Primex official to facilitate 1st Belknap County Forum

The Belknap County Commissioners have selected Nick Manolis, executive consultant for Primex, to facilitate the ‘County Forum’ they have scheduled as the first phase of the follow-up to the eleven ‘County Conversations.’ Those meetings were held in June with the Laconia City Council and the boards of selectmen of the county’s 10 townships.

Manolis met with the three commissioners at their regular bi-weekly meeting yesterday to discuss the plans for the Wednesday, August 12 forum.

“You are to be congratulated for undertaking the schedule of meetings you had with the municipal officials. More and more local governments are reaching out to each other and having the kinds of meetings you held. They have been using Belknap’s ‘County Conversations’ as a model,” he said.

“As I see it, we have five questions that need answers. First, what is the purpose of the forum? Next, what are the intended results? What roles will be played by the participants? What kind of format will we follow? Lastly, what will be on the agenda?”

“It’s clear to me,” Manolis continued, “that you have touched a nerve on the part of those you met with.”

Commission Chair Christopher Boothby (R-Meredith) said he believed the ‘County Conversations began an ongoing process of changes. However, the intended results are not clear.”

For his part, Commissioner Ed Philpot (D-Laconia) said the forum would be ”the beginning of the assessment piece of the Commissioners’ strategic plan for the county. We want to know what others see as the role of county government.”

The third commissioner, Richard Long (R-Belmont), said the forum and any follow-up should be keyed to the budgeting process. We want to avoid the ‘hog wrestling match’ we had last year.” Referring to the staff-prepared summary of each of the meetings with local officials, Long said it should be mailed to all of the local officials. I also think it would be a good idea to give every community a statement of its share of the county’s contributions to each so-called ‘outside agency.

Long was concerned that only a few local officials would respond to an invitation to the forum. “What will we do if only three people show up?”

Manolis responded that the commissioners would have at least started the process. “You could build on that,” he said.

Philpot returned to a theme he has repeated a number of times over the past few months, “It is all about consensus budgeting. That is why all we have been doing has been focused on the budget.”

When it came to deciding who should be invited to the first forum on August 12, County Administrator and Finance Director Debra Shackett suggested that each town and the City of Laconia designate a point person to participate in the meeting and the ensuing discussions. Finally, it was agreed that Shackett would prepare invitations asking each community to designate an attendee. In addition, all eighteen members of the county’s delegation to the House of Representatives, who, as a group make up the County Convention, would be asked to attend.

Manolis suggested an agenda that would have the commissioners introduce the results of the ‘County Conversations’ and share the statement of goals for the county’s future that have been developed as part of their strategic plan. The agenda would all call for general input from the municipal officials and members of the county delegation. It would conclude with the development of ideas on how to keep the process of discussing common interests and needs going.

By way of background, Primex is the N.H. Public Risk Management Exchange, one of the two principal providers of workers’ and unemployment compensation, property and liability, and disability and health insurance coverage for the employees of local governmental entities. It was founded in 1979, and it is located in Concord.

In his consulting capacity, Manolis works with projects that involve elected and senior appointed local government officials. His work focuses on the organization and personnel growth aspects of municipal, county, and school district operations. He has been working with the Belknap County Commissioners on the development of short and long-term goals for organizational growth and facilities management since early February.