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Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P8

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
8
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021 Page 8

Police Departments should learn to live within a budget like all other taxpayers in Nashua. | therefore do not
want any additional funds going to either the Police or the Fire because it will only bring the 21% up even
higher and if you realize it that’s a 3.5% in the last 6 years that both the Police and Fire have gotten. Maybe
the Fire Department should buy cheaper treadmills so they don’t have to spend all the money on everything
and spend all the taxpayer's dollars. Thank you.

President Wilshire

OK. Communications requiring final approval.

From: Mayor Jim Donchess
Re: Multi-Year Contract Award — Copier Leases and Maintenance

MOTION BY ALDERMAN HARRIOTT-GATHRIGHT TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE, AND APPROVE A
MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT FOR COPIER LEASES AND MAINTENANCE FOR THE FOLLOWING OFFICES:
DPW ENGINEERING, ALDERMEN’S OFFICE, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (2 MACHINES), AND RISK
MANAGEMENT TO XEROX FINANCIAL SERVICES, MAINTENANCE FROM CONWAY TECHNOLOGY
GROUP, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $35,576.40. FUNDING WILL BE THROUGH DEPARTMENT:
122 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; FUND 54421 COPIER MAINTENANCE, BY ROLL CALL

A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:

Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly, Alderman Dowd,
Alderman Caron, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,
Alderwoman Lu, Alderman Jette, Alderman Schmidt, Alderman Laws,
Alderman Cleaver, Alderwoman Harriott-Gathright, Alderman Wilshire 15

Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED

From: Mayor Jim Donchess
Re: Multi-Year Contract Award - Body Cameras

MOTION BY ALDERMAN LAWS TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE, AND AWARD A SIX-YEAR CONTRACT
FOR BODY CAMERAS FOR 179 OFFICERS AND 31 VEHICLES TO INCLUDE HARDWARE, SOFTWARE
LICENSES, DATA STORAGE/RETRIEVAL, WARRANTY, SUPPORT, INSTALLATION, AND TRAINING
FOR 72 MONTHS WITH UTILITY OF DECATUR, GA, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,825,304.
FUNDING WILL BE THROUGH: DEPARTMENT: 150 POLICE DEPARTMENT; FUND: 81100 CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENTS, AND IS CONTINGENT UPON THE APPROVAL FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, BY ROLL CALL

ON THE QUESTION
President Wilshire
Alderwoman Kelly?

Alderwoman Kelly

| just wanted to say thank you to the Police Department for coming and doing a very thorough presentation
around the body cameras. It is really high tech the ones that they are going for and there was just a ton of
really great information on how these were going to work and the maintenance. So | am grateful that we are
doing this and | just wanted to say thank you.

Page Image
Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P8

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P9

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
9
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021 Page 9
President Wilshire
Anyone else? Alderwoman Lu?
Alderwoman Lu
Would Alderman Laws just repeat the price for me?
President Wilshire
| can repeat the price, it is $1,825,304.00 for 72 months.
Alderwoman Lu
Thank you.
President Wilshire
You’re welcome. Anyone else? Seeing no one, would the Clerk please call the roll?
A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:
Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly, Alderman Dowd,

Alderman Caron, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,

Alderwoman Lu, Alderman Jette, Alderman Schmidt, Alderman Laws,

Alderman Cleaver, Alderwoman Harriott-Gathright, Alderman Wilshire 15
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
PETITIONS

Petition for Street Discontinuance — (Old) Groton Road

MOTION BY ALDERMAN O’BRIEN TO GRANT THE PETITION FOR STREET DISCONTINUANCE — (OLD)
GROTON ROAD, BY ROLL CALL

A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:

Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly, Alderman Dowd,
Alderman Caron, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,
Alderwoman Lu, Alderman Jette, Alderman Schmidt, Alderman Laws,
Alderman Cleaver, Alderwoman Harriott-Gathright, Alderman Wilshire 15

Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED

Petition for Street Layout — 44 Buckmeadow Road

MOTION BY ALDERMAN TENCZA TO GRANT THE PETITION FOR STREET LAYOUT — 44
BUCKMEADOW ROAD, BY ROLL CALL

Page Image
Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P9

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P10

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
10
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021 Page 10
A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:
Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly, Alderman Dowd,

Alderman Caron, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,

Alderwoman Lu, Alderman Jette, Alderman Schmidt, Alderman Laws,

Alderman Cleaver, Alderwoman Harriott-Gathright, Alderman Wilshire 15
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED

NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS

The following reappointments and one new appointment by the Mayor were read into the record:

Airport Authority

Joe Duquette (reappointment) Term to Expire: August 31, 2026
38 Hills Ferry Road
Nashua, NH 03064

Arts Commission

Tina Cassidy (reappointment) Term to Expire: September 1, 2024
36 Arlington Street

Nashua, NH 03062

Carol Robey (new appointment) Term to Expire: August 31, 2024

9 Mendelssohn Drive
Hollis, NH 03049

Board of Registrars
Gwen Mikailov (reappointment) Term to Expire: December 31, 2021
11 Appletree Green
Nashua, NH 03062

Business and Industrial Development Authority

Jason B. Haviland (reappointment) Term to Expire: September 30, 2024
29 Todd Road
Nashua, NH 03064

Deborah Novotny (reappointment) Term to Expire: September 30, 2024
65 McKenna Drive
Nashua, NH 03062

Bradley Vear (reappointment) Term to Expire: September 30, 2023
547 Amherst Street
Nashua, NH 03063

Capital Improvement Committee

Charles Budris (reappointment) Term to Expire: August 1, 2023
2 Shelley Drive

Nashua, NH 03062

Page Image
Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P10

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P11

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
11
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021

Scott LeClair (reappointment)
10 Daylily Drive
Nashua, NH 03062

Laurence Szetela (reappointment)
31 MacDonald Drive
Nashua, NH 03062

Citizen’s Advisory Committee

Beth Quarm Todgham (reappointment)
14 Ellis Drive
Nashua, NH 03063

Elizabeth Houde (reappointment)
12 Oldfield Road
Nashua, NH 03060

Conservation Commission

Jedidiah Crook (reappointment)

52 King Street

Nashua, NH 03060

(moving from alternate to finish William Parker's term)

Cultural Connections

Amanda Martinez (reappointment)
45 Concord Street

Nashua, NH 03064

Downtown Improvement Committee

Michael Buckley (reappointment)
207 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060

Edward Hayes (reappointment)
137 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060

(moved to another ward and replacing David Grebowski (B3) position)

Danielle Skelley (reappointment)
175 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060

Hunt Memorial Board of Trustees

Tammy Crisp (reappointment)
7 Bartlett Avenue
Nashua, NH 03064

Term to Expire

Term to Expire

Term to Expire

Term to Expire

Term to Expire

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Page 11

: August 1, 2023

: August 1, 2022

: October 1, 2024

: October 1, 2024

: December 31, 2021

May 1, 2024

January 31, 2024

December 31, 2022

June 1, 2024

December 31, 2025

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Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P11

Finance Committee - Agenda - 3/2/2022 - P18

By dnadmin on Sun, 11/06/2022 - 21:40
Document Date
Thu, 02/24/2022 - 13:47
Meeting Description
Finance Committee
Document Type
Agenda
Meeting Date
Wed, 03/02/2022 - 00:00
Page Number
18
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/fin_a__030220…

To:

From:

Re:

F. Motion:

Discussion:

City of Nashua, Public Works Division

Board of Public Works Meeting Date: February 24, 2022

Daniel Hudson, P.E., City Engineer
Engineering Department

2022 Paving Program - Construction Contract Award

To approve the award of the construction contract for the 2022 Paving Program to Sunshine
Paving Corporation of Hudson, NH in the amount of $4,562,802.50. Funding will be
through: Department: 160 Admin/Engineering; Funds: Bond and Trust; Activity: Paving
and Department: 169 Wastewater; Funds: Bond and Wastewater; Activities: Sewer Rehab
and Stormwater Abatement.

This 2022 Paving Program construction contract is expected to pave approximately 14 miles
of City streets utilizing shim, overlays, milling and reclamation where appropriate. Other
work required includes replacing nonstandard and broken drainage and sewer castings,
repairing/replacing catch basins and manholes (sewer and drains), ADA ramp work, and
reconstructing transitions to intersecting driveways and streets.

The contract was advertised for bids on January 19, 2022. Three contractors submitted bids
on February 9, 2022 as follows:

Sunshine Paving of Hudson, NH $4,562,802.50
Continental Paving, Inc. of Londonderry, NH $4,741 ,400.00
Newport Construction Corporation of Nashua, NH $4,827,000.00

Sunshine Paving of Hudson, NH at a bid price of $4,562,802.50 is the qualified low bidder.
Sunshine Paving has successfully completed paving program contracts in Nashua of similar
scale for the last several years.

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Finance Committee - Agenda - 3/2/2022 - P18

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P12

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
12
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021

Planning Board

Adam Varley (reappointment)
3 Scotia Way

Nashua, NH 03062

Tax Increment Financing Advisory Board

Michael Cerato (reappointment)
4 Water Street
Nashua, NH 03060

Tim Cummings, Economic Develop. Director (reappointment)
229 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060

Eric Drouart (reappointment)
52 Main Street #206
Nashua, NH 03060

David Fredette, City Treasurer (reappointment)
229 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060

Chris Lewis (reappointment)
670 North Commercial Street
Manchester, NH 03101

Sarah Marchant, Community Develop. Director (reappointment)
229 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060

Tia Phillips (reappointment)
2 Clocktower Place
Nashua, NH 03060

Angelina Spillos (reappointment)
15 Technology Way
Nashua, NH 03062

Zoning Board of Adjustment

Efstathia Booras (reappointment)
44 Balcom Street
Nashua, NH 03062

Mariellen MacKay (reappointment)
9 Webster Street
Nashua, NH 03064

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Term to Expire:

Page 12

March 31, 2024

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

October 1, 2024

September 11, 2024

There being no objection, President Wilshire accepted the Appointments by the Mayor as read and

referred them to the Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee.

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Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P12

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P13

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
13
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021 Page 13

REPORTS OF COMMITTEE

Budget Review Committee «0.0.0.0... ccc cee cee cee cece tenet tes eetietee tsetse etree eee ses 06/17/2021

There being no objection, President Wilshire declared the report of the June 17, 2021 Budget Review
Committee accepted and placed on file.

Committee on Infrastructure 20.0000... ccc cee cece eee cee ee cee cee ter teeete steer tertetateteteretersrs s+, 06/23/2021

There being no objection, President Wilshire declared the report of the June 23, 2021 Committee on
Infrastructure accepted and placed on file.

Budget Review Committee «0.0.0.0... ccc cee cee cee cece tenes teste tienes tttetieeteeee ees ses 06/28/2021

There being no objection, President Wilshire declared the report of the June 28, 2021 Budget Review
Committee accepted and placed on file.

Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee 2.00.00... 00 coc cece cee ece cee eee verter ererererevarsreere OF/06/2021

There being no objection, President Wilshire declared the report of the July 06, 2021 Personnel/Administrative
Affairs Committee accepted and placed on file.

CONFIRMATION OF MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS

Planning Board

There being no objection, President Wilshire confirmed the appointment of Mark Meehan, 65 Walden
Pond Drive, Nashua, to the Nashua Planning Board with a term to expire May 31, 2024.

Oath of Office will be administered at a later date by City Clerk.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS — RESOLUTIONS

R-21-142
Endorsers: Mayor Jim Donchess
Alderman Linda Harriott-Gathright
RELATIVE TO THE ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE
CITY OF NASHUA GENERAL, ENTERPRISE, AND SPECIAL REVENUE FUND
Given its third reading;

MOTION BY ALDERMAN DOWD TO RECONSIDER R-21-142
A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:
Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly, Alderman Dowd,

Alderman Caron, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,

Alderwoman Lu, Alderman Jette, Alderman Schmidt, Alderman Laws,

Alderman Cleaver, Alderwoman Harriott-Gathright, Alderman Wilshire 14
Nay: Alderman Jette 1
MOTION CARRIED

MOTION BY ALDERMAN DOWD TO OVERRIDE THE MAYOR’S VETO OF R-21-142 AS AMENDED, BY
ROLL CALL

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Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P13

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P14

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
14
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021 Page 14

ON THE QUESTION
President Wilshire
Alderman Dowd?
Alderman Dowd

And I'd like to speak to it. | understand the complexity surrounding this year’s City Budget and the issues that
the State has caused relative to a large reduction in State Revenues to Nashua. | also understand the Mayor
is trying to keep the tax rate as low as possible. But | cannot support this veto for the following reasons. First
it does not change any of the reasons we voted to increase budgets of the Police and the Fire Department
when we passed the FY’22 Budget. | would like to reiterate the reasons we unanimously approved the budget
before us.

First, the Police formulated a budget for the Mayor that did not increase or decrease anything they provided in
FY 2021. But he cut their budget to meet an arbitrary number. His veto cut again this evening will force them
to provide less service to Nashua than last year since their budget will not support what they were able to do
last year. Couple that with a recent increase in the sale and distribution of fentanyl recently in Nashua and
need to the (inaudible) to continue their efforts to thwart this new and expanded threat. The Police have
always said that they will provide the services we fund them to do. But Police, like the Nashua Fire
Department, are driven by personnel costs. All they want to do is keep the same force level they had last year.

Having said that, they along with the Fire Department have made Nashua one of the safest cities in the United
States to live and contributed highly to us being selected as the 4"" best run city in the United States in FY
2021. Are we willing to sacrifice that for the amount of money we are discussing tonight? Switching to the Fire
Department, this compromise the Mayor has presented still does not resolve the loss of a fire company and
taking one engine or ladder off line. This not only puts the residents of Nashua in harm’s way but it is
physically irresponsible. Imagine having an $800,000.00 or $1 million dollar piece of equipment sitting in an
idle in a station when needed to save lives in Nashua. Imagine you or someone you loved trapped in a vehicle
crash and you must wait longer for the men with the vehicle to rescue you and probably save your life.

Imagine you or someone you love having a medical emergency and not having the firemen there to provide
immediate urgent care until the ambulance arrives.

And your house or business burning to the ground due to slower response times due to the possible actions
that we could take this evening. The one add to the Fire Department budget is the half year of a vacant
position of the Fire Marshal’s office caused by a former Mayor’s cut as was explained earlier. This missing
body is the person who should be doing the twice a year inspection of our City schools mandated by the State
for safety reasons. By the way, we have 18 schools in Nashua; that’s 36 inspections. This person will also be
responsible for ensuring proper levels of occupancy in restaurants, theaters, auditoriums as well as training for
the Fire Department. If we override the Mayor’s veto tonight it will only add .16 to the tax rate which boils down
to less than $1.00 a month to a homeowner with a $300,000.00 home. | had John Griffin run these numbers
today.

| for one will not put the citizens of Nashua’s lives and properties at risk for less than the cost of a cup of coffee
per month. In addition, | will also not put citizens of Nashua lives and property in harm’s way because we were
forced to try and reduce property taxes due to the actions of the governor and the State Legislation excluded
all Nashua Reps that voted the right way for the budget. We all know that the millions of dollars we lost as was
explained by the Mayor from the State in the FY’22 budget. We should not be forced to reduce the safety to
our citizens based on those actions. In closing, | implore my fellow aldermen to do what is right for the citizens
of Nashua and keep Nashua one of the safest cities to live in. Thank you.

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Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P14

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P15

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
15
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021 Page 15
President Wilshire

Alderman Lopez?

Alderman Lopez

| want to echo some of what my colleague said. | don’t consider the number to be arbitrary | appreciate Mayor
Donchess trying to keep the tax rate down and trying to apply a fair number to programs across the City but |
think as we said in the previous meeting it is not necessarily — equity doesn’t equal equality. So the Fire
Department and the Police Department may have greater needs, they are much more essential services, we
can’t afford to cut back on them. None of that has changed from our last meeting. | mean we don’t have
enough ice creams to call the alarm whenever a fire kicks in, so we need our fire department to be well
equipped, capable of responding. We need our firefighters to be well-trained and up-to-date on all of the
procedures that they need and we need to make sure that their equipment is not out-of-date as well.

With regards to the position the Mayor is in | definitely empathize because | feel like he’s getting both sides of
the stick here where his opponents will say that he needs to cut back on the Fire and the Police but they are
also lobbying pretty heavily to not do anything about the Police Commission who make decisions about how to
spend money and what their policies are. It seems like he’s in a position where people will blame him for
decisions for budgetary reasons that are out of his control. | think it is pretty well understood that the State has
increased our costs and the portion of our budget that is dedicated to their decrees and the money came from
somewhere. So as Alderman Dowd said, the impact to the taxpayer being around approximately $1.00 per
taxpayer, | think the risk of having an impacted response or a minimal response is much greater than the cost
of paying of $1.00 and | continue to support the budget that we passed.

President Wilshire
Alderman Clemons?
Alderman Clemons

Thank you Madam President, forgive my voice this evening, | am a bit under the weather so | will try to keep
this brief. | agree with everything that Alderman Dowd had said; | agree with some of what Alderman Lopez
said. | will be supporting overriding the Mayor's veto because | have never voted for a budget nor will | ever
vote for a budget that simultaneously raises taxes and cuts service. | don’t think that that’s right, | don’t think
that’s what people pay their property taxes for. | think we should always be at least trying to maintain what we
have and by overriding the veto that’s what we will be doing. So thank you.

President Wilshire
Anyone else? Alderman Jette?
Alderman Jette

Thank you Madam President. So just to put things into perspective, | was on the Budget Committee and | was
at every meeting and | listened to the presentations by especially the Fire Department and the Police
Department which we were left with hopefully after tonight we will be done with the budget, until next year. But
you have to remember that the Police, their budget is $35 million dollars. And the Fire Department is $28
million dollars. And what the Mayor had asked them to do was to in the Police Department’s case reduce their
ask by $241,000 plus dollars. And the Fire Department $495,000.00 plus dollars which are compared to their
overall budgets is not all that much money. They refused and they argued, they made very good arguments as
to why the money that they requested should be given to them. And | understand when the Police Chief or the
Deputy Chief come and make their case and the Fire Chief and his Deputy come and the Commissioners for
both organizations. | understand, they are advocating for their departments and so they are making arguments
that are to their credit they are well-designed to hit us where it hurts.

Page Image
Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P15

Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P16

By dnadmin on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 06:59
Document Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Meeting Description
Board Of Aldermen
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
Tue, 07/13/2021 - 00:00
Page Number
16
Image URL
https://nashuameetingsstorage.blob.core.windows.net/nm-docs-pages/boa_m__071320…

Board of Aldermen 07-13-2021 Page 16

Alderman Dowd made another eloquent argument in favor of restoring the money that they requested and
again, you know, he’s touching upon things hurt, talking about somebody dying because the response time is
low. Someone said to me that the response time in my Ward is going to be less and am | going to be
responsible for someone’s house burning down because of this. | understand how important this is to these
people and they are making the best argument they can. But we now we are talking about the Mayor asking —
can this Board increase the Fire Department and the Police Department to back to what they asked for and
increase the budget from what the Mayor was proposing $660,000.00. And this Board voted for that the last
time. Now the Mayor is asking us to reduce it by half of that, approximately $300,000.00. We are talking $35
million dollars; $28 million dollars — you know - $100,000.00 / $200,000.00 is not that much money so on the
one hand you could argue well why is the Mayor even bothering with this? But on the other hand | don’t think
with all due respect reducing the Fire Department by $200,000.00 is going to require them to put a fire truck
out of service. When they made that argument during the budget hearings | challenged them and | challenged
the Police when the Police wanted to reduce Police Officers as a result and the numbers just didn’t add up.
And with all due respect, they didn’t have answers for that.

Later the Police Department said, well we came up with that number of Police Officers because we were using
the lowest level of police officer, you Know, the lowest pay grade assuming that that officer is single, has no
family, he is getting health insurance from his parents. So they came up with the lowest number they could per
police officer in order to increase the number of police officers that would be eliminated as a result of these
cuts. Mr. Donovan from the School Department said to us that, | can’t remember what his number was but it
was a lot higher than this and he said, if | can’t find that number in my budget | shouldn’t be doing this job. So
| think my feeling is the same about these cuts. These cuts are really small compared to their overall budgets
and | am going to vote and support the Mayor in his effort to try to keep the inevitable tax increase that we are
going to be facing as low as possible. And | don’t think in reducing the Police Department by $100,000.00 or
the Fire Department by $200,000.00 is going to result in the drastic reduction in services that the argument is
being made tonight, with all due respect. So thank you.

President Wilshire
Anyone else? Alderman Dowd.
Alderman Dowd

Just a couple clarification points. | don’t think the Police or the Fire are asking for more money just so they can
have additional things they can add. They have asked for that money so they can provide the same services
that they are continuing to supply to the City from last year. | have gone over their budgets in much more
detail (audio cuts out) came out in that $50,000.00 study we did on the Fire Department that they are not
asking for. It says we should add 2 more fire stations and another fire company and it can’t be related to the
school department. Mr. Donovan said he could manage $100,000.00 because he’s got $166 million dollar
budget. Under the same rationale that you use for the Police Department, we should be asking the School
Department for well over a million bucks. No. They could use more money too that they wanted to ask for that
they didn’t. But when you manage a $166 million dollars, trust me, you don’t get to within a $100,000.00 at the
end of the year because you can’t overspend.

It is much more difficult when you have, for instance, the Police Department that has no idea how many cases
they are going to be handling during the year and we are still going to have to add money to their overtime
reserve account. Because if we have a major crime, all bets are out the window. The money we are giving
them right now will not cover that. And the Fire Department, they base it on an average number of fires. We
are adding a number of high story buildings to the City in the next year or two, probably in the next year,
including a new school. And we have to ensure that we have the response times and the staffing to make sure
that we can put those fires out in a timely manner. When you man a fire company there is a lot more to it than
just saying, OK well for 3 shifts we won’t have a fourth guy on the truck. You can’t do that for a number of
reasons and we don’t need to get into it. But | implore the Board to make sure that we stay a safe City. And

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Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 7/13/2021 - P16

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