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Tamworth Select Board approves resolution objecting to freezing or proposed cuts to federal grants, 2-1
Summary
The board approved a resolution to object to the freezing or proposed cuts of federal grant funding and agreed to forward the resolution to elected officials; the vote was 2 in favor, 1 opposed.
The Tamworth Select Board voted April 8 to approve a resolution objecting to the freezing of, or proposed cuts to, federal grant funding and directed staff to prepare the final document for signatures and dissemination.
The resolution text under discussion named municipal, solar and EV-charger grants among examples and called for the Select Board to notify elected representatives of the town—s concern. The board debated whether the resolution should say only "freezing" or include "proposed cuts"; the text was amended in discussion on the meeting floor to include both.
Nancy (resident/organizer) and other participants described the resolution as a means to amplify local concern to state and federal representatives. One select board member spoke against the resolution during the board discussion, saying they supported most of the freezes and cuts being proposed at the federal level. After discussion, the board took a roll-call vote recorded in the meeting as: Bear, yes; French, yes; Roberts, no. The motion passed 2-1.
Why it matters: Board members said the measure is primarily a public statement to elected officials about the local consequences of federal-level decisions, and some members and residents raised concerns that the situation is changing week to week and that some programs (for example, portions of a municipal solar funding stream) were described as allocated but not yet deployed.
Details: During the debate, participants and staff referenced the "municipal solar grant" and the EPA—s Solar for All funding that the New Hampshire Department of Energy is participating in; staff noted portions of those funds were described as allocated but not yet deployed. Select Board members discussed dissemination and follow-up; a resident volunteered to help coordinate forwarding the resolution to elected officials and other towns that had taken similar actions.
Ending: The board approved the resolution, agreed staff would finalize a signature page, and that the document would be available for additional signatures by board members who were not present. The board recorded that one member would not support the resolution on principle.
