Board of Aldermen 08-10-2021 Page 24
President Wilshire
You're talking about sides of the issue and not...
Alderman Klee
Right both sides of the issue. So yes | appreciate that. | think that I’ve had more than enough time to speak and thank
you so much.
Alderman O’Brien
Thank you Madam President. | just want to basically say that I’m very proud to be a member of this Board of Aldermen.
I’ve heard many complex issues that were basically discussed over the years and | think yes several different things did
go before the voters on referendum. One of the bills | just recently wrote too was to have the public take a look again at
the gambling issue that’s coming up on the referendum. Why did | do that is because sometimes even the voters get
confused. We've kind of felt | think collectively because it passed unanimously to put it back onto the ballot. So to say
who is really the smarter or anything, nobody really is. We really all, including the public or us on the Board of Aldermen,
try to do our best. In Nashua, our governing body is one that we vet the issues. Completely — pro and con and put it right
on the table. We’re not like another smaller town where we’ve got to have warrant articles or anything else like that. |
don’t know what it’s called and SB2 town or something like that but to come out. We're capable and we're duly authorized
to have those discussions. | think we could have had this discussion.
My main complaint with this why I’m not going to support it. It’s not that I’m against the idea 100 percent. | have my own
ideas but the problem | have | have not avenue to bring my ideas forward. Not to have a discussion and | personally do
feel a little bit slighted and as and alderman-at-large, | kind of think it’s kind of taken away a little bit of my authority or my
capabilities of being on the Board. Madam President | would like to thank you. | think you did well to come up in the bi-
partisan or in trying to olive branch between the different fractions that do exist on this particular matter to bring up a
commission because we have heard from the Police Chief and he says all he wants is the same thing that | want — an
opportunity to come and that we completely vet the issue. It’s not going to happen it seems and I’m not counting the
noses but it seems like it’s going to go right to the ballot. Fine. I’m sure the people can make a decision but | feel slighted
that | was elected to make the hard decisions and I’m not willing to pass that along. I'll stand here in the trenches and
have those debates and make the tough decisions what | feel is best for the citizens of Nashua. Therefore | am not going
to support this. Thank you Madam President.
President Wilshire
Thank you. Anyone else?
Alderman Jette
Thank you Madam President. This has been a difficult issue. When | first heard about it, | thought it sounded like a good
idea. | know | was liaison to the Police Commission not the past two years but the two years before that. | attended all of
their meetings. | can’t say that I’ve found fault in anything the Commission was doing. | thought the Police Department
was well run and | couldn't find any great fault. | did think that this is true of all of many of commissions the people who
end up serving whether it’s the Commissioners, or the liaisons, we get to know the Police Department, the police officers.
They earn our respect and we appreciate them. It’s easy for us to become not so much overseers of the — in this case the
Police Department. The same could be said about the Fire Department. We tend to become less overseers and more
cheerleaders or advocates for them because we get to know them, and we respect them, and we end up advocating for
them.
| think the Police Commissioners from my observation it could have been more — held a tighter rein over them financially
but they say that they did. There’s a lot that goes on that’s not seen. We aldermen have the ultimate control over the
finances. We voted to give the police a couple of different unions increases in pay and then this past budget thing when
the Mayor vetoed the budget and we overrode his veto and supported the Police Department and the Fire Department.
So we Aldermen you have that final say, that final control and we can’t blame it on them if we think they’re spending too
much money. It’s up to us to say put a limit on it and the majority of us didn’t.
The other thing is the Fire Commission is elected by the people. That is the ultimate local control. They, too, | think
become more advocates for the Fire Department and provide less oversight. When | think of the Fire Commissioners |
don’t know about you but | don’t know how many times we voted for the Fire Commission without really having a very
good knowledge of who they are, who the people who are running. So I’m not sure that electing the Commissioners is
