The Personnel Administrative Affairs Committee of the Nashua Board of Aldermen met on August 5, 2025, to interview candidates for several city boards and commissions, debate multiple pending ordinances, and discuss a proposed charter amendment. Public testimony focused on First Amendment rights.
The committee interviewed and unanimously voted to recommend the following appointments to the full Board of Aldermen:
1. Proposed Budget Cap (R-25121) Alderman Clemens moved to indefinitely postpone the charter amendment proposing a cap on annual budgets, arguing it was not ready for the fall ballot and should be left to the next board. Alderman O'Brien offered a lengthy critique of the previous spending cap regime. Alderman Dowd raised concerns about hamstringing future boards. The motion to indefinitely postpone was recommended, effectively ending the current proposal.
2. Fire Department Chief Officers' Compensation (O-25058) The ordinance aimed to fix salary compression for non-union fire department executives. Supporters argued the current merit matrix creates disincentives for promotion and has caused the city to lose talent. A late memo from the administration noted the 20% pay differential proposed was above the consultant's typical 5-15% range, but Director Cummings clarified the 20% figure was acceptable. The committee recommended final passage despite frustrations over the memo's timing.
3. Restrictions on Signs, Banners, and Flags (O-25060) The committee debated an ordinance to prohibit items that create safety concerns or obstruct views. Supporters cited safety and decorum. Opponents argued the language was open to interpretation and could limit legitimate expression. The ordinance was tabled to allow for further refinements.
4. Aldermanic Remarks Limit (O-25056) A proposal to limit individual aldermen's remarks to three minutes at the end of meetings was debated. Some aldermen supported it for fairness, while others argued it could prevent them from adequately responding to public comments or addressing multiple issues. The ordinance was tabled for revisions.
Okay, I'm going to call the Personnel Administrative Affairs Committee to order. Today is August 4th, 2024. It is a Monday, and we are in the Aldermanic Chamber. This meeting has been duly noticed in two places, including the city's website, in accordance with the requirements of RSA 91A. If the clerk could please call the roll. Alderman Ernest Jetty. He's unable to be here tonight. Alderman at large Ben Clemens, Vice Chair here. And Alder Woman at large, Shoshana Kelly Chair. I am here. We have foreign attendants. Also joining us this evening is Alderman Clee, Alderman Thibodeau. I do not see Alderman Dowd. Mayor Donchus, Tim Cummings, Administrative Services Director. Nancy Trask, Human Resources Manager. Steve Buxton, Fire Chief. I think that's everybody. I think that covers it. Oh, Lizzie's here. Okay. So we'll start with public comments. If you have comments for anything that we'll be discussing this committee, please come to the mic and you can give your testimony. Name and address for the record. Good evening. My name is Paula Johnson. I live at 15 Westmoreland Drive. I'm here to speak about O dash 25. I'm having a little hard time hearing you. 060. I'm a little tired tonight. That's okay. Just want to make sure I can hear you fully. Um the reason I'm here is I understand you don't want political banners. You don't want political flags in here. We never had it. Everybody respected that. But when Mr. T Boom, former Alderman, came in here, and he had a chart, he brought in a poster talking about the spending cap. I guess it was something like this, except in a bigger board. Well, except mine's upside down. And this talks about the charter related laws. And he was talking about this so everybody could understand, but I guess it was too high or whatever to block views. So you could have people with a poster like this, and you could move the mic over to here. You have to stay in front of the mic so it gets recorded for the record. Well, I get it, but you could move over to there, which wouldn't obstruct any views. So I just happened to be on watching my favorite rumble programs, and this is Congress. Congress have people coming in and testifying, which we basically are when we're giving public comments, and they allow charts diagrams. Why can't we, the citizens of Nashua? You're taking away our First Amendment rights. Again, I understand political.