New Hampshire

Concord City Council Approves New Fees, Some Fee Increases

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2024

Concord City Council Approves New Fees, Some Fee Increases

CONCORD, NH — The Concord City Council on Monday approved increases in fees for some city services, created several new fee structures, and left some alone during its regular monthly meeting.

About 40 different fees, fines, and penalties for community development, the fire department, general services, and the legal department were eyed by the councilors. Recommendations by city staff included no increase, 100 percent increases, and smaller amounts between about 4 percent and 25 percent. Some fees have not been increased since 2007; others were last increased in 2015.

The proposal also included new fees such as several nonrefundable application fees for building and code services for staff time spent processing an application ($30); $445 to $890 annual monitoring charge radio box by the fire department for building owners that have not installed wired master boxes systems by July 1; $5 and $6 fees for plan copy per page fees and digital USB files for code administration and building codes, now that the department can print large format plans; and a $20 maximum fine for library of things, since the library has increased its collection.

Find out what’s happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Proposed Ordinance & Non-Ordinance Based Fee Changes can be found linked here on the city’s website, in PDF.

City Manager Tom Aspell said departments look at all the ordnance and non-ordinance fees annually and make decisions on whether to leave them alone or raise them based on inflation, market conditions, or other factors.

Find out what’s happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ward 5 Concord City Councilor Stacey Brown asked Aspell if developers were required to pay for traffic studies as part of the fee structure.

Matt Walsh, the deputy city manager of development, said, if the real estate project requires a traffic study, the city would review it and the developer would have to conduct one. If an outside review is required, the developer would be charged a fee, he said. The city also charges transportation impact fees, particularly for residential projects.

Roy Schweiker, a resident who regularly participates in city council meetings, said he was surprised at how few and how small the increases were, including some that were not being increased at all. Some, he said, were increased as little as 4 percent, and it was his general impression that the cost of doing business in the city was much higher than 4 percent. City departments where employees were getting bonuses were seeing a lot higher costs, too, he said.

“The problem is,” Schweiker said, “to the extent that we don’t collect the money in fees, it’s got to be paid out of the property tax. So, I guess, I would say, raised all these fees and raise them some more to make sure we are getting our expenses recovered and not getting them stuck on the rest of us.”

Schweiker said the fee for sewer hookups should also include the costs of expanding the sewer, which should be paid for by developers.

During the action phase, Ward 3 City Councilor Jennifer Kretovic said there were 12 new fees and was not sure if Schweiker’s comments were accurate due to those new fees.

Brown asked for clarification about sewer hookup fees, and Walsh said there were fees — including tiers. The city, he said, does not have impact water and sewer fees, per se, but did have water and sewer investment fees that were collected, but the council moved away from them years ago. It could, however, be revisited.

The proposal was then approved unanimously.

Other Public Hearings, Actions

The council approved a transfer of $65,722.88 from the wastewater fund to the capital fund.

The council approved reorganizing the general services highways and utilities division due to a long-time employee retiring. Aspell was asked by Ward 1 Councilor Brent Todd why the issue was being brought up now instead of when the budget hearings start later this week. Aspell said it was an opportunity to save money because of a vacancy. Todd also asked about the pavement painting and whether this would be sped up due to the changes. Aspell said it would vary between after street sweeping was completed, whether the weather was appropriate, and the need for better fog lines and markings when school starts in late August. Brown asked if there would be an updated budget, and Brian Lebrun, the deputy city manager of finance, said the changes would be reflected in the fiscal year 2025.

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

What employers are getting wrong, and how to fix it before it becomes a claim

New Hampshire’s employment law landscape heading into 2026 may not be dramatically different from last year, but the real risks lie in implementation missteps. From the initial setting of wages, to calculating and distributing wages, employers will likely find a specific statute and/or labor regulation governing the transaction. Failure to follow these detailed wage and hour laws can result in significant back wages and other penalties being imposed by the state or federal Department of Labor following an audit. Fortunately, however, this area of employment law is relatively easy to master, once you are familiar with the basics.

Notice compliance

One of the most common pitfalls for employers in New Hampshire is misunderstanding the wage and hour notice requirements under RSA 275 and the related New Hampshire Department of Labor Administrative Rules.

At the time of hire, employers must notify employees in writing of their rate of pay and the day and place of payment. This notice is traditionally delivered to employees by way of an offer letter or some sort of “New Hire Rate of Pay” form. (A sample form is available from the New Hampshire Department of Labor website.) What surprises most employers, however, is that Lab. 803.03(f)(6) also requires employers to request and obtain their employees’ signatures on this written notification of wages, and employers must keep a copy of the signed written notification of wages on file. Further, employers must notify employees in writing during the course of employment of any changes to wages or day of pay prior to such changes taking effect, and the employer must obtain the employee’s signature on this subsequent notification as well. (See RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Employers are further required to notify employees in writing, or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to employees, of:

• employment practices and policies with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits.

• deductions made from the employee’s payroll check, for each period such deductions are made.

• information regarding the deductions allowed from wage payments under state law. (RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Policies regarding vacation and sick leave should inform employees whether or not the employer will “cash out” unused time at year end or at the end of employment, and if so, under what terms. Again, if any changes are made to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits during the course of employment (all of which are considered “wages” under New Hampshire law), employers must request and obtain their employees’ signatures on the written notification of the change, and must keep a copy of the signed form on file. (Lab. 803.03.) Importantly, notification by way of pay stub alone is not sufficient, and, these requirements apply to both increases and decreases in pay.

Two-hour minimum (reporting pay)

Another frequently overlooked obligation is New Hampshire’s two-hour minimum reporting pay requirement. Under RSA 275:43-a, non-exempt employees who report to work but are sent home early must generally be paid for at least two hours. Weather-related closures, client cancellations or operational slowdown days can trigger this rule. Employers should also note that the New Hampshire Department of Labor currently applies this law to remote-based employees. Consequently, employees who “report to work” at an employer’s request from a home office may likewise have a right to two hours of pay, depending on the circumstances.

Salaried vs. hourly employees

Misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime remains a significant source of compliance exposure. The position’s job duties — not the titles or label such as “salaried” — determine whether an employee qualifies for an overtime exemption.

Employers, particularly in nonprofits, health care and small businesses, unintentionally misapply exempt classifications to roles such as administrative staff, office managers, executive assistants, program coordinators or hybrid jobs that involve significant non-exempt tasks. Over time, as organizational needs evolve and employees take on broader responsibilities, job duties can drift outside of an exemption’s scope.

Best practice is to periodically review job descriptions and actual job duties to ensure continued compliance with exemption criteria, particularly following any significant restructuring or job redesigns.

Peg O’Brien is chair of McLane Middleton’s Employment Law Practice Group. She can be reached at margaret.o’brien@mclane.com.

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New Hampshire

New photo released in unsolved 1997 homicide of a N.H. woman

Published

15 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

New photo released in unsolved 1997 homicide of a N.H. woman

Local News

“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” said the family of the victim.

A new photo has been released of the victim in a nearly 30-year-long unsolved murder case, in the hope of finding any new potential witnesses in the cold case, New Hampshire officials said.

“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” the family of Rosalie Miller said in a press release. “We miss her and want to give her peace.”

Miller was last seen on December 8, 1996 at her apartment in Manchester. At the time of her disappearance, Miller had plans on meeting friends in the Auburn, New Hampshire area, officials said.

Her body was found on January 20, 1997 in a partially wooded spot on a residential lot along the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn, officials said in the release.

The autopsy report declared Miller’s death a homicide by asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation, N.H. officials wrote.

As part of a new effort to garner public help with the case, an “uncirculated” photo of Miller, 36, is being distributed “in hopes it may jog the memory of someone who saw or spoke with her in the winter of 1996,” Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall announced on behalf of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit in a joint press release.

Investigators are especially hoping to talk to anyone who was in contact with Miller in December of 1996 or anyone “who may have seen her in the vicinity of the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn during that time,” officials said in the release.

The newly released photo of Rosalie Miller, 36, who was strangled to death nearly 30 years ago. – Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall

“We are releasing this new photograph today because we believe someone out there has information, perhaps a detail they thought was insignificant at the time, that could be the key to solving this case and bringing justice for Rosalie and those who loved her,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, New Hampshire Cold Case Unit Chief said in the release.

The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit encourages anyone with any amount of information to contact the group at [email protected] or (603) 271-2663.