Board of Aldermen — 9/26/17 Page 14
Alderman Lopez
| think it is important for us to acknowledge: A) that there are low income people in Nashua, and B) before deciding
not to use that definition as HUD defines it to understand what it is, because HUD’s low income definition is 40
percent of the median income. If the median income in Nashua is $60,000 a year then we are basically saying
that anybody who is $40,000 or less doesn’t particularly have a special voice. If that’s what low income is, | think it
is important for us to make sure that those people are identified.
President McCarthy
We're getting afield of the amendment. The Board just voted 14-1 to take that language out. That question should
have been decided at the committee.
Alderman Lopez
It was. We did discuss it at the committee.
Alderman Moriarty
I’m particularly interested in this. | like it. It makes me happy to see this move forward because | was on the
Human Affairs Committee five years ago when we worked togheter. | think | might have been instrumental in
writing some of this in the first place. Putting aside the antidotes, the fact that there was some stress associated
with the committee at the time. It’s nice to see that stress seems to have abated and now we’re able to go to
iteration two relatively stress free. | like that.
MOTION CARRIED TO AMEND WITH THE AMENDED BLUE COPY
MOTION BY ALDERMAN WILSHIRE FOR FINAL PASSAGE AS AMENDED
ON THE QUESTION
Alderman Deane
My comment has to do with the fact, Alderman Lopez, | think it is disingenuous to sit there and say we don’t
recognize and support low income people in this community. This book here is filled with appropriations that
help out many, many low income people in the community. We spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and we
contribute quite a bit of an appropriation to help people between our welfare, between this program here,
between our other appropriations throughout our operating budget. We do quite a bit in this community. I’m a
little taken aback by that. I’ve always supported that. When Review & Comment came down, | never looked at
altering anything because | always respected what they did. They sat up there for months doing all that work.
We gave them a figure to work with, they worked with it. The entities came in and we approved the
appropriations that were sent down. | think we do a substantial amount of work for everybody in this
community.
Alderman Lopez
| just want to point out that as much as we have done, there still are people in Nashua in need. We just made a
decision to remove specific language protecting their right to be heard on this committee without actually finding
out what the definition of low income was. That’s why | made the comment afterwards. | was confirming what it
was. I’m not necessarily disparaging all of the work that other aldermen have done over the years, I’m just
pointing out that there should have been a voice, in my opinion, on this committee specifically for people in need.
People who are making $40,000 or less.
