I would like to address the conflicting descriptions of me as both an agent of chaos by the mayor and an agent of caring by my constituents.
First and foremost, it is an honor to serve as the Ward 5 City Councilor representing so many talented and wonderful people and participating in decisions that impact our entire community. I do not take this role lightly. I have never missed a City Council meeting since being elected in November 2021 and have a 91% committee attendance rate. City Councilors do not receive formal training, but as members of the NH Municipal Association (NHMA), we have access to free webinars and in-person training. It’s important to be educated and informed in order to do your job well.
I attended the NHMA’s Financial Policies certificate course. The first full day of the NHMA course described how prevalent fraud is, internal controls to safeguard against it, and the legal responsibilities (RSA 41:9, VI) of the governing body to establish and maintain those internal controls. This was not discussed during any of the three City Councilor orientation sessions I have participated in.
The NHMA courses were well attended by elected officials and municipal staff from across New Hampshire. During discussions, other attendees described using capital reserve accounts to purchase a fire truck or a new municipal building. Capital reserve accounts, like the Recreation Reserve, act as savings accounts of taxpayer funds. They are created for a specific purpose and before funds can be withdrawn from them, the governing body must approve the action and submit a voucher to the trustees of trust funds, who confirm the withdrawal serves the purpose for which the account was created.
I pull Consent Agenda items (items that are approved en masse with no discussion) during Council meetings to ask questions, discuss, and/or publicize. I am not comfortable approving items that I do not fully understand or that the public is unaware of.
During budget hearings, the City Manager described using the Recreation Reserve fund to cover debt service on a new clubhouse. He said this reserve account could be used for anything Council wanted. A month later, when I asked for the transaction history of this reserve account, he said, “No.”
When I formally requested the transaction history, the Finance Director’s response raised more questions about whether specific withdrawals had no justification.
Since it was created, $3.5 Million taxpayer funds have been transferred into the Recreation Reserve for the specific purpose of future projects related to the City-wide Community Center (CIP #443). During recent budget hearings, the City Council approved bonding for CIP #443 instead of using the recreation reserve created for that purpose. Similarly, there is a fire apparatus replacement reserve fund, but no money has been put into it in the past eight years. Instead of saving for one, the city recently bonded $1.8 million for a fire truck. The interest alone will be an additional $400,000.
Even though funds from the Recreation Reserve are for a specific purpose, at our September Council meeting when I asked about withdrawals from it, the Finance Director described it as a revenue source not used for a specific purpose, saying, “it’s been this way for years and years and years.”
During the October Trustees of Trust Funds meeting, I asked if they were going to verify withdrawals from the capital reserve accounts. The longest-serving trustee replied, “we’ve never done that.”
At the December Council meeting I was cut off from asking about additional withdrawals. I filed a Right to Know request for the vouchers legally required (RSA 31:22) before trustees disburse funds. In January, the Finance Director admitted the trustees did not receive or review the Handbook for Trustees of Trust Funds. The City Manager confirmed they received no training. The Council then approved expanding the scope of reserve funds and adding additional taxpayer dollars to the Recreation Reserve with no explanation about previous withdrawals. To date, over $2.86 Million has been withdrawn from the Recreation Reserve. There are no vouchers.
During a recent meeting with members of the Charitable Trusts Unit, I learned that trustees are also responsible for overseeing private donations. The City Council approves donations regularly, sometimes multiple donations for different purposes in a single council meeting. A donation from the Friends of the Beav would have been submitted to the trustees before it was deposited. Not only was there no mention of a donation at their January meeting; there has been no mention of donations in the last ten years of the Trustees of Trust Funds meetings.
I still have more questions, and I hope you do, too. I believe there must be transparency and accountability, especially when it comes to taxpayer dollars and donations.