citizens of Nashua, that gives us an opportunity for the Police Department
to build stronger relationships with members of those communities across Nashua. If it is only cross section of
the public all those other communities that aren’t represented don’t have the opportunity to strengthen those
relationships that exist or built on ones where they don’t and | think that’s a missed opportunity especially in
these times. So | support this. Thank you.

Rep. Michael Pedersen Yes — Michael Pedersen | am a Nashua resident, 11 Delaware Road. | also serve as a
State Representative for Nashua, Ward 5. Two points I’d like to bring up is | think the City of Nashua and its
residents are fully capable of making wise decisions on their behalf and don’t need a decision made at the
Governor's office or their local control. And the other thing I’d like to mention this thing having the Governor’s
Office decide our Police Commissioner would remove politics from the equation but | am certain that any
decisions that come out of a Governor’s Office includes politics on their end. So the politics will never be
removed, it is just a matter of who is deciding it. So thank you for your time.

Alderman Caron
Thank you. So | will do one last call for people to speak in favor of this Resolution. OK seeing none, we will now
take testimony in opposition. Please raise your hand and we will go across the board. Yes, will you please

identify yourself, it says “Julia’s iPad”, name and address please? You're on mute | think.

TESTIMONY IN OPPOSITION

Tim Hefferan 144 Manchester Street in Nashua. Thank you for this opportunity to speak in opposition to this. It
is my understanding that Deputy Chief Testaverde has provided you with an editorial | provided to the
Telegraph in 2014 outlining some of the instances in which | have been personally involved and the concerns
that | have as it relates to the appointment of Police Commissioners. Sometimes we make difficult decisions,
after we’ve made them we lament about wishing we had the benefit of hindsight in making that decision, hoping
that it turned out right. You, the Aldermen, have the advantage and the fortunate ability in this instance to have
the benefit of that hindsight. When we only look back at the history of the Police Department as it related to the
City and local politics of the early 1900’s to learn why the Commission structure as it stands today came about
and why we don’t want to return to the old ages. | know Mayor Donchess through the Police Department when
| worked there since the 1990’s and | know him to be an honorable man. Similarly | know several of the Board
presently sitting and consider you to be of high character and personal integrity. But we are all just passing
through in our service to the City. There will be a time in the future, as there has been in the past, when people
will be elected to powerful positions whose character and motives will be called into question and | cite an
Aldermanic investigation that | participated in back in 1993 that put three sitting Aldermen in Federal Prison as
an example of my concerns of local control.

In 2001, | was in North Carolina for our re-accreditation. During that time, the chairperson for CALEA stood
among 30 to 50 other agencies from around the country and spoke publicly acknowledging to us in words that
are very similar to you having a unique Police Commission structure, one that we have rarely seen. How were
we able to implement it and more importantly how were you able to keep it. The Aldermen have authorized the
Police Budget over the last 30 years to spend millions of dollars in an effort to retain and maintain the
accreditation standard....

Alderman O’Brien
30 seconds.

Mr. Hefferan Thank you. Why would we ever want to return and do a 180 degree from the CALEA Board that
has publicly recognized and praised specifically this form of Police Commission appointment? And lastly | have
heard a lot of talk about Nashua being the last place that has this format. I’ve also talked to Police
Departments and officers over the past that have described in detail that frustrations with allowing local politics
to come into play and how it has affected hirings, firings, promotions, investigations and overall morale.

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 12

| ask you to consider carefully the decision and the legacy that we will leave on the Nashua Police Department
based on how you vote going forward. Thanks for your time.

John Fischer — Thank you very much. My name is John Fischer, | live at 21 Indiana Drive. | Know most of you
here, | either know you from my 23 years at the Nashua Police Department, from my 25 years at the Nashua
Soup Kitchen Board or through my 35 plus years of coaching youth athletics here in the City. | could not be
more opposed to this. Most of you that know me also know that after 23 years | have served as a Police Chief
in Massachusetts for the last decade. I’ve had the opportunity to visit a lot of Police Departments. Importantly,
Nashua is what everybody else uses as a hallmark. | taught at Roger Williams University for 10 % years in Law
Enforcement Management, 5 % years at Rivier, I’ve been on loan from BJA currently working on a project right
now and almost everyone chooses Nashua as a go by and for very important reasons.

| know that Chief Hefferan has talked about interference outside and | have had the opportunity to work in a few
different systems. And | can tell you what that phone calls feels like when you get a phone call from a local
appointed official that has power over you for lack of better words, it is a very unsettling feeling and they usually
talking about hiring. They are talking about hiring or they are talking about a decision that was made that is
already in the courts. I’ve had the good fortune to live in Nashua for my entire adult life. The safety of my
family has been incredibly important. And | think that this decision while well intentioned is short sighted. | think
the Nashua Police Department is what it is for very important reasons and one of those is that insulation it has
with the Commissioners who are appointed by the Governor. In closing | want to thank you for your time and
consideration. And I’m easy to find if you want to give me a ring and talk about other Police Departments that
I’ve been on loan to in the country and why they always harken back to the way things are done in Nashua, |
am happy to answer your questions.

Sandy Cleary Hi my name is Sandy Clearly, | live at 17 Adella. | want to give you a little background on myself
because | think it is important in understanding what my perspective is. My first career was in aerospace
engineering designing guidance systems for ballistic missiles. Upon leaving that, | started my own business,
moved it up to the Lakes Region and grew it to $135 million dollars in annual sales and then sold it in 2017. |
then looked around as to where | was going to have my next venture. And | chose Nashua. | then purchased a
commercial property in Nashua as well as my own residence in 2017. | became involved in the community and
started actively supporting all the local charities or many of the local charities, including committing
$100,000.00 to the Performing Arts Center. This is all to explain to you that | am indeed Team Nashua. | am
not a politician, | am a business woman. I’ve been told that one of my best skills is that | have the ability to cut
through the BS to heart of the matter and to identify the core issue and address it head on.

So | asked myself, what reasons have been offered for this change. From what | am hearing is the Police
Department is good but could be better and that the Commission needs more diversity. The reality is that you
are going from one type of political appointment to another type of political appointment. You can say all you
want about qualifications, merit and community service, but ultimately you are still appointments. And | think
we have to call this what it really is. This is clearly a power grab under the cloak of diversity and feel good
verbiage about the selection process. As a woman who has been the lone woman in a room full of men many,
many times in my career | do take certain amount of umbrage at this cloaking-ness as a diversity issue. | do,
however, understand power grabs and sometimes they are very necessary. However, there are times when
power grabs are also so detrimental that they need to be shut down and shut down very quickly because of the
collateral damage that can be done. | fear that if you let this go to the voters, that you will hurt Nashua by
having two distinguished, trusted and necessary entities defending themselves and attacking one another only
to cause the residents much insecurity and unease in the whole process.

One of the reasons | relocated here is that we have a Police Department...
Alderman O’Brien

30 seconds.

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 13

Ms. Cleary ... that is recognized across the State and is head and shoulders above the rest. | have lived in and
owned many businesses in various places and Nashua is above all the best Police Department that we’ve
seen. The Mayor has said repeatedly that Nashua is one of the safest cities. Security is very important to me. |
came here largely because | feel safe here and | believe in the professionalism and the services offered. As a
business owner, property owner and an individual willing to get very involved in the local level of a situation if |
have to, | respectfully request that the Board rejects this amendment. Thank you.

Laurie Ortolano Hi, Good Evening. Laurie Ortolano, 41 Berkeley Street. | want to address a couple of issues
here. We have heard about the political influence on this change and | think the woman who just spoke nailed
it. There’s political influence either way. There is politics involved, you can’t completely remove that. But |
think you do take it a step further back when you leave this appointment at the State level. You know, at the
State level the appointment of the 3, nobody has touched upon that they have to come from two different
parties and right now we have 1 Republican and 2 Independents on our Police Commission. | haven’t heard
anyone here speak about how these appointments would be made by the Mayor and the Board, but my
observation with this Administration is that we tend to promote and put all Democrats on Committees. And |
would like to see, you know, the Committee be representative of the diversity of the voter population in Nashua.
And right now your voter population, the heaviest party is your party of Independents.

So | am concerned that we wouldn't see that. | don’t support solving problems that don’t really exist. And | can
tell you that nobody probably right now understands what retaliation is about and like than myself and what |
encountered and what | have come up against in trying to address issues in the Nashua Assessing Office. It
far exceeded anything | ever thought would happen to me. My property was raised $150,000.00 above what
KRT had placed it at, the Mayor was furious with me and came after me with everything he had. Attorney
Bolton told me | had offended him, the Mayor, | offended Attorney Bolton, | offended Alderwoman Wilshire and
offense caused a personal vendetta to be established. | would not want the local administration, local
leadership to be appointing Commissioners on the Police force for the Police Department because | think it
would result it in even greater conflicts and problems for somebody like me who opened the door and found a
situation, walked into a real hornet’s nest and got caught in a way that | have not yet been able to resolve.

So you know, | will have the opportunity to speak to this again but | am concerned ....
Alderman O’Brien
30 seconds.

Ms. Ortolano that we will find that it will be seats filled with Democrats. The Board of Assessors is three older
men, | believe all Democrats; two are cousins. You know, you want to talk about some conflict, you have some
conflict there and you know, that’s the way it is. And | know somebody like me who is an Independent, there is
no place in the City for a seat for a person like me. Thank you.

Laura Colquhoun Laura Colquhoun, |’m in opposition of it. My name is Laura Colquhoun, | am at 30
Greenwood Drive. | am speaking out again tonight against the amendment change for the City Charter relative
to the manner of the appointments to the Nashua Board of Police Commissioners. This amendment has been
on the books since September 2013 and has worked very well for the City of Nashua. There is an old saying
that if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Currently there are no politics within this selection. However, if the City of
Nashua puts this amendment in the hands on the Mayor, and the President of the Board of Aldermen it will be
an utter disaster. The Mayor has already shown that he is hiring only like-minded people from his inner circle to
Boards and Committees. Just look at the Boards and the Committees that Nashua currently has and the
resident can clearly see this is happening.

If the Mayor wants the City of Nashua to be transparent than leave the current manner of appointments to the
Governor. The Police Commissioner should never be picked because the Mayor likes them or are friends with
the Mayor. They should not be selected because of their party affiliation or their like-minded viewpoints. It
needs to be a qualified person, male or female, with no personal ties to the Mayor and/or the President of the

Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 14

Board of Aldermen. Board members, please stand up for the Nashua resident and do not let the Mayor make
the City of Nashua the Kingdom of Donchess. Thank you.

Eric Wilson Thank you my name is Eric Wilson, 60 Indian Rock Road, Nashua, New Hampshire. One of the
WebEx or callers earlier talked that this Nashua Police Commission control came 100 well 200 — 1891 and it
was probably an appropriate thing at that time. Fast forward 100 years later in the early 1990’s | took the seat
of the Ward 4 Alderman because the former Alderman had been, along with two other City Aldermen, been
indicted Federally and my memory is all three of them served time in Federal Prison. So as far as local control,
the suggestion that local contro! 100 plus years ago, | mean the Governor control over the Board of the Police
Commission was appropriate 100 plus years ago was appropriate then, it is appropriate 100 years later and it is
appropriate now.

With respect to local control, some of the arguments coming up about local control, you have local control. All
three members of the Police Commission are Nashua residents. There is some suggestion about diversity and
the lack of diversity since Judge Flynn sat on the Police Commission in the late ‘80’s into the early ‘90’s and |
recall Margaret Flynn. As far as diversity we have had two female Governors that | am counting really quickly in
my head and no one brought it to Governor Shaheen or Governor Hassan to appoint or suggest to appoint
more diverse members of the Board. So the issue is with the Governor. As far as the budget, the budget is
controlled by the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor and that’s really what it comes down to the Board of
Aldermen, the Police Commission suggests the budget and the Board of Aldermen control it.

Going back into the 1990’s when there were some significant issues with the Board of Aldermen and controlling
City contracts and budgets that wound up in the indictments, my memory is very clear that certain political
pressure was attempted to be placed on the Police Department that the Police Department did not have to and
would not succumb to because of their independent authority and their independent ability to investigate and
foresee a criminal prosecution against in essence their bosses. In addition to that, given my position, my
career position, | have been well aware...

Alderman O’Brien

30 seconds.

Mr. Wilson Thank you, | have been well aware of additional issues related not only to Aldermanic issues
involving the Police Department but as well as Mayoral issues involving the Police Department in the years
back. The ability for the Nashua Police Department to have a Commission appointed by the Governor and
approved by the Governor’s Executive Counsel, is perhaps one of the most advantageous things that the City
of Nashua and its residents could have and | speak highly against this Resolution and | hope that the Board of
Aldermen see everything that’s been talked to about tonight and reject it. Thank you.

TESTIMONY IN FAVOR

Sumathi C. Madhure Hi. | am giving testimony in favor of the Commission. Should | speak now or wait until all
the ones opposing it are done?

Chairman Caron

OK so you are going to speak in favor of changing?
Ms. Madhure Correct.

Chairman Caron

Ok so you have to wait, OK? Thank you. This is the last call for testimony in opposition of this Resolution. OK
seeing none, we will call testimony in favor. So Sumathi Madhure you can speak.