Effingham selectmen review draft town-meeting warrant, approve manifests and budget revision

Effingham selectmen approved two payment manifests and a highways budget revision and spent the bulk of the meeting reviewing draft warrant articles for the 2026 town meeting, including a proposal to seed a capital reserve fund for a proposed municipal and public-safety building.

The board voted to approve the manifest dated Jan. 1, 2026, for $24,504.73 and the manifest dated Jan. 8, 2026, for $37,087.09 after motions from the chair and seconds from a fellow member. Later the board approved budget revision 43-12-01 for Highways and Streets in the amount of $595,001 to reflect updated winter-road contract figures.

“These are our yearly stats,” said Keith Aldridge, reporting police activity for the year: “We ended with 3,593 calls for service, 39 arrests, 673 motor vehicle stops, 52 motor vehicle accidents, 23 canine deployments, and 73 offense reports.” Aldridge noted calls were down slightly compared with last year while arrests and stops increased.

Caitlin, who led the warrant review, said the 2026–2029 winter-roads contract was awarded to Edwards Concrete and Excavation and that final auction receipts will be available after buyers complete payments. “The 2026 to 2029 proposal was awarded to Edwards Edwards Concrete and Excavation,” she said. Caitlin presented a draft warrant to establish and fund a capital reserve fund titled the “2027 proposed municipal and public safety building project,” seeking to appropriate $300,000 from the town’s unassigned fund balance (anticipated to include proceeds from a recent property auction) to seed that reserve.

Some members questioned the timing of dedicating auction proceeds before the building article appears on next year’s warrant. “Why not just wait till next year?” asked a selectman (speaker 8), noting the project will be voted on later. The chair and others said placing money into a capital reserve fund preserves funds for the project and can be reallocated later if the town chooses. The selectmen also discussed using the fund to cover possible consultant or engineering fees incurred by the building committee.

Town staff continued a line-by-line review of other planned warrant articles: $30,000 for a municipal building roof replacement and $18,400 for software; a $520,000 paving article for Pine River Road (with $250,000 to be raised by taxation and $270,000 from the unassigned fund balance); routine capital reserve and expendable trust fund articles for fire and police equipment; and smaller items that include $1,000 for emergency generator replacement (to serve town facilities including Effingham Elementary School) and $1,000 for invasive aquatic-plant control at Province Lake.

Selectmen also reviewed a proposal to accept RSA 41:14-a so the board may accept or sell gifted or auctioned properties without additional legislative action, and a plan to create a revolving fund under RSA 31:95-h to hold revenues from fire-department special details, inspections and EMS billing for direct use by public-safety departments. JT, who explained the revolving-fund language, said the intent is to allow revenues to be deposited and spent for the specified public-safety purposes without returning to the legislative body for each expenditure; members asked staff to confirm the correct minimum opening deposit (discussion noted a practical minimum such as $500 rather than the $1 wording sometimes used in draft language).

During public comment, a resident asked whether the town would continue to maintain the school generator if the town builds its own facility; officials said the shelter agreement with the school will likely remain in place while the new municipal building lacks Red Cross-required facilities such as a kitchen and showers.

The board announced the municipal building will be closed Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in observance of Civil Rights Day. After a brief check for other business, the board adjourned the meeting.

Votes at a glance - Approved: Manifest dated 01/01/2026 for $24,504.73 (motion by Chair, seconded by speaker 3). - Approved: Manifest dated 01/08/2026 for $37,087.09 (motion by Chair, seconded by speaker 3). - Approved: Budget revision 43-12-01 (Highways and Streets) for $595,001 (motion by Chair, seconded by speaker 3).

Next steps Board members instructed staff to update draft warrant language where needed (including clearer descriptions for some warrant articles and confirmation of minimum deposit language for the proposed revolving fund). Final auction receipts and the budget committee review are expected next week before warrant finalization.