Minutes

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 19

look brand new and they are functioning perfectly well but they’re 20 years old. The high school before that didn’t
even last 15. So you have to spend your money wisely and having that constraint on it that was opposed didn’t do the
City any favors and it didn’t do any taxpayers any favors either.

Alderman Cathey

Thank you Madam Chairwoman. | just noticed that there was no public comment tonight. Can | motion for public
comment before we adjourn?

President Wilshire

You can.

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 18

left under the cap. In my tenure here, the exclusions were looked at more of an override. So there was kind of a
challenge to not want override and not want to exclude. So that’s what | lived with from ‘13 to ‘17 and then the
spending cap was deemed unenforceable by the courts. Thank you.

Alderman Lopez

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 17
It was a citizens’ initiative that put this on the ballot, yes.
Alderman Klee

So the wording of it is how the citizens put it there not how it was necessarily worked appropriately and so on. | just
wanted to kind of get that — | thought that was the case but | didn’t want to make that statement without...

Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 16

It was a hypothetical question just to try to make it easy because we’ve been dancing around this a lot about what to
exclude, what not to exclude.

Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel

Well then | don’t understand your question. (inaudible) you don’t have the authority to do it.

Alderman Sullivan

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 15
You're welcome. Alderman Cathey?

Alderman Cathey

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 14

be even though we don’t have an override provision, there seems to be quite a bit of room there if we voted to exclude
principle and interest on bonds and capital expenditures. There seems to be quite a cushion there to me.

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 13

correctly, the number on your calculation on line item 14 if I’m reading this correctly, 14 total appropriations. That's
based upon the Charter provision of 56C which says total expenditures. Is that correct?

John Griffin, CFO/Treasurer/Tax Collector

Madam President - John Griffin, CFO/Treasurer/Tax Collector. That’s correct.

Alderman Jette

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 12

So just to clarify that, there is nothing constitutionally in the NH State Constitution that they based their decision on. It
was purely Statutory?

Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel

Yes.

Alderman Clemons

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 11

The good news is eventually it gets paid back because if you don’t spend it, it’s there. It doesn’t just go to the general
fund. It has to be either transferred to another capital project which the Aldermen find necessary to do or it gets paid
back to retire the payments on those bonds - retire that debt or a portion of it. So it’s not a waste and assuming
there’s no theft or misappropriation involved, it effectively lowers to the extent it’s not needed and never spent it
lowers taxes in the future.

Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 10

Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel