Hooksett Budget Committee Meeting - October 15, 2026

The Hooksett Budget Committee met on the evening of October 15, 2026, to continue its review of the proposed FY2028 municipal budget. Members present included President Jerm Martin, John Chempa, Elizabeth Spitzer, Alyssa L., George Harrington, David Smith, and Abigail Shane. No representative from the Village Water Precinct appeared. The committee approved prior meeting minutes, reviewed the library and police department budgets, and heard public comment.

Minutes Approval

• The committee approved the minutes of the October 8, 2026 meeting by voice vote. Elizabeth Spitzer noted a typo in the workman's compensation and unemployment wording, and the committee agreed to correct it to "higher."

Library Budget Presentation

• Library Board Chair Sandra Mack and Library Director Heather Rainier presented the library's proposed FY2028 budget, joined by Assistant Director Mark Lisen and trustees Mary Farwell and Barbara Davis.
• The library proposes restoring hours from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. to 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., adding one hour per day to help evening meetings and programs. The director said the current 7 p.m. closing has forced groups to start earlier or shorten meetings.
• The proposed library total was cited as about $1.233 million, compared with $1.139 million in the prior amended budget. Staffing would restore some cut hours and add back a 10-hour-per-week replacement part-time position, not a new permanent position.
• Reported FY2026 usage: 360 youth programs with 10,761 children/families attending, and 173 adult programs with 4,758 attendees. Museum passes cost $4,735 and generated $52,885 in savings for residents.
• The library provided comparison data for 10 comparable New Hampshire towns, selected by sorting the full state library data and taking five towns above and five below Hooksett by per-capita library budget. Staff expenditure per capita was about $57.11, placing Hooksett in the middle, while FTE staffing was near the low end. Members disagreed about whether the comparison showed Hooksett low or middle.
• Committee member David Smith praised library programming but questioned adding hours during the third year of default budget, noting the transfer station lost a Saturday in default. Library officials and trustee Mary Farwell argued the library already runs lean and further staff cuts would harm services and risk losing staff.
• David Smith also calculated the library's combined wages and benefit lines at $988,861 and called that significant; library supporters noted the health insurance line is a large share and town insurance rates decreased this year.

Police Budget Presentation

• Town Administrator Andre Guerin and Police Chief Justin Sargent presented the proposed FY2028 police budget. The town council recommended budget is $6,391,047, an increase of $172,725, or 2.78%, over FY2027, and about $80,000 over the default budget.
• Police health insurance was budgeted with a 12% escalation factor, adding $137,200 and bringing the line to $1,280,536. Actual town health insurance rates came in at -2%, with dental up 1.9%, so the police budget is expected to be adjusted downward after the November 4 town council meeting.
• Staffing remains 41 full-time and 4 part-time. There are four open patrol officer positions, one of which is frozen. No new police positions are proposed.
• Overtime was overspent by $19,000 last year because of vacancies, additional court days, and two officers on pregnancy leave. The recommended budget uses a five-year average instead of the one-year anomaly.
• Vehicle replacement is a major issue: five of ten patrol vehicles have over 100,000 miles, and one older vehicle has an estimated 500,000 miles including idle time. The capital improvement plan calls for two replacements per year, but only three were replaced in three years. A warrant article for vehicles was approved by the Town Council the previous night, and another warrant would allow using about $350,000 in the police detail fund to buy patrol vehicles if the default budget takes effect.
• The police are working with the state to co-locate on a state-owned tower, which would save about $15,000 per year. A state hearing is expected in November, with possible construction in summer or fall 2027.
• The police phone-recording system is too old to qualify for a service contract; replacement would cost $10,000-$15,000 and was not included this year. One AED replacement was included at $2,500 to match fire department equipment.
• Chief Sargent said recruiting is very difficult, citing a roughly 90% failure rate on the physical fitness test. Each sworn officer must maintain about 26 hours of training per year.
• Hybrid patrol vehicles save about $3,000 per car per year, but repairs can be difficult; one vehicle spent about nine months at a Ford dealer. The chief said town mechanics are not trained on hybrid repairs because the vehicle mechanic belongs to the Highway Department.
• A committee member raised the state Group II Tier B retirement issue; Chief Sargent said it has not been fixed and affects police recruitment and retention.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Resident Sarah Mackey of 39 Joanne Drive supported the library's proposed evening extension, saying her family attends a popular Monday-evening library program that fills to capacity, and extra evening time would allow families to eat dinner and attend without rushing. She also asked about training town mechanics on hybrid vehicles; Chief Sargent replied that the mechanic is employed by the Highway Department and that training decisions would rest there.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the October 8, 2026 meeting minutes with the corrected typo.
• Continued the FY2028 budget review with library and police presentations; no line-item votes were taken.
• Police and town administration will return with revised health insurance figures and other adjustments before the budget is finalized.
• The committee discussed starting meetings at 6 p.m. instead of 6:30 p.m. but took no action; several members noted scheduling conflicts.