Warner Select Board continues line‑by‑line review of rules of procedure; committee asked to review changes

Select Board members reviewed a comprehensive set of proposed amendments to the Town of Warner’s rules of procedure at the Feb. 3 meeting, discussing conflict‑of‑interest clauses, donation acceptance thresholds, contract‑review intervals and transparency measures including posting audits online.

Board adviser David (last name provided in transcript as David Carl during public comment) and a town staff member walked the board through changes tied to state statute (RSA references were cited repeatedly). The draft would require public hearings for acceptance of gifts with value of $5,000 or more and would direct the board to formally accept donations per RSA procedures. It also recommends that recurring service contracts be reviewed every three to five years to ensure competitive pricing and asks the town administrator to keep the rules updated and posted on the town website.

Members raised several practical concerns: one member asked whether routine, small gifts (for example, modest tokens well under the RSA threshold) would be treated as reportable gifts; another member said packets containing the proposed amendments arrived too close to the meeting and asked for additional review time. Multiple board members emphasized that RSA guidance underpins several provisions and that local policy should follow statute while remaining practical for everyday operations.

After extended discussion the board did not adopt the amendments at the meeting and agreed to revisit the rules of procedure in two weeks, with the expectation that members will receive the packet in advance and compare it with existing historical practices and statutory references. Staff and select members offered to exchange prior research and precedent documents for review.