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Record of Proceedings

Hooksett Town Council Meeting - January 21, 2026: Budget and Warrant Articles Recommendation

Town Council & BoardsWednesday, January 21, 2026
BodyHooksett, New Hampshire
SessionTown Council & Boards
DateWednesday, January 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 15:40

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Oh.

0:01

Boom, boom.

0:02

I use this quickly.

0:03

Watch.

0:04

Wow, that sounds good.

0:05

Wood on word.

0:06

Okay, general, uh, ladies and gentlemen.

0:08

We will call tonight's meeting to order.

0:12

And so once I find my agenda.

0:17

We'll call our meeting to order at 605.

0:20

And I have a proof of posting here.

0:23

We have you for our uh we have one item.

0:28

And I would ask that uh you'll be able to do a yeah, I can do the roll call.

0:34

I just need and then we'll do a pledge.

0:44

Oh, yeah, because we have to do a couple of roll calls, correct?

0:48

Oh, nobody like apologize.

0:52

Okay, roll call uh one uh attendance.

0:56

Uh David Smith.

1:01

Uh Council Liberty.

1:03

Yeah.

1:04

Council Sullivan, yes.

1:06

Council Lapierre.

1:08

Council Walsick.

1:11

Councilor Duhaim.

1:12

Here.

1:13

Chair Santulis.

1:15

President.

1:15

Okay.

1:16

All right.

1:16

So if those of you who are able, would you please stand for our pledge of the reason?

1:23

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

1:27

To the Republic for what you're gonna do with liberty and justice for our uh we have one item to cover tonight.

1:43

Uh actually a couple of items, but basically it's a budget and warrant articles, and uh if you want if you're following along, it would be item number six one.

1:52

So what we have to do, counselors is I need a motion, which is on page three.

2:01

Which you don't have, you should do.

2:03

Yes, we do.

2:03

Uh uh on uh uh page three of the packet you have in front of you.

2:07

There's two motions.

2:08

The first one is to uh recommend the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget.

2:13

So someone would be so kind of to make that motion, we'll take off from there.

2:20

Mr.

2:21

Chairman, uh, I'll make a motion that the council votes to recommend the 2006 27 operating budget amount of 25,699,803.

2:34

Do we have a second?

2:36

Thank you, Counselor.

2:37

Okay.

2:37

Uh um Council Sullivan, you made the motion, so you have the opportunity to speak first if you so desire, followed by uh council or liberty.

2:47

Can it's uh it meets uh it may not be ideal to people, but I think it's uh takes in the concern of uh the uh increasing uh taxes.

2:58

Uh it falls in line with the goal uh close to two percent.

3:02

If if not even I'm not sure what the exact amount is to what the council wanted in our goals.

3:08

Uh it provides us needed services and we can only put forward what we think is the best.

3:16

Councilor, do you have anything?

3:18

Uh no, I I did our best to keep it down and and I think it's a very well thought out budget.

3:26

Thank you.

3:27

Councilor Dohame, anything?

3:29

Well, I would have liked a smaller budget.

3:32

Uh I think unless we had the grocery store too.

3:36

So, you know.

3:37

And uh we have to do we have to pay for what c we have to pay the going price for what you gentlemen saw in the news that you know they're talking about task cap, what I was talking about, and I was surprised to see it up in the State House.

3:48

Yeah, because that's you again, there has to be a an end line where you know you have to you have to do without something or figure out something, but that's uh I'm not sure what the answer is, but that's uh yeah.

4:02

It's it's a complex answer because one of the things I like to point out to people when I have conversation outside of this forum here is hooks it like most communities is comprised of various tiers of economic uh economic levels in terms of there's people that have struggle, there's people that don't struggle, and you have to try to strike a balance between uh meeting the needs uh and not going overboard for the people at the so-called bottom of the economic spectrum, but yet at the same time, people that have greater incomes, they have expectations too, and they're paying more than those people.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Procedural█████████████████████████████32%
Education Funding███████████12%
Insurance█████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Hooksett Town Council Meeting - January 21, 2026

The Hooksett Town Council met on January 21, 2026, at 6:05 PM to consider the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 operating budget and the default budget. The meeting was called to order with a roll call showing all members present. After discussion, the council voted to recommend the operating budget and the default budget for voter consideration.

Discussion Items

  • Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Operating Budget: Councilor Sullivan made a motion to recommend the operating budget amount of $25,699,803. He stated the budget meets the goal of keeping tax increases near 2%, accounts for necessary services, and is well thought out. Councilor Duhaim expressed a desire for a smaller budget and called for cuts in departments, citing a need to listen to taxpayers. Councilor Liberty noted that the council had already cut $94,800 from the budget, including reductions in paving and infrastructure, and that health insurance costs (14.5% increase) were largely beyond the town's control. Chair Santulis emphasized the balance between serving lower-income residents and meeting expectations of higher-income taxpayers. Councilor Smith explained that the default budget under SB2 acts as the tax cap; if voters reject the operating budget, the default budget (which does not exceed contractual obligations) takes effect. The council acknowledged the challenge of rising insurance costs and the need for long-term planning.
  • Default Budget: Councilor Duhaim made a motion to recommend the 2026 MSD T B (municipal) default budget of $24,643,338. He noted that this budget represents the tax cap and allows voters to decide. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote on Operating Budget: The council voted 3-1 to recommend the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 operating budget of $25,699,803. Councilor Duhaim voted no; Councilors Smith, Liberty, Lapierre, Walsick, Sullivan, and Chair Santulis voted yes. (Councilor Lapierre and Walsick's votes were noted as 'aye' in the roll call.)
  • Vote on Default Budget: The council voted unanimously to recommend the 2026 default budget of $24,643,338.
  • Item 3 Postponed: The third agenda item (related to a separate matter with Christine) was postponed to the next meeting on January 28, 2026.
  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned following a motion and second.

Meeting Transcript

Oh. Boom, boom. I use this quickly. Watch. Wow, that sounds good. Wood on word. Okay, general, uh, ladies and gentlemen. We will call tonight's meeting to order. And so once I find my agenda. We'll call our meeting to order at 605. And I have a proof of posting here. We have you for our uh we have one item. And I would ask that uh you'll be able to do a yeah, I can do the roll call. I just need and then we'll do a pledge. Oh, yeah, because we have to do a couple of roll calls, correct? Oh, nobody like apologize. Okay, roll call uh one uh attendance. Uh David Smith. Uh Council Liberty. Yeah. Council Sullivan, yes. Council Lapierre. Council Walsick. Councilor Duhaim. Here. Chair Santulis. President. Okay. All right. So if those of you who are able, would you please stand for our pledge of the reason? Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. To the Republic for what you're gonna do with liberty and justice for our uh we have one item to cover tonight. Uh actually a couple of items, but basically it's a budget and warrant articles, and uh if you want if you're following along, it would be item number six one. So what we have to do, counselors is I need a motion, which is on page three. Which you don't have, you should do. Yes, we do. Uh uh on uh uh page three of the packet you have in front of you. There's two motions. The first one is to uh recommend the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget. So someone would be so kind of to make that motion, we'll take off from there. Mr. Chairman, uh, I'll make a motion that the council votes to recommend the 2006 27 operating budget amount of 25,699,803. Do we have a second? Thank you, Counselor. Okay. Uh um Council Sullivan, you made the motion, so you have the opportunity to speak first if you so desire, followed by uh council or liberty. Can it's uh it meets uh it may not be ideal to people, but I think it's uh takes in the concern of uh the uh increasing uh taxes. Uh it falls in line with the goal uh close to two percent. If if not even I'm not sure what the exact amount is to what the council wanted in our goals. Uh it provides us needed services and we can only put forward what we think is the best.

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