New Hampshire Votes

Details

Created on Wednesday, 11 March 2015 17:26

Written by Emma Kaplan

NEW HAMPSHIRE- New Hampshire towns had their town meetings yesterday, where issues spanned from select board members to airports. Today, the results are in, with a vast approval rate. 

 In Haverhill, voters agreed and passed all of the proposed expenditures. The biggest being the $150,000 for the reserve fund. The second biggest expense of the night was $60,000 to hire a new police chief.

Some of the offices are going to be filled with new faces, while others will remain the same. Christina Herbert will be serving her first term as Town Clerk. Howard Hatch will serve on the Board of Trustees, while selectboard members Lynn Wheeler and Thomas Friel will continue to serve on the board.

The only item that did not pass during Haverhill’s town meeting was a vote to alter a road that passes by the south runway of Dean Memorial Airport. The town wants to change the location of the road. In doing so, the town hopes to reduce the risk of liability in the event of a plane crash. It would cost the town thousands of dollars to complete this project. 

Monroe saw a turnout of 112 people at the polls yesterday. The school budget and discussion went smoothly, with every article passed.

The topic of discussion that brought some controversy was Monroe’s junk yard. Some of the towns people want the junk yard gone, but the issue is that the money that is needed to get rid of it would come from the town's budget, some people were not in agreement with that option. Eventually, the town voted against using its money to get rid of the junk yard, and so it will stay for now.

Last night, the residents of Littleton discussed several budgeting issues, including a $1.3 million dollar budget to construct a new garage for their town, which they approved.  Funding for a new police cruiser and safety equipment was also passed by voters.  

The proposal to give half a million dollars to renovate the riverfront area passed by a majority vote, but failed in the super majority, which needed a 60 percent majority.

There was also a controversial plan to increase the size of the selectboard to five members, instead of the current three, but that was voted down. 

While many of New Hampshire's issues were voted upon during Town Meeting, some have been left to be discussed at a later date, including Haverhill's discussion about where to spend their money, which will take place next week.