Annual town and school meetings, the time-honored bedrock of New Hampshire government, are falling victim to the effects of COVID-19.
In Loudon, the town meeting scheduled for Saturday has been postponed until March 28. A statement on the town website said, “Due to the unknowns with the virus, there is a possibility that the meeting could be postponed again. Please continue monitoring this website or check with the Selectmen’s Office.”
Officials in Bow, Hopkinton, Stratham and Enfield also announced Friday afternoon that they would postpone certain meetings. Hopkinton’s school district meeting, scheduled for Saturday March 14 at 9 a.m., was moved to March 28. Its March 21 town meeting has not been postponed.
In Bow’s case, the school district meeting was canceled just hours before it was set to begin.
Henniker Town Meeting, due to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, was canceled Saturday morning.
Questions about town meetings, many of which are scheduled for this weekend, prompted New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald to issue a memo Friday to local moderators, clerks and supervisors of the checklist. It reminded officials that state statute allows the moderator to postpone and reschedule town meetings.
Pursuant to RSA 40:4, “[i]f an accident, natural disaster, or other emergency occurs which the moderator reasonably believes may render use of the meeting location unsafe, the moderator may, at any time prior to the scheduled deliberative or business session, postpone and reschedule the session to a date, place, and time certain,” according to MacDonald’s memo.
The statute requires the moderator to use whatever means are available to inform citizens of the postponement and the rescheduled date or dates. At a minimum, that would require posting such notice on the town’s website, publishing notice at the meeting place, and posting notice in other public areas.
In addition, Gov. Chris Sununu issued a statement Friday that towns have the flexibility to make their own decisions.
“All communities having town meetings scheduled for tomorrow have the ability and flexibility to postpone, based on their individual comfort levels,” said Sununu. “The state does not have the authority to force communities to postpone or cancel. The state will work with any community that chooses to postpone understand their options and address any issues that may arise.”
However, the attorney general added moderators should consult with their attorneys and consider any potential legal ramifications related to postponement since the purpose of the meeting are to approve town budgets and elect officials. Towns do not have to report postponements to the state.
The postponement of town meetings is still a rare occurrence, although in 2017 nearly 80 towns rescheduled their annual Tuesday elections in March after a massive snowstorm hit the state, which led to arguments about the legal authority of such a move.