The Wolfeborough Budget Committee reviewed a draft set of rules and procedures on July 21, 2025, and voted to table a proposal to remove a sentence that would require a select‑board designee to vote according to the select board’s position rather than the designee’s personal preference.

Why it matters: The language defines how members who also serve as select‑board designees cast votes on budget committee matters. Committee members said the clause could restrict a designee who learns new information and wants to vote contrary to the select board’s previously stated position.

Committee discussion focused on several discrete sections of the draft. At the start of the meeting, a member proposed striking the sentence that says “the select board designee votes based on the select board’s position and not the designee’s personal preference.” The motion to strike was made by a committee member and later met a motion to table; the committee voted to table consideration of that sentence until a later meeting, meaning the sentence remains in the draft for now and will be reconsidered when more members are present.

Members also discussed how to announce vacancies. One member proposed adding town social media and replacing the specific name “Granite State News” with the RSA phrase “newspaper of general circulation” so the rule would not require revision if a particular paper ceased publication. The committee amended the language during discussion and ultimately tabled further action on the vacancies/notice language until the next meeting.

Remote participation and compliance with state open‑meetings law drew extended debate. Members proposed adding a sentence allowing the chairman at his or her discretion to authorize remote participation for a member who cannot be physically present; another member proposed explicitly tying remote meetings to the procedures in RSA 91‑A (New Hampshire Right‑to‑Know law). After discussion and an amendment that added the RSA citation, the committee voted to permit remote access when compliant with RSA 91‑A; the motion passed by roll call vote.

Committee members raised several procedural and clarifying edits, including:
- Scheduling and meeting dates: members proposed adjusting the window for scheduled budget‑presentation meetings and to explicitly allow joint agency presentation meetings with the select board at the select board’s discretion.
- Public hearings: members debated whether public hearings should be fixed at 7 p.m. or include alternative daytime options when needed; no final change was adopted at the meeting.
- Point of order: a motion to add a rule that “if a point of order is called on the chair, the vice chair shall rule” failed on a roll call vote; the committee retained the chair’s existing authority as drafted.
- Recording: members discussed adding an explicit requirement for audio recording when video recording is unavailable. A motion to require an audio recording in the event of video failure was discussed but did not pass.
- Email communications: committee members sought clarity to avoid violating RSA 91‑A. A proposal to rewrite the rule on email communications to state “in compliance with RSA 91‑A” was discussed and not adopted.

Several members reminded the committee that the draft was compiled from examples used by other municipalities and that any final amendments will be subject to the committee’s formal adoption process, which requires a motion at one meeting and a vote at the subsequent meeting under the draft’s Section 8 (amendments). Assistant Town Manager Leanne and Town Manager Jim said they would incorporate the committee’s edits and circulate a revised document ahead of the next meeting.

Committee actions taken (procedural): the committee tabled further action on the select‑board designee voting sentence and on vacancy‑posting/social‑media language; it approved language allowing remote participation consistent with RSA 91‑A; and it voted down the proposed vice‑chair point‑of‑order provision and an audio‑recording requirement.

What’s next: The draft remains under revision. The committee chair asked staff to produce a marked version showing the edits discussed, and several items (including the designee‑voting sentence and the social‑media language) will be brought back for a formal vote at the next regularly scheduled meeting.