Keene committee recommends placing Keno prohibition on Nov. 4 ballot, schedules Oct. 16 hearing

The Keene Finance, Organization and Personnel Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council place a ballot question on Nov. 4 asking voters whether to prohibit Keno operations and to schedule a public hearing on Oct. 16.

Councilor Jacob Aviles introduced the request and City Clerk Terry Hood told the committee the issue has come before voters before, in 2017 and 2019, and described a recent change in state law that alters how the question reads and how inaction would be handled. "If we don't do something, if we don't ask the question of voters in 2027, this would by default become effective," Hood said, explaining that the law's wording makes inaction tantamount to permitting Keno unless the municipality places the prohibition question on the ballot.

The city attorney emphasized that the committee's vote is a recommendation to the full council: the committee can recommend placing the question and setting a hearing date, and the council then decides whether the question appears on the ballot. Hood cited RSA 2:84:51 as setting the timeline for adding a question to a municipal ballot and said the council would need to decide by its first October meeting to meet statutory notice requirements.

The motion to "recommend that the city council place the question of whether to prohibit Keno on the November 4 ballot and schedule a public hearing for October 16" was moved and seconded and passed unanimously. Next steps are a formal council recommendation and the public hearing, where the council will hold the informational session described by the clerk.

Action: The committee recommended placing the prohibition question on the Nov. 4 ballot and scheduling an Oct. 16 public hearing; the recommendation now goes to the City Council for final action.