Open Thread: Town Meeting Day

Thanks! (4.00 / 2)

For pointing out Pindell's column - didn't know he had a new home.

He is right about pay as you go trash; it works in many communities. For some reason Manchester is opposed to it - or, I should say, the city fathers/mothers are opposed to it.  Why not give it a try?

He also is right about eliminating county government. A state of 1.2 million doesn't need three layers of government, not in 2009. Although I'm not sure which should be eliminated/consolidated - county or local.  




"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 07:05:38 AM CDT

Time to revisit NH local government organization. (0.00 / 0)

It seems to me that there are several functions of municipal government that would be better accomplished on the county level.

Take fire and emergency response operations. We already have in place mutual aid arrangements where fire departments respond to surrounding communities as needed. It seems to me that a county-wide fire department would be much more efficient and less costly, eliminating the need for every community to have a fire chief.

Schools are another area that would be better served through consolidation of school districts. NH has far too many school districts and their requisite administrative staffs. Moreover, by consolidating school districts into a county unit a fairer distribution of costs could be affected.

The current county responsibility of nursing homes and jails makes good sense as they each serve the entire county.

However, municipal governments do have an important role to play as well, especially when it comes to public works such as street and road repair and plowing, voter registration and elections, planning and zoning, and the application for and distribution of federal and state monies which are often awarded on the basis of financial need or the size of the community.

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by: Ron Tunning @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 10:48:01 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I agree... (0.00 / 0)

I think that ideally it would be a good idea to get rid of one layer of government.  It would be more efficient to have regional municipalities, and it would give the state one fewer place to downshift costs to.  But, our existing towns and cities have existed proudly as political and social units for centuries, and it would be virtually impossible to get rid of them.

Local loyalties would also make it hard to consolidate emergency services at a county level, even though in many ways they are already coordinated at the county level.  Each town has its own fire department with its own subculture, and it would be painful to give it up.  Ironically it would easier to create a countywide police force, even though there are more reasons why each town needs its own police force as opposed to why it needs its own fire brigade.  

Countywide school districts would make more sense than the current patchwork of SAUs and regional school districts, but it is hard to imagine the various school boards allowing themselves to be abolished.   Nevertheless the idea of abolishing all the local school units and creating county school districts/ administrative units is worth considering.  One small problem with my idea is that there are a couple of interstate school districts which would presumably have to continue to exist unless and until Vermont agrees to abolish them.  The Dresden School District (Hanover, NH & Norwich, VT) is a special case, because it only covers the high school and junior high levels.  The two towns have separate school districts which cover the grade school level.  The Rivendell School District (Orford, NH & Fairlee, West Fairlee, and Vershire, VT), however, covers elementary school as well.

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Thanks for all the fish

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 12:10:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

County Government (4.00 / 2)

Good points.

New Hampshire's local governments are largely an accident of history. New England started out with a town system back in colonial days and has stuck with it. Head south or west and counties - and independent cities that surpass a population threshold - are the basic form.

The New Hampshire Municipal Association and the New Hampshire Local Government Association provide services, training and lobby collectively for local governments. There's also a growing trend toward cooperative purchasing.  

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by: Tim Ashwell @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 12:15:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

fire departments...... (4.00 / 2)

Ron,

When I am not being "obstructionist" in Concord (grin), I serve on my local volunteer fire company -  have for over 30 years and am really proud to say that I am currently the department's deputy chief. To put it simply regionalization, as you envision it, would not cut down on costs. Were there regional departments, it would not eliminate the need to have Class A firefighting equipment stationed in each town - and in some cases in each district, depending upon the distances. Were you to have less coverage due to regional restructuring, homeowners'insurance rates would be exponential. Then there would be the problems associated with staffing and training. Volunteers by in large - and most of the 220+ towns in the state are volunteer - charge  a minimal rate per hour - if that - when "on a call" for an emergency or a structure fire.

Our fire company is one of four "private" companies in the state. We are not large but run an "attack" truck with "emt" stuff aboard and a Class A pumper/tanker. We do not even charge a nominal hourly rate, regardless of whether or not we are dealing with an incident in Acworth or on a mutual aid call....

The costs are really essential, such as having proper equipment for structure fires (Scottpacks, etc...) or an emergency call.

Yesterday, during the storm, we had a call - breathing difficulty and possibly diabetic shock. As I was wending my way home from the fire station, we were toned back out. A homeowner reported smoke form an electrical box. We went, investigated, shut down the circuitry, and returned to the station "in service". Cost to the town, nothing.

Every year we give the town a contract for services and maintain our equipment and pay for our fuel, lights, mutual aid dues, insurance, etc.

Costs are mandated by federal requirements. We have to attain NFPA standards for our equipment and apparatus. We have to train continually. NH gets a bargain for the time, money and energy the volunteers expend annually. Regionalization cannot address local need and, perhaps, would create more costly overlays much in the same way we see duplication at the county level.

I must say, it is really satisfying to be able to help and to see the relief of a mother whose child is choking or having a seizure or to respond to a chimney fire. Were the services regionalized, most likely that chimney fire could develop into a structure fire. The cost to the town as a deputy chief, nothing.....

Having been on a county delegation, I suspect that much could be done away with, probably not county records or the nursing home, as they are needed and very local in nature. Most likely the sheriff's dept. could be absorbed into the state police, and Concord could start paying for the county attorneys and their staff; they use these services the most and pass the cost of onto the local property tax. Believe me, regionalizing fire protection just does not cut it nor would it cut costs.  

 

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by: Jay Phinizy @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 16:36:09 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

My haht's a fludda (0.00 / 1)

To ensure that all signing statements previously issued are followed only when consistent with these principles, executive branch departments and agencies are directed to seek the advice of the Attorney General before relying on signing statements issued prior to the date of this memorandum as the basis for disregarding, or otherwise refusing to comply with, any provision of a statute.

www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 07:48:08 AM CDT

Pindell (4.00 / 1)

I like the about the author section there.

"James Pindell has covered New Hampshire politics since 2002 and served as national managing editor of the recently demised Politicker Web sites."

Also an important city election today as well in Lebanon. Re-Elect Karen Liot Hill!

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by: sdoyle @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 08:39:21 AM CDT

Re-Elected! (4.00 / 1)

According to her facebook status, Karen Liot Hill has been re-elected to the Lebanon City Council!

Congrats Karen!

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by: sdoyle @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 19:42:45 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Does Anyone Care? (4.00 / 1)

I voted in Durham shortly after 10 this morning. The vote count at that point: 277. By the time the polls close at 7 tonight, we should have a few more than 800 ballots to count.

7,318 voted in Durham in November.

I've never been one for mandatory voting, and many of the UNH students who vote for president, senator, etc. sit out the local elections, but you'd hope (or at least I would) that deciding the future of your community, your public schools and your property taxes would motivate a few more people to show up.

Folks who've been around here longer than I blame SB2 and the abolition of town meeting for much of the disconnect with local affairs. While the town elections are non-partisan, local factions have emerged to promote candidates. Certainly, the local campaigns generate nothing like the campaign frenzy we saw last fall - but there were mailings, lawn (well, snow drift) signs, lit drops, phone calls and at least three forums televised on local cable TV.

Durham isn't unique. We all know turnout peaks in presidential years and goes down from there. Still, in the spirit of Think Globally, Act Locally, it's odd that the level of government closest to us is the one in which we take the least interest.

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by: Tim Ashwell @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 11:01:01 AM CDT

I couldn't find a parking space (0.00 / 0)

in Keene. That's partly because school elections put 3 wards into 1 polling place, and it's mostly because of a high-profile school construction vote. It seems to be a big turnout here.

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by: elwood @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 17:55:25 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Off main topic, but open (0.00 / 0)

Sometimes you just have to laugh:
http://mediamatters.org/items/...

Summary: Fox News hosted Republican strategist Danny Diaz, who criticized "Democrats and their union friends" for "pushing legislation like card check legislation" -- the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) -- at the expense of the economy. However, at no point during the segment did Fox News disclose Diaz's affiliation with the Workforce Fairness Institute, which is "[c]urrently ... focused on educating the public on the damaging effects of the deceptively named 'Employee Free Choice Act' or 'card check.' "

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by: JimC @ Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 15:15:03 PM CDT

Katie Couric wins Walter Cronkite Award (0.00 / 0)

CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric has won a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism from the USC's Annenberg School. Couric won a Special Achievement for National Impact on the 2008 Campaign award for her interviews with Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. Judges called the interviews a "defining moment in the 2008 presidential campaign."

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvn...

"Defining moment" is an interesting standard, but one can imagine a different campaign if that interview had gone better for Palin. Congrats Katie.

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by: JimC @ Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 09:38:30 AM CDT