City to unveil tentative budget at remote meeting

LACONIA — The City Council is scheduled on Monday to hold its first regular meeting since the imposition of extraordinary steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

City Manager Scott Myer’s presentation of the proposed $73 million budget is the main item on the agenda. But matters related to the coronavirus pandemic could also come up.

One such issue is a plan by the state to place up to 50 homeless people from the southern part of the state who have tested positive for COVID-19 in a building on the old Laconia State School grounds.

County and local officials, including Mayor Andrew Hosmer, have raised concerns about bringing in homeless people, mainly from Manchester and Nashua, the state’s two most populous cities.

Myers said it is possible that individual councilors may want to comment on the matter, as well as members of the public.

Myers’ proposed expenditure plan for the coming fiscal year calls for a maximum amount to be raised by taxes of about $47 million, compared to the $46.17 million in the current fiscal year.

Noting the many uncertainties arising from the current COVID-19 crisis, Myers said of his budget proposal: “This is a work in progress. The budget which the council finally adopts may well be different than the one I am proposing now.”

The City Charter gives the council until the fourth Monday in July to pass a budget, Myers said.

One area of uncertainty is how much revenue the city, like other municipalities, will receive from the state in coming months. Cities and towns receive a portion of the 9 percent rooms and meals tax. However, with restaurants only able to offer take-out meals, and lodging establishments having to suspend nonessential accommodations, the revenue from that tax is certain to be sharply lower. Exactly how that shortfall will affect Laconia remains to be seen.

Myers said the anticipated drop in gas tax revenue could significantly affect how much money the city might get in highway block grants, funds used for construction or maintenance of qualified city streets.

The increase in the budget is $1.1 million, the maximum allowed under the city’s tax cap. Of that total, $620,000 is earmarked for schools, $450,000 for all other municipal services, and $70,000 for increases in the city’s share of the county budget, Myers explained.

On Monday, most council members will be attending the meeting from a remote location — the first for the council since restrictions on gatherings were imposed by Gov. Chris Sununu last month. In addition to Hosmer, Myers said the only council members expected to be in the chambers will be Councilors David Bownes and Mark Haynes. Myers will be at the table as well, along with City Clerk Cheryl Hebert, and Finance Director Glen Smith, who will be handling the controls of the Zoom teleconferencing meeting, including the public input segments.

Zoom was used for the city Planning Board meeting earlier this week, which went well, Myers said. However, last week the Londonderry Town Council meeting ended abruptly when someone called into the meeting and began shouting obscenities.

Myers said he hopes that the city council meeting will not encounter any such problems.

He said Hosmer will give instructions at the beginning of the meeting on how the public can participate. In addition, there will be a special telephone number and email which will be monitored which councilors or members of the public can use if they are unable to participate, either by listening, or speaking at the appropriate time. Myers said if technical difficulties arise and they cannot be fixed, then the meeting will have to end immediately, under the remote-meeting guidelines from the state Attorney General’s Office.

Also, because under the law any action will need to be by roll-call vote, the council is deferring action on appointments to boards and commissions to a later meeting.