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Selectmen say legal opinion ends Budget Committee's control of default budget; transfer made to police
Summary
A legal opinion read at the March 23 meeting concluded the Budget Committee lacked a 3/5 vote to assume default budget authority; the Selectmen resumed responsibility and moved budgeted funds (about $1,200) from the Budget Committee to the Police Department.
At the March 23 meeting Joe Hester read a legal opinion from Matthew Serge concluding that the delegation of authority over the town's default budget to the Budget Committee did not meet the three-fifths vote requirement in RSA 40:14-b. Based on that opinion, the Board determined it should resume preparation and presentation of the default budget.
Hester summarized the reasoning and noted that the 2023 warrant article (Warrant Article 2023-21) had been mis-cited and did not achieve the 3/5 threshold required. "As I started learning my job on Bud Com, I researched many things involving the default budget," Hester said, explaining why he brought the statute to Bud Com's attention.
The Board voted to transfer the Budget Committee's budgeted funds in their entirety—believed by members to be about $1,200—to the Police Department to help cover a deficiency. The motion to transfer the funds passed unanimously; the legal opinion will be attached to the meeting minutes.
The opinion and the Board's action address who has statutory responsibility for entering the default budget into the DRA portal and are expected to shape how the town prepares for upcoming budget steps.
