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Selectboard — March 19, 2026

The meeting was largely procedural and collegial as a new-member orientation session, but underlying tension surfaced through public criticism of hiring practices, frank acknowledgment of a civic culture problem deterring town service, and unresolved high-stakes issues including ambulance service uncertainty and cascading staffing vacancies.

Date Thursday, March 19, 2026 Duration 2.6h Speakers 8 Public comments 2 Mildly contentious
▶ Video

Public ⁠impact

Issues from this meeting with documented community impact.
01

2026 Municipal Tax Rate Increases

Municipal portion increases ranging from approximately $80 for a $275,000 home to $435 for a $1.5M home; total operating budget of $9.038M approved Affected: All Sunapee property owners
tax increase
02

2026 Employee Pay Table with 3% COLA

3% cost-of-living adjustment applied town-wide; fire chief position added at grade 18; part of broader wage competitiveness concerns Affected: All town employees and indirectly taxpayers funding municipal payroll
other high impact
03

Ambulance Service Continuity Risk

New London Hospital may end service; current cost $67,000+/year; potential need for town-owned ambulance representing significant new capital and operational expenditure Affected: All Sunapee residents requiring emergency medical services
safety change
04

Multiple Critical Public Safety Vacancies

Simultaneous vacancies in fire chief, police officer, code compliance officer, highway operator, and buildings/grounds foreman positions with no clear hiring timeline Affected: All Sunapee residents dependent on police, fire, code enforcement, and highway services
safety change

Controversy & ⁠dissent

Where the board, the community, or the agenda diverged.

Potentially controversial issues

01

Critical Staffing Vacancies Across Multiple Departments

The town simultaneously lacks a code compliance officer, buildings and grounds foreman, highway operator, police officer, and fire chief. The town manager explicitly stated that negative public behavior at meetings deters qualified candidates ('you can get annihilated here'), suggesting a systemic civic culture problem affecting public safety and services.
Board position: Board acknowledged the severity, directed the town manager to produce a color-coded org chart with priority rankings, and discussed broader organizational study
high concern
02

Ambulance Service Future Uncertainty

New London Hospital may end ambulance service, which currently costs $67,000+ annually. The Chair raised the prospect of the town acquiring its own ambulance — a significant capital and operational commitment with direct public safety implications. This was raised near end of meeting with no formal action taken.
Board position: Chair flagged it as urgent ('sooner rather than later'), but deferred formal discussion to the incoming fire chief
high concern
03

Hiring Process Failures Deterring Qualified Applicants

A resident (Cindy Spear) brought a specific, documented complaint that the town's slow and uncommunicative hiring process is generating negative word-of-mouth that worsens the staffing crisis. The town manager's response was described as 'somewhat defensive,' signaling a possible gap between town administration's self-assessment and applicant experience.
Board position: Town manager defended existing procedures and explained the timeline, acknowledging delays due to leave but not conceding systemic failure
medium concern
04

15+ Stagnating Capital/Grant Projects Due to Lack of Project Management Staff

The town manager revealed that roughly 15 funded projects are stalling because no staff has the skills to advance them. Taxpayer and grant money may be at risk if projects cannot be executed. This implies a structural organizational deficiency that has persisted without public awareness.
Board position: Town manager advocated for hiring an executive assistant with project management skills; board was receptive but took no formal action
medium concern
05

Public Comment Format and Board Responsiveness

Both a public commenter (Lisa) and board members identified that current public comment procedures do not allow for board responses or dialogue, potentially suppressing civic engagement and accountability.
Board position: Board was already discussing reform before Lisa's public comment and received it positively; policy review assigned for April 6th meeting
medium concern
06

New London Hospital Lease of Public Safety Building

Connects to the ambulance service discussion — if New London Hospital ends ambulance service, the financial and operational relationship with the town becomes more complex, affecting both the lease arrangement and emergency medical services.
Board position: No direct action taken; chair flagged ambulance service concern as urgent
medium concern
07

Housing Affordability Initiative

Board members expressed renewed interest in community housing efforts after a prior attempt, explicitly citing a need for a 'different approach' with more community outreach — implying the previous effort failed or was contested. Housing policy in small NH towns typically generates strong community debate.
Board position: Supportive but early-stage; no formal action taken, framed as future priority
medium concern

Community vs. board tension

Member ⁠positions

16 issues · 1 explicit · 12 inferred
Suzanne Gottling
Chair (outgoing; later appointed to ABC and Energy Aggregation)
Present
Meeting Call to Order and Minutes Approval YES ~
Pay Table Approval YES ~
Supported approval with 3% COLA and fire chief grade 18 amendment.
Selectboard Chair and Vice Chair Elections YES ✓
Supported electing Anthony as Chair and Jeremy as Vice Chair.
Committee Appointments YES ✓
Appointed to Advisory Budget Committee and Energy Aggregation Committee.
Ambulance Service Discussion ✓
Raised urgency of ambulance service risk; suggested town-owned ambulance discussion.
Fire Truck Sale Approval YES ~
Motion to enter non-public session YES ~
Jeremy Hathorn
Vice Chair (elected at this meeting)
Present
Meeting Call to Order and Minutes Approval YES ~
Pay Table Approval YES ~
Participated in discussion; supported approval.
Selectboard Chair and Vice Chair Elections YES ✓
Accepted Vice Chair role; supported Anthony as Chair.
Committee Appointments YES ✓
Appointed to Crother Chapel committee; made motions for Highway Safety and LSPA appointments.
Public Comment Format and Board Responsiveness ✓
Engaged in discussion on policy and procedure reform.
Municipal Tax Rate Impact Analysis ✓
Engaged in discussion of tax rate impacts.
Anthony Dolan
Chair (elected at this meeting)
Present
Meeting Call to Order and Minutes Approval YES ~
Right to Know Request Process ✓
Engaged in discussion of Right to Know procedures.
Staffing Challenges and Organizational Structure ✓
Engaged in discussion acknowledging staffing vacancies.
Pay Table Approval YES ✓
Participated in discussion; supported approval.
Selectboard Chair and Vice Chair Elections YES ✓
Elected as Chair; motion made by a speaker for the election.
Committee Appointments YES ✓
Seconded motion for UVLSR Planning Commission reappointments.
Election Process Review ✓
Engaged in discussion of recent town election results and voting machines.
Municipal Tax Rate Impact Analysis ✓
Engaged in discussion of tax rate details.
Frederick Gallup
Board Member
Present
Policy and Procedures Review ✓
Participated in discussion on agenda format and public comment procedures.
Committee Appointments YES ✓
Appointed to Highway Safety Committee; made motions for Sue's ABC and Crother Chapel appointments.
Fire Truck Sale Approval YES ✓
Made the motion to approve sale to AP Howard Sales for $17,257.
Housing Affordability Initiative ✓
Expressed support for renewed housing efforts with different, more community-outreach-focused approach.
Donation Acceptance (food pantry gift cards) YES ✓
Made motion to accept donation.
Aaron Whipple
Board Member
Present
Committee Appointments YES ✓
Reappointed to Planning Board; accepted appointment.
Pay Table Approval YES ~
Selectboard Chair and Vice Chair Elections YES ~
Motion to enter non-public session YES ~

Positions marked ~ are inferred from context and may not reflect the member's explicitly stated position.

Public ⁠comment

What residents said — verbatim, with timestamps.
2
Total speakers
2
Addressed
0
Partial
0
Not addressed
Lisa
▶ 1:41:01
Addressed
Lisa congratulated the new board leadership and expressed support for collaborative work between the Select Board and Planning Board on housing issues. She announced an upcoming SAGE dialogue on housing on April 4th and requested changes to public comment procedures to allow for board feedback and responses to community questions. Key concern
Requesting changes to public comment format to allow board responses and feedback to community input
Board response
The board had already been discussing this issue earlier in the meeting and acknowledged her feedback positively, with one member saying 'Thanks, Lisa'
The board had already been actively discussing changes to public comment procedures earlier in the meeting, showing they were receptive to this feedback
Cindy Spear
▶ 1:45:29
Addressed
Cindy Spear complained about poor hiring practices, specifically citing a case where someone applied for the heavy equipment operator position, had their resume received, was told they were on a short list, but then experienced long delays and poor communication from the town. She warned this creates negative word-of-mouth that discourages people from applying. Key concern
Poor communication and delays in the town's hiring process are deterring qualified candidates
Board response
Town Manager Shannon Ramspott provided a detailed explanation of the hiring process, timeline, and specific communications that occurred with the applicant Cindy referenced, defending the town's procedures
The town manager directly addressed the specific complaint with detailed information about the hiring process and timeline, though the response was somewhat defensive
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Report composed by claude-sonnet-4-20250514, claude-sonnet-4-6, claude-opus-4-6 · analyzed 2026-04-02.