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Residents and nonprofit leaders urge Belknap delegation to restore funding for mental health, conservation districts and 4‑H
Summary
Multiple public commenters asked the delegation to restore funding cut from the recommended budget: Lakes Region Mental Health sought restoration of $32,000; conservation and UNH Extension advocates requested $60,000 for the conservation district; 4‑H leaders warned volunteer burnout without support.
At the delegation's public hearing on the recommended county budget, several residents and nonprofit representatives asked lawmakers to restore funding cut from the commissioners' recommendation.
Ann Nichols, a board member for the Lakes Region Mental Health Center, asked the delegation to reconsider restoring $32,000 the agency had requested and said the center served more than 2,000 people in Belknap County and provided over $600,000 in uncompensated charity care. "I am asking for a reconsideration to restore our funding to 32,000," Nichols said.
Speakers representing conservation partners urged restoration of a larger allocation for the Belknap County Conservation District. Jan Cooper said the district has brought in "about 2 and a half million dollars in cash grants in the last 35 years" and asked for funding at the $60,000 level to enable the office to operate and serve as match for grants. Jamie Irving, chair of the district, warned that a reduction to $25,000 would greatly diminish the district's capacity and make it difficult to recruit a future director when the current director retires.
Becky Boyse, president of the Volunteer Leaders Association for Belknap County 4‑H, described donating more than 200 volunteer hours and asked that funding be restored so volunteers are not pushed beyond capacity; she noted 4‑H programming brings youth activities and nursing‑home visits to the community.
Why it matters: Delegation members heard recurring arguments that small county grants to these organizations produce outsized public value through grant leverage, volunteer labor and services to vulnerable populations. Speakers linked conservation work to water‑quality protection in the lakes region and to the local economy.
What happens next: The delegation did not make funding decisions at the hearing; staff and delegation members indicated they will continue review and that agencies will have further opportunities to provide budget information to the committee.
