2026-11-02 - Personnel and Administrative Affairs Committee

00:00speaking in any single person.

00:05>> Okay, I'm going to call the meeting of

00:07personnel administrative affairs

00:08committee to order. Today is November

00:102nd, 2026. Um, this meeting is being

00:14held in the aldermandic chamber. It has

00:15also been duly noticed in two places

00:17including the city's website in

00:18accordance with requirements of RSA 91A

00:21to Roman new rule 2. Would the clerk

00:24please call the role?

00:25>> Alderman Thomas Lopez

00:26>> here.

00:27>> Alderman Derek Tibo is here. Alderman

00:29Paula Johnson

00:30>> present.

00:31>> Alderman at large Ben Clemens, vice

00:32chair

00:33>> here.

00:34>> Alderwoman at large Kelly, chairwoman.

00:36>> I am here.

00:37>> Uh, also in attendance we have Diane

00:39Mhalland, treasurer and tax collector.

00:41Don Enright, CFO. Uh, Michelle Welsh,

00:44uh, assessing manager.

00:47Uh, do we have Robert Gagy, contract

00:50assessor supervisor? We do not. Okay.

00:52>> I'm taking Rob's place.

00:54>> Okay. And we do not have Jill Stanfield.

00:56I don't see her. So

00:57>> maybe she'll hop on Zoom by the time we

00:59get there.

01:00>> Yeah. So you have by the way you have

01:02everybody's here. Five.

01:02>> Everybody's here. Okay. Um public

01:07comment. Does anyone want to speak?

01:09[clears throat]

01:10>> All right. Seeing none communications.

01:12>> Uh we have a communications from Robert

01:14J. Gagy, contract assessor supervisor

01:16regarding elderly exemption and disabled

01:19exemption review for the 2027 tax year.

01:22All right. Being no objection, I'll

01:24accept the communication and place it on

01:25file.

01:27Do you want to speak to that when we get

01:28to the piece of legislation?

01:30>> Sure. Okay.

01:32>> Um, so we have interviews.

01:36>> Uh, we have office of deputy treasurer

01:37tax collector uh,

01:40Dalia Ragas, Auburn, New Hampshire. Term

01:43to expire indefinite.

01:46>> And if you guys would like to come up

01:47and join us in the horseshoe, please.

01:49>> We have CFO Don Enright who will be in

01:52place of the mayor tonight.

02:03Good evening.

02:05Don Enright, CFO.

02:08I'm happy to um introduce you to Dalia

02:11Ragus. She is um a se 19-year uh veteran

02:16to the municipal government. Um she is a

02:19certified tax collector um and has

02:23served dair for the full 19 years and is

02:27looking to join the city of Nashore and

02:29bring her expertise to our department

02:32and um I welcome Dalia.

02:35>> Thank you so much Dalia. Would you like

02:37to introduce yourself?

02:38>> Sure. Um I've spent like Don said the

02:42past 19 plus years in dairy and I've had

02:44the opportunity to work um in a couple

02:47different departments and understand um

02:52municipal operations on a broader scale

02:55and I look forward to bring that

02:56experience to Nashua and hopefully

02:59provide a smooth transition during

03:02Patty's retirement.

03:04>> Lovely. Okay. Um questions from the

03:08committee. Um, Alderman Tibo,

03:10>> thank you. Um, so I look at this, uh,

03:13position a little differently than what

03:15we normally interview. So, normally

03:16we're interviewing for committees. So,

03:18committees mostly are volunteer where

03:20this is a real job. So, um, maybe we'll

03:24ask uh hopefully we'll ask more

03:25questions tonight than we might on a

03:27committee one. Um, so I guess my first

03:28question or the question I'll ask right

03:30now is uh, so you've been in dairy for

03:3219 years. In your words, why do you want

03:35to come to to work in Nashville doing

03:37this role?

03:39So, when I saw this posting come up, I

03:41really wasn't looking to leave Derry. I

03:43have enjoyed my time in Dair and I loved

03:48working with everybody else there. Um,

03:50but when I saw this posting, I just

03:52couldn't pass on the opportunity to come

03:54work with both Don and Diane and just

03:57learn [clears throat] from their

03:58experience and broaden my experience and

04:02just learn from the best

04:06followup.

04:08So can you tell me a little bit about

04:10what you see uh the role of of treasur

04:13and tax collector like what what do you

04:14see as that role like um what is it it

04:18it in your mind what does it do uh how

04:23do you look at the role uh you know when

04:26I think tax collector I think you know

04:28going after deed properties and what is

04:30your philosophy on on the whole role of

04:33a tax collector and treasurer

04:36>> um so I look at it has a fiscal

04:38responsibility to the residents and

04:41providing good customer service,

04:43treating everybody equally, um, and

04:46educating people on the available

04:49programs and any assistance they may

04:51need and following the law.

04:54>> Just follow up to that. Um,

04:57>> so when it comes to deed properties in

05:00dairy, um,

05:03>> how often you would you guys go after a

05:05property that, uh, hasn't paid their

05:07their taxes?

05:09>> So, we have deeded two properties in the

05:13last four years.

05:16Um,

05:18which is a little bit of a slow.

05:22Um,

05:23it's a smaller number. I have been

05:25through deeding years where we have

05:27deeded um a handful of properties and I

05:31participated in auctions. Um but my

05:35current tax collector, she worked really

05:38hard and trying to do payment plans and

05:43really try to help the people the best

05:46that we could. Um, and it's hard to take

05:51somebody's property, but unfortunately

05:53the law says that we shall. Um, and so

05:56that's what we do. But, um, so one one a

06:00year in the past few years.

06:02>> Okay. I'll let other people

06:04>> You're doing a great job. [laughter]

06:06>> Other questions from the committee?

06:08[clears throat]

06:10>> None. Alderman Clark.

06:12>> Um, thank you. Um so my my question uh

06:17well first of all thank you for uh

06:19applying for the position and for um

06:23putting yourself out here uh tonight. Um

06:27[clears throat] my question is in

06:28regards um

06:32to along the lines of what we were just

06:34talking about um but more pointed to

06:39what kind of um

06:44what is your philosophy on working with

06:48the

06:49uh the folks who may be behind on their

06:52bills?

06:54Do you prefer to do that or do you

06:56prefer to first go

06:59um with a hard commitment to to just

07:01take the property if they can't pay?

07:04>> No. My my first commitment is to

07:06absolutely work with them and try to

07:08figure out what we can help them with,

07:10what programs we can refer them to,

07:13whether that's homeowners assistance or

07:16exemptions credits. Exhaust all avenues

07:20first. Deeding being the absolute last

07:23step.

07:24Okay.

07:26Um,

07:28that's really the only question that

07:29that I had. I mean, I think I read your

07:32resume. Um, I think you have a a

07:36fantastic um background that you can

07:39bring to the city and um, you know, I as

07:44far as I'm concerned, I look forward to

07:46uh to supporting your nomination.

07:48>> Thank you. I look forward to that.

07:51>> All right. Um, I also uh read your

07:54resume. You are very qualified and thank

07:56you.

07:56>> I'm glad that you saw the posting. Um, I

07:59am going to ask a question. Uh, but I do

08:01appreciate that. You know,

08:02>> I I trust uh Miss Enright in her choice

08:05and um you said a lot of the right

08:08things. So, um my question is that

08:10Derry's significantly smaller.

08:13>> So, how do you envision your job being

08:16in, you know, a city that's about three

08:18times the size? Um and you know how do

08:21you how you gonna you know manage that?

08:24[snorts]

08:25>> Um I look at it from the perspective of

08:27doing say deed letters or lean notices

08:31and it's all about making the process

08:32more efficient and I've done that in

08:36dairy. I have um developed some crystal

08:40reporting that helps us with the letters

08:42instead of doing the mail merges. So,

08:46um, when you use that, it doesn't matter

08:48how many letters there are. It's just a

08:50click of a few buttons and, um, the

08:54reports are there. So, I hope to be able

08:56to do the same here to just I haven't

09:00seen the process, but I hope to make it

09:02more efficient to, you know, where I'm

09:05not spending as much time doing those

09:08tasks and maybe spend more time with the

09:10staff and developing them and, you know,

09:14helping them reach their career goals

09:16possibly.

09:17>> About that.

09:18>> Oh, Alderman Tibo.

09:19>> Yeah, I'm sorry. I just wanted to No, I

09:22apologize. Guys, I want just want to

09:23apologize to Alderman Cle. Alderman

09:24Patricia Cle has been here the whole

09:25time as well. I didn't

09:26>> Oh, yeah.

09:27>> I didn't make a note of that. So, thank

09:29you.

09:30>> It wasn't a question. Okay.

09:31>> It was not. Sorry.

09:32>> Any qu additional thoughts or questions

09:34from the committee?

09:36>> Um Okay. Well, thank you so much for um

09:38coming in and

09:39>> Thank you.

09:40>> We will be taking up your nomination in

09:43a page, I think. Not even.

09:45>> Thank you. Thank [laughter] you.

09:47>> Thank you. All right. Um Kathy will be

09:51at the next meeting so we can skip that

09:52one. Um applicant to license hawkers

09:55pedallers itinerant vendor's license.

09:57>> There is none.

09:58>> Appointments by the board of aldermen.

10:01>> All right. I'd like to make a motion

10:04um to recommend the following

10:06appointment as the deputy treasurer tax

10:08collector with an indefinite term to

10:09expire.

10:11>> Oh, that's weird.

10:12>> For an indefinite term. You don't need

10:14it to expire.

10:15>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.

10:16>> I was like, that doesn't make sense.

10:17>> Yep. Indefinite term. You've heard the

10:18motion. Any discussion?

10:20>> All those in favor say I. I. Any

10:22opposed? [clears throat]

10:23>> That motion carries.

10:26Appointments by the mayor. You can skip

10:28the

10:29>> um to I'd like to make a motion uh to

10:32recommend

10:34the following uh reappoints to the

10:36citizen advisory commission. Lisa Tanjo

10:39with a term to expire October 1st, 2029.

10:41And Jennifer Bishop with a term to

10:42expire November 1st, 2029.

10:44>> You've heard the motion. Is there any

10:46discussion on that motion?

10:48Al Alderman Lopez,

10:50>> can we ask um the citizens advisory

10:52committee to present uh periodically

10:54here just because we have said in the

10:56past we'd have other committees kind of

10:58report on what they're working on and

10:59that one particularly we should be

11:01watching or keeping a close eye on it.

11:02Came up a couple times during the budget

11:04season that there we don't want any

11:06overlap and I you know with like CDBG on

11:09human affairs and that kind of stuff.

11:11So, I just thought it'd be a good idea

11:13to have them come in and present at some

11:14point on what they're what they're

11:16seeing and what they're working on.

11:17>> Sure. Alderman Tibo.

11:19>> Thank you. I'm on that committee. Um

11:21>> Oh, I guess I could just ask you. Sorry.

11:23>> So, the answer is no. Um just kidding.

11:26Uh Jason Terski is the chair, so I can

11:30ask. And we're going to start meeting

11:31again uh in a week or two. Um so, I can

11:35talk to him about that. Would it make

11:39sense to wait until you've gotten

11:40through some of the projects and then

11:42have you come?

11:42>> So, we already it's already done for the

11:44year at the end of the year. We're

11:46starting to to um meet I think to to get

11:49ready for the next year. But yes, um but

11:51I can have them come in and talk to

11:53about what we did or we can have them

11:54wait till next year when we start the

11:56process. Although we're at that point

11:57they're pretty busy. Um so maybe now is

12:00a good time. Yeah.

12:01>> Yeah. Okay.

12:02>> So I can do that and I can reach out to

12:03see if they can come to the December

12:04meeting.

12:04>> Try to schedule something. Yep.

12:06December. Okay. Gotcha. Heldman Lopez.

12:08>> Uh just to give uh Chair Terski a heads

12:10up. I would really like to know more

12:12about that ranking system.

12:13>> Oh yeah.

12:13>> Because we had such a difficult time

12:14with human affairs.

12:16>> It's extremely complex.

12:18>> It is. It's okay. Um the motion was to

12:24recommend the following reappoints. All

12:26those in favor say I.

12:28>> I. Any oppos?

12:29>> That motion carries and duly noted that

12:32we will invite um the CAC to the next

12:35meeting. Unfinished business.

12:37>> There is none.

12:38>> New business resolutions.

12:39>> None.

12:39>> New business ordinances.

12:41>> All right. I'd like to make a motion uh

12:43to recommend final passage for O-26-025

12:48increasing the elderly and disabled tax

12:50exemption maximum allowed individual and

12:52combined net income amounts.

12:54>> Okay. Thank

12:56um you've heard the motion. I was going

12:58to ask Alderman Clay to talk about this

13:00because I know she'd been working on it.

13:02Um just introduce it.

13:04>> Yes. I I I'll just do a quick

13:06introduction to it. Thank you, Madam

13:08Chairwoman. And um um Miss Walsh Welsh

13:11will um give more insight to it as well.

13:14Um

13:16Alderman um Clemens and and Alderman

13:19Johnson and I kind of worked on this

13:22together. It I believe it was the

13:25brainchild of Alderman Clemens um at the

13:28beginning to to try to to do this. And

13:31and I met with Miss Walsh and and Mr.

13:33Gagnan and um attorney uh Clark to work

13:37out all the details of this. Originally,

13:39it started much larger. We wanted to put

13:42in some other things, but we realized

13:44that that was just not practical. Um so,

13:47we brought it down to just the income of

13:50the um of the elderly and the disabled.

13:53We took both of those um credits uh I'm

13:56sorry um exemptions into consideration

14:00and um came up with using the CPI um and

14:04the main concern was that we wouldn't be

14:06here every year having to do this. So

14:09it's built in that it will automatically

14:11happen every year based on the um

14:14rolling three-year CPI if I if I got

14:17that correctly. Um, and we'll get a

14:20letter from the, um, assessing

14:23department to give us those details. So,

14:26um,

14:26>> okay. Thank you,

14:27>> Mr. Walsh. Did you want to I know you

14:28wanted to talk earlier.

14:29>> Oh, I was just really here in case

14:32anybody had questions.

14:34>> Okay.

14:36Um it may I

14:39>> um you know it's it's not a the the main

14:42concern that um we had um and I and I

14:47don't want to speak for my my colleagues

14:48here but was that um we did not want to

14:52lose anybody off of the um the roles. In

14:55other words, we didn't want someone to

14:56income out because maybe they got a

14:58little extra boost in social security or

15:00maybe their retirement went up. That was

15:02a real key thing here. Um, and this

15:05stops that from happening. It does not

15:07really add anybody. Not that somebody

15:09may not get added to it because maybe

15:12their income might have changed or

15:14something or that that little boost

15:16might have put them into it, but the the

15:18main concern was to make sure we did not

15:21lose anybody out of this um exemption.

15:24That was the biggest thing because in

15:26the past we've come really close to

15:28doing that. um maybe especially the year

15:30that if I remember correctly, social

15:32security went up

15:33>> really high

15:34>> for that one year and then it kind of

15:37leveled off. So we we did that three

15:39years and we had it kind of bolstered

15:41bolstered up. I don't foresee that

15:43happening, but what if it did

15:45>> and that's the main thing. So

15:46>> yeah, the the goal is really not to

15:48increase the number of elderly

15:50applications. It's just to make sure

15:52that whoever's receiving it would not

15:54lose it based on their increase from

15:57social security or retirement.

15:59>> Okay. Discussion. Alderman Tibo.

16:02>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, so few years

16:05back when I put in a

16:08uh legislation to increase to max out

16:11the veteran tax credit. Um I was uh

16:15criticized because we were worried that

16:16it was going to

16:19um take too much money away from the

16:21rest of the taxpayers and the tax the

16:23burden would shift more to to people who

16:25weren't veterans, right? So I was

16:28looking at the fiscal note and it was

16:30basically just well we don't really

16:32know. We don't think it's going to

16:33impact anybody else but we're not we

16:36don't really know yet or we don't know.

16:38Is there any way we could have a general

16:41>> there? There unfortunately isn't not

16:42until the applications actually start

16:44rolling in. So it should you guys want

16:47me to I can keep track of the number of

16:49people that would not have qualified

16:51should should we not have increased it.

16:53But I don't anticipate that there's

16:55going to be very many people that did

16:57not qualify last year that would not

16:59qualify now.

17:01A

17:01>> follow.

17:03So, uh, that I think we got the same

17:05answer when I was doing the veterans tax

17:07credit and we what we did is we kept

17:08tableabling it and tableabling it and

17:09tableabling it and we finally just said

17:11let's pass this thing and we did. Um,

17:15so I I I just get concerned when we

17:17don't know what the fiscal note is.

17:20>> I believe with the veterans one, we had

17:22them come back and tell us what the

17:24>> Yeah.

17:24>> Yeah. Go ahead.

17:25>> No, they did.

17:26>> If if I may.

17:27>> Yeah, I guess. Why not?

17:29>> I I'm sorry. I don't mean I won't finish

17:31you. I just want I just wanted to say

17:32that there's a slight difference between

17:34this and that. We did know what the

17:37number of veterans were at that time.

17:39So, we knew

17:41>> what the fiscal note would be because we

17:42took that extra $250 and multiplied it

17:46by those that were already getting it.

17:48We That's a credit. It's different than

17:49the exemption. The credit is actually

17:52taking $250 off their taxes where the

17:55exemption it it it's not quite the same.

17:59It's a little bit little bit different

18:00in it and you don't know how many

18:02applicants. Now the problem that we had

18:04with that particular one that we didn't

18:05know about was the conquered had changed

18:09the definition of what a veteran was and

18:12that was what we did not know. We knew

18:15that we had a certain number of veterans

18:17that were getting it and got it year

18:19after year after year. So we could take

18:21that 250 multiply it by that but we

18:23didn't know how many more people were

18:24going to be added to that um to qualify

18:27for them. So that was kind of what the

18:28question that was what the concern in

18:30the question was. So

18:32>> Alderman Tibo,

18:33>> thank you. Um,

18:36we still don't know because the fiscal

18:37note says we don't know. So

18:39>> well the what I can tell you is that

18:41we're not increasing the actual amount

18:43of the exemption like so we're only

18:45increasing the income limit.

18:47>> Okay.

18:48>> So really the the number of people I

18:51don't think will increase by a whole

18:54lot.

18:56So like the the someone the the the the

19:01f the first level is $35,000

19:04off your assessed the the next is 350

19:07and the the final is 430,000

19:11off the assessed value th those limits

19:14are not changing with this with this

19:17legislation.

19:19>> Okay, I'll just vote yes with everybody

19:21else. I'm I'm 10 years away from being

19:22elderly, so I'm good.

19:24>> [laughter]

19:25>> Welcome to my club.

19:27>> I'm not going to

19:27>> I'm already there.

19:28>> Sorry.

19:29>> We're already there.

19:30>> Funny. Um

19:31>> whatever.

19:33>> We don't need to know anything. That's

19:34good.

19:35>> Are there question additional questions

19:36or comments from the committee? Oh,

19:37Alderman Clemens. Go ahead.

19:39>> Thank you. Um,

19:40>> this time [clears throat and cough]

19:42>> so I know that the it it it says that it

19:44doesn't have a fiscal note on it, but

19:48I

19:50we're not increasing the exemption or

19:54yeah, the we're just increasing the um

19:58>> income limits for it. So the the tax

20:03credit itself is the same. Um,

20:06so that but what this tries to

20:10accomplish is that we don't have to keep

20:13coming back to the well every year. It's

20:15just going to adjust automatically going

20:18forward. So if people's income don't

20:22rise with inflation, they're still going

20:24to to uh qualify, right? But if

20:29somebody's

20:30um who somebody who

20:34is low income now, like you say, you're

20:3610 years away from,

20:39you know, uh being a a senior or or

20:42being eligible for this. If you had an

20:44income that was growing at the CPI and

20:48you would qualify for it now,

20:50theoretically by the time you got in 10

20:53years from now, you wouldn't have to

20:55wait for the this board to make an

20:57action. It already the number would

20:59already be there. And that's kind of the

21:01point is to just kind of move this along

21:04so that as time goes on and people

21:07become eligible for this tax credit,

21:09they can their income should hopefully

21:12be at that level based on $226.

21:17So that's kind of the point of this. Um,

21:21and you know that that is obviously the

21:23goal. Obviously, if for some reason this

21:27doesn't work or we find that, you know,

21:29for whatever reason we need to adjust

21:31it, we can always come back to it and do

21:33that. But theoretically, the idea is

21:36that we if we do this, we don't have to

21:38touch it again.

21:41>> Alderman Johnson,

21:42>> thank you very much. Since I'm going to

21:45speak as one of these senior citizens

21:47here, which I never thought I'd get to

21:48this point, your real adjustment was

21:52when you added the married

21:55>> income on here because you only had the

21:57single, which was $57,000, and then the

22:01year that I broke the kneecap and I

22:02couldn't come in and speak on that new

22:05part of the ordinance. That's where you

22:08really got the hit when you put on the

22:10married. And may I ask a question? Um,

22:14Madame Chair,

22:16>> yep.

22:16>> Did you see any big jumps when you when

22:19we added the married?

22:20>> No.

22:21>> No. And and this really protects seniors

22:24in a way that you know if my cost of

22:28living increase with social security is

22:303.24%.

22:32But my taxes go up 8%. Guess what? I'm

22:36in that hole before I even get to it.

22:39And you have to take a look at people.

22:41And I'm again, I never thought I was

22:43going to be in this position where I'm

22:44in right now, but that hit for somebody

22:47who's a widow or widowerer and they

22:50haven't gotten all their finances in

22:52order and figured out what they're going

22:53to do

22:55for somebody to say, "Well, what am I

22:58going to do? Do I pay my taxes on my

23:00house or do I try to live?" And this

23:02will just take that burden off a little

23:04bit. And I don't foresee that you're

23:06going to have a run on this. This is

23:08this is so minimal. $2,000 difference.

23:12And just that when

23:15um your tax increases and the CPI

23:18doesn't rise as high as the taxes, this

23:20is just going to lower the burden a

23:22little bit for the seniors.

23:26>> Cle,

23:27>> thank you. Yeah, I want I want to agree

23:29with both of my colleagues who just

23:30spoke and again I I want to bring it all

23:32the way back to the main concern was

23:35that um as social security went up 3% or

23:392% or whatever the percentage was that

23:43that didn't push people out of this 57

23:46or 67,000

23:48dollars. That was what the main concern

23:50was that we don't push them just because

23:53their income went up a little bit. So we

23:55use the CPI and as as as Alderman

23:58Clemens had mentioned if for some reason

24:01which I doubt would happen say social

24:03security was higher than the CPI um year

24:07after year after year then we might have

24:08to change this and maybe use this the

24:10rolling social security number but right

24:12now the CPI is the most logical thing to

24:15use because it that's obviously what it

24:17is. It's a consumer product index which

24:19is telling us how much costs are going

24:22up. So, um, you know, we look at at at

24:26something to that nature. Regardless of

24:28what the our tax rate is or anything

24:30like this, the main concern about this

24:32is to make sure we don't lose anybody

24:34off of the roles. I would hate for

24:36someone, and I've had constituents, I'm

24:38sure we've all had constituents here who

24:40have called and said, "I qualified last

24:42year, but I just got a tiny bit more,

24:45and now I'm $1,000 over." Well, this

24:48makes sure that we protect it and that

24:49we don't have to come in here every

24:50single year and we're not not playing

24:52the um you know, whether you call it

24:55politics games or just the legislative

24:58paperwork type thing, but every single

25:00year um the assessing department will

25:03send us a letter telling us what the new

25:05rate would be, you know, what these are.

25:08And that's going to help also because I

25:10think you said about December people

25:12start applying. So, it's going to also

25:14help the public out there know what the

25:16new numbers are going to be. So, all of

25:19these little things are put into place

25:21um to help. And I don't think it's going

25:24to create a tax burden on any others

25:28that it's not already doing it for. And

25:30I don't mean it to sound like this is a

25:31tax burden. We're here to protect those

25:33that we can protect. But, um I don't

25:35foresee that there really is going to be

25:37much of a fiscal note um as far as

25:39that's concerned because we're not

25:41changing the exempt amount. we are just

25:43changing that's another discussion for

25:45another time and so on um which we said

25:49that we would address

25:51um based on how things are assessed and

25:54so on but that's another conversation I

25:55don't want to open up that can of worms

25:57but in case people are listening it's

25:59not been ignored um it's something we'll

26:02talk about but where we're not doing um

26:05any new assessment this year or so on we

26:07kind of put that off to make sure this

26:09got through

26:10>> all right the motion on the floor is to

26:12recommend Final passage.

26:14All those in favor say I.

26:16>> I.

26:16>> I.

26:16>> Any opposed?

26:17>> That motion carries. [clears throat]

26:19>> Thank you.

26:20>> Thank you.

26:23>> Ready.

26:24>> I am ready. 0-26-026

26:27regarding approvals for gasoline,

26:28electricity, natural gas contracts, and

26:30purchasing extensions or renewals.

26:34>> I believe Doria Brown is here to speak

26:37on that. Yes.

26:39>> Oh, no.

26:41us.

26:42>> Okay.

26:45>> I'm going to say

26:46>> got a two for tonight.

26:47>> You know, I didn't say the last part. I

26:49just want to make a motion to recommend

26:50final passage.

26:51>> Okay.

26:52>> Uh, good evening Gerard, purchasing

26:54manager.

26:55>> You want to put them in the

26:56>> Yeah, why don't they

26:57>> Why don't you come sit down? Sure.

27:00>> You're probably right.

27:02>> It's fine.

27:05>> Make sure to say your name and title.

27:08I don't I didn't correct our

27:10interviewee, but it's it's always

27:11helpful. Yeah, when you just when you

27:13speak. Yeah,

27:13>> when you speak. Yeah,

27:14>> you got it.

27:16>> Good evening. Amy Gerard, purchasing

27:18manager. Um, I'm bringing this ordinance

27:20forward to provide the city with

27:22additional flexibility in our

27:23procurement process and ultimately to

27:25help us better be better stewards for

27:28tax dollars. Um, the first ordinance

27:31change will allow us to establish new

27:33contracts with existing vendors that the

27:36city's already under contract for. The

27:38intent here is to leverage the city's

27:41collective buying power while reducing

27:43the administrative burden on individual

27:44departments. We put this concept into

27:47practice when the fire department went

27:49out to bid for a new roof. The police

27:51department was then able to utilize this

27:53contract com to complete their roof.

27:56This allowed us to leverage the city's

27:57purchasing power and avoid duplicating

28:00the bidding process.

28:01>> Seeing this successfully worked provided

28:03us with a roadmap for this ordinance

28:05change. Um the second ordinance change

28:09is to authorize myself and Doria Brown,

28:11the energy manager to execute contracts

28:14for electricity, natural gas, unled

28:17gasoline, off-roaded diesel, and

28:19biodiesel. This is particularly

28:22important because these commodities are

28:24subject to volatility. Doria will

28:26explain some of this volatility to you

28:28momentarily.

28:30>> Doria,

28:30>> I'm Doria Brown, energy manager.

28:33Electricity and natural gas procurement

28:35work differently from most municipal

28:37purchases because we're buying

28:38commodities whose prices fluctuate

28:40daily. New Hampshire is part of the ISO

28:43New England electric market and rates

28:46suppliers offer us are influenced by

28:48wholesale sale energy prices, natural

28:51gas costs, weather and other market

28:53conditions. When we conduct an RFP,

28:56suppliers provide pricing based on the

28:59market at the moment

29:02and those offers often expire at the end

29:04of the business day. If we have to wait

29:07several days for contract signatures, we

29:09risk losing the pricing we receive

29:11through our competitive bidding process,

29:14the supplier will have to repric the

29:16contract, and there's no guarantee that

29:18the rate will be as favorable. To put it

29:21in perspective, for Nasha's municipal

29:23electricity accounts, a 1-cent increase

29:26or difference in a contract rate could

29:28cost the city approximately $104,000

29:31more annually. So, these fluctuations

29:33can be very significant.

29:36Thank you, Doria. Um, last year the city

29:39incurred approximately a $15,000

29:42increase in these additional costs for

29:44unled and diesel gasoline because we

29:46were unable to execute a contract in a

29:48timely manner due to them having to go

29:50through the finance committee process.

29:52Having this authorization will allow us

29:55to be more responsive to the market

29:56conditions and take advantage of

29:58favorable pricing opportunities when

30:00they arise rather than potentially

30:02missing those opportunities because we

30:04have to wait for additional approvals.

30:07I want to be clear. I cannot guarantee

30:09that we will save money by doing this. I

30:12cannot predict where the market will go.

30:15However, having the ability to make

30:16timely purchasing decisions gives us

30:19better opportunity to control costs and

30:21avoid ne unnecessary expenditures.

30:25Um, I'm asking for the ability to act

30:28when the market presents an opportunity

30:31rather than asking taxpayers to absorb

30:33the cost of waiting.

30:35>> Doria, do you have anything else you

30:37wanted to add?

30:37>> Oh, um, the ultimate goal here is to

30:41preserve the city's procurement

30:43processes. RFPs will still be done.

30:45Contracts will still be looked through

30:47with legal, but provide the flexibility

30:50necessary to secure competitive energy

30:52rates and protect taxpayer dollars.

30:57>> Thank you.

30:58>> Uh committee Alderman Clemens.

31:01>> Thank you. Um

31:04so I I can support some of this and not

31:07all of it. Um, I can certainly support

31:11the the part of it that is in regards to

31:16energy

31:17uh

31:19purchases because there are things that

31:21that we, you know, absolutely need. It's

31:25specific to what it's asking to do. It

31:28lists the different items uh that that

31:32it would pertain to. Um and you're

31:36absolutely right in regards to the the

31:38volatility of that um that you know

31:43we need to act fast um especially in in

31:47in this market. Um where I have an issue

31:51with this though is the contract

31:55extensions.

31:57Um,

31:59and you know, I think

32:03there's been some concern

32:06uh that that have been brought up in the

32:08past in regards to some of the

32:13uh what where I have a problem with is

32:16not necessarily the contract extensions,

32:18but the new agreements with the same

32:20vendor for comparable goods or services.

32:22I still think that these things need to

32:26come before the finance committee. I

32:28think that they need to be vetted uh by

32:31the board of alderman through that

32:33process. And um

32:36you know because what I fear is seeing

32:39some contracts go out

32:42uh that have not been vetted by the

32:46alderman

32:47and us just getting a memo that this

32:51contract has been entered into. And

32:52while it may be

32:55beneficial in some regards, we do have

32:58to have fiscal oversight of those

33:01contracts going out. uh and it's too

33:04broad of a

33:07whereas the the the portion of it that

33:10is in relation to energy is very

33:14specific. It lists

33:16unleted gas, diesel, off-road diesel,

33:20biodiesel, uh electricity, natural gas,

33:23that kind of thing. It's very specific

33:25in what it lists. this first portion of

33:29it is too vague

33:31and it could be any contract.

33:34Um,

33:35and so I I I can't support that. Um, I

33:39know that, you know, in some cases it

33:41would certainly be more efficient.

33:43[snorts] Um,

33:46but I I just can't um

33:49I I I I just think that that would be

33:51letting go too much

33:54um oversight that we should be having

33:57right here uh in this room.

34:01>> May I respond?

34:03>> Go ahead.

34:04>> Thank you. Amy Jory, purchasing manager.

34:06Um so I just want to be really clear.

34:08The first ordinance change, any contract

34:11over $25,000 would still be coming to

34:14the finance committee. If it was over a

34:16million dollars, it will still be going

34:18to the board of alderman. It will still

34:19follow the same process. It will just

34:22>> um allow

34:24a different department to utilize that

34:28competitive pricing that another

34:30department has already received.

34:36>> I have to actually follow up on that.

34:37I'm It's not what it says,

34:40>> right? It isn't what it says.

34:41>> Except for contracts for gasoline,

34:43electric, and national. So, those are

34:45two those are two different

34:48>> these are two different ordinance

34:49changes,

34:51>> right?

34:51>> Um, so the contracts for unled gasoline,

34:56those items will absolutely

35:00um not be coming to finance if this were

35:04to be approved. You are correct. That

35:05would not be coming to finance

35:07committee. right

35:07>> for approval. We would be sending a memo

35:10to you after the authorization

35:12>> um had been conducted. The market is so

35:16volatile right now. We all know that. We

35:19see that when we go to the gas pump to

35:21pay

35:22>> um that if we're not able to lock in

35:26when that rate changes,

35:28>> I've seen the rate change 10 cents in a

35:33matter of days. And that those days of

35:35having us get it to finance committee

35:37for the approval um can result in

35:41thousands of dollars. As Doria

35:43mentioned, one% was it one cent?

35:46>> One cent can result in a $100,000

35:49increase for the city and it can

35:51fluctuate many many cents in a day

35:54whether up or down. Um

35:59>> Alden Clemens, did you want to

36:01>> Yeah. So, walk me through section A on

36:05special per uh special purchase

36:08procedures because it says purchases

36:10under contract extensions or new

36:13agreements with the same vendor for

36:16comparable goods or services

36:19when the pricing does not exceed a price

36:22increase of 10% per year and where a

36:25market change has not reduced pricing in

36:28the product category. What it says the

36:31competitive bidding process shall not

36:33shall not apply. So are you saying that

36:37in in that case those things would still

36:39go to the finance committee. However,

36:42they will not we don't necessarily have

36:45to go through a competiting you don't

36:47have to put it out to bid in other

36:49words.

36:50>> Correct. So, um, the example that I used

36:52when I started regarding the, uh, fire

36:55department roof and the police

36:57department roof, the fire department

36:59went out to bid for their roof.

37:00>> Mhm.

37:01>> It was maybe 6 months later

37:04approximately that the police department

37:05was looking to get their roof done

37:07>> and the market hasn't changed that much

37:10in the six months.

37:12>> So, if we can utilize that pricing, we

37:14can save our staff time by doing a

37:18duplicative bid. um and use that same

37:21pricing for this for a very similar

37:24project just on a different building.

37:26>> Okay, so that makes more sense to me. So

37:28in that what I I misunderstood that to

37:31say to say that the

37:34Okay, I understand that now. I was

37:36incorrect um in my interpretation of

37:39that because I thought that those those

37:42new things were not going to come before

37:44us. But if you're saying that they are

37:46and now that I read it that way as well,

37:49um I can support this and I can support

37:51the whole

37:53the whole ordinance because again I I

37:57like the fact that in the energy portion

38:00of it, it is very specific as to what

38:03items you are we're letting you go out

38:07and buy, right? It's it's gas, diesel,

38:11electricity, natural gas. Um, and you

38:16know, to me, we need to be quick and we

38:20know how much we need. It's not like

38:21we're going to buy a million dollars

38:23worth of gasoline in one in one shot. We

38:26we you know, well, maybe we do. I don't

38:28know. But I I mean, the point of the

38:32matter is though is that that contract

38:33needs to be

38:36entered into when the price is as low as

38:39the price is, and that can fluctuate

38:41hours in a day sometimes. So, I I I get

38:44that and I'm okay with that. Um,

38:48and so I I I will support uh I will

38:51support this.

38:53>> Johnson,

38:54>> thank you.

38:55>> I understand A. I understand C. Explain

38:58to me B.

39:02>> All contracts may be signed on behalf of

39:04the city by the mayor. Contracts under

39:0710,000 may be signed on behalf of the

39:09city by employees in the following

39:10positions.

39:12Why are we is this because we have to

39:14have a rush on that too in case a great

39:17price came up?

39:18>> Um there were no changes made to B. B is

39:21already in existence. The items that are

39:23underlined in the ordinance is what is

39:25new and being proposed.

39:26>> A and C. Okay.

39:27>> Correct.

39:29>> So I was on finance my first few years

39:32and I am also on environment. So I

39:34understand the intricacies especially

39:36with the market right now. I also felt a

39:39little bit uncomfortable when it said

39:42regardless of any amount. So, I would

39:43love to know just like what does the

39:45average contract look like? Are we

39:47letting you just sign off on $5 million?

39:49Like these are things we do need to know

39:51because I understand the idea is to save

39:53money, but we need to know like if that

39:56amount of money is is changing hands,

39:58what's that going to do to the overall

40:00budget? That kind of thing.

40:02>> Yours is more expensive. If you would

40:04like to go first. Um Doria Brown, Energy

40:07Manager. Um these contracts for

40:10electricity and natural gas are, I would

40:12say, big contracts. Um 10 cents or 9

40:16cents doesn't seem like that much, but

40:18when we use about 10,000 megawatt hours

40:22a year just on the municipal accounts,

40:25that's a significant amount of money.

40:27That's in the millions kind of of cost

40:30for the city. Um, and I will say that I

40:33take this extremely seriously as the

40:36energy manager. Um,

40:39locking in on low electricity costs is

40:43one of the things that I was hired to do

40:45for the city. Um,

40:48I understand the the gravity of kind of

40:51what a million dollars contract is. Um,

40:56but waiting 3 weeks to get on the

40:59finance committee agenda is also could

41:02be hundreds of thousands or in some

41:04cases if there's like a massive crisis

41:06like the Iran war, energy rates can go

41:09from 9 cents to 20 cents a kilowatt

41:11hour. So that also results in millions

41:14of dollars of cost for the city. So, um,

41:18what I think I'm asking for here is is

41:21trust from the board of alderman to be

41:22able to lock in at the lowest rate

41:24possible for the city. And the only way

41:28that I can do that is to be able to take

41:30advantage of um, rates when they're as

41:34low as possible. waiting um is kind of

41:37like putting two arms behind your back

41:40um because you're either going to have a

41:42different rate than what was given to

41:45you during the RFP process or you're

41:47going to play pay a supplier premium

41:49which can be very high for them to hold

41:51a rate for you and that again can result

41:54in a much higher cost for the city.

41:59>> Alderman Lopez and then Alderman Clay.

42:01um to the comment of trust. Um you asked

42:04for our trust when we did the um energy

42:07uh initiative, the cooperative power.

42:09Yes.

42:09>> And you also told us as soon as it

42:12looked like

42:13>> we were about to get outmaneuvered by

42:14Eversource and their deeper pockets and

42:17their ability to to change the way bills

42:19looked and you also were pretty honest

42:22that if people felt like it was a better

42:23deal, they should they should get out

42:24right away. So I would say you have my

42:27trust. Um, and I think that's not

42:30necessarily an issue here. I would only

42:32be concerned that we don't want to

42:34codify something that puts somebody who

42:36might be your successor in some years or

42:38whatever in a position if they haven't

42:40earned that trust.

42:42>> Yeah. Um, and may I reply to that? I

42:45think that would come to the city from

42:46doing a thorough interview process,

42:49reviewing their application, and making

42:50sure you hire somebody that you can

42:52trust in this position um to to be able

42:55to lock in to rates accordingly. Um I

42:58can't control how that process goes in

43:01the future if I were to leave this role,

43:03but I I can control my actions now um

43:06and lock in on the lowest rates possible

43:08for the city. If I can follow up,

43:10>> Alderman Lopez,

43:11>> to your point, we have to interview

43:12department heads and other staff who

43:14spend similar amounts of money. So, I I

43:17voice the concern because it should be

43:19voiced, but I also don't think it's that

43:21far out of the way.

43:24No,

43:27>> thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Um I I want

43:30to comment. Um, I've been on finance

43:32since I've been um an an alderman. And

43:35one of the things um I'm sure Alderman

43:37Clemens will remember, we were suddenly

43:40hit with the increased cost of vehicles

43:43>> um because there was a delay. There was

43:44a delay between when it would go out for

43:47bid when it would go to um Board of

43:50Public Works and then would have to come

43:52to finance. And at that point, they were

43:54no longer guaranteeing prices and

43:56suddenly we saw this big increase. I'm

43:58not saying that that's necessarily part

44:00of this because I don't believe it is.

44:01However, that was an example of what had

44:03happened. And at one point, I believe

44:06some of the vehicles had doubled in

44:07price. Went from like being $30,000 to

44:10$60,000. And it wasn't a specialized

44:13vehicle. It was just because we were

44:15going through that crisis of cost and so

44:17on. So, I do see that this is a good um

44:21a good um thing to do. Um, and I'm glad

44:25that things are still becoming to at

44:26least the the the Ace A7 will still be

44:30coming to the the board of alderman. I

44:33do have trust in U Miss Brown. Um, I I

44:36talked to her before she became a a the

44:39energy manager here um at a um

44:42conference that I was at and she was

44:43asking if there was jobs available and

44:45took forward to that and I was so glad

44:48and excited when the city did hire her.

44:50She's um quite astute as to what she's

44:53doing and she's been very honest along

44:55the way. Um I do think the burden is on

44:58us. Um and this is something we can if

45:01we hire someone new, we can change this

45:04or the that board can change it if they

45:06feel that it's giving too much power to

45:08someone who's new. Um I think under the

45:11circumstances is something I hope that

45:13you guys will put forward. I know when

45:15it hits the board of alderman I will.

45:16But we've seen so many delays when we

45:20have to go through the governmental red

45:22tape and we should go through the

45:24governmental red tape because we should

45:25be keep we should be keeping a breast of

45:27everything and so on. But I also want to

45:30remind all of us that everything that

45:32comes through finance has already gone

45:34through the budget process. It's just a

45:37reminder to us and that gives us the

45:40voice of saying, "Well, wait a minute.

45:42Did you do a competitive enough bid?

45:44Maybe we can't afford this because the

45:46price increased and so on." It kind of

45:47it's a checks and balance kind of thing

45:49with finances, but everything that goes

45:51through finance has already gone through

45:52budget and been budgeted within that

45:54fiscal year.

45:55>> Thank you,

45:57>> Alderman.

45:58>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I think

46:00almost everything that goes through

46:02finance, probably 98% of stuff just gets

46:04put approved. Um,

46:08so I'm going to support this um because

46:11I understand the fluctuation obviously

46:13of

46:14this type of stuff. Um, but I want to go

46:18back to something that Alderman Lopez

46:19brought up about um the hiring of the So

46:23again, I'm not worried about you. You've

46:25proven your trust over the years that

46:26I've been here. So I'm not worried about

46:28you. I'm worried about the next person

46:29and if the burden's on us then I'm I'm

46:32concerned to be honest. Um you know I've

46:35hired hundreds of people in my years of

46:38life and I consider myself a decent uh

46:41judge of who I'm who I want on my team

46:43in those years and I've hired some bad

46:45people like you know it's you know if if

46:49you hire 100 people and five of them are

46:51wrong you still made five mistakes there

46:53somewhere right? Everybody can come in

46:55with a great resume and look great and

46:56and you have conversations and they're

46:58awesome and then they show up for the

46:59job and they're they're not too good. I

47:00mean, we interviewed a tax collector

47:02today and I think we asked four

47:03questions. Um, is that enough to to tell

47:06that she was the best tax collector we

47:07could find out there? No. But we don't

47:09get the option of going out and

47:10interviewing other people. It's only who

47:12come come before us, right? So, somebody

47:14else is bringing somebody in to put in

47:15that chair and all we're doing is

47:17basically asking a few questions and

47:18approving them. So I worry about our

47:21burden and not just us the current board

47:23but boards in the future. Um you know

47:26next every two years is a new board. So

47:28um so I do worry a little bit about

47:30that. Um but you know as far as right

47:33now yeah let's go for it. Why not?

47:36>> Um may I respond to that because I think

47:38it's Doria Brown energy manager. I think

47:41it's important that um you all and the

47:45public understand that the purchasing

47:47process will still continue to go on.

47:49It's not just the energy manager's eyes

47:52that is on this process. It's the

47:54purchasing manager. It's our legal

47:56department. Um we will continue to do

47:59proper RFPs. We will continue to

48:01document who applies um and and answers

48:05those RFPs. the legal department will

48:07continue to review contracts before a

48:10decision is made. Um so there are some

48:13checks and balances there and there will

48:16be evidence of um what the lowest rate

48:20was and that position will have to kind

48:22of answer to um the decisions that they

48:26have made. Um and I also want to say I'm

48:29don't plan on leaving anytime soon. Um,

48:32I very much enjoy working for the city

48:34of NSHA, so please don't plan for my

48:37departure. [laughter]

48:40>> Still going to vote yes on it.

48:42>> Thank you.

48:43>> I mean, I'm going to support this.

48:46Again, I I I I always talk last, so it's

48:49like everyone said everything at this

48:50point. Um,

48:54the the only other hesitation that just

48:56came up when you were speaking is that

48:57you your position didn't exist what,

49:00three years ago. So

49:01>> I've been here for seven years. It's

49:03>> seven? No way.

49:04>> Yes. Okay. Well, seven years ago then,

49:06but it didn't exist. So like we are

49:08putting those two against you. So if

49:10someone comes in and changes it, do we

49:13were we going to have to change the

49:14legislation? Right? Because it says

49:16energy manager. So if someone decides to

49:18eliminate that,

49:20I'm not saying I want to.

49:22>> So the way the legislation is written,

49:25uh, sorry, Amy Gerard, purchasing

49:27manager, if I may, Madam Chair. Um, the

49:29way the legislation is written is that I

49:32would fill in as the backup if there is

49:34no energy manager.

49:38>> Does that is that in that last

49:39paragraph?

49:40>> Uh, yes. It says the primary purchaser

49:43shall be responsible for signing

49:44contracts with the other manager serving

49:46as a secondary in the absence of the

49:48primary purchasing.

49:50>> So, we're covered.

49:50>> So, we're we're covered in case um

49:53>> we have to interview two people

49:55[laughter]

49:55>> in case something else were to happen.

49:57And I just wanted to make an additional

50:00um clarification that um there these

50:05ordinances that are being presented

50:06tonight are two separate ordinances.

50:095-84

50:10is um in itself its own um ordinance

50:15change and then 5-138

50:18is separate. So 5-138 would not be going

50:21to finance committee. 5-84 the special

50:25purchase procedures would still follow

50:27the same process

50:29>> of going to finance committee board of

50:31alderman whatever else is required of

50:33it.

50:34>> Did you want to speak alderman clones

50:36>> only to say that yes they're separate

50:39however there it's one piece of

50:41legislation in front of us.

50:42>> Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say

50:44something. Go ahead.

50:45>> Thank you. Yes. as she stated, they're

50:47two separate NRO's,

50:49>> right? But but we're putting it through

50:51as as a single ordinance legislatively,

50:54but it's affecting two NRO's.

50:56>> Correct.

50:57>> So, but efficiencies, unfortunately.

50:59>> Yes. The the the comment that I want to

51:01make is something that um was brought up

51:04earlier between the fire and the police

51:06roofs. I was on um

51:10infrastructure at the time that that

51:12conversation had happened and it was

51:15truly a very organic conversation

51:17because we were dealing with the fire

51:19roof and I believe that it was Alderman

51:22O'Brien who said we're going to be

51:24talking about the police roof pretty

51:25soon. Can we get a better deal if we put

51:28those two together? And the contractor

51:30just on a whim said probably. I think

51:33so. So it was when we when we started

51:37looking at that and saw that we might be

51:40able to get a better price if we know

51:42let them know there's another there is

51:45another contract that's coming up. Um,

51:48so I think this is really good to give

51:51them the buying power of, you know, if

51:54you buy one widget, you pay one thing,

51:55but if you buy 10,000 widgets, you get a

51:58much better deal. And that's I think

52:00what this is really going to help. And

52:02please correct me if I stated anything

52:03incorrectly, but

52:05>> you are correct.

52:06>> Thank you.

52:07>> Any additional discussion?

52:10We've heard the motion. All those in

52:12favor say I. I.

52:14>> Any opposed?

52:15>> Motion carries.

52:18Uh, we have O-26-027,

52:21amendment to parking permits, High

52:23Street Garage. I'd like to make a motion

52:24to recommend final passage.

52:27>> Director Cummings, are you here to speak

52:28on this piece of legislation?

52:31>> Uh, no. I was here for the prior

52:35>> discussion.

52:37Um,

52:38>> what is happening? [laughter]

52:40>> Can you hear me?

52:42>> No, we just went into an alternate

52:43universe. It's fine.

52:44>> Yeah.

52:45>> What just happened? Okay. So, you're not

52:47here to speak on these. So, there's

52:49>> I don't see Jill on.

52:51>> No.

52:52>> Great.

52:53>> So,

52:55then if you want to give me a minute, I

52:57can try to get her.

52:59>> I was just going to send her one, too.

53:03>> Alderman Clemens.

53:04>> Yeah. I guess the question is how how

53:08timesensitive are these? Like, can we

53:10>> just hold them till next? hold them to

53:12the to December.

53:16>> He's calling her.

53:18>> Yes.

53:19>> I'm I'm finding out right now. Just Just

53:21one second.

53:22>> Okay.

53:22>> Offering my opinion the holiday.

53:28>> Uh

53:29>> Alderman Lopez. Yeah.

53:30>> Just to point out they might want to get

53:31it done before the holiday stroll if

53:32they're swapping them around. I

53:34>> know.

53:37>> I don't think they're swapping.

53:39>> Oh, [snorts] I thought

53:41No, it's just the amendment

53:43>> adding.

53:43>> Yeah. [clears throat]

53:49>> I'm going to give Director Cummings a

53:51moment and then we'll make a decision on

53:54these.

53:57May I uh briefly while we're waiting for

54:01uh Director Cummings, I just wanted to

54:03thank um my co-sponsors on the uh

54:08elderly and disabled tax exemption

54:10[snorts] because yes, this while that

54:12was my idea um I was, you know, at the

54:17start of this term uh heavily involved

54:21in my wife's uh care and I could not um

54:25devote the time or attention to that.

54:28And so I wanted to thank them both for

54:30stepping up and getting that done and to

54:33fruition. So uh thank you both.

54:36Appreciate that.

54:42>> Alderman

54:44Johnson.

54:44>> Thank you. I really want to give all the

54:46credit to Alderman Alderwoman Cle

54:49because she really stepped up to that um

54:51and went to all the meetings. I said I

54:53would join the two of you on this

54:55because I felt it was very important,

54:57but I really think she's the one who

54:59stepped up and credit it should be given

55:01to where credit is due.

55:03>> But thank you.

55:03>> If we're going to keep talking, I'd like

55:05to make a motion to move us into general

55:06discussion.

55:07>> Well, I think he's

55:08>> Okay, we fine. I just We're just We're

55:10not talking about the piece in front of

55:11us.

55:11>> Yeah.

55:13>> Sorry, Director Cummings.

55:14>> Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Tim

55:16Cummings, director of administrative

55:18services. As noted, I wasn't here this

55:19evening to speak on that legislation. I

55:22just tried to get a hold of uh uh

55:24parking manager Stansfield. I couldn't,

55:27but I did just quickly look at the

55:29legislation and I can speak ever so

55:31briefly to it. It is it is very

55:34straightforward piece of legislation.

55:35And it's a companion piece of

55:37legislation that actually goes handin

55:40glove with a a separate piece of

55:42legislation that I believe will be

55:43coming before uh the finance committee

55:46and for that to be uh properly uh taken

55:49under consideration. Uh this piece of

55:52legislation would allow for permits to

55:55be issued in the in the high street

55:58garage. Uh right now it's open to the

56:00public um and uh metered spaces. This

56:04would essentially just be uh if you will

56:08um a housekeeping type matter to allow

56:11for permits to be issued um and then

56:13specifically um uh for the um high

56:18street flats and and that's a lease um

56:22uh term that is going to be presented I

56:25believe to the finance committee uh to

56:28uh on Wednesday night. Uh so um I I have

56:32limited uh understanding of it but

56:34that's essentially the the legislation.

56:36It's very straightforward and wanted to

56:39provide that to you since you are all

56:40here and if you could make a favor

56:42favorable recommendation on it I think

56:44that that would be would be certainly

56:46appreciated knowing there'll also be a

56:48secondary discussion uh at the at the

56:51finance committee. Thank you

56:53>> Aldwin Clemens.

56:54>> Yeah I I have too many questions in

56:57order to move forward this evening. um

56:59on it. Unfortunately

57:04for myself, speaking for myself,

57:06>> Alderman Lopez,

57:07>> uh likewise, I am alarmed by it, so I

57:10would really like to be able to talk

57:11about it. Um because parking is such a

57:13problematic issue downtown, I want to

57:14make sure I actually know exactly what

57:16we're doing.

57:18>> Do I have a motion?

57:19>> Sure. If you if I may respond. Um Madam

57:23Chair,

57:24>> Director Cummings.

57:26>> Yes, certainly understand that point. I

57:28will certainly uh work with my

57:31colleagues and uh with the chair to

57:34ensure that we uh can get those

57:36questions answered. If you'd like to

57:38table this legislation and whether we

57:40can get it addressed sooner than uh

57:43December, that would be welcomed, but

57:44certainly understand that we could we

57:46could come back before you at the

57:47December um meeting as well.

57:52>> And I'll respond to that. I also feel

57:54strong strongly along with the other

57:57committee members. I I understand that

58:00sometimes things seem like they're fine,

58:01but like people should be here to speak

58:03to their legislation. And with parking

58:06being we just upgraded those garages.

58:08There is a lot of stock issues. We took

58:10out a lot of parking um to put in the

58:13Riverwalk. Like I don't think these are

58:15cut and dry things and I think it's fair

58:17for the committee to ask someone to be

58:18here to speak about it.

58:20>> Yeah, I know. Understood. Thank you,

58:22>> Alderman McLe.

58:23>> Uh, thank you. I agree with everything

58:25that everybody has said here. I too have

58:27concerns while I'm not on that

58:28committee. Um, but my only concern and

58:30and I have a question to um um Director

58:33Cummings. Will this mean that we'll have

58:36to table tomorrow night's uh legislation

58:40because tomorrow, not tomorrow, I'm

58:41sorry, Wednesday's losing my days here.

58:44Wednesday's um is this going to impact

58:47what we do on Wednesday? Will we have to

58:49table that as well? Well, I I don't

58:51think you'd necessarily need to table

58:53it. Um I think uh you could certainly if

58:56you so desired act on it and of course I

58:59would ask that you favorably recommend

59:01it. Uh but I think before it could

59:03actually be implemented, this piece of

59:05legislation would need to be adopted.

59:08>> So we could put the provision in that if

59:10we did decide to pass it at finance.

59:13um on the provision that it did pass

59:16both here in personnel and uh the board

59:20of alderman. Thank you. That that was my

59:21question.

59:23>> I appreciate that. My response is that

59:25if you have a time-sensitive thing, you

59:27should be here to speak on your

59:28legislation.

59:28>> Yes.

59:29>> Great.

59:30>> And and Madam Chair, I don't believe

59:31this is necessarily timesensitive, but I

59:34certainly will bring those messages

59:36back.

59:37>> Thank you very much. Do I have a motion?

59:40>> Motion to table.

59:41>> All those in favor? I I

59:43>> Any oppos?

59:47>> Um O-26-028

59:50uh amendment to parking permit school

59:52street parking garage. Motion by me to

59:54recommend final passage.

59:57>> Alderman clones.

59:58>> Motion to table.

1:00:00>> All those in favor?

1:00:01>> I. Any opposed? Uh thank you for trying,

1:00:04Director Cummings.

1:00:07>> I did. I tried. Let's just note that for

1:00:09[laughter] the record. Thank you.

1:00:10>> Taking me back. We're not taking

1:00:12anything off the table. There is no

1:00:14public here, but I am calling for public

1:00:17comment. We did already have general

1:00:20discussion, but I'm here.

1:00:22>> Thank you. Um I just I want to thank my

1:00:24two colleagues who were so kind to me,

1:00:27but I do want everybody to know that

1:00:30this did not happen in a silo. Um every

1:00:34step of the way, I spoke to both of them

1:00:37um who gave input. Um, and so while I

1:00:41may have done a little bit of the the

1:00:42leg work, my colleagues also added um

1:00:46their opinions and when um um attorney

1:00:50clerk uh sent it out, we all spoke on

1:00:54it. We all kind of um tweaked it a

1:00:57little bit. Um I may have done a little

1:00:59extra ed leg work, but I think all of

1:01:01them would have done the same for me. So

1:01:03um thank you

1:01:04>> Alderman Clemens. Then Alderman Toot.

1:01:07>> Thank you. I just want to take the brief

1:01:09time to remind people to go and vote

1:01:12tomorrow. Um, polls are open in NSHA

1:01:15from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. So, please

1:01:19go out and exercise your right to vote.

1:01:24>> Tibo.

1:01:25>> Yeah. Um,

1:01:28I voted yes on the the tax exemption.

1:01:31Um,

1:01:33I almost voted no because after I said I

1:01:35was going to vote yes, everybody decided

1:01:37to to to

1:01:39debate me on it. Even [laughter] though

1:01:40I had already said I was going to vote

1:01:41for it, every single person talked after

1:01:43that. Um, and it made me think about it

1:01:45more. Maybe I should vote no on this,

1:01:47but I didn't. I voted yes. Um the other

1:01:51thing is I don't know how many times

1:01:53we've asked for when there's legislation

1:01:54before a committee um that somebody come

1:01:57to speak if the manager can't farm it

1:02:01out to somebody that knows what they're

1:02:02talking about to come here and speak. I

1:02:04mean now we have to wait a month on

1:02:05something. Um again this doesn't seem

1:02:09critical according to director Cummings

1:02:11but sometimes we get stuff that's

1:02:12critical and nobody shows up and I don't

1:02:15know why that is. This is where we're

1:02:16supposed to talk about it. We're not

1:02:17going to just put pass it through so we

1:02:18can talk it about at the board of

1:02:20alderman. Um we have plenty of stuff

1:02:23that gets talked about at the board of

1:02:24alderman to keep us there till 11

1:02:25o'clock. So we don't need to pass

1:02:27something through so we can you know do

1:02:29this all over again. So it's a little

1:02:31annoying when we have to come here and

1:02:33there's something that we can't work on

1:02:36that we're supposed to work on and now

1:02:38maybe it gets pushed to the next

1:02:39meeting. Maybe we have 10 things on that

1:02:41meeting and now that meeting goes to 11

1:02:43o'clock. So that's annoying. Um, and

1:02:46then lastly, to Alderman Clement's

1:02:48point, this is your chance to change

1:02:50things. If you don't like what you got

1:02:51out there now, tomorrow's a chance to go

1:02:53out and vote. Uh, you know, when Thomas

1:02:55Jefferson wrote the Declaration of

1:02:57Independence, he said, "When a

1:02:58government isn't isn't going the way you

1:03:00want it to go. You have the right to

1:03:02revolt. We do not revolt by, uh, warlike

1:03:06efforts. We revolt by our vote." So,

1:03:08tomorrow's the chance to do that. Please

1:03:10go out and vote. Remember, there's two

1:03:11ballot questions. Please understand them

1:03:13before you vote on them. Um, and uh,

1:03:17yeah, I mean, there's your chance to

1:03:18vote. Please try to get the numbers up

1:03:20as much as we can. It'd be nice to be

1:03:22above like 28 30% voting. So, you can

1:03:26still register to vote tomorrow as well.

1:03:28If you're not a registered voter, you

1:03:30can go to your ward and register and

1:03:32then vote. So, thank you,

1:03:35>> Alderman Lopez. Uh,

1:03:37>> I just want to point out National

1:03:38Transit does free buses to the polling

1:03:40stations and back. So, the only one

1:03:42busing people to the polls is the bus

1:03:44company. [laughter]

1:03:46[snorts]

1:03:46>> Well said, Alderman Johnson.

1:03:49>> Thank you. Yes, I want to reiterate what

1:03:52everybody else is saying. If you're

1:03:54happy with the way things are, just vote

1:03:55for the same people. If you're not, vote

1:03:57for new people. But it's going to be

1:04:00nice. I'm not standing at the polls

1:04:02tomorrow. I'm [snorts] not helping

1:04:03anybody tomorrow. I'm I going to take

1:04:07the day the morning off

1:04:10>> and before I have to go to work, but I

1:04:12want to wish everybody luck tomorrow and

1:04:14whatever um office they're running for.

1:04:19>> Um okay, so I will I will work with

1:04:22Director Cummings and Miss Stanfield to

1:04:24make sure that when they come to speak

1:04:26on this, maybe we have a bit of a more

1:04:27holistic discussion around parking. It

1:04:29sounds like that is being requested. So

1:04:32I'll make sure that happens. Again, I

1:04:34speak last, but I agree. Vote, vote,

1:04:36vote, please. That it's so important. It

1:04:38always makes me sad how few like

1:04:40percentage wise, how people how few

1:04:42people go out and vote. Um, so if you

1:04:45like it, if you don't like it, you got

1:04:48to vote. Um, the other thing I wanted to

1:04:50remind people of is that W one is

1:04:53switched to NSHA High School North so

1:04:56people don't go to the wrong polling

1:04:57locations. And my word switched a couple

1:05:00days ago or a couple years ago, but I

1:05:02always forget. So, W five is at

1:05:04Nashville High School South. Don't go to

1:05:07main dun school. Um, all the information

1:05:09is on our city website, but get out

1:05:12there and vote. You got lots of hours.

1:05:14And I feel badly for um Mr. Healey.

1:05:18Thankfully, he won't have to be at the

1:05:19meeting with us um for tomorrow night,

1:05:21but I know he runs a tight ship. So, um

1:05:24thank you everyone for coming and um

1:05:26have a good night.

1:05:28>> Should we adjourn?

1:05:28>> Need an adjournment. We do need an

1:05:30endermanment, but I

1:05:32>> motion to adjurnn.

1:05:32>> That could be my remarks. You heard the

1:05:35the motion. All those in favor?

1:05:37>> I.

1:05:37>> Any oppose?

1:05:38>> The meeting is closed at 8:06. Thank you

1:05:41everyone.

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