[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6094572,"mediaKeyId","2843548-664549077b9bb9c80866d59fc6043b98","parentId",2843548,"title","Brentwood board votes at April 1 meeting: consent agenda, staffing change, Grange lights, stop sign move, finance review, nonpublic session","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",505836,"endMs",506563,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2843548-664549077b9bb9c80866d59fc6043b98&start=505&end=506","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2843548-664549077b9bb9c80866d59fc6043b98/thumbnail_505836.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6094572/New-Hampshire/Brentwood-board-votes-at-April-1-meeting-consent-agenda-staffing-change-Grange-lights-stop-sign-move-finance-review-nonpublic-session","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6094572-6331f616c9440564d3f5b2fdbeff801b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771136953&Signature=auR9j9BQxLWoViL5Pv0JQH1vMP64ukwwPV~49luCX2hFmpCUuWNyNrC58NItUsx6N1b~g8FR2u1nzR-OK4ChtqgjFod3cZkP4gaNa6kUjDB-R6BUfa5XIjCQfb4EABs2TIiTrse2z7tH4Q~5cXloDCIjLES-Yn0NkpW~6HnB9ZSPnaV6RRyLa9LIn8YYRuKeYW9c33wXyObcul5lYD7hNKTGvVmiFzFMYQUm57c5DhODdxi1sHZdL4CT6N6CcV9QY~4rfktI1tmw~6t7eO5oUmxnFTeWX7aafywij2mro5O2is11lcVkPGTHw-K1OaD9unXHhw8LYCTgtWseieegpw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town Council of Brentwood NH","date","2025-04-02T05:58:23.787Z","article","At its April 1 meeting, the Brentwood board approved several motions affecting town operations and infrastructure.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda: The board approved the payroll and consent agenda for the week, including payroll of $40,553 and payroll taxes of $9,852, and noted accounts payable and purchase details (loader purchase and HealthTrust payments). The motion to accept the consent agenda passed by voice vote.

- Fire/EMS staffing: The board voted to eliminate stipend coverage and replace it with per-diem staffing for overnight coverage; implementation will use $95,309 from the 2025 budget and the board directed staff to include an estimated $98,616 in the 2026 budget. (See separate article for full discussion.)

- Grange building lighting: The board approved up to $1,600 to replace interior fixtures at the historical Grange museum and to add an outdoor motion detector light; the motion was approved by voice vote. The Historical Society presented quotes and said fixtures would be upgraded to LED.

- 3 Ponds Drive stop sign and advisory sign: The board approved moving one stop sign within the 3 Ponds Drive development and the installation of a yellow \"hard left\" advisory sign; the board added a condition that Chief Doty determine any advisory speed that should accompany the sign. The association will cover sign costs and the work will proceed at the association's expense unless otherwise arranged.

- Finance reconciliation contractor: The board approved contracting a finance consultant (Cheryl, specialist in municipal reconciliation) for an initial 40-hour engagement at $100/hour, up to $4,000, to reconcile trial balances and prepare journal entries to bring records up to date through March. The motion passed by voice vote.

- Nonpublic session: The board voted to enter nonpublic session under RSA 91-A:3 II (personnel, hiring, reputation and real-estate acquisition matters). The motion passed by roll-call.

Where details were not specified in the meeting record, the board directed staff to follow up: the consent agenda covered several checks and a loader purchase but some item-level allocations were described as \"not specified\" in the transcript and will be clarified in subsequent staff reports.

Formal actions recorded at the meeting include motions to approve the consent agenda, the staffing change, the Grange lighting, the stop-sign move, the finance contractor engagement, and the move into nonpublic session. For each motion, the transcript records the motion and the board vote; exact roll-call tallies were not always read into the public record.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Selectboard Meeting 04/01/2025 Brentwood, NH","oneSentenceSummary","The board approved the consent agenda, moved to per-diem staffing for overnight coverage, authorized LED fixture repairs at the Grange, approved a stop-sign relocation with a hard-left advisory sign, engaged a contractor for financial reconciliations, and voted to go into nonpublic session.","taxTitle","Brentwood Town, Rockingham County, New Hampshire","taxId",74075,"location","New Hampshire","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6094577,"Brentwood approves move from stipend to per-diem coverage to bolster overnight ambulance staffing",2351,512000,2863000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2843548-664549077b9bb9c80866d59fc6043b98&start=512&end=2863","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2843548-664549077b9bb9c80866d59fc6043b98/thumbnail_512000.jpg","/articles/6094577/New-Hampshire/Brentwood-approves-move-from-stipend-to-per-diem-coverage-to-bolster-overnight-ambulance-staffing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6094577-f78177b6e868cc5567588ae1b9ec8d2f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771136953&Signature=Dkt-A7GdxkzWMfbySmyNwA6ugH11xaMsMNG3yxzHIHqJ4uCt2E9N-uqoSVpYQ6PItUQ5c3q8cqcWeBN4qVNo~qXGHOOOHuKxU2fGS8Lo4cQn8toeQu9mlv-TATRJ3W6TQlrO0cz3lsuqIkJzQSqD3IUEKixoykP8HOpa~Ln0WXj5fZx5PRlfMfwhU7VQoXWMt11U7ycBwYFLdvBDfaIACRWKPB70ANkeFdwtm-yJGE9kr3f-ZOLYalOqmbyVv6tRCpHyomZBPIHnPzaRbFNmpYiJgPt4uCXAAosqGEJkLxmzUvm6fddJhvABIf8A~NOle-4Q84VL-s49Iea-spx~og__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Brentwood Town officials voted to replace overnight stipend coverage with per-diem staffing and to use savings in the current budget to start the program this year.

The change, approved during the April 1 meeting, moves emergency medical coverage away from a small stipend model that the fire chief and visiting first responders said has become increasingly unreliable. The board voted in favor of \"eliminat[ing] the stipend coverage and change it to per diem coverage,\" a motion made and seconded during the meeting and approved by voice vote.

The chief told the board the department has budgeted $95,309 for 2025 to support the new schedule and estimated the ongoing cost for 2026 at about $98,616, which would need to be placed in the 2026 budget. \"I myself, I haven't come up with a way to allocate for it,\" the chief said, characterizing the shift as an ongoing, multi-year process to stabilize staffing.

Roy Olson, who the board was told will start with the department on April 14, described regional practice and staffing challenges. \"Back in 02/2015, I created the premium, call force ... We have 3 per diem on 24/7 and it takes about 5 per diem members for 1 24-hour shift,\" Olson said, describing the difficulty of filling around-the-clock coverage with per-diem staff.

Public commenters and board members pressed on response times and mutual-aid impacts. Melissa Litchfield, a resident, noted pending state legislation: \"This legislation provides that not more than 1 emergency medical care provider shall be required to provide care to a patient during transport,\" and said the change could affect rural staffing flexibility.

A board member, John, described a family emergency in which the town could not marshal an immediate ambulance, saying the family \"had to get back in the car and drive all the way to Exeter Firehouse\" to get help. The chief and others said relying on mutual aid regularly burdens neighboring departments and can increase response times.

Board members discussed longer-term staffing goals. The chief said the department's long-term target for safe daily coverage would be about five personnel per shift (two to cover an ambulance and three to staff an engine), but acknowledged that is a multi-year goal.

The board approved the change on a voice vote. The chief said the department will reallocate funds within the 2025 budget to cover the $95,309 cost this year, and the additional $98,616 would need to be included in the 2026 budget process.

The board opened the proposal to public comment and heard questions about radios, benefits for per-diem staff and mutual-aid statistics; speakers said some towns have increased budgets substantially to maintain two-person night coverage.

What's next: The chief and town staff will implement the per-diem coverage this year using reallocated 2025 funds and will present budget language for 2026 that reflects the higher ongoing cost. The board recorded the vote to make the change and moved on to other agenda items.

","After extended public comment and presentation by the chief and incoming firefighter Roy Olson, the Brentwood board approved converting stipend coverage to per-diem pay and allocating $95,300 from this year's budget to start overnight station coverage, with additional 2026 costs to be addressed in next year's budget.","actionData","errors"]

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Brentwood board votes at April 1 meeting: consent agenda, staffing change, Grange lights, stop sign move, finance review, nonpublic session

Brentwood approves move from stipend to per-diem coverage to bolster overnight ambulance staffing