Nashua, New Hampshire Board of Aldermen Committee Meeting - September 10, 2026

The Nashua Board of Aldermen committee met on September 10, 2026, with four aldermen present, constituting a quorum. Chairwoman Shoshana Kelly attended remotely due to child care issues; Vice Chair Ben Clemens chaired because the city's rules do not allow chairing a meeting over Zoom. The committee took public comment, recommended a mayoral appointment, advanced a sewer rate ordinance, and tabled a remote-participation ordinance.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Lori Ortolano, a Nashua resident, expressed concern about increasing sewer fees and said more than 10,000 sewer bills are unpaid, requiring roughly $3 million in the budget to cover them. She suggested combining sewer bills with property tax bills and restoring enforcement via liens. She also supported remote participation for people with disabilities and noted Massachusetts extended remote meeting access to 2027.
• In a later public comment period, Ortolano criticized the city's legal advice and the narrow scope of the remote-participation ordinance, and urged the sponsor to broaden it to all disabilities. Attorney Bolton responded that the city is already bound by the ADA and that legal had drafted the ordinance as the sponsor requested after recommending against it.
• Marnie Gordon, the mayoral nominee to the Historic District Commission, said she has lived in an 1889 Victorian at 69 Concord Street for 20 years, completed multiple HDC application rounds, and would support clearer checklists and standards to help applicants.

Communications

• The committee accepted and placed on file a communication from Public Works Director Lisa Photo regarding the Board of Aldermen referral of Ordinance 0-26-023, the sewer rate ordinance.

Appointments

• The committee voted 4-0 to recommend Marnie Gordon to the Historic District Commission for a term expiring July 16, 2029, and Joseph Duquette to the Airport Authority for a term expiring August 31, 2031.

Discussion Items

• Sewer rate increase (Ordinance 0-26-023):
  • Director Lisa Foto said the wastewater system is not funded by property taxes but by a separate user fee. Superintendent Dave Boucher described the 28-acre plant, its 16 million-gallon-per-day design flow, 12 million-gallon current average and 110 million-gallon wet-weather capacity, serving about 89,000 residents plus contract communities, and listed capital projects including pump station upgrades, pipe replacement, SCADA upgrades, phase one facility upgrades, and biosolids planning.
  • Hazen and Sawyer consultants presented the rate model and recommended 7% annual increases for 2027, 2028, and 2029. The average residential monthly sewer bill would rise from about $43 to $46, then $49, then $52. The consultants noted Nashua's rates remain lower than neighboring utilities, with Manchester approving 19% annual increases and Concord a recent 16% increase, and said the increases keep low-income affordability below the EPA's 2% threshold.
  • Alderman Johnson opposed the increase, saying residents are facing Pennichuck water and property tax increases and that the city should collect delinquent sewer fees before asking for more. A treasurer's office representative reported five years of delinquencies totaling $1.7 million, including $1 million in current bills not yet due, and about 600 liened properties. Staff also confirmed the sewer fund is supported solely by fees and that Hudson contributes 12.58% of plant capital-project costs. Director Foto and Aldermen Clee and Clemens argued that skipping increases created a 15% jump in 2024 and that steady annual increases avoid larger future spikes.
  • The motion to recommend final passage passed 3-1, with Alderman Johnson voting no and Aldermen Thibault (transcribed as Tebow), Clemens, and Kelly voting yes. If adopted, the rate increase would take effect January 1, 2027.
• Remote public participation (Ordinance 0-26-002):
  • Alderman Johnson moved final passage, saying the city should accommodate disabled residents and that the ADA and state human rights law require accessibility. She cited Board of Education policy developed after an Office of Civil Rights complaint.
  • Aldermen Thibault, Kelly, and Clee opposed the ordinance as written. Concerns included difficulty verifying a walking disability, implementation and IT burdens, risk of unequal treatment or lawsuits, and previous problems controlling remote public participants.
  • Corporation Counsel Steve Bolton advised that the ADA applies to the city regardless of the ordinance and recommended a broader accommodation policy and a defined decision-making process rather than the narrow walking-disability language.
  • After debate, Alderman Johnson said she would go back to the drawing board and research further, then moved to table the ordinance. The motion carried 4-0, returning Ordinance 0-26-002 to the table. Ordinances 0-26-004 and 0-26-005 also remained tabled.

Key Outcomes

• Recommended final passage of Ordinance 0-26-023 (sewer user fee rates) by a 3-1 vote, with proposed 7% annual rate increases for 2027-2029, effective no earlier than January 1, 2027.
• Recommended Marnie Gordon to the Historic District Commission and Joseph Duquette to the Airport Authority, both by 4-0 votes.
• Tabled Ordinance 0-26-002 (remote participation for persons with walking disabilities) by a 4-0 vote; no final passage.
• Left Ordinances 0-26-004 and 0-26-005 on the table.
• The meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m.