Advisory Budget Committee reviews e‑code rollout, DPW project management and rules edits; approves May minutes

The Advisory Budget Committee met and reviewed a series of administrative and planning items, including a new three‑year contract to publish the town’s municipal code and related documents online, progress on Department of Public Works facility planning and a push to formalize rules of procedure for the advisory committee.

Committee members reported that the town has signed an e‑code contract that will provide searchable online access to ordinances, building permits and other municipal records. Staff said the product is commonly used by other communities and that time savings (an estimated roughly 30 staff hours per year) should justify the annual fee. The committee discussed that e‑code is an early step toward a more paperless office.

Members also discussed planned technology upgrades to the town hall access system. The town will implement badge‑style key cards that include guest/after‑hours access; members said the change should reduce the need for staff to be present to let visitors in outside normal hours. A groundbreaking ceremony for a building addition was scheduled for next Tuesday at 3 p.m.

On capital projects, the committee reported a recent tour of the DPW facility and said members had approved selection of an owner’s project manager (OPM) firm to represent the town’s interests on the project; the firm’s name was not announced during the meeting. Speakers explained the OPM’s role in tracking budget, schedule and project risk and stressed the need for an independent party to advocate for the town during construction.

The Capital Improvement Program committee held its first meeting for the season; Kevin Gray was identified as the committee chair and another member identified themselves as vice chair. Members expect project presentations through the fall and emphasized that CIP prioritization is driven by municipal needs while the council— as the policy‑making body—will make final budget decisions.

A planning board representative said the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission will present on July 8 under a $50,000 Housing Opportunity (HOP) grant to review housing opportunities and zoning; the grant closeout is expected in September and any regulatory amendments were described as likely to come later and may require additional budget/resource decisions.

Staff described a pilot to give the planning board access to SharePoint for document collaboration and explained legal constraints: distributing documents to a quorum can constitute a meeting under RSA 91‑A, so boards must avoid informal or sequential private collaboration that would run afoul of public‑meeting law. Members discussed a recommended workflow in which edits are sent to a single consolidator (for example, Kate or Rebecca) to avoid creating an inadvertent quorum and to keep changes transparent.

The committee moved and seconded to approve the May meeting minutes; a voice vote was taken and the motion passed (the transcript does not specify who moved or seconded). Members agreed to take July off and tentatively scheduled the next meeting for Aug. 20, 2026, with flexibility to move the date if it conflicts with school tours. The meeting adjourned at about 8:10 p.m.

The meeting featured routine administrative updates and planning toward several multi‑month projects; no formal ordinance, budget adoption or contract award was finalized during this session.