Resident tells Plaistow selectmen conservation policies and rising budgets threaten property rights

During the public-comment portion of the Plaistow Board of Selectmen meeting on Nov. 4, a resident from 74 Main Street criticized recent conservation and planning work and urged the public to support trimming the town and school budgets at Deliberative Session.

The resident said the conservation commission and planning board are "continuing to attempt... to turn the town into a big HOA, continuing to limit what we can do with our properties," and accused those bodies of spending taxpayer money to acquire more land and place easements that reduce property owners’ ability to build or use their land. The resident also said department budgets are growing year to year, citing what he called a "14% budget increase for the police" and saying overtime and equipment spending have become "astronomical and needs to be cut down." He urged residents to support budget reductions at the upcoming Deliberative Session and to push for level funding where possible.

Board members acknowledged the comment and thanked the speaker; no board member provided a substantive rebuttal or change in policy during the Nov. 4 meeting. The account manager later gave a routine operating update saying the town had expended 79.05% of its budget through October and that revenues through the third quarter are generally up compared with last year.

The resident’s claims about the conservation commission and the specific percentage for police spending were assertions made during public comment; the board did not debate or verify those figures in the meeting record. The resident said he would look for support from voters at deliberative session and at upcoming town meetings.

The meeting adjourned at 6:31 p.m.; the public will have further opportunity to address budgets and policy proposals at Deliberative Session and other scheduled hearings.