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UNH Cooperative Extension asks county for recurring staff support; says local office delivers statewide resources
Summary
UNH Cooperative Extension requested county funding to support five in‑county staff and local programs; presenter described 35% county funding of local staffing and volunteer contributions.
Caitlin Wallach, 4‑H program manager with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension in Strafford County, told the delegation subcommittee the county funds sustain five county‑based staff and enable access to statewide university specialists.
Wallach explained that Cooperative Extension is the land‑grant university’s outreach arm, with five teams (food and agriculture, natural resources, 4‑H and youth development, health and well‑being, and community and economic development). She said the county office employs five staff and leverages more than 700 volunteers across the county to extend programming.
Wallach stated that county funds make up about 35% of the local office’s funding formula; the rest comes from state and federal sources through UNH. She described how county‑funded staff permit the office to call on subject‑matter specialists on campus and to operate programs like the lakes monitoring, home‑yard-and‑garden hotline and 4‑H youth programming.
The presenter said the Cooperative Extension was requesting county support (presenter utterance unclear in transcript on exact dollar figure) for continuing services and a three percent cost‑of‑living adjustment. Members asked about staffing, retention and how the county share is applied; Wallach said the county fully funds the local administrative position while other staff are matched with state and federal funding.
No vote on the extension request was taken during the presentation; the subcommittee will include the request in its overall budget recommendation.
