The Manchester Board of Mayor & Aldermen Committee on Bills and Second Reading voted to approve an amendment to Chapter 92 (Fire Prevention) of the City Code during a brief committee meeting. The amendment aligns local language with cited state statutes and replaces long paragraph text with a table intended to make fee information easier for business owners to read, committee members said.

The amendment was presented as Item 1. A quorum of committee members was present: Chairman Cantor, Alderman Levasseur, Alderman Morgan and Alderman Berry; Alderman Verharto was absent. Chief Cashion, representing the Manchester Fire Department, told the committee the primary change is formatting: "We thought that a table would be easier for the business owners to read as opposed to all of these things being written out in very long paragraph written form. We found it to be much easier to read and quicker to access." Chief Cashion also stated, "There were no changes to the costs of any of the services."

Committee members asked a brief series of clarifying questions about the table and fee impacts before voting. Following a motion and second to adopt the ordinance amendment, members voted in favor and the motion passed. A motion to adjourn, moved by Alderman Berry and seconded by Alderman Levasseur, carried immediately afterward.

The ordinance text presented to the committee said the amendment was made "in order to align with RSAs 40:72, 153, 153-A and 160-C:6," as read into the record. The committee did not specify an ordinance number or any changes to fee amounts during the discussion.

The committee meeting record shows minimal debate focused on format and clarity rather than substantive changes to charges or enforcement. The committee did not direct additional study, nor were amendments to fee levels proposed during the discussion.