Also on today’s menu:
Public Safety Building Delay Is Over
The Big Election Day
Settlement Reached In Data Breach
The Bristol Energy Committee would like to see a property tax exemption for solar energy systems.
The recommended warrant article for next year’s town meeting would grant a 100 percent exemption from the portion of a residential property tax assessment attributable to the installation of a solar energy project. A state law, RSA 71:62, allows municipalities to adopt full or partial exemptions as a means of encouraging a transition to solar power.
The Department of Revenue Administration lists 135 New Hampshire communities participating in the program as of 2021, with 4,235 homes claiming the exemptions. The lost revenue in each community ranges from $18 in Ossipee to $129,816 in Nashua. The total cost of solar exemptions in the state was $1,605,140, making the average tax savings per homeowner about $379.
Public Safety Building Delay Is Over
The Town of Bristol secured the financing for its new public safety building last spring, when interest rates were still low, but Groen Builders, Inc., of Rochester, the company overseeing the project, was unable to post the necessary bond to guarantee the project’s completion. As a result, although the police and fire departments had hoped to be able to move into the building in 2023, construction will not even begin until the spring of next year, pushing the project back a year.
The preconstruction work resumed toward the end of the summer, after Groen obtained the necessary bonding, and the project is going out to bid so work can begin as soon as the weather permits next year.
Fire Chief Ben LaRoche said that, provided things remain on track, the police department administration will move into space on the second floor of the town office building around the new year, police patrol officers will work out of office space at the fire station, and neighboring departments will allow the police to utilize booking and holding space at their facilities. To accommodate the patrol officers, the fire department will have to move some items temporarily, but LaRoche said they will not see much change on a day-to-day basis. Once the new complex is completed, he said, they can “look forward to having an even better space … in the future.”
The Big Election Day
We led today’s News Cafe with “hyperlocal” news in response to readers’ requests for more local news coverage, but the big news today, of course, is the midterm elections, where a lot is at stake. Some say democracy itself is on the ballot. The outcome also will determine how the state and the country address life-and-death issues — which extend beyond abortion to the basic needs of Americans to eat, stay warm, and obtain the health care they need. Views on how to address those needs vary, and it is important for everyone to cast the ballots for the candidates they believe will best address those issues.
The Attorney General’s Office has announced that it will be operating its Election Day hotline until 8 p.m. today to give voters and election officials an opportunity express their concerns or ask questions about the election. Call 1-866-868-3703 (1-866-VOTER03) to reach the hotline.
“In the event a caller receives voicemail, the caller should leave a message. Attorneys in the office will address each message received. Inquiries and complaints may also be submitted via email at electionlaw@doj.nh.gov,” the state announced. “A team of approximately 70 attorneys, investigators, and staff will be deployed to all polling locations across the state. They will be available to assist local election officials and respond to issues that may arise.”
Settlement Reached In Data Breach
Attorney General John M. Formella has announced that New Hampshire will receive a total of $129,429.46 from two multi-state settlements with Experian Information Solutions, Inc. and T-Mobile USA, Inc., stemming from the 2015 data breach experienced by Experian that compromised the personal information of more than 15 million individuals who had submitted credit applications with T-Mobile.
Thirty-nine other attorneys-general were involved in the settlements which require the companies to improve their data security practices and to pay the states a combined amount of more than $15 million.
The breach affected 21,058 New Hampshire residents, and Formella said, “It is critical for companies to protect the personal information of New Hampshire consumers. … This settlement includes important due-diligence provisions and data security enhancements to protect consumers moving forward. We encourage affected Granite Staters to enroll in the free credit monitoring services being offered through this settlement.”
Giving Tuesday
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I’d like to hear from you once the election results are known. What does the outcome mean for the future? Is it a positive or negative result?