Board of Aldermen 02-15-2022 Page 2
In spite of Covid-19, Nashua has fought back from the closures of 2020. Since then, thousands of patrons have come
downtown to enjoy expanded outdoor dining. Our locally owned businesses, restaurants, and bars have found new
ways to thrive. Some have reported to me that they saw record sales during the pandemic. New businesses have
opened — new restaurants like Empanellie’s and Raga Contemporary Kitchen; and a new men’s boutique named
CasaNova. Longtime favorite City Room Café has reopened with a new menu and new format. Spyglass Brewery is
expanding and moving from Amherst Street to Gateway Hills. The Lucky Moose casino has opened at the Nashua
Mall at Exit 6. Boston Billiard is buying the Radisson Hotel at Exit 1. The owner of Nashua Paint and Wallpaper and
Ace Hardware has acquired more property downtown. A group of investors has committed $30 million in private
capital to build 150 units of new housing on School Street.
In the coming year we will continue moving the City forward despite the pandemic.
EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT CITY GOVERNMENT
Nashua’s hardworking taxpayers want and deserve a government that is effective and efficient. We have been
recognized by WalletHub as having the 4th Best-Run City in the United States. We are proud that we now have two
AAA bond ratings. The WalletHub rating judges the effectiveness of city government by comparing the cost against
the quality of city services. WalletHub’s rating says Nashua citizens are getting excellent services at a reasonable
cost and it applauds us for our productivity.
| am committed to keeping property tax increases to a minimum. For example, | have used my veto power four times
trying to limit spending specifically in two areas. First, on operating budgets for independent departments which
exceed the cost-of-living year after year. | have flagged these increases as creating unsustainable budgets. Second,
| have vetoed all proposals to increase the City’s unfunded obligation to pay for unused sick time when an employee
retires. | remain committed to reining in spending in these areas.
For the current Fiscal Year 2022 which began last July 1, we cut the budget for the departments which reside in City
Hall as well as Public Health by almost 3 percent, not including a State-imposed pension increase that | will talk about
ina moment. We cut the budgets for these departments by $534,000 below those passed in Fiscal Year 2021. When
was the last time that City Hall actually reduced its own budget?
| also proposed a Public Works budget that cut spending by 1 percent before the pension increase. In the coming
fiscal year, it is again my intention to propose department budgets which are in line with the cost of living. Hopefully
our Board of Aldermen will back me up in keeping increases to a reasonable level.
We have reduced costs through innovation, by developing a reformed HMO plan for employees. Thank you to
Administrative Services Director Kim Kleiner for spearheading this initiative. In FY 20 and FY 21, rising health care
costs were a major driver of increased budgets. Over those two years, city costs for employee health care rose 20
percent or over $6 million per year. In order to save costs, we devised changes to our city’s basic HMO plan. We
have achieved results. Seven employee groups have agreed to adopt the reformed HMO and as a result, we are
saving, so far, $1.3 million per year. Unfortunately, Covid-19 is now pushing health care costs up. Over the past
seven months the City has spent $1.5 million just for Covid testing. We are watching the trends carefully to make sure
our employees are as safe as possible.
STATE PROPERTY TAXES
When the State of New Hampshire mandates new costs or cuts the limited aid the State sends to our cities and towns,
this is commonly called “downshifting.” This way State politicians claim “no new taxes” while forcing local
governments to raise property taxes in order to meet the need for local services. For the current FY 22, the State
downshifted by raising the City’s forced contribution to the State pension plan by more than $4 million. This single
action raised property taxes here in Nashua by 2 percent. Decades ago the State of New Hampshire persuaded
Nashua and all other cities and towns to join the State pension system by committing in law that it would always pay
35 percent of City pension costs. However, the State broke this commitment several years back, and so far, that
broken pledge has cost city taxpayers $74 million in hard earned tax dollars.
Our legislative delegation led by Chair Jan Schmidt, and including three members from the Board of Aldermen — Mike
O’Brien, Trish Klee, and Melbourne Moran are joined with us shoulder to shoulder in the fight to stop more
downshifting.
INFRASTRUCTURE
