Accountability posts

SUNAPEE SELECTBOARD MEETING — February 25, 2026: What the Votes Were and What Didn't Get Resolved

The board approved several routine items unanimously, including a comprehensive municipal fee schedule increase of 10–12% across recreation, transfer station, land use, fire, and police services — effective March 1, 2026. They also approved a $9,843 state hazard mitigation grant (with a $3,281 town match), a $18,000 annual lease of the safety services building to New London Hospital for ambulance parking and office space, and a deputy tax collector appointment. Those are standard actions.

But public comment surfaced three issues that deserve attention. First: the town's Right-to-Know records policy. Resident Chris challenged the town's refusal to email public records, noting that virtually every other government — state and federal — does so for free. The town charges $10 for electronic records on a flash drive and physically delivers them. Town Manager Shannon defended the policy by saying state law doesn't require electronic delivery, adding: "We do not deliver records electronically. Full stop." No board member questioned that position or asked whether the policy should be revisited. Second: Sunapee's parking tickets require payment within 24 hours or a $15 late fee is added — even on weekends when courts are closed and payment options are limited. A resident raised a credible due process concern. Board members said the timeline seemed problematic. No action was taken and no deadline was set to address it. Third: the Planning and Zoning Department costs over $400,000 annually but collects only $77,000 in permit fees. All taxpayers cover the rest. When a resident asked whether that's equitable — particularly given the volume of high-value waterfront construction — one board member sarcastically offered to raise fees 250%. The legal constraints on fee-setting are real, but the dismissiveness didn't help.

Also worth your attention: State House Bills 1800 and 1787 would require municipalities to levy local education taxes as state taxes rather than local ones. For Sunapee, that could mean approximately $1.5 million in additional costs passed to property taxpayers. The town manager is monitoring and attending the Education Coalition in opposition — but this is a threat that every Sunapee property owner should know about and watch at the state level.

On a genuinely positive note: the town manager reported that 2025 will be the first year every town account has been fully reconciled — something auditors have cited as a problem for years. That's real progress and credit where it's due. Official minutes from this meeting have not yet been published. https://meetingwatch.org/nh/sunapee/selectboard/2026-02-25/ #MeetingWatch #SunapeeNH