Hooksett — The Hooksett Budget Committee heard the Department of Public Works (DPW) budget overview, with Director Ben Berthia presenting a $5,736,333 proposed budget, an increase of $134,868 (about 2.41%) over the prior year.

The proposal distributes funding across highway, parks and recreation, and recycling/transfer divisions. The highway division accounts for a substantial share of the requested funds; the presentation emphasized incremental restoration of the town’s resurfacing program after two years of default budgeting.

Why this matters: Road condition funding and equipment purchases directly affect resident travel, long‑term capital costs and the timing of expensive road reclamation projects. Small changes in paving budgets can lengthen or shorten the lifecycle of town roads.

Paving and pavement preservation: Berthia told the committee the proposal adds $50,000 to the paving/resurfacing line, raising it from $600,000 to $650,000 for the year. He said the town previously funded paving at about $900,000 annually based on a comprehensive 2020 roadway analysis and that the current increase is an incremental step toward that earlier target. The DPW plans to fund a new professional road‑condition analysis (an additional $10,000 in professional services) to update pavement scoring and refine future funding needs.

Alternative pavement methods: The presentation discussed non‑traditional pavement preservation methods the DPW hopes to test (for example, fog seal, microseal and expanded crack sealing) to extend pavement life on roads that are not yet at the full‑rehabilitation stage.

Fleet and equipment: The DPW requested replacement or improved attachments, including a sweeper attachment for a town Bobcat to improve roadside cleanup. The department also cited vehicle maintenance, fleet parts and preventive maintenance as ongoing expense pressures.

Recycling and transfer station: The recycling/transfer division proposed a $1,575,226 budget (an increase of $12,813, about 0.82%) and discussed the facility’s every‑other‑Saturday schedule. Staff said the department is tracking volume changes to determine whether the reduced Saturday schedule affects recycling tonnage; a six‑month data set will be reviewed before policy changes are recommended. The DPW noted that the site stores diesel on‑site in a 10,000‑gallon underground tank and refills it when levels drop to about 3,000 gallons; that arrangement gives a bulk price advantage over fuel-card purchases used by some other departments.

Parks and recreation: The small parks and recreation budget (about $764,880) proposes a $32,113 increase (4.38%), primarily to restore Old Home Day support (approximately $12,000) and to purchase a new piece of equipment for park operations (about $18,500).

Commodities and utilities: The DPW flagged smaller recurring increases in salt and electricity costs. The town budgets for roughly 3,000 tons of road salt annually; staff said the price per ton rose from roughly $74 per ton to roughly $77 per ton year‑over‑year.

Next steps: Committee members asked staff for periodic updates on road‑condition scoring, the results of the pavement‑preservation pilot, and the recycling/transfer usage data tied to weekend hours. No final appropriation vote was taken at the meeting; staff will return with requested analyses and clarifications.