The information contained in this article is not intended as legal advice and may no longer be accurate due to changes in the law. Consult NHMA's legal services or your municipal attorney.
Welcome to the March/April issues of Town & City! Most NHMA members will hold their town meetings this month—with a handful holding them in April and May—and so we wish you a successful town meeting season, with robust debate, citizen engagement, and positive outcomes for your communities.
Town meeting also means newly elected and appointed officials—which means a great opportunity to take advantage of NHMA’s training and educational resources. In addition to members being able to attend our workshops live in person or virtually, we want to remind you that you have 24/7 access to prior recordings of workshops and webinars and the ability to download digital copies of any of publications at no cost by logging into our website. And new this year: NHMA is launching a new certificate program! This program is borne out of the five strategic priorities established in our 2024-2027 strategic plan. Here's a summary:
Road Map to Excellence in Local Government Your guide to municipal leadership:
This curriculum is a roadmap to the workshops and resources already available to help local officials and managers excel. From budgeting and municipal law to governance and planning, this structured overview highlights the tools and training already in place to support you in leading your community effectively. While the program will officially launch after town meetings, you can explore the details and begin planning your participation now by visiting the Certificate Program page of our website.
Meanwhile, downtown Concord, the legislative session is in full swing, with Crossover—the day bills must be acted on in order to be sent to the other chamber—set for April 10. This means that after April 10, there will be fewer bills still “alive,” as many will have been killed (Inexpedient to Legislate) or retained/referred (held over the summer for review). However, any bills that have been tabled can be attached to other bills; and, in a budget year, this is particularly true because HB 2, the budget “trailer bill,” is regularly used as a vehicle for attaching and passing tabled bills. Speaking of the budget, as of this writing the governor’s state budget is yet to be presented; we expect that to happen on February 13. Please visit our bill tracker to keep up to date on bill activity, and don’t forget to read our weekly Legislative Bulletin, either by subscribing or viewing it on our website, where it is publicly available.
Because bill language was later than usual in coming out this year, NHMA did not host its usual Legislative Preview webinar prior to the start of the session. However, we are planning a Legislative Half-Time Webinar right around Crossover to update members on the legislative session. Stay tuned!
Looking ahead, upcoming NHMA workshops include our brand-new Principles of Employment Law, presented by employment attorneys from DrummondWoodsum; NHMA’s annual Local Officials Workshops, intended to provide an overview of important municipal topics for newly elected or appointed officials; The Right to Know Law: Public Meetings & Governmental Records; and A Hard Road to Travel (it is almost mud reason, after all!).
Finally, enclosed in this issue of Town & City is NHMA’s Annual Report. We hope you enjoy reviewing the highlights of 2024—and are looking forward to working together again in 2025.