Selectmen agree to send joint and individual letters opposing House Bill 475 affecting default budget calculations

The Plaistow Board of Selectmen agreed to draft and sign a joint letter opposing House Bill 475, which town staff said would change how default municipal budgets are calculated and could prevent the town from including unfilled but budgeted positions and post-adoption salary increases in a default budget.

Greg (Town Manager) explained the bill’s effects during the May 19 meeting, saying the bill would prevent the town from carrying forward certain hires that were budgeted but unfilled and would roll back default budgets to pre-adoption salary levels in some cases. He warned those changes could “impede hiring, especially for key but difficult to hire positions.”

The board discussed options and agreed to send a joint letter from the board and encouraged individual letters from members to the town’s four state House representatives and state senator. Members also discussed sending the letter directly to the legislative committee that drafted the bill and urged constituents to ask their senator to remove the bill from the consent calendar and instead vote to table, re-refer, or declare it inexpedient to legislate.

Board members said the change could increase administrative burden and reduce flexibility for one-time transfers and unplanned expenditures, citing an example of one-time purchases such as a snowplow or a $100,000 statistical update that could not be carried forward under the bill’s proposed rules.

The board agreed on a plan for Greg to draft a letter and circulate it to members for edits; members said they would check with other legislators and committee contacts and sign as they choose.