City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you everyone for coming and welcome to  tonight's work session on the budget for Monday   May the 11th 2026. um going to pass it over uh  to Karen, but be our city manager. Before I do,   just wanted to thank uh the effort uh that went  into this uh and for those folks uh at home or   were watching this at some point in the future. Uh  this is the beginning of really the discussions in   a public way around the budget. Um the questions  that we'll have will ultimately determine what the   final budget is um and to be adopted at some point  in June shooting for June 8th. But uh once we open   the public hearing at the next council meeting  and we will have um uh public comment uh tonight   but the public hearing will be open. It will  remain open as long uh as is required uh for us   to have the information that we need to be able to  pass uh a final budget. uh we'll need to do that   before the end of June uh and we'll strive to do  that uh at the first meeting of June. But um with   that Karen uh over to you. Thank you your honor  and thank you everyone for joining us here this   evening. We are getting our presentation ready.  This has been a collaborative effort across the   organization to understand and honor the guidance  uh issued by you and also in understanding the   sentiments of the of the residents of the city. So  um What we're going to do tonight is walk through   the slides. This will be very similar to last  year. I'll open up with a couple of introductory   slides. Nathan will take you through the meat  of the budget summary and then we each of our   department heads has one slide to talk about  what's new for this coming year or what might   be a challenge or a or something they'd like to  highlight. Uh ideally, if you would hold questions   till the end, that would be best, but certainly  if if something's catching your attention, we   want to honor that as well. So the first thing um  to honor what the mayor said, this is the budget  

timeline to show what we've completed to date to  talk about where we are and that is at tonight's   first budget work session. So tonight is the first  of five more nights or five total nights of public   comment and participation throughout this process.  So you will remember that the guidance discussed   at the February council meeting was less about the  dollar increase and dollar percentage increase and   more in understanding the impact and the increase  in the tax rate. And we heard uh somewhere in the   3 to 5% range. We also heard no new positions  unless funded without impact to the taxpayers.   And for the public at home, this is a refresh of  the goals that this council set at the beginning   of their term in January. So coming up is  uh something that the staff has worked on   collaboratively. As I mentioned, we understand as  an organization that we all fit together in this   process. What I want to talk about is in honoring  your guidance where we stack up comparatively to   other communities. The city of Dover passed their  budget which is an 8.8% increase uh of which 7%   7.1% is general fund increase. The town of exit  total budget increase was up 11.7%. The city of   conquered is yet to move with its city budget,  but the school district has seen an impact to the   average single family home uh uh real estate  tax bill of $724 on a $400,000 valued home.   The city uh the town of Londereerry is almost  up is up almost 7% and the town of Salem is up   7.76%. So with that uh we'll roll right into what  what comprises our budget. This is a slide you've   seen before. This largely did not change. These  are the different elements or components of our   budget. What we'd like to spend tonight talking  about are some of the things that have impacted  

us in this coming fiscal year. And the bud I'm  sorry, the bucket on the left speaks to salaries   and benefits. For contractual obligations, you'll  recall that the COLA 10-year rolling average is   3.03. The collective bargaining number we've  placed in the budget this year for five of the   unions currently in negotiation is 460,000. For  health insurance, you've heard us speak to this   a lot this spring. There is a 26.2% increase in  school, an 11.4% 4% increase in city, an overall   21.4% increase. We've also coupled those drivers  with some strategic staffing reductions largely   thanks to the school and DPW efforts. What we'll  talk about moving forward in the slides are the   addition of a position in fire that is completely  paid for with savings from workers comp and the   understanding of bringing a a part-time inspector  in into the inspection group full-time from being   a shared position with DPW. In terms of revenue,  we have what we conservatively estimate for motor   estimate for v motor motor vehicle and permits  and ambulance fees. We've budgeted a reduction in   interest earnings in the coming year down 170,000  based on what we understand the market to bring.   And the use of fund balance in the coming year is  projected at 3.5% which is down slightly over the   prior year. In the nonoperating category, property  and liability coverage is up the $160,000.   The Rockingham County tax is estimated at 4% or  6.2 million of our total budget. They have made um   in inroads and conversations about a higher number  and Nathan will speak to that in a moment. And new   for this year will be annual carrying costs that  you will see in every budget for both the police   computer aided dispatch and record management  software along with the city's enterprise resource   planning software known as Port Edge. With that, I  will turn it over to Nathan. Good evening, folks,  

and welcome councilors. Mayor, uh, the proposed  budget in front of you tonight is 157,971,390. It's a it's an increase year-over-year of 7.676  million and 5.11% more than the FY26 budget as   it stands. It's worth noting as the manager  mentioned a second ago that health insurance   uh costs are rising. It's the largest driver  of our budget this year. U of the total 5.11%   increase, 2.21% is attributable solely to the  health insurance cost increases citywide. All   remaining elements of the budget as proposed  represent an increase year-over-year of 2.9%.   The budget calls for staffing levels. Uh  the manager mentioned a moment ago some   reductions over all funds. The budget calls  for staffing levels that are 6.32 FTEES lower   than in the prior year. Within those changes of  6.32 positions, 9.069 and a fraction are reduced   from the general fund this year and 1.6 and 1.4  FTEES respectively are added in enterprise and   special revenue funds. we'll speak more of uh  later this evening and then on Wednesday night   uh in the presentation uh from staff about  water, sewer, enterprise as well as special   revenues. The estimated tax impact of the  budget as presented it would result in a tax   rate of $12.7 per thousand. Current tax rate  is $151 per thousand. So the increase would   be 56 per thousand dollars of assessed value.  That's a 4.88% 88% increase year-over-year.   And it projects as a $435 increase on the  median single family home valued at $777,200.

On the next slide, we'll talk about the breakdown  between general operating uh excuse me, operating   and nonoperating. That's how we reference the  general fund and break it down on an annual basis.   reminds you that the operating budget speaks  to staffing and programmatic costs generally.   Nonoperating is where we put our overhead  and infrastructure costs. Those include debt,   capital investment, the county tax, replacement  of uh information technology and the like. The   proposed operating budget represents 82% of the  gross budget and it's growing 5.59%. non-operating   is the remaining 18% and it's increasing this  year 2.88%. Take a moment and uh on the next   slide break down the 5.11%. The slide is very  busy and you can see it better in the paper   in front of you. Folks at home will appreciate  it. Those in the audience if they didn't pick   up the document won't be able to won't be able  to follow. Uh a lot of information but provided   for posterity as this will live uh throughout  the process and into the future on the web.   The city's challenges with health insurance costs  have been very public, often discussed over the   last several months. In fact, you were all with  us when we hosted the New Hampshire Secretary   of State in this very chamber at your March 16th  meeting to discuss the topic of health insurance.   Health insurance premiums, or contributions,  as you may hear us refer to them at times,   are increasing 26.2% on school employees who  are covered by school care with Sigma and 11.4%   4% for all other city employees are covered  by a health trust with Anthem plans. Again,   I said a moment ago that the total amount of of  health increase represents 2.21% of the 511. It's   a total of 3,323,000 for FY27. Uh and again, the  rest of the proposed budget after health uh is  

2.9. The slide when you have a chance to review  it later will give you the opportunity to consider   uh not only compartmentalized or component-wise  the elements of the budget including general   government versus the charter departments, fire,  police, and school department, but also within   each of those the amount of their year-over-year  increase that's related to health versus all other   elements in their proposed budget. So, you have  this slide for reference later. It's a busy slide,   but again, it offers some information on  the categorical level. In the next slide,   uh we've carried this for a couple of years and  want to continue. It offers a breakdown of the   total appropriated general fund budget giving you  components that you can find in the budget book so   that you can connect uh the presentation with the  book. The charter departments of fire, police, and   school departments total 64% overall of the total  proposed operating non-operating elements combined   for 18% roughly and the rest of general government  accounts for the remaining 18%. On the next slide,   uh talk about salaries and benefits. Remind you  that salaries and benefits again this year account   for roughly 68% of the total budget as proposed.  the uh health rates. We talked about increasing   dental rates in the category of benefits, they're  up 4.4% on the city side, 4.0% for schools. Uh if   there were a blessing on the benefit side at all  this year, the bright spot is the New Hampshire   retirement was in the second year of its bianial  cycle. So our rates for New Hampshire retirement   contributions are unchanged this year. What that  means is that there'll be a challenge for us next   year, no doubt. But for this year, there should  be no change other than that which is dictated by   increasing salaries. The next slide speaks to our  cost of living adjustment. The COLA the city has   employed the same COLA calculation for a number  of years. It it has proven to be successful. Many   of the settled union contracts at this point,  maybe all of them uh lean on this calculation.  

Not all of them, nearly all of them lean on  this calculation for their annual change in   compensation. It's an average of the most recent  10 years of the consumer price index. This year,   that average of the last 10 years was 3.03% which  is the cola that's been applied throughout this   budget. The slide notes the cola included in uh  the unshaded uh union uh boxes. The those that   are uh shaded here represent uh unions working  with the city that are expiring June 30th of 2026   and are either in negotiations or headed into  negotiations. The costs related to settlement   of those agreements are carried in a collective  bargaining contingency line that you'll notice in   the operating portion of the proposed budget. That  operating cost this year is projected at $460,000.   On the next slide, the staffing changes. Uh, it's  a reduced version of a very busy page that you'll   find on page 284. No, just a guess. I forget. On  a page in the budget book, you'll find this this   document. We've we've we've taken out some of the  some of the lines where there's some redundancy to   make it fit and be meaningful on the slide, but  I wanted you to know of the reductions proposed   in general fund, a net of 9.06 6 reduction 2.5  net reduction is general government. Uh the fire   department um as we mentioned a moment ago uh the  manager suggested is adding one FTE at training   officer. Uh and in the school department there  was a net reduction of 7.56 FTEEs in the school   department all netting to that 9.06 reduction.  And as I mentioned additionally there are other   uh FTEEs being added in water sewer uh parking  and in special revenues. Otherwise, we'll discuss   that more later in Wednesday night. Nathan, it's  page 190. 190 reference. All right. I was way too  

deep into the book. 190 85 814 pages I think the  published budget book this year. That was supposed   to be my did you know comment later, I think. So,  I'll have to dream something new up. Another slide   that we include in the presentation for posterity,  but wanted to provide you this for the information   that it holds. This is the current proposed FY27  year from a staffing perspective compared against   the prior four years. Uh each year the total total  staffing change as proposed is in the shaded line   across the top and then uh not an exhaustive list  but uh a listing of the primary movers of of FTEEs   changing in that fiscal cycle as proposed are  listed below. It's note uh interesting to note   I think total reductions in the last two years  this year and 26 and 27 I should say nearly 21   and a half FTEES proposed for reduction almost 20  of those from the general fund in this year and   last in the next slide we offer a budget breakdown  and again I won't read you the slide it's good for   reference later uh but I have not I have mentioned  salary and benefits account for about 68%   uh our transfers to our special revenue funds of  uh Prescott Park indoor pool and community campus   sorry are only about 6 610 of the total budget.  Other operating lines add up to about 13.6 and   the non-operating I've mentioned this before are  18%. So in the next few slides I want to drill   down into the departments u into a perspective  where they are clumped in the book so that you   can tie these back to the budget book. In each of  the slides, we reference uh the total increase as   proposed in the request, the change that that is,  excuse me, the yeah, the total budget as proposed,   the change that's requested uh and how it  compares against the entire budget. In this case,  

general administration has a request this year  of a little over $8.1 million. It is 5% of the   total budget. The change is almost $473,000, which  is 6.17%. Uh interesting to note or important to   note that without health this increase would be  2.75 because this is the section of the budget   that includes general government benefits for  everyone who's not the charter departments police,   fire, and school. Uh within within general  administration, uh there are savings in the   clerk's office from uh new hires. In elections,  there's an increase reflecting an increase from   one to two elections budgeted for in this next  cycle. and in economic and community development,   an item that I'm sure we can discuss through the  course of the budget cycle, which is an increase   in our support to the Chamber of Commerce of  $10,000, a line that hasn't changed in many,   many years, reflecting uh new ideas and and the  important work that they're doing in support of   the city's efforts. That's general administration.  The finance uh area is a request of $3.1 million.   Finance itself is just under 2% of the total  budget and this year's increase of 111,000 is   3.66% year-over-year. Finance department includes  the assessing and tax offices. Additionally,   payroll, procurement, billing, and cash management  in addition to the core accounting services uh   serving the city. The increase reflects primarily  cola and contracted changes. It also accounts for   the contracted cost increase estimated for an  annual audit. In the next category in this sit   is in this slide is general government. That  request is just over $1.1 million and it's flat   this year. Uh it's a just over 7/10 of a percent  of the total budget. It's this it's a catch-all  

category if you will that includes uh core systems  like post uh postage and phones copying. Uh it has   uh budgets to support internships. Our relief at  termination budget on an annual basis is here.   Uh and in this case any increases are offset by uh  savings. So flat element of the budget. Next up is   regulatory services. $2.6 million is the request.  It's 1.65% 65% of the total budget and the   increase this year is just shy of $130,000 which  is 5.22% year-over-year. The the changes here are   largely track and step contractual obligations  along with COLA. It does though include, as I   mentioned earlier, the increased inspector that  jumped from 40% to 100% to start the fiscal year,   more than offset by permit revenues. Next up is  public works. in public works. Uh public works by   the way is the general fund home of the DPW. Uh we  call it highway. So public works highway in this   case includes facilities, solid waste removal,  snow removal, equipment maintenance, the trees   program. The request is 8 and a4 million.  It totals it totals uh 5.22% of the overall   budget and this year the change is just $72,000  an increase of less than 1%.88% 88% because the   staffing request included uh is a reduction of 3.1  FTEES. Some of that is reorganization of positions   and funding. I can tell you that the entire DPW  umbrella shows a net reduction across all funds   this year. Uh but uh DPW is up just88%. Next  up is community services. Community services   is a request of four point bless you $4.7 million.  It's uh 3% of the total budget as requested. This   year's increase is 92,000 and a half, a change  of 2% year-over-year. Community services uh are  

important to a healthy community. It's a definite  point of pride for the city of Portsouth. Still,   um community services are among those that deserve  review, and we look each year for efficiencies to   weigh optional versus core functions. In uh this  year, the libraries budget will stand at 2.4   million. It's an increase of just $52,000,  up just 2.18%. The library is working and   committed to finding grants and other offsets  to help offset increases in that budget. The   recreation department is uh million2, an increase  of 47,000. It's up 4% essentially flat with just   track and step along with cola. Senior services  uh is at 255,000 increasing just 6,500 bucks,   2.61% 61% overall and again essentially flat with  salary obligations. In the area of public welfare,   the budget's $511,000. It's decreasing this year  by 4.81%. It's down $25,857 due to some reductions   made in direct assistance uh which offset the COLA  impacts in that budget. And in the other area, the   area of outside social services, total budget of  $262,000. That's an increase of 11.5, excuse me,   just caught 11 mill $11,500. Uh this continues  to fund uh support for 23 local so social service   agencies supporting residents uh of Portsouth.  So the whole area of community services uh up   the 2%. Now we move to the charter departments and  I mentioned fire. Fire department is a request of   12 12.9 million. It's 8.18% of the total total  city budget as proposed. Its increase this year   is just under 30,000 2930. It's an increase of  less than a quarter of a percent.23. Fire has   expiring contracts. Both the fire officers and  firefighters. So a large part of the collective   bargaining contingency that you'll note is uh  is uh saved for fire. Additionally, fire saved  

over $194,000 in workers compensation this year.  That was a result of the carrier rerating uh risk   across the state and uh the difference between uh  volunteer and callin firefighters and their risk   versus the professional full-time firefighters  like Portzouth has. And ultimately, those are   permanent savings. Insurancees will always climb  probably, but in this case, this is a real savings   that will be lasting for the fire department. Uh  and uh and they are adding a training officer uh   against that savings this year. The chief will  discuss more, I'm sure. Moving on then to the   police department. Police department's request is  just under 16.2 million. It represents effectively   10% of the total budget. The increase in police  this year is $1.1 million, an increase of 7.41%.   Police has its settled contracts. So this budget  includes cola for the year. But the greatest the   greatest impact is that the proposal makes up for  the impact of theou u approved this year by the   council for the patrolman. That adjustment was  anticipated to cost on an annual basis a little   better than $400,000. We did not do a supplemental  appropriation this year. We were able to move from   the contingency that already existed $120,000 to  help with that. The rest is being supported by   savings elsewhere in the budget uh competing  now with the school carees school carees   uh assessment bill. But uh but the biggest impact  that you'll find in the police department is the   impact of accommodating not only the 27  cola but the impacts of that patrolman's. Next up is the school department. School  department's uh request is 71.6 million. You   have been involved in much of that conversation  with the school board. Schools are 45% of the   total budget and the change this year is $4.38  million, an increase of 6.51%. without health.   It's important to note that the increase would be  1.6 million and just 2.42%. The schools have five  

unions and two of them are negotiating. The  schools have more than five unions. My notes   are wrong. Schools have multiple unions. Two  of them are negotiating. Two of our five that   are negotiating are uh in the schools. Uh and so  the the cola for all others are reflected here in   their budget. budget includes uh a net reduction  of the 7.56 FTEES that we talked about previously. Next up is the C talk about the  collective bargaining. Again,   there are the five that we're negotiating  with. Fire officers and firefighters, public   works 1386 with the paras and the school custodial  supervisors. Uh the total amount here is $460,000. transfers represent uh just just over six ten of a  percent of the total budget. Uh the city operates   uh these three properties and programs through  special revenue funds. This request is an increase   of $33,369. It's up 3.54% year-over-year. Uh  essentially driven by um COLA staffing and uh   master agreements across the board. And last up in  this in this uh series of slides is nonoperating.   The request under the non-operating budget is  $27.8 million and represents 17.6 almost 18% of   the total budget. The increase here is $778,68.  It's up 2.88%. If I were to walk through them,   I would tell you basically that in the area  of debt service, we're at essentially flat   year-over-year. The increase in the budget is  just over $15,000 against 14 something million.   Uh property liability, there was a measurable  increase. Uh an increase seen like others across   the state in the risk pools that we're a part of.  Uh it's a total of 160ome thousands, but 33%. The  

county tax is higher in this budget by 225,000  almost and assumes a 4% year-over-year increase.   I attended the county uh budget hearing last week.  Uh their budget uh lots of hard work done. Their   budget is up 1.67%. That represents new money of  $1.77 million. But the county is uh the county is   looking to uh assess us in taxes within Rockingham  a total of 13% more than prior year, $7.2 million.   So they need 1.78 million for their budget, but  they need 7.2 million from taxpayers overall   essentially because the $ 32.3 million fund  balance they were carrying in FY23 is gone and   now they need to add money to their fund balance.  It was an uncomfortable conversation. Uh you can   see the you can see the video on on online. I hope  that I represented the city well enough as I asked   them the questions and told them I thought it was  crazy that they had taken a $32.3 million fund   balance and now needed to pad the fund balance. I  didn't say out loud that it felt like school care,   but it did does. Uh and I would uh welcome any  opportunity to serve you in helping to pursue the   delegation in trying to soften that blow year  over year. I will tell you that uh the chair   of the commission, Commissioner Kate Coyle, met  with me briefly after the public hearing uh and   was was quick to provide me with great information  and and uh committed to making herself available   to serve Portsmith and explain uh as she's able.  And so I would commend to the council that that's   a resource that is is available to you and us and  uh look forward to your guidance and how you might   want to pursue that moving forward. Also, back  to non-operating IT equipment. Uh, the increase   is $105.9,000. I will thank the IT staff who  helped identify reductions of $160,000 from that  

which was approved in the CIP. Additionally,  the capital outlay is reduced $390,000 from   the CIP. It's now flat year-over-year from  FY26. And the supplemental appropriation   you approved a month ago for outside council  is not renewed. So, there's a savings there.   Uh, additionally, I guess I should comment  that uh, under the category of SABIA,   our our subscriptionbased information technology  agreements, essentially our catchall software   budget, uh, there are increases there, but more  than just the ongoing operating impact of software   this year as we added the body cams and taser  contract uh, a year ago. Uh this year we add   two new major categories. One is the the operating  impact of the police department's CAD RMS computer   AED dispatch and records management system which  is online now. So you'll see the impact of that   uh annual cost this year and you'll see the first  impact of the carrying cost annually for the port   edge uh ERP accounting and HR solution that's  coming on as well. Those round out the the rest of   the non-operating impact this year. So, a couple  of summary slides. This is the total proposed   operating budget that we've just reviewed. On  the next slide, the total proposed nonoperating   budget and the elements that I was just walking  through. Let me dig for just a moment into three   core elements of our non-operating. First is debt  service. Remind you that debt service is driven   by our annual CIP process. Uh this was driven or  directed by the vote that you took in December   on the 27 fiscal 27 to fiscal 32 CIP. Uh city  policy directs that our net debt service should   remain less than 10% of annual appropriations each  year. Uh it manages this is our borrowing program   year-over-year to fund capital projects and the  net debt service that we anticipate in FY27 as  

proposed is 7.64% of the appropriation. On the  next slide, capital outlay. Just another budget   element related to investment in infrastructure.  Capital outlay is our pay as you go program of   cash investment. And city policy directs in this  case that the outlay be a current appropriation of   up to 2% of the prior year's general fund budget.  The capital outlay total, as I said a moment ago,   of 1.56 million is unchanged year-over-year. We  reduce this to a flat budget request. That request   of 1.56 million is just above the 10-year average  of the dollars you have been committing to capital   outlay through the budget. And on the next slide,  we include a a list for public review of the uh of   the elements that were included in the CIP and the  $390,000 of adjustments made through the budget   process. The last of these three that I'd speak to  is our rolling stock. It's our vehicle and large   equipment replacement plan. The budget this year  for FY27 is $836,500, which is 475 more than in   FY26. Uh, it's a 6% year-over-year increase.  And the list that you'll find in the slide   uh identifies the projected replacements with  those dollars this year. That should bring us   back now to tax rate impact. and the 56 cents  representing $435 uh against the median single   family home estimated tax rate of $12.7. Before  we move into the departments though, I thought I   could uh share with you just a little more about  Port Edge because I think it's important to the   conversation ongoing. Um Port Edge is our new ERP.  ERP stands for enterprise resource uh planning   but in this case it's really our core financial  and human resource management system. Uh we have   undertaken now about six months with the product.  Uh the port edge is a multi-year multi-depart   initiative uh modernization and uh an upgrade to  our core systems. The solution we're implementing  

right now is the enterprise ERP solution from  Tyler Technologies. They're based in Tyler,   Texas, but really they're based in this case  in Yarmouth, which is where it's the home of   the product that we're actually using. And we've  had the luxury of some remote uh work already,   but also many on-site visits because those folks  are right here with a strong presence in the   municipalities throughout New Hampshire as well.  We've named the project Port Edge, uh trying hard   to manage an initiative that is farreaching  and has great impact. anchored in tradition,   driven by innovation, important uh perspective on  the work that we'll do. The solution will impact   accounting and purchasing and budgeting and  building and receing and payroll and multiple   facets of our human resources. Core elements of  the solution should go live in calendar 27 and in   calendar 28 with additional ancillary solutions  being implemented thereafter uh as uh as dollars   and uh need uh serve. The punchline I think is  that Port Edge is and will be a primary focus for   many of the city departments as we work towards  go live and full implementation. So I would ask   you to consider that or keep that in mind as  departments talk about the great initiatives   that they're launching. This is reaching into  every employees time entry, every employees   request for leave uh the purchasing and requesting  of purchases across all departments throughout   the city. So there's a lot of learning curve  that will be impacting uh multiple departments   throughout the city. Thank you, Nathan. Thank you.  We will now walk through the departments. And I'd   like to jump to my second bullet to emphasize what  Nathan was speaking to. This will be and has been   the focus for over nine months now. In addition  to people's full-time jobs, they are literally   trying to stand up and convert the system. So, we  have been mindful to take care of the staff during   this process and that will be as Nathan Nathan  said the focus for the next 18 months or so.   So, in addition to the responsibilities of city  manager to include budget preparation, working  

with the council to implement policy, leading city  staff, and managing city property, we have to have   some fun. We're here a lot. This is this is our  home away from home. And the top photo shows me   spending time at the sustainability fair, which uh  not only benefits residents, but it benefits the   staff to the extent that we kind of have fun with  this. we we bond through this and and our staff   work really hard to stand up and promote some of  the products uh the programs that we offer. So,   uh I'm really proud of the staff. This was just  one fun example. And the uh what I want to share   here in a goal that I had last year that I've been  able to implement with thanks to the library is   spending half of the time bringing government uh  to the people, if you will, and making government   more accessible. spending time once a month  at the library, holding office hours for the   city manager, and now we're back transitioned to  the farmers market. Now we're back outside. So,   thank you to Christine and her staff for taking  good care of me during the winter months. Next up   is our HR director, Kelly Harper. Good evening,  honorable mayor and city council members. Thank   you for the opportunity to share an update on  the work of our HR team. We're a fourp person   team supporting more than 3,000 customers in total  which includes family members. We meet that demand   through strong cross department coordination and  a consistent focus on timely highquality service.   There are three areas of progress I'd like to  highlight tonight. First is mental well-being   support. Three of us became certified through  the National Council for Mental Well-being and   Mental Health First Aid. The training helped us  recognize signs of mental health and substance   use challenges, offer initial support, and connect  people to appropriate resources. In HR, a routine   call or visit can be someone's hardest day. So,  these skills strengthen how we care for employees  

and retirees. Second is our benefits work.  both enhancing what we offer and helping people   understand what's available. We've implemented a  new monthly update, understanding your benefits,   which explains plan design details in plain  language and highlights practical ways to save.   We've also introduced a site of service additional  health plan option to guide care to lower cost   savings when appropriate. Third, we're in the  early stages of implementing our new human capital   management system. Port Edge. This fiscal year  alone, I've manually signed around 2,000 personnel   action sheets, which we utilize for things like  step increases, promotions, transfers, new hires.   With the new system, those action sheets will be  electronic. Port Edge will give us one integrated   platform to manage the full employee life cycle  from recruiting and onboarding to time and   attendance, benefits administration, payroll  support and reporting using a single system   of record. Overall, we're excited about these  positive changes because each one strengthens   how we serve employees, retirees, and partners and  helps us deliver timely support with a small team.   Thank you for your continued support. Thanks,  Kelly. Kelly's up. Thank you. This year in the   city clerk's office um we're going to be working  closely with the board of registars and moderators   um in order to run um some very smooth elections.  I'm really excited. We have the new uh voting   works uh tabulators that I know that you've used  for a couple elections now um and the poll pads   which both greatly um help with the efficiency of  our elections and I'm looking forward to working   with the elections team um to you know find ways  to make our elections move even more smoothly. Um,  

in addition, we're working on new meeting  management software that's going to help   increase our efficiency um when we're getting  uh materials ready for uh meetings and um post   meeting minutes and whatnot. So, excited. Hi,  good evening. Um so, in the legal department,   um I was asked to do a did you know. So, I you  probably already know this, but maybe more for   the public. We hear a lot about litigation  and and um litigation settlements and costs   etc. But really the majority of our work in the  legal department is legal compliance. And we meet   that through what you see in our statistics in  the budget book for our right to know requests,   our contract reviews, our special events, um,  licenses and leases, and all of that work that is   coordinated throughout the departments to ensure  we comply with state and federal and local laws.   So, for our accomplishments, um, you've heard  for the last year or two the implementation of   our case management system. We're trying to take  legal from a paper uh office to an electronic and   digital format. And our uh program is called  H HighQ. And um we most recently we finally   um really um implemented our assessing component.  Um, so as part of our litigation case management   system, the assessing department has access to  that section of our uh litigation where they can   put in all the tax abatement requests and then  if an abatement is denied and it's appealed,   it becomes a legal matter. And now legal has  all of the background information in the system  

already rather than what we were working with  was like four or five uh Excel spreadsheets   and assessing and multiple spreadsheets and  legal multiple files and now we can share that   information and collaborate better. So working  more efficiently. Um so that's one example.   Another example of working more efficiently is uh  that we have acquired a program called co- counsel   which is an AI facilitated um legal research  and um writing program. Um, it's part of our   Westlaw research contract and not only does it do  research, but it does drafts, it reviews drafts,   um, does analysis and provides um, analysis of  legal pleadings. So, it's been very helpful um,   so far and we're also finding other uses for it  in our right to know requests and reviewing of   documents. We've done a lot of training um not  only for boards and commissions but also for   uh law enforcement, our prosecution office did  a uh statewide law enforcement training for   enhancing victim interactions and prosecution of  assaults. Um so and then I've also put in here as   accomplishments resolutions of lawsuits. Um, and  I'll just say most notably recently we finalized   a case that's been pending for over seven years.  It was a tax abatement uh issue with a city versus   Mackie and an eminent domain dispute which where  we took just a little piece of land in Durham to   fix our pipes to get our water from Madbury under  Little Bay. and we been um in litigation with them   for seven years about what the value of that  little piece of property was and recently it  

was settled through mediation. So those are our  um accomplishments um that I wanted to mention   uh initiatives. We are um facing some ADA  compliance requirements for our website and   we'll be working on those with other departments.  Um, we are taking our special events and liquor   review matters and putting them into the open gov  system. So again, trying to be more efficient and   collaborative with our other departments and  making the workflow uh run more smoothly. In   addition, we're now part of the International  Municipal Lawyers Association, the IMLA. Um,   we've been getting involved with them. we have  access to their training and attending their   seminars and it's been a great advancement for  all of the staff. Thanks Susan. Thank you. CIO   Ryan Babcock is up next. Good evening, mayor,  counselors. Uh Ryan Babcock, chief information   officer. Uh my fact is that in a calendar year  there were over 185,000 PDFs downloaded from   the city's website and the most popular PDF was  the zoning ordinances. So kind of makes sense.   Uh these four areas uh up here uh speak to what  we do as the IT department and even though they're   independent, they really reinforce each other. Um  network modernization is really key right now. So   currently if you're at the parking garage or maybe  you're at community campus, all that traffic gets   backhauled to city hall to get to the internet.  We want to allow those individual sites to access   the internet directly so that they can get to our  cloud resources more efficiently and uh promote   faster work um for everyone who's working across  the city. Um and that leads into digital services.   So, our ability to uh break the network out into  smaller networks that are more manageable and more  

resilient uh really fits into our cloud and SAS  uh migration, getting away from using internal   things that are housed in the data center here in  city hall and allowing them to go directly to the   internet. Um, and that fits really uh closely into  the ERP as well because getting off of the old   financial system. Uh, support services plays into  that because we need to train people to use these   new systems and we need to be able to support  them and manage them and also implement them   securely. And cyber security plays into that too  because we're moving from uh this hard candy shell   where we just keep all the bad guys out where  now we're moving to a more um diverse and split   up network cloud resources. And so our ability  to increase visibility and uh get information   quickly and uh act on it really matters. Thank  you. Thank you Clansancy. You're up next. Good evening, mayor, city councilors. Um I'm Sean  Clansancy, responsible for economic and community   development. Uh Portsmouth has been an economic  hub since before the United States existed. first   fishing, then ship building, then manufacturing  and brewing. Uh now tourism, tech, small business,   just to name a few. We've been mixed use for  well over 400 years. In this way, our present is   connected to our past. Um, regarding economic  and community development, as in the past,   balance, connectivity, and collaboration are  foundational to support our business community and   our community in general. This certainly remains  so as we move into the new fiscal year. Plans for   FY27 are improved database capabilities and most  importantly, visitor data collection and analysis.   Um, you know, we have a partnership with the  chamber that Nathan alluded to. Uh, they really  

do a lot of work outside of tourism connecting  groups, whether they are small businesses or   BPOC businesses or just different, uh, as well  as addressing policy issues like child care and   affordable housing that we are all very familiar  with. So looking forward to working with them and   and working with some new tools to give all of us  more data, not only for the business community,   but for all of my fellow departments here at city  hall. Thank you. Thank you. Nathan's back up now. Make it make it as brief as I can, folks, and  just remind you the port edge conversation we had   earlier has a significant impact on the finance  department. uh there we'll we'll talk more about   some of the really inventive solutions that  are included in this application. Uh I want to   call out the tax and assessing uh elements of the  finance department. They are our customerf facing   uh teammates. They're working hard uh at u  driving new online resources, payments, data,   etc. working hard to try to bring city business  uh to you where you are uh to to make the lives of   uh very active residents uh as uh flexible as  can be when doing business with the city. The   accounting division is really an internal services  bureau working to support departments throughout   the city. Uh and we're very much tied to the  ERP solution. uh and the the core elements,   the first elements that will go live uh uh from  the Newport Edge solution will come early 2027   and that's all in the financial realm. Uh since I  have the microphone, I wanted to call out a couple   of quick things for you as well. One, the FY27  proposed budget as you see it is posted now to   the finance department website. Right beside  it should be an interactive user guide that   taxpayers uh and residents in general can use  to better understand the budget. Additionally,  

uh we have added uh a data dump of the uh line  item detail that you see throughout the budget   book. Dump that in Excel. That's on the web not  only for FY27, but for the years FY22 to 26. If   you scroll down through the budget uh column there  in the on the website, you'll find that those have   been added for for back years so that you have  access to that data if it supports your efforts.   Additionally, uh the monthly report for  March, the monthly summary financial report,   uh I'll have that out in the next day or so. It's  kind of been on the back burner waiting for final   review as we've been building the budget book. Uh  and I very quickly will wrap up and make sure that   you have the April financials as well because I  know how important that is to the process uh when   you're considering the budget. Thank you. Next  up is planning and sustainability director Peter   Bricks. Good evening. Um so one of the things we  do is development review and in 2025 there were   435 housing units reviewed in our department with  127 workforce housing units and 15 ADUs. So the   planning sustainability department is a 10person  uh staff made up of eight planners and two   administrative staff. We manage development review  as I said long range planning sustainability and   resilience open space protection and monitoring.  Um the staff in our department manage the   following land use boards. The planning board, the  board of adjustment, historic district commission,   conservation commission, and the technical  advisory committee. In addition, our staff   supports the sustainability committee, the housing  committee, reports with energy advisory committee.   Um and we also work with coast transportation  and the rockingham planning commission.   Um recent and ongoing planning efforts in the  department um in terms of long-range planning   include the citywide master plan which is as  you know underway and and moving along the heat   resilience study which we should be finishing  up later this summer looking at heat resilience   under our climate action plan the market square  master plan which was completed last year the  

climate action plan and the bicycle pedestrian  master plan and that's it and if you can count   photos in the in the slide that Peter has the 11th  person is the intern finishing up the heat uh the   heat study. Oh yeah, if you count over here. Yep.  Sabrina. Next up is Chief Inspector Shanty Wolf. Good evening, Mayor, Assistant Mayor, City  Council, City Staff. Uh Mike, did you know   this year is a statewide building code and fire  code change? So from July through December,   we'll be transitioning from the 21 codes to  the 24 codes. So, it'll be our kind of our   job to educate the um permit applicants along  the way and um there will be a choice between   those two codes until January 1st, 2027.  Um what do we do? By and large, permitting   um permitting inspections, the largest portion  of what our department does, spend a lot of   time with the applicants before a permit is  even issued. We pride ourselves on thorough   plan review to help projects move smoothly with  minimal issues during the inspection process.   education. Um yeah, so permanent and instructions  kind of that go hand in hand. Education,   um building codes and materials constantly  evolving. It's our job to stay current   um who share that knowledge with the community to  make sure that um the projects are safer, easier,   and more successful. We also partner with the  um local and state building officials, chapters,   uh and the town of Newington. We provide free  training sessions. We try to do these monthly   for contractors, homeowners, and developers. And  that's been a a pretty big hit. Um, along with a   big hit is consultations. Um, we offer kind  of a pre-purchase and pre- lease walkthrough   restaurants, retail, residential apartments,  or any other use. The inspection department   along with other relevant departments will uh  we can attend a site visit to identify city or  

code requirements, structural deficiencies, you  know, anything that may need to be addressed.   um prior to or after the purchase or the lease  of the property. This service really helps to   establish trust and fosters a positive working  relationship between the new business or the   property owner and the city. Um, in summary, our  focus is to deliver timely, consistent permitting   and inspections, provide strong plan review and  early guidance that reduces issues later on,   and support the community through education  and proactive consultations so projects can   move forward safely and efficiently. Thank you.  Thanks, health director Kim McNamera, you're up. Good evening. Did you know that our most recent  hire health inspector uh is a ham radio operator,   which is very convenient if we're in an public  health emergency and other um communication   systems go down. Uh so in addition to the  restaurant work that we do that you all seem   to know a lot about, um we have some highlights of  work that we're doing this year. On the left here,   you'll see Cameron Hershey, our other health  inspector, in our new uh medical supply trailer.   This trailer will allow us to go out rapidly if  we have to do mass vaccination or mass antibiotic   dispensing at to the community at large for broad  public health exposures. Um we're elevating the   health and all policies uh in citywide hopefully  in the um or working on the master plan as well   to get it a little more prominent in that. But  that is really an an effort to consider things   like equity and inclusion and health in all the  decisions that are made for um infrastructure   planning, programmatic planning and so on and  so forth. Um and also um this year we're going  

to post online inspections of food service results  which is pretty standard nationally. So those are   the items that we're working on. Thank you. Thanks  Kim. Public works director Peter Rice is next. Uh good evening. Peter Rice, director  of public works. As you may know,   uh the public works department is made up of  six divisions. Uh the highway division, water,   sewer, storm water, parking, and Prescott Park.  Tonight I will be discussing the highway division   which is solely funded by the general fund. Other  divisions which are enterprise funds and special   revenue funds will be spoken to on Wednesday.  Uh fun fact uh household hazardous waste day saw   its highest uh participation increase to 30% uh  this Saturday u which is uh which is great. Um,   this year's budget reflects a continued focus on  succession planning and a significant effort to   improve operational efficiencies by integrating  the technical expertise we have available in our   other divisions and to integrate them across the  department leveraging resources to complete work   in-house uh when practicable. Uh, the result  of this effort has yielded a reduction in the   highways uh division of 3.1 FTEE uh from 53.65  65 down to 50.55 uh with an overall reduction   in the entire department of one FTE. Uh the  2027 highway division budget maintains core   functions and level of service that are currently  provided by the uh city's highway division. And   these core functions include the facilities  operations, solid waste recycling management,   street and bridge maintenance, uh capital  project management, uh green space care,   uh grounds care, and public outreach and  permitting. In addition to these core functions,   the highway division supports other departments  with special events, capital projects, and a many   myriad of other things. All the divisions within  the department continue the effort uh to complete  

more work in house. Uh completing work in house  is significantly cheaper. It is more responsive   uh from a scheduling standpoint. And if anybody's  tried to hire a contractor to do a small draw job   recently, uh it's it's very difficult to get  them to show up in in a timely manner. Uh so   by doing as much as we can in-house, we're  able to respond uh more quickly. Um there's   a couple of examples here. Uh some of you may not  realize it, but the Liry uh field uh grandstands   uh needed some safety improvements and that  was completed by staff which included welding   uh uh carpentry work um and concrete work  and this all needed to get done in order   to have opening be ready for opening day. Um so  this was something that was done by our staff.   um city hall cabinetry, which is just an example  of some of the finished cabinetry uh our staff is   able to complete. Uh if you've ever hired finished  carpenters, um they are in high demand and this is   an amazing asset that we have. Um our sign shop uh  is a great example of of realizing an opportunity.   Uh the handover garage project had a budget item  of $160,000 to complete a sign package which had   braille uh signage throughout the uh facility. We  realized that we could purchase a a a 3D printer   that could do that for $30,000 and then complete  all that work in house. We also could use that   that same equipment to complete the signage you  see uh outside of conference A and some of the   signage down the hallway. Uh that sign alone  was quoted to cost uh $1,300. Um we were able   to complete that for less than 50. Um so it was  a it was efforts that were done by the staff and   taken on. So we're really we're really proud of  that. And then finally, uh, the ability to to to   respond quickly. Uh, there was an accident down on  Mechanic Street, uh, about a month ago, and within   a day and a half, staff had the sidewalk and the  the ballage all back in place and up and running,   and by the time the insurance agent came out, he  just was like, "Where's the accident I'm supposed  

to be looking at?" Um, so we had pictures,  fortunately, so, um, that was not a problem. Um,   so it's it's it's great to see these things,  but overall, um, the budget maintains the   level of service currently provided, uh,  while working to align staffing resources,   uh, to improve efficiency. So, thank you. Thanks,  Peter. Library Director Christine Freeze is next. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Thanks to a very  generous federal ARPA fund, uh you will now see   the library's first bookmobile running around the  city. We're at the farmers market. We've been at   Children's Day and I hope you'll see us this  summer at an outreach event or tooling around   for our homebound delivery which is in its second  year. Um while we offer spaces to work, study,   converse, enjoy throughout the library and we have  an average of 550 people a day visiting. Uh that   can go up to as much as a thousand for things  like the splash reception. Very uh favorite   spring thing here. We also have a lot of uh users  who only come into the library virtually. So we   have many online programs. We have all of the  resources that they find to download and some   of those are for fun like Libby audiobooks and  ebooks and some of them are to prepare for career   moves as a trusted source of information in the  city. Uh we have are always finding new ways to   provide information to folks when and where  they need it. And we have recently begun a   new series called Ask an Expert um which includes  services like mental health assistance from local   uh providers and Great Bay Community Colleges  Work Ready New Hampshire. I was able to speak  

to one of their classes this week and discovered  that one of the people in the class is a regular   library user who discovered the class at the  library which shows us preparation for career   um opportunities which we're very happy with.  This year you're going to see some other   um programs in the library that help the  public understand the uses of AI. Um very   very important topic everywhere. And you're  also going to see some more civics and election   uh preparation again as a trusted source of  information. We try to provide all sorts of   information to folks throughout the year. So  thank you. Recreation Director Todd Henley's up. Good evening. Uh, did you know that  the recreation department manages the   city's annual holiday parade, coordinating  over 70 floats, bands, and walking units,   representing more than 12,200 participants, and  attracting more than 10,000 viewers downtown.   And we do that with collaboration with DPW and  police, too. Uh bringing community together is   what we do and we do it in a variety of ways. From  scheduling practice and game fields for teams to   come together to providing the lights so that we  can skate together to managing a large community   pool so we can swim together to organizing small  and large special events to celebrate together.   Here are just a few of the highlights of the many  ways we help gather in a safe and fun environment.   Field and park management is about community  choreography, balancing programs, public access,   events, and maintenance across many shared spaces.  We have year-round scheduling of the turf complex   along with our grass athletic fields, parks,  for tree island, Presca Park weddings, and more.   And we work with our GPW partners to constantly  ensure everything is clean, safe, and accessible.  

We coordinate the scheduling and provision of  lights and portable toilets across multiple parks,   fields, and outdoor recreation sites so that games  and skateboarding can happen under the lights,   and so that there are proper places for pit  stop during pickle ball or on the rail trail.   We oversee daily operations at the Pierce Island  pool, staffing and training certified lifeguards,   maintaining quality and safety standards,  and scheduling public swim times and lessons.   We provided swim lessons to 600 I'm sorry 769  children and hosted over 23,600 visitors last   summer. Finally, our special events are designed  to bring people of all ages, backgrounds,   and abilities together through shared experiences  that are fun, welcoming, and accessible year   round. Events span a variety of interests so  that there's always something for everyone.   seasonal celebrations, family-friendly  activities, wellness and active events,   arts and culture shows, and senior  and intergenerational gatherings. And I get to stay up here and talk about senior  services next. Uh, did you know that senior   services partners with Gather Mobile Market to  provide on-site mobile pantry services every other   Monday at 2 p.m. at the Senior Activity Center?  That's just one way that Senior Services supports   the well-being of our older community. The Senior  Activity Center offers classes designed to be   approachable, social, and adaptable for different  ability levels. Classes help people stay active   and improve mobility, balance, and prevent  falls. Physical health links to brain health,   and attending activities encourages daily  movement. The center is not just a place to   go. It's a place to connect, stay engaged, and  feel a sense of purpose. Visiting and attending   programs combats isolation and loneliness,  creates meaningful relationships, and supports  

mindbody wellness. A true sense of community  for older adults. Our facility offers regular   opportunities to engage with others, encouraging  conversation and interaction. It is welcoming to   all backgrounds and abilities, and people feel a  sense of belonging. Our meals, concerts, classes,   events, arts, and shared experiences are all  ways to feel a part of the community. Lastly,   we offer low stress, affordable, fun, and  exciting trips. Whether it be local staff-led   trips or international group tours, we make travel  accessible when single or on a limited budget,   breaking the routine and enriching lives,  encouraging those to continue doing the   things that they've always loved. Thank you.  our welfare director, Jody KS is up next. Hi, good evening council, mayor and council.  Um, I am your welfare director as of in two more   days. I'll be here two years. So, welcome.  And I am a staff of one and a half. Um,   I see about 30 to 40 clients monthly. Our  we track activity. It could be a phone call,   it could be an intake, could be an interview. Last  year we estimated 9 900. It was 922. Uh currently   this year we are at 8:30. Um I've been working  great with Brooke and the social PD and we're   um initiatives is the opioid outreach um which  we'll be signing on soon. So we're getting that   started. Um, I meet with PHA monthly or quarterly  and I'm on the phone with them doing more and more   case management and more and more case management  has been able to service our most vulnerable. We  

also do so social services. So, we fund 23  agencies. Um, we've increased their budget   um 11,05 um this time. Um, we work great hand  inand with them and their ability to help   us help our residents. Thank you. Thanks,  Julie. Fire Chief Bill Mcullen's up next. Uh, good evening, honorable mayor and  city councilors. Uh, Bill McQuillin,   fire chief. Uh, and my, uh, did you know fact  for the, uh, for the council is as follows. Uh,   did you know that when people don't know what else  to do, they call the fire department. Whether it's   a leaky pipe at 2 in the morning or helping a uh  an elderly loved one back in a bed or into a car,   they call for that lift assist in addition  to calling us for the uh the standard 911   calls that we see each and every day. Uh this  year, uh I'm here to talk a little bit about   the uh the new training position. Uh we have  a new deputy fire chief that we're proposing   uh that we had uh come up with last year. and  uh we're back this year. This uh position is   funded from the savings and workers comp moving  forward. But I think one of the things that   uh you know that we need to talk about is not only  what it'll do, but some of the efficiencies. So,   it it's going to be able to standardize and track  our fire and EMS training uh activities across   all of our different crews. it. We're going to  coordinate with the uh hospital with respect to   making sure that the ports of fire department  is on the cutting edge of uh of medicine and   emergency medicine and delivering that in the  field in a timely manner. Uh our goal is to get   the right care to the patient at the right time  and get them to the hospital in a timely manner.   And uh as director Rice uh mentioned, one of  the efficiencies that this position is going   to do is uh we're going to work on commercial  driver's licensing and and take that in-house.  

Uh we believe that uh this position is going  to uh show substantial savings in the in future   years. Uh saving about $4,500 per employee to send  them to not have to send them to a school to take   that responsibility in-house. Uh and in the first  year alone uh recognizing that we're going to have   to tra uh train about 20 firefighters and uh 10  public works employees a year. Uh moving forward   that will show some substantial savings. Uh,  additionally, we're looking to make sure that we   uh increase our strategic capabilities and  strategic planning um and and uh uh succession   planning for the organization. Additionally, the  fire department's core functions are still going   to be met with respect to suppression, rescue,  911 and ALS response, hazardous materials,   uh marine waterfront uh environment, uh  our permitting, education, inspection   and investigation plans in addition to uh uh  disaster recovery uh response and preparedness   and mitigation efforts. Thank you. Thanks,  Chief. Next up is Police Chief Mark Newport. Good evening, mayor, mayor, counselors, and staff.  Like to thank you uh for your continued support.   And I will start with our did you know what  you guys already know because you recognized   us is that we are the first police department  in the state of New Hampshire to be accredited   uh nationally through CLA and through the state,  which is a big accomplishment. Uh but I will add   one other did you know that you do not know  is that your support in providing the weight   adjustments to our patrol officers has made a  significant impact on our biggest impediment   which is staffing. As I sit in front of you today  our current staffing number is 60 police officers.  

We have seven candidates that I will be hiring  in the next three weeks uh that will be going   through the academy in July that will fill  all of our currently open positions. So,   thank you for that support. Um the accomplishments  that we had wrapping up this FY26 is Nathan stole   most of my thunder because talked about our full  implementation of our CAT armor system which is   our computer operating system which has been  fantastic. Uh the roll out of the body cameras   are fully implemented and have made a significant  difference. Uh, one of the biggest differences,   uh, we were, uh, carrying a lot of complaints with  our animal control officer and since she's out   of body camera, we have not had one complaint.  So, knocking wood on that. Um, moving forward,   talking about recruiting, as I just stated that  the wage adjustment that we made for Troll was a   difference maker in the in the last three months,  we have seven full-time candidates that, you know,   will be starting momentarily. So that that's  a positive. Looking at our 30 by30 initiative,   four out of those seven candidates are women.  So we're definitely making a big increase in   that impact. I already spoke on the accredit.  We are currently as we speak going through a   reassessment right now on our accreditation which  is smooth sailing for us because we just finished   our state accreditation. So we're constantly  being assessed. Uh and the last step uh what   wall I'll start with we are continue to move  forward with a new police facility or renovate   a facility or whatever we that's facilities to  look at at some point in time but I think in   our last meeting with the blue ribbon committee  and JSA we've taken some positive steps and that   should continue to progress forward. And  lastly, uh our big initiative that we're  

looking to move forward with in this year is uh  technology is is advancing super fast in police   work and we're looking at a real-time crime  center that will be a gamecher in the way we   uh patrol and respond to calls and we've  applied for grants to hopefully uh cover   the expense of the startup of that program. Thank  you. Thanks, Chief. Superintendent Zach McLolin. Good evening, members of the council. Uh this is  usually the time of year we're kicking off the   conversation about schools. Obviously, we've been  in the conversation about schools a bunch. So,   it's good to see you all again. Uh the did you  know for the for the district uh tonight is just,   you know, the fact that we've got not one but  two different teachers uh of the year inside   of our schools this year have been recognized  across the state of New Hampshire. one as the   uh civics teacher of the year, Cynthia Young, and  the other as the career and technical education   uh teacher of the year, Gordon Reynolds, uh who's  a computer science teacher. Just a great example   of the quality of uh educators that are serving  in the schools in Portsouth and a reminder that   the strategic work we're doing is being carried  out by uh talented people uh in your district. uh   we as we think about uh initiatives and we think  about kind of the the strains we've been trying   to talk about that have been put on as a result  of some of the challenges connected to uh health   insurance as we go through that and we have to  make difficult choices we keep coming back to the   strategic plan that we developed in conjunction  with the community. Uh we are in we're finishing   up year two of a five-year strategic plan. Um  you'll recall that that strategic plan was started   with kind of setting what our northstar was going  to be which was our portrait of a graduate. Uh in   collaboration with the community through focus  groups, survey work, etc. Uh we developed our   portrait of what does a what should a student what  are the characteristics a student should have when   they walk across the stage and to get a diploma  at Portouth High School. And ultimately we came  

to a passion for knowledge, global awareness  uh and community contribution, collaboration   and communication, transferable skills, uh  personal well-being and empathy and kindness. To   get to that end goal, uh we develop our five-year  strategic plan. Right now, the the things you see   in bold are the kind of the big three focus areas,  the big three buckets of uh work that we're doing   across those five years. We're trying to make  sure that we have a rigorous and aligned K12 uh   curriculum, that we continue to build on educator  uh capacity. Um we already have a strong staff,   but we want to continue to improve. And then that  we're looking at student safety in a couple of   different ways simultaneously. One is um social  emotional uh safety and well-being. Uh and the   other is the physical safety of of our buildings  uh through uh security measures. uh three key uh   three key kind of uh initiatives that are ongoing  as we speak. Underneath each of those things,   uh we've done a lot of work in in the current year  around developing uh kind of our framework around   curriculum mapping uh which will create um greater  uh greater alignment uh between and across classes   uh in our district. And we'll be rolling out  some of that work uh into uh into buildings   in the upcoming year. Uh we've been working on a  redesign of the way in which we provide feedback   uh to all of our staff. Uh we're about to run a  micro pilot of that in the next couple of weeks   which will build into our larger pilot that  we'll be running in the fall. Uh and we are   uh in the ongoing process of of collecting more  data from students around their experience of   school. So when we think about the work that  we're doing, it's not exclusively based on uh   achievement data and test scores. It's also  what is actually ha what is your experience   uh within our buildings and and what does that  look like. So each of those uh each of those   initiatives are are rooted in our strategic plan  and we'll continue even as we go through some of  

the fiscal struggles we're facing right now to  come back to rrooting any of the proposals we   have for you and the decisions we make back to  that work that we initially started with the   community. Thank you. Thank you Zach. And we'll  end where we started. As mentioned at the outset,   tonight is the first of five opportunities for the  public to provide input and for us to hear from   you and to understand your thoughts on what we've  presented here tonight. So, thank you very much. Open it up to council questions. Council, um, I wonder if Chief Newport could  give us an update on the dispatch numbers as   well because I know that was one of the other  areas that police struggled both last year and   and through the year. I know you talked about the  officers, but I know dispatch has been a problem   as well. I was so excited about the officers  that I forgot dispatch, but we're currently at   eight dispatchers. Uh, we're currently budgeted  for nine, but we have two in training. We have   two trainers that are out on maternity maternity  leave. So, we're not capable of training anybody   new. So, we're holding off on the ninth person  at this time. Thanks. Chief, I have a question   for you, too. Um um I was wondering with the Kala  credential, congratulations. I know it's new, but   does that um factor in any other of the current  coverage assessment in terms of insuranceances   because you have that credential? I mean, maybe  it's too soon to know, but yeah, I I think overall   it lowers our liability because we are following  the newest and best practices uh our policies and  

how we do things. Um, but I haven't seen a direct  correlation to the cost of that area right now.   Thank you. Anybody else? Before Councelor Taber,  while the chief's there, um I was going back   through the matrix report uh which breaks down a  lot of data. Um and they said that a typical call   uh for service involves 45 minutes of report  writing. um 9,500 calls a year, 45 minutes on   each of those calls, writing a report is 137  hours a week. And it just got me to thinking,   have we looked at using AI to streamline that uh  and gain efficiencies? Yes. So, we actually hosted   a training at AI and police work last week here  in enforcement at the PD. Uh there's a lot of new   technical problems that have come with AI. Uh with  AI in far as police work works, the input that   goes into AI is only as good as the input that it  comes out of it. So what's been going on across   law enforcement and from some of the conferences  I've attended is they're learning that some of the   information is not accurate. So that you have to  go back and still go through the report. So there   hasn't been a lot of time savings in that instance  yet, but as the technology advances, I'm sure   there'll be some time savings. Thanks, Councelor  Begley. Thanks, honor. Um, couple questions for   Nathan. All right. Um, just just to review, over  the past two fiscal years, if this budget is   adopted as is, we're looking at a total reduction  of FTEES of 21.47 by my math and in the general  

fund of 19 77. I think that's worth highlighting.  Um because we we did add positions after COVID.   Uh we found efficiencies and now we're starting to  see the the success of that approach. Um the other   thing that I wanted to flip back to was one of the  very first slides. Um the obviously anybody that's   spent any time with the budget this year, the the  huge driver is health insurance costs uh making   up over half of the budget. And there was a slide.  Yeah. The the breaking down the 5.11% slide. Yes,   sir. I think it's worth noting that the 1.57  million school care assessment is not included   in this side, nor should it be, but it just  uh it's an additional substantial cost that   is driving our budget in healthcare. I just want  to make sure because it wasn't included in the   FY26 budget because we didn't know about it and  it's not included in the FY27 budget because it   was paid for with FY26 funds after the fact. I  just want to rehlight that that's a substantial   expense that our residents have to pay even though  it's not technically in either budget. Yeah,   I absolutely agree. Uh the reality is that the  FY27 impact on health insurance of 3.3 million   when added to the 1.57 million of school care,  it's $4.9 million in this cycle that you'll see   additional cost between the assessment and the and  the uh and the budget increases. So I appreciate   you calling that out. Thank you. And then the  last comment, I think it's 12 12 years in a   row now that we've had the AAA bond rating  that was recently confirmed again. Yeah,   we had we thank you very much. AAA uh standard and  pores did um did renew our or reaffirm our our AAA   status. We went back and counted again and we were  working with how to talk about this. The reality   is in 2020 as we were just launching into the  pandemic in that spring. We were prepared to but  

did not bond and we did not rate. So in that year,  we don't have a number to talk about, but since   2013, every year, uh, they we have been able to  reaffirm or we've been reaffirmed on that tripaa.   So proud of that. It certainly has an impact on  on our interest. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Couple um, first, thank you guys and everybody  that's uh, that put the work into getting us to   this point. some things I think would be helpful  um at least uh for for me uh one of the I guess   the easier point we we we asked for between three  and a half and and 5% and if we look at tax rate   increase that was 4.88%. Um it would be helpful uh  to know what um would be required to get us to the   3.5% um line items that either in a report back  or Nathan is like sitting in his frontal cortex   right now. But I think he had that we talked  about 1.675 million. No, no, sorry. Sorry. Oh,   yes. I know the number and it's identifying  what it is and so like that's harder. Um yeah,   it's it's roughly the amount of the school care  assessment. Um so um and that would be helpful as   a report back in terms of line items. Um then I  think in terms of I guess just growth and we'll   note that uh last year outside of uh health  insurance costs uh other um everything besides   that grew at 2.96%. I went back and I looked  at that uh this year that's down to 2.90. So   better control of growth outside of healthcare. I  think it would be helpful though to know what is   uh fixed contractual legal obligations that we  have like colas, collective bargaining that's  

been settled. Um what's an increased cost for the  same service? So something that is now costing   more and then what is a new cost center? I think  that's the thing that sometimes is is hard to   identify because they can go into different you  know and this is across all um water uh you know   enterprise funds but just to see where we're  creating uh new cost centers even though we're   reducing is that report back this might not be  easy to do but uh understood yes and it it it   should I would say out loud it should be fairly  direct because this was this budget was built upon   a continuing services. So identifying the first  two should be fairly direct and there should be   very little of the new service area to kind of  drill into. But and I think like shifting things   around to like water and sewer and sometimes  that's like even like the and that's where I   think it's it's super helpful to understand some  of the partial ones because the partial ones keep   growing. Um not that there's not a needed you  know service but I think that's some of the the   it would be helpful to know. Um and then uh lastly  in terms of reports um vacancies by department.   I heard the chief says he's not going to have any  in in a week or so. Um so that's that's excellent,   but how long have they been there? And then you  know this was really got me thinking and and I   was kind of going where councelor Taber went in  terms of um you know not necessarily having AI   do the work but just like let's broadly speaking  on technology. Um, if we're looking at vacancies   and we're looking at, you know, ones and how  long they've been how long they've been there,   how can we start planning for a time uh when  software is going to be fully implemented and   we're going to start seeing productivity gains  there? Where can we start planning for some   uh vacancies that we're not going to uh fill as  a part of that? Um, because we're going to be  

uh more efficient with uh with that. And then I  guess finally um it's more of a thematic uh it's   more of a comment than a question. So no more  reports. Um but the and we'll debate uh on the   merits uh the um the fire um instructor, you know,  the way that it's it's played out or discussed   seems like there could be some real benefits.  would love to see what that $4,500 number uh   for CDL's, how we can translate that across uh  the city. And you know, if it's saving money,   um great. And if it's improving care, um  fantastic. And you know, what potential   uh grants or chargebacks could be as a part of our  ambulance services, all of those things. The only   thing that kind of jumps off the page for me is as  I'd like to try to shift our way of thinking about   this is not departmental. Um, and I know that the  savings occurred in that department, but if we can   move away from departmental, like thinking about  it as departments that have budgets that will lose   the money if they if they don't fill a position.  That's where I'd like to get us away from,   especially because I think we're going to see a  lot of um efficiencies gained. And I would love   to think about it as like one Portsmith school  department, fire department, police department,   knowing that if there's a good idea to be had and  ways to go about and delivering that services that   we're able to uh we're able to fund that in the  next year and we're not always looking back and   say, hey, we got to protect this position because  it's protecting the budget because in three years   we know we're going to have this need. So just  try to I know that that's difficult. I know that's   not, you know, what we've been been doing. Um but  it's something that I think you know nobody looks   at as much as we put it on the screen and the  bar graphs are great in terms of by department  

spending. It's literally you know it's the tax  rate at the end and trying to get people to   uh to see value for service I think is something  and I don't mean to pick on uh Chief McCullen. Um   I think there's a great value in in that position.  I just want to try to think of it as in terms of   um a singular uh Portsmith, not just even from a  taxpayer standpoint, but from a a responsibility   uh to to one city. Okay. All right, Councelor  Cook. Thank you. Um I had a question related   to workers compensation costs. Um while  we had significant incre decreases in the   fire department, which was encouraging, we had  significant increases in schools and in police   workers comp. um costs. And so I'm hoping we  can get um kind of an explainer um across the   city budget on why we think that we're having  increased drivers of workers compensation costs   and who our providers are and why different  pools are are increasing at a faster rate   than than others that are actually decreasing.  Happy to do that. Absolutely. We've we now wasn't   there a classification that changed on the fire  department. Is that same classification applied   to others? So the it does across the state. So as  I understand it, we we asked a bunch of questions   of Primex as we launched into this cycle and in  the area of workers comp, as I mentioned before,   Primex across the state rerated the volunteer  call-in category and attributed greater risk to   them and less risk overall to the professional  full-time uh staff like we have. And so there's   that's where we saw the the reductions. Uh I  will say that we have challenged not only in   the area of work or workers comp, but that same  pool provides our property liability and we've   challenged and asked there. Uh I'm sure that they  will watch this on the replay and appreciate why   I said we need to have more information as we  march towards uh conversations with the council  

and the public. uh but they are they are laying  a lot of it on an on an ongoing basis right now   with they're laying a lot of the increases on uh  reinsurance increased costs etc etc and uh across   the board they took off the we used to have a  multi-year cap uh a contribution um limit that   we had agreed to you agree to stay with them  three years you get the they've eliminated the   caps altogether because they're not able to work  within that and this all goes back to the can you   assess can you not assess and risk to the pool as  costs rise and claims maybe rise. So, uh it will   be a pleasure to provide a a background on that  whole thing and and I'm sure they will be happy   to help us. Um as a follow on there, can we can we  do it across all insurance categories? Can we look   at because we know the drivers in health insurance  because we've been having that discussion, but   um workers comp um dental, which you mentioned  earlier, there are increases in dental as well.   So any category, can we look at all of them  and see what um can we compare them and see   what the drivers are across departments because we  have absolutely different departmental policies.   Yeah. Not a lot of volunteer police departments.  No. Up there. No. Um just another question that   that popped into mind. Um there is a increase of I  think 6 position uh in the inspection department.   uh would expect that to allow us a greater volume  of inspections. Um would we see any difference   on the revenue side for permitting because of  that? So we have seen we have we saw last year   and then have seen this year revenues generated  in excess of what we've estimated. uh you know   what I don't have in front of me so I I won't  speak to it specifically but but yeah I think   uh the department head uh Chanti has been really  direct uh over the course of this year and was in  

that conversation that if we reached a point where  the revenues weren't you know started to fall off   if there was a slowdown permit income uh revenues  was was falling he he recognized that that might   mean you know a reduction in the staff there was  absolutely a need when we made the move from point   4 to 1.0 it was because of the volume for sure.  So I guess the question I'm I'm asking maybe a   little different way is could we could we expect  to see a a greater volume of permitting go through   the system because we're taking a point4 position  and making it a 10 position. If I can jump in for   that. We have seen it because we started with Mike  full-time in the inspection group in July of 2025.   So, we have seen an increase in the permitting  because he's been able to devote his full-time   attention to just doing inspections for uh the  the team rather than split his time between the   SKA group and working as a a staff person with  the DPW team. Now, he's full-time with Shanti,   helping uh with what was the busiest man in the  inspections department, John Floyd, the electrical   inspector for sure. Okay. So, is this categorizing  an existing position or recategorizing an existing   position? The It's reflecting it. It's  reflecting in the budget because we took   it out of contingency for fiscal 26 because  of the need. So, it's proven itself already. Council Ter, I had a question for Zach. Um, good to see you again. Good to see you too, sir.  Um, I hope you can enlighten us on the addition  

of a administrative position, the assistant  superintendent position. I think it's called   is a uh within the proposal and actually this is  this is a position we have already hired. Um this   is the assistant director of student services. Um  so this is direct response to the concerns we had   last year around out of district placement costs  within special education. Uh and actually this   is a so this is a gentleman that will start  working for us on July 1. um but was actually   on the ground today uh taking a vacation day from  his other job to come and start meeting with folks   uh here in the district around his his work which  will be a combination of of uh overseeing our out   of district uh placements of students. So he'll  be the point person liazison with families for   those out of district placements and then  also coordinating um with uh programs here   within the district. Okay. Um obviously you know  Someone could look at the school budget and say,   "Boy, we're uh not replacing some retiring  teachers, but we're adding a uh somebody   uh administratively." Sure. For the special  ed function. Um so, u and I I looked I think   there's 77 positions in all dedicated to special  education. Um so, I'll just ask the question,   could we have done that within existing headcount?  I I we've had a lot of conversation about this and   our conclusion was no. Uh not if we're going to  uh bend the cost curve that really dominated our   conversation with the council last year about the  cost of special education. So that position is in   a direct response to the concerns that we were in  last year um where our out of district placement  

costs continue to go up. uh and as a result of  that we were in a position where we laid off   um you know we laid off multiple people last  year to try to cover the difference in and   fit within the budget that was provided us.  So this is a direct response to that concern   uh both so that we can provide better special  education services to those students but also   so that we're not we can do it in a more efficient  way so that we're not forced on an annual basis to   continue to kind of eat away at the rest of  our budget in order to pay for those costs.   Yeah, I had a good conversation with Lisa today  about this, too. I guess the theory is if we can   um take students with special needs uh and  intervene early and steadily um over time,   then we don't have to have as many out of district  placements which have been going up and and are a   very rapidly rising cost. uh they were they they  have been uh but the the rate at which that we've   started to flatten out this year uh already. Uh  and so our hope is that we're going to take that   and go from a flattening to a to a decrease over  time. And we we think that's best for students   ethically in terms of making sure students are  here in their home schools, in their neighborhoods   with their friends, not on a bus off to another  location or or in a residential placement and are   able to be more part of our community. Uh and at  the same time that you know we think that we're   going to be in a position where over time we're  going to be able to build the capacity to do that   in a more cost-effective way than sending  those off to the students off to to private   placements. Okay, great. And just quickly,  the two tutor positions that were eliminated,   were they esser positions? No, those are uh those  are general fund positions. Thanks. Hey, Zach,   while you're up there, could you speak a little  to the um uh transportation costs going up this  

year? Uh I'll I'll be honest and that that'll  be one I'll have to report back to you on Y. Any other questions before  we jump to uh public comment? Seeing none public comment. Good evening, council. Um, Esther Kennedy,  41, Pickering, Portsouth. Um, first of all,   I want to thank you for getting the Excel  spreadsheet out. Um, it went up. Uh,   I appreciate that. It makes life a little easier  to understand. Um, I'm going to switch my my   um this talk tonight a little differently  because of what was just said. I would   encourage everyone to look at the cost  centers in the school 151, 152, and 153.   which is what councelor Taber was talking about.  Um, I was a little insensed that this position was   hired before it came to you folks and passed  the budget. I have gone to the school board   meetings. Um, I came here when we originally  brought the budget out with my concerns.   um we are taking and adding management and yet it  looks like the parah supports are going down. So I   would encourage you to look at those cost centers  and I find it amazing as someone who has spent  

uh almost 35 years in special needs 28 of it in  as administrator that we're putting all our energy   on one person to save the whole problem. It's a  cultural problem that needs a whole lot of change   from the top down. and to say one person's going  to come in and save the day and lower that. Um,   last year it was at 5.379 million and this  year we've we're going to add 227,000 to   it. That out of district just amazes me.  Um, management is not going to save this   problem. It's going to be educating your staff.  It's going to be educating your support staff.   It's going to be a whole administrative philosophy  on the fact that we're going to do everything we   can to keep children in our district and not send  them out. It takes more than one person. And I'm   really sad that we added, and you can see those  in those accounts, we added all this money for   management and not for the people that actually  will be working daytoday with the children.   Um so I encourage you to look at that for further  conversation. Um going out to uh other areas of   the budget and again this is a short turnaround.  I'm a little disappointed at that. Um we've had   a very short time but I guess when I looked at um  the recreational admin all of a sudden electricity   popped up as a big increase. My question would be  why? And uh our mayor kind of approached on this,   but we have I saw in a lot of spots um it said  automation computer software. At what point are  

we done buying software? It's a lot of money. And  again, you folks are allowing a huge increase to a   budget. I don't know many people they're going to  get a 5.1% increase in their household this year.   I don't unless you're a city official because  if you're a city official, you're getting a   big increase. Um and I know uh uh Peter Hood is  going to talk about that. And there's a couple   other questions. Um, I'm glad it got brought up  about the county and my question was who went to   that meeting? I'm glad to hear that our business  administrator did. But as a counselor, I went to   that meeting and I would question it and I would  speak because the county has inevitably taken a   little bit more and more and more. And I guess I'm  kind of upset that none of you went except for our   um business administrator so they could hear from  our um counselors. This is a huge expense. This is   a huge expense on our budget and something that  I think if we fight and I know I did once and   fought and they did um question it and brought  it down. And you know, I look at the the fire   um area and I guess my question is at what point  do we say we don't really need a marine patrol?   Because they're not really a marine patrol.  When I'm out on my boat and I'm in trouble,   I'm not going to think of calling the Portsouth  Fire Department. I call the Coast Guard. They have   a radio channel. I call um the port authority. The  ba the Navy base is out there all the time on the  

water. And if anyone any one of you want to go for  a ride on a beautiful Saturday, I'll introduce you   to everyone. So, I guess that's a huge expense.  It's a lot of training. It's a lot of expertise.   And I'm not sure a little tiny fire boat we really  need given what's already out there and who I am   going to call. And the Coast Guard is going to  come and get me. They will not save my boat,   but they have guaranteed that they will come and  get me and save me as the best they're not the   best they can. They might let my boat go floating  away. I know that. But they've guaranteed that.   And I'm not sure a fire boat is even going to  save my boat either. So I would just ask you   to consider that. You know, we commend the fire  department for coming in low, but then again,   they did ask for a fire truck, a fire boat, and  another fire apparatus. Off uh off budget time,   should we say. Um and lastly I have to ask  our bond premiums are going up 1,919,230. Why it was nice again I commend you for the Excel  spreadsheet in the years of um information but you   can see that that growth in this time where gas  prices are where they are. People are trying to   figure out what to pay for. You all have said  you want to support people to be able to live   in Portsouth. You haven't created the housing.  You've created high-end housing, but you haven't   created very much housing for, as you like to  say, workforce or even lower. The one thing you   can do is keep this budget low. The one thing  you can do at least is to get it to about 3%.  

And that's what the average person is going to  get this year. Thank you. Thank you, Esther. Hey, Truda Porsmith. So tonight I want to speak to  you about the FY27 salary budget and what appears   to be a growing disconnect between national  compensation trends and what is being proposed   here in Portsouth and remind you as Nathan said  and as everybody knows personnel costs are your   largest cost. This is not this has nothing  to do with the benefits that are attached to   this after that that almost double the cost. So  nationally uh employers are budgeting an average   salary increase for 2026 2027 of 3 to 4%. That  is the current market reality across both public   and private sectors. Even after inflation spikes  of recent years, most organizations are pulling   compensation growth back to these sustainable  levels. Against that backdrop, Portsmith's 2027   salary proposals deserves closer scrutiny because  many of these increases are significantly exceeded   national norms. Throughout the proposal, we see  repeatedly repeated salary increases far above   national norms. Not just isolated adjustments,  but a pattern of double-digit increases,   reclassifications, title upgrades, and newly  created positions. In the packet, you'll notice   first thing that was presented was colas of  3.3%. Keep that in the back of your mind. So,   um, a few examples of, uh, different increases  as I went through the just the salary perspective   here. Look at your and I'm looking at last  year's salary versus this year's salary.  

It's in your budget book on presented the same  way. A few examples. Dip. Deputy city attorney   position increase 16.7% IT software solutions and  support director 16.7 support tech instructor 16.8   revenue administration administrator 16.3  revenue assistant 19 multiple tax positions   between 12 and 14%. Several planning inspection  inspections IT positions rise more than 11%. So this is not just simply keeping pace  with inflation. This is sub substantial   expansion of compensation spending. Because  when residents hear salary adjustments,   they assume modest cost of living increases.  They do not expect widespread increases of two,   three, and four% higher than national  averages. Especially while residents   themselves are struggling with property taxes,  rents, utilities, and basic affordability. So the question becomes, are these simply  market corrections, reorganizations, merit   increases, or is this a broader structural  expansion of administrative compensation? What is especially troubling is the  concentration of these increases within   administrative and management structures.  The budget reflects a compensation strategy   that appears to be heavily weighted toward  selective internal adjustments, title changes,   and upward reclassifications. Some may well be  justified for recruitment or retention purposes,   especially for technical and specialized  roles, but the public deserves transparency   regarding whether these adjustments are tied to  documented performance or operational outcomes.

So because these are salaries are locked in  into the base budget, they compound permanently   through future budgets, benefits, retirement  obligations, and pension exposure. The council   should be extremely cautious about normalizing  double-digit compensation growth while asking   taxpayers to absorb continued financial pressure  year after year. Fair compensation matters.   Competitive pay matters, but fiscal fiscal  uh discipline matters too. The public is not   questioning whether employees deserve fair pay  pay. The public is questioning whether the scale,   concentration, and structure of these increases  are fiscally sustainable and properly justified.   So I ask you to look at these first and foremost  because this is one of the greatest increases   that you have and I have not even looked past  the budget further because when I saw some of   these increases it it and and I mentioned it  at home I just said well you know how much   did we get this year and it's in the three and  fours to see something go up 16 19% on a on on   uh different positions and mostly in management  and mostly higher level. And oh, by the way,   none of none of your your ads in here with all  your smoke and mirrors going from one one position   to another position. None of that was covered.  And I'd like to uh bring some of those to your   attention. We have a new prosecution supervisor  position, 91,000. New assistant finance director,   117,000. New environmental planner sustainability  coordinator position 87,000 new tax assessor 107.   So there are increases here that I don't see  being presented separately, but they're in there  

and it's being positions are being um increased,  which is fine, but it's not really clear about   what's happening here. And there are the the  the difference between a full-time equivalent   and a full-time position is not really clear to  me. So I had to go back and look at what you're   actually trying to say. And the movement again  this year between general and all of the public   works departments is phenomenal. So I urge you  to look at this. Thank you. Thank you, Peter. Seeing no one else. Oh, is there  somebody else? No. Oh, councelor Cook,   did you have a question? I do. Um, I have  a question about um state reimbursement and   that I'm hoping that we can track back to 2010.  Um, the state of New Hampshire used to cover   approximately 30% of retirement funds up until  2010, at which time they put a pause on that and   quit compensating us. Then there was a time during  COVID where there was a one-time contribution. Um,   is is there a way to go back to 2010 and look  at the amount of money the state had been   compensating before at that rate and what we have  lost essentially in state compensation since 2010? Yeah, I'm looking because we make a not counting  what I don't I know I did that. We will be sure.   Yeah, we'll be sure to find it. They're in  the book somewhere. We make reference to a   number that is 38 millionish right now um  lost in the in the interim lost since that  

that change was made. Uh as you call it out  and ask about it, I I'm thinking to myself,   I don't think I netted out of that the one time  7.5% that came back. So to be fair to the state,   I guess maybe I should make sure we include  that. We've maintained a historic spreadsheet   over all of those years and and and  bragged that number out, if you will,   as a as a as a ding against the state because of  that that loss against teachers um and uh teachers   and police just teachers. I guess yeah, that  the the biggest the biggest uh impact. So, okay,   we can definitely we'll dig that out, make sure we  reference it, to make sure that we have it in our   book that it's really clear that um the lack of  funding that has come in from the state at this   point um when they had made promises um as far  as obligations go in retirement funds. Excellent. Okay. Well, uh thank you again, um Nathan. look  forward to uh the reports uh that you're able to   produce. A reminder that public comment is uh will  be opened uh with public hearing. Sorry, it's an   unlimited amount of time. Uh the public hearing um  we'll hold that open through the month of of May.   Um and if there's a need that arises, we will have  multiple meetings in order to hear um about that.   And again, um, want to thank the effort that that  goes in. Uh, I think that there's a everybody is,   uh, dealing with uncertainty with inflation. We're  dealing it with with colas and and seeing the   costs for the same, um, go up. So I think every  department, everybody on the council and every   citizen has a responsibility to ask all of the  questions that we're going to be asking over the   next month that we've been asking, you know, going  back to to January uh with the school department  

to make sure that we are delivering the best  most efficient government for the least amount   of money to the most people uh that's possible. Um  that's the that's the goal uh that we need to hold   ourselves to because we need to be able to deliver  a certain amount of or not a certain amount we   need to deliver accountability and for folks to  know um as they do that the uh money that is being   spent is uh returning back to them in terms of  services that they want and if it's not then we   don't have those services uh anymore and that's  the that's the question that is always before   us and will be before us again before we pass this  budget. So thanks again. Good night for Portsouth.