1. NEW WEBSITE:   Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday May 14- May 16th  Most staff be in training so there may be delays in responding  to requests immediately.

                                             We are still scheduled for public release May 30th .  There is a lot of uploading of old minutes and new content after March 27th, 2024.

                                            After Staff is trained we will begin and continue even after launch.   The site has been shared with boards and commissions, the largest undertaking will be      moving  the Recreation commission over and we have a designated consultant from Civic Plus to assist us on May 21st.  We are asking ALL Town business to             through the new site.   There are two calendars, for example,  one of which is a community.    I am asking for the Board to allow us Staff to develop procedures for                                             handling website requests and that approval of these procedures be delegated to the Town Administrator.

2.  April reports from Trustees of the Trust Funds  - Below are the April reports in two files:  Expendable Trusts which total $1,586,222.62 and Donated Funds       totaling $104,297.26 at the end of April.

3. CERT Update from the Chief -   Please see report below. -  About $425 was spent on the day of training with additional costs to come forward for the cost of                                       certification.  We are tracking these costs for budget preparation. Chief is working with various agencies for grants, so we will keep you posted over the coming weeks.

4.  MS-1 Update -  As the 1st issue of the Tax bills are released we ask residents to remember these are calculated with the 2023 tax rate and are considered an                                              estimate.  Assessments on properties are as of April 1st,  2024.  Therefore the Assessors attempt to pick up any changes to properties (building                                           permits, Certificates of occupancy, land transfers, deed changes, etc).   I always like to use this time to look at the potential shifts in our Town valuation   You will see below, our Town picked up $7,111,994 in net valuation  - $5,425,300 in Commercial and $1,714,600 .  While still very modest this is the shift we would like to see.   These commercial properties are the rentals, with over 4 units. This small shift, with revenues holding true, may result in a couple cents off the 2024 tax rate set in October.

5. Staff -      

All of our staff is amazing - and what a team we have become.  I am happy to say Pat Textor will be staying until the end of the month, while we fill her position and I have heard from residents how much they will miss her, I will too!    There are two staff members I would like to especially thank - Donna                      Baril and Heather Snaman.  Heather is tracking most of our costs to better assist us with future planning - CERT, Stormwater, Utility, Contracts, and the list           goes on and on.  Out accounting software is limited in functionality and I would like to us consider an upgrade soon.

Donna has really stepped up since the loss of our building inspector.  Assisting contractors and scheduling our contracted inspector.  She is managing the                       Zoning applications and preparing their portal, all while doing her normal duties.  I would like to ask our contractors to be pleasant with Donna, she had                          nothing to do with the situation we are facing and we are all doing as much as possible to keep work going within the Town.

On the building inspector - we have received three applications of qualified candidates which I will share with the Board.  The next step would be                                        interviews, and I am hopeful that we will have a new inspector before July.

6.           County Budget

  Below you will see the Town's modified assessment and notice of the proposed  2025 County Budget.   The modified assessment is used primarily to                       determine  the  portion on the County Budget which is allocated to Litchfield.  I wanted you to be aware these were received and I am preparing a financial & historical analysis which I will present as part of your budget in August.   It would be helpful if we could determine this impact going into budget season.                   In summary the 2025 proposed County budget translates into a $38.57 total annual increase  per household, an increase of .11 per thousand to the                         County's tax rate.  My intention is to be able to understand how our growth may effect this and get a better estimate.          More to come. 

7.              2023 Financial Audit

                    Our Auditor's, Marcum,  will be in the office starting the 2023 audit.  Karen White will be their primary contact while they conduct testing, but a number of                       other individuals will be assisting including Terri, John, Heather and myself.  We will keep you informed of any concerns.

8.           NH Office of Planning and Development (OPD) Spring 2024 Planning & Zoning Conference was this past Saturday from 8:45 am to 3:30 pm.  I                  attended virtually and it was very informative.  A lot of best practices were intorduced which I think the Town will benefit from.  I will work with Joan on                these going forward.

9.            Leadership Meeting at Manchester City Hall, May 13th

 Mayor Ruais of Manchester invited the Town Managers and Administrators to City Hall this morning at 11 am.  Those present were:

      Londonderry:  Michael Malaguti

Bedford:  Rick Sawyer

Goffstown:  Derek Horne

Auburn:  Chris Sterndale

Hooksett:  Andre Garron

          Discussion is centered on:   Community challenges

Ways to collaborate

Communication moving forward