Merrimack welfare office cites rising rents, staff changes as housing-assistance costs climb

Pat Murphy, Merrimack’s welfare administrator, and town staff told the Town Council on Jan. 22 that the town is seeing a marked rise in requests for general assistance—driven primarily by higher rents and a tight rental market.

Pat Murphy, who announced that she will retire Jan. 31 after more than 26 years of service, said the welfare caseload and the cost of emergency housing and rental aid have grown substantially in the past two years. Murphy and councilors described the local vacancy rate as far below typical healthy levels and said fair-market rents for two-bedroom apartments are running above $2,100; councilors and staff said actual advertised rents are frequently higher. Councilors noted an increase in people seeking help after pandemic-era rental assistance ended.

Town staff told the council that the proposed welfare budget shows an increase driven by three things: converting a formerly part-time welfare administrator role to full time, moving the Nashua Transit paratransit contract from general government into the welfare budget, and increased direct assistance payments. The manager’s presentation said salaries in that area were about $70,000 and Nashua Transit costs about $56,000—two line items staff said account for a majority of the year-over-year change in the welfare budget.

Murphy described the department’s casework approach: staff work on case management and on referrals to other programs (food stamps, fuel assistance, Medicaid) to reduce the town’s assistance costs. She said the average length of a single period of town assistance in recent months is about two months and that the office seeks shelter placements when available; clients who refuse an offered shelter placement can face a suspension of town assistance under the town’s rules. Murphy urged the council to consider the long-term workload and said the position had outgrown part-time staffing.

Councilors asked about residency rules for assistance; Murphy said residency can be “fluid” in homelessness situations and that last year’s state legislative action—identified in the hearing as Senate Bill 110—aimed to clarify responsibility among municipalities for people relocated between towns. The council discussed the department’s year-to-date spending and asked staff to provide additional detail during the Jan. 29 deliberations.

Murphy’s last budget presentation drew repeated thanks from councilors; the council and staff noted an open house for her on Thursday, Jan. 30.