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

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Published

10 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Local News

Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.

Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.

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New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

22 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.