City of Nashua, NH Part 2 Board of Aldermen

Article II General Provisions

§ 5-6 Compensation.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 1; NRO 1987, § 2-21; amended 2-25-1977 by Ord. No. O-76-115; 4-12-1978 by Ord. No. O-78-4; 6-24-1980 by Ord. No. O-80-53; 8-9-1988 by Ord. No. O-88-61; 12-8-1992 by Ord. No. O-92-11; 8-8-2000 by Ord. No. O-00-43; 8-8-2006 by Ord. No. O-06-18; 8-14-2007 by Ord. No. O-07-115; 12-22-2009 by Ord. No. O-09-77]

A. Each Alderman shall receive as compensation the sum of $5,000 per year, payable quarterly.

B. If, in any quarter, any member of the Board of Aldermen is recorded absent at three or more regular meetings of the Board, the City Clerk shall transmit a communication stating that fact to the Board of Aldermen, and the stipend for that quarter shall be withheld. In accepting the communication, the Board may also determine by vote that for good cause shown that member shall receive a full or partial stipend for the quarter. Good cause shall include but not be limited to attendance at committee and other meetings; health; maternity, paternity or adoption leave; or other extenuating circumstances for the absence. Additionally, the Board may find that the attendance of any member within a quarter has been unacceptable and by a majority vote withhold any or all of the stipend for that quarter.

[Amended 6-11-2019 by Ord. No. O-19-044]

C. The provisions of § 5-93 et seq., Conduct Regulations, and other conflict-of-interest standards shall not apply to votes on ordinances setting compensation of the Board of Aldermen under Charter Section 45-a.

§ 5-7 Meetings.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 2; NRO 1987, § 2-22; amended 3-24-1998 by Ord. No. O-98-03; 2-13-2001 by Ord. No. O-00-68; 10-22-2002 by Ord. No. O-22-97; 5-13-2003 by Ord. No. O-03-154]

A. The Board of Aldermen shall hold regular meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, except during the months of July and August, when the regular meetings shall be held on the second Tuesday of those months.

B. When the day fixed for any regular meeting falls on a day designated by law as a legal or national holiday or the day of an election, the meeting shall be held at the same hour on the next succeeding day not a holiday.

[Amended 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-35]

C. A regular meeting may be rescheduled upon majority vote of the full membership of the Board taken at least 15 days prior to both the original and rescheduled dates of the meeting to avoid conflict with a holiday or election.

D. In addition to the Mayor's power to call special meetings under RSA 45:10, special meetings of the Board may be called by the President of the Board of Aldermen, by a vote of at least eight members of the Board of Aldermen, or by the signatures of at least eight members on a notice of the meeting.

(1) The limited purpose(s) of the meeting shall be specified in the written notice of the meeting, which shall be communicated individually to the Mayor, every Alderman, the City Clerk and City Solicitor/Corporation Counsel, and shall be posted in compliance with RSA 91-A.

(2) For a public hearing required by law, the meeting shall be scheduled on the same evening as a meeting of the relevant aldermanic committee, and the committee Chairman shall chair the public hearing. No final action by the full Board shall be taken at such a meeting.

(3) A quorum of the Board shall be required, and all other applicable rules of the Board shall be in effect for special meetings.

E. Participation by members in a meeting by electronic or other means of communication shall be permitted as long as the participation is permitted under and conducted in accordance with New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter 91-A.

[Added 12-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-52]

F. The Mayor shall deliver an annual state-of-the-City address before the Board of Aldermen at a meeting of that body held on the third Tuesday of February. The only business of that meeting shall be the Mayor’s address and the provisions of § 5-14 shall not apply.

[Amended 12-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-52]

G. If the member participating by telephone is the Board President or the Committee Chairman, then the Vice President or Vice Chairman, respectively, shall assume the role of presiding officer for the purposes of conducting the meeting. In the absence of the Vice President or Vice Chairman, the board or committee shall nominate a protem presiding officer.

[Added 12-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-52]

§ 5-8 Budget hearing; notice.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 3; NRO 1987, § 2-23]

A. The date, time and place of public budget hearings shall be published in a local newspaper at least seven days prior to the hearing. Such information shall also be posted, with a budget summary, in two public places at least seven days before the hearing.

B. Copies of the budget to be presented at a hearing shall be made available to the public at the City Clerk's office at least seven days prior to such hearing.

§ 5-9 Standing committees.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 5; NRO 1987, § 2-24; amended 1-19-1976 by Ord. No. O-76-2; 9-14-1977 by Ord. No. O-77-219; 10-11-1977 by Ord. No. O-77-220; 11-14-1977 by Ord. No. O-77-260; 12-29-1978 by Ord. No. O-78-155A; 2-9-1982 by Ord. No. O-82-01; 6-11-1985 by Ord. No. O-85-156; 1-6-1986 by Ord. No. O-86-01; 1-3-1988 by Ord. No. O-88-01; 1-9-1990 by Ord. No. O-90-03; 4-14-1992 by Ord. No. O-92-02; 12-8-1992 by Ord. No. O-92-10; 12-26-1995 by Ord. No. O-95-148; 2-24-1998 by Ord. No. O-98-04; 4-14-1998 by Ord. No. O-98-20; 3-26-2002 by Ord. No. O-02-05; 9-9-2002 by Ord. No. O-02-50; 5-25-2004 by Ord. No. O-04-11; 12-28-2006 by Ord. No. O-06-65]

A. The President shall serve as an ex officio member of all standing and special committees of the Board of Aldermen, except the Finance Committee. The President shall count as an additional member of a standing or special committee for the purpose of establishing a quorum at every meeting he or she attends. The President shall have a vote on every committee, except the Finance Committee and the joint special school building committee, regardless of the appointed members present and voting. The President may assume the Chair of any committee, except the Finance Committee and the Joint Special School Building Committee. The President may appoint himself or herself as one of the Alderman-at-Large members of the Finance Committee per Charter Section 50.

B. The President shall appoint Aldermen as called for, with the first named being Chairman and the second named being Vice Chairman, to the following standing committees:

(1) Seven-member committees:

(a) Budget Review Committee.

(b) Finance Committee as denoted within the City Charter Section 50.

(2) Five-member committees:

(a) Personnel/Administrative Affair: includes, but is not limited to, the following: appointments: personnel classification, policies, rules and licenses, and elections and returns.

(b) Infrastructure: responsible for traffic, street acceptance, sewer fees, roads, lands and buildings.

[Amended 1-13-2009 by Ord. No. O-08-41]

(c) Planning and Economic Development: encompasses planning and land use issues as well as economic development, downtown development, and the City's technology policy.

(d) Human affairs: responsible for community development block grant (CDBG), affordable housing, grant acceptance, elderly affairs and the like, and review and comment activities.

(3) Two-member committee: Nashua Housing Authority Liaison Committee, who, if possible, shall be members of the Human Affairs Committee.

(4) One-member committees. One-member committees shall have an alternate member appointed in the same fashion as the regular member.

(a) Board of Health Liaison Committee, who shall be a member of the Human Affairs Committee.

(b) Board of Public Works Liaison Committee.

(c) Board of Fire Commissioners Liaison Committee.

(d) Board of Education Liaison Committee.

(e) Board of Police Commissioners Liaison Committee.[1]

[Added 2-26-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-04]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(4)(f), pertaining to the Child Care Liaison Committee, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 3-11-2014 by Ord. No. O-14-004. This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections B(4)(g), (h), (i), and (j) as Subsections B(4)(f), (g), (h) and (i), respectively.

(f) Hunt Memorial Building Board of Trustees Liaison Committee.

[Amended 4-10-2012 by Ord. No. O-12-005]

(g) Planning Board member who, as defined in Chapter 190, shall be a member of the Planning and Economic Development Committee.

(h) Cable Television Advisory Board Liaison Committee.

(i) Veterans Memorial Parkway Liaison Committee, who shall be a member of the Infrastructure Committee. This Committee shall exist until the Veterans Memorial Parkway project is completed.

[Added 1-13-2009 by Ord. No. O-08-41; amended 5-11-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-056]

(j) Nashua Airport Authority Liaison Committee.

[Added 9-10-2014 by Ord. No. O-14-022]

(k) Nashua Arts Commission Liaison Committee.

[Added 11-23-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-36]

(5) Joint committees.

[Amended 3-11-2014 by Ord. No. O-14-007; 6-14-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-018]

(a) Joint Special School Building Committee comprised of five members of the Board of Aldermen and five members of the Board of Education as provided by and for the purposes of New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter 199.

(b) Joint Committee on Infrastructure and Board of Public Works Building Committee comprised of all the members of the Board of Public Works and all members of the Committee on Infrastructure for the purposes of § 60 of the City Charter. The Chairperson of the Committee on Infrastructure shall be the Chairperson of the Committee. All funds appropriated by the Board of Aldermen for the construction of all buildings erected, altered, remodeled or changed shall be administered by the Committee, and those funds shall be disbursed upon authorization of the Committee until final acceptance of the building by the Board of Aldermen. The Committee shall oversee and decide all matters relating to any construction on public works buildings; prepare and submit monthly status reports relating to construction progress to the Board of Aldermen; and prepare and submit monthly financial reports to the total authorized construction budget and expenditures to date to the Board of Aldermen.

(c) Joint Committee on Infrastructure and Police Commissioners Building Committee comprised of all the Police Commissioners and all members of the Committee on Infrastructure for the purposes of § A-104 of the City Charter. The Chairperson of the Committee on Infrastructure shall be the Chairperson of the Committee. All funds appropriated by the Board of Aldermen for the construction of all buildings erected, altered, remodeled or changed shall be administered by the Committee, and those funds shall be disbursed upon authorization of the Committee until final acceptance of the building by the Board of Aldermen. The Committee shall oversee and decide all matters relating to any construction on Police Department buildings; prepare and submit monthly status reports relating to construction progress to the Board of Aldermen; and prepare and submit monthly financial reports to the total authorized construction budget and expenditures to date to the Board of Aldermen.

(d) Joint Committee on Infrastructure and Fire Commissioners Building Committee comprised of all the Fire Commissioners and all members of the Committee on Infrastructure for the purposes of § A-593 of the City Charter. The Chairperson of the Committee on Infrastructure shall be the Chairperson of the Committee. All funds appropriated by the Board of Aldermen for the construction of all buildings erected, altered, remodeled or changed shall be administered by the Committee, and those funds shall be disbursed upon authorization of the Committee until final acceptance of the building by the Board of Aldermen. The Committee shall oversee and decide all matters relating to any construction on Fire Department buildings; prepare and submit monthly status reports relating to construction progress to the Board of Aldermen; and prepare and submit monthly financial reports to the total authorized construction budget and expenditures to date to the Board of Aldermen.

(e) The joint committees in Subsection B(5)(a) through (d) above shall be exempt from the provisions of § 5-90.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(6), Special committees, added 12-22-2015 by Ord. No. O-15-077, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 2-22-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-001.

C. When a standing committee lacks a quorum of members as provided in Subsections A and B, any Alderman at Large who is present where said meeting is held, selected by the Chairman of the committee, shall be deemed to be a member of said committee pro tem for the purposes of establishing a quorum thereof and voting. Should an appointed member arrive at the meeting thereafter, pro tem members shall step down, and shall have no vote unless to do so would render the committee without a quorum.

D. All committee assignments shall be ratified by the Board of Aldermen at its organizational meeting at each new term.

§ 5-9.1 Liaisons.

[Added 9-28-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-21]

A. Definition of "Liaison": the contact or connection maintained by communications between units or with any other organization in order to ensure concerted action and cooperation.

B. Primary role: The primary role of the Liaison shall be to communicate with the other board, committee or group and report back to the Board of Aldermen, and vice versa, so that a mutual understanding will be established and maintained.

§ 5-10 Legislative assistants.

[NRO 1987, § 2-25; added 12-14-1999 by Ord. No. O-99-153]

Subject to available funding, the Board of Aldermen shall have such legislative assistants who shall work under their direction and in coordination with other City departments and divisions to fulfill the obligations of the City to maintain records of the legislation and proceedings of the Board of Aldermen. These employees shall be merit employees subject to all the provisions of the merit system.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Original Sec. 2-28, pertaining to nonpublic committee sessions, which immediately followed this section and which was adopted 4-23-2002 by Ord. No. O-02-21, was repealed 6-22-2004 by Ord. No. O-04-28.

§ 5-10.1 Electronic submission and distribution of materials.

[Added 6-25-2013 by Ord. No. O-13-042]

A. Purpose and intent. It is the intent of this section to provide for electronic submission and access to the materials needed by the Board of Aldermen to perform its duties, and to promote the use of electronic distribution wherever possible, in order to reduce costs, and ensure the availability of the materials during meetings.

B. Standards. The Information Technology Chief Information Officer, in coordination with the Legislative Manager, shall develop and publish applicable standards for the format of electronic dissemination of information to be sent to the Board of Aldermen. All correspondence from City departments shall adhere to these standards. The standards shall be established in such a way as to provide searchable individual copies, as well as to produce single document records of a complete meeting.

[Amended 4-9-2019 by Ord. No. O-19-040; 12-14-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-077]

C. Member choices for electronic devices. Members of the Board may choose one of the following three methods of participating in electronic distribution of media.

(1) Use of a City-owned tablet device. The Information Technology Chief Information Officer shall select one or more options for devices provided by the City. A member of the Board may choose to receive one of these devices. Such devices shall remain the property of the City of Nashua, and must be surrendered at the end of the individual's term of office, unless the individual elects to purchase the device at its current value at the time, as determined by the Information Technology Chief Information Officer.

[Amended 4-9-2019 by Ord. No. O-19-040; 12-14-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-077]

(2) Use of a personally owned device. A member may choose to purchase a device individually and use it for access. In such case the device must conform to any constraints the Information Technology hief Information Officer may develop for such devices.

[Amended 2-25-2014 by Ord. No. O-14-006; 4-9-2019 by Ord. No. O-19-040; 12-14-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-077]

(3) Paper. A member may also request paper agendas and other supporting material, which will be available in their city hall mailbox on Fridays at 3:00 p.m.

[Amended 2-25-2014 by Ord. No. O-14-006]

§ 5-10.2 Titles of members.

[Added 3-10-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-005]

Members of the Board of Aldermen may choose to be referred to as Alderman, Alderwoman, or Alderperson.

Article III Rules and Order of Business

§ 5-11 Call to order; roll call.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 201; NRO 1987, § 2-35]

The President of the Board of Aldermen shall take the Chair at the time appointed for the meeting, and if a quorum is present, shall call the members to order, and lead the members in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. The roll call of the members shall then be taken and the names of the absentees recorded.

§ 5-12 Duties of President.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 202; NRO 1987, § 2-36]

The President of the Board of Aldermen shall preserve decorum and order. He may speak to points of order in preference to other members and, subject to an appeal to the Board by motion regularly seconded, shall decide all questions of order. No other business shall be in order until the question on appeal has been decided.

§ 5-13 Vice President.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 203; NRO 1987, § 2-37; amended 5-10-1978 by Ord. No. O-78-40]

The Board of Aldermen shall choose one of its own Aldermen at large as Vice President. The Vice President shall be chosen by majority vote of the members of the Board of Aldermen at any regular or special meeting of the Board. The Vice President shall serve for a term equivalent to the term of ward Aldermen unless sooner removed from office by majority vote of the members of the Board of Aldermen. The Vice President shall preside at regular and special meetings of the Board of Aldermen when the President does not assume the Chair. If the President is absent for more than one meeting, the Board may by a majority vote of those present and voting authorize the Vice President in the absence of the President to take all such actions as the President could take were he fully present.

§ 5-14 Order of business.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 204; NRO 1987, § 2-38; amended 2-25-1977 by Ord. No. O-77-137; 4-12-1994 by Ord. No. O-94-01; 8-9-1994 by Ord. No. O-94-42; 12-9-1997 by Ord. No. O-97-188; 12-28-1999 by Ord. No. O-99-182; 2-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-07-78; 9-28-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-21; 3-22-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-50]

A. The order of business for regular meetings of the Board of Aldermen shall be as follows:

(1) Aldermanic President calls assembly to order;

(2) Prayer to be offered by the City Clerk;

(3) Aldermanic President or his designee leads in the pledge to the flag;

(4) Roll call by the City Clerk;

(5) Remarks by the Mayor;

(6) Response to the Mayor's remarks;

(7) Recognition of a City employee or employees, citizen(s) or organization(s) by the Board's President commended to the Board by the Mayor, the Board's President or Vice President, or any member;

[Amended 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002]

(8) Reading of minutes of previous meeting and public hearings. Without objection, such minutes shall be accepted and placed on file and the reading waived;

[Amended 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002]

(9) Communications requiring only procedural actions of the Board and written reports from liaisons, read by title only. Without objection, such communications shall be accepted and placed on file.

[Amended 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002]

(9a) A period not to exceed 15 minutes for the acceptance of orally presented communications or comments from the public or others relative to resolutions, ordinances, or communications to be accepted in Subsection A(9b) upon which final action is expected to be taken at the meeting. If there is a reasonable expectation by the President of the Board that final action shall be taken on such an item not on the agenda, the President shall allow comment on that item of business. Upon vote of a majority of the Board members present, the time for orally presented communications or comments may exceed 30 minutes due to additional speakers wanting to comment;

[Added 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002; amended 10-13-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-009]

(9b) Communications requiring final approval by the Board of Aldermen, including but not limited to awards of contracts and expenditure of funds;

[Added 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002; 10-13-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-009]

(10) Petitions presentation and disposal thereof. Without objection, petitions shall be accepted, placed on file and, if appropriate, referred to a committee of the Board and scheduled for any required public hearing;

[Amended 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002]

(11) Such nominations, appointments and elections as may be in order;

(12) Reports of committees. Without objection, reports requiring no nonprocedural action of the Board shall be accepted and placed on file;

[Amended 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002]

(13) Confirmation of the Mayor's appointments, which shall be approved without objection upon a unanimous recommendation of the Committee;

[Amended 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-002[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Subsection A(13), Written reports and liaisons, and renumbered former Subsection A(14) through (19) as Subsection A(13) through (18), respectively.

(14) Business unfinished at the previous meeting;

(15) New business, which may be introduced by any member;

(16) Communications, to include a period not to exceed 15 minutes for the acceptance of orally presented communications or comments from the public or others on items not on the agenda or regarding actions taken by the Board during the current meeting;

[Amended 10-13-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-009]

(17) Remarks by the Aldermen;

(18) Adjournment.

B. Meetings of committees of the Board of Aldermen shall include the following:

[Amended 10-13-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-009]

(1) Public comment at the beginning of the meeting, which comments shall be germane to the meeting's agenda, and shall be limited to 30 minutes total unless there are others who wish to speak, and then may be extended by a majority of the public body present for a time certain;

(2) Public comment at the end of the meeting shall be for a period not to exceed 15 minutes; and

(3) Remarks by the Aldermen.

C. Public comment allowed in Subsections A and B above shall be conducted as follows:

[Added 10-13-2020 by Ord. No. O-20-009]

(1) Speaker must sign in prior to the start of the meeting to indicate intent to speak during public comment;

(2) Speaker may not speak until recognized by the presiding officer;

(3) Speaker shall identify him or herself by name and addresses when beginning to speak;

(4) One person speaks at a time;

(5) Each speaker is limited to speaking once per public comment period and is limited to three minutes during the first public comment period and three minutes during the second comment period, which time may not be deferred to another speaker or speaker;

(6) If there has been a public hearing on a matter on the same day, there shall be no further public comment allowed on that matter;

(7) The presiding officer may allow questions at the presiding officer’s discretion but only the presiding officer shall address the question or call upon the most qualified person to answer the question;

(8) Prior to or at a meeting, members of the public may submit written comments to the full Board of Aldermen or the committee by email or paper copy. It is the responsibility of the member of the public to have enough paper copies and such copies shall be handed to the clerk for distribution prior to the start of the meeting. Written comments may be accepted as correspondence but shall not be read in to the record;

(9) Excessive repetition and irrelevant remarks are discouraged; and

(10) The presiding officer has authority to terminate the remarks of any speaker when such remarks do not adhere to this chapter or other applicable law.

§ 5-15 Motions.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 205; NRO 1987, § 2-39]

A. Each motion shall be reduced to writing if the President of the Board of Aldermen so directs.

B. When a question is under debate, the following motions may be received:

(1) Adjourn;

(2) Lay on the table;

(3) Previous question;

(4) Postpone to a certain time;

(5) Commit or refer;

(6) Amend;

(7) Postpone indefinitely; which several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they stand arranged.

C. All motions, debatable or nondebatable, shall be subject to inquiry in accordance with Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, Section 85.

[Amended 12-11-2007 by Ord. No. O-07-110]

§ 5-16 Disposition of questions.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 206; NRO 1987, § 2-40]

After a question is stated or read by the Chair, it shall be deemed in the possession of the Board of Aldermen and shall be disposed of by vote. However, a question may be withdrawn by the mover at any time before amendment or decision.

§ 5-17 Votes; division; recordation.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 207; NRO 1987, § 2-41; amended 3-14-1995 by Ord. No. O-94-78]

A. All questions shall be put by the President, and each Alderman shall be required to vote thereon by signifying an assent or dissent by announcing yea or nay. If the President doubts, or a division is called for, the Aldermen shall divide, and the President shall then state the decision of the Board.

B. On request of any member, the yeas and nays on any question shall be taken and entered upon the journal.

C. A member may abstain from voting only if he declares a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest relative to the question being voted on. In such case the member shall be considered absent for the purpose of disposition of the question. The member shall declare his intention to abstain prior to the vote, and his reason for abstaining shall be entered upon the journal.

§ 5-18 Reconsideration of votes.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 208; NRO 1987, § 2-42; amended 2-11-1997 by Ord. No. O-96-108; amended 12-28-2006 by Ord. No. O-06-66]

A. No vote shall be reconsidered by the Board of Aldermen unless the motion for reconsideration is made by a member who voted with the majority and such motion is made at the same or at the next regular meeting of the Board. A vote is successfully reconsidered on the affirmative majority vote of those members present and voting. The provisions of this section may not be suspended under § 5-23.

B. When a vote is successfully reconsidered, that vote is cancelled as though it had never been taken, and opens a reconsidered measure to a vote to pass, or amend followed by a vote to pass or table or refer to committee; or reject, or indefinitely postpone, or table, or refer to committee.

[Amended 2-26-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-07]

C. After reconsideration, a measure that is amended as to present a substantially different proposition, upon passage, may be reconsidered by the full Board in the same manner as a new measure.

D. Reconsideration in committee is subject to the same rules as the Board of Aldermen, except a committee may reconsider its recommendation on a measure at any time before the full Board of Aldermen votes to consider the measure, and reconsideration of a vote may be moved by any member of the committee.

§ 5-19 Necessary procedure for passage.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 209; NRO 1987, § 2-43; amended 8-15-1977 by Ord. No. O-77-205; 11-28-1977 by Ord. No. O-77-252; 4-12-1978 by Ord. No. O-78-23; 12-14-1978 by Ord. No. O-78-144; 3-12-1996 by Ord. No. O-96-09; 3-13-2001 by Ord. No. O-00-69; 5-13-2003 by Ord. No. O-03-161]

A. Every ordinance, order or resolution shall be passed through first reading, second reading, passage to be recorded, before it shall be considered as having received the final action of the Board of Aldermen.

B. Following the first reading of a resolution or ordinance, the President of the Board of Aldermen, following any debate, shall refer such resolution or ordinance to its proper committee without a motion from the floor.

C. All ordinances and resolutions shall be voted on and passed by title reading only.

D. All committee reports shall be accepted and placed on file without a motion from the floor unless objected to by a member of the Board of Aldermen.

E. The sponsor(s) shall authorize the introduction of ordinances and resolutions no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the Board's regular meetings. A member may be an endorser only if the member signs the legislation. Additional endorsements can be made upon first reading of the legislation, but not subsequent to that time.

F. All ordinances and resolutions shall be prepared or reviewed by the City Solicitor/Corporation Counsel before they shall be endorsed.

G. All resolutions and ordinances which involve the expenditure of funds shall specify in the body of the legislation the amount and the source of the funds to be expended.

H. Upon request by an employer board, the financial division shall prepare a cost analysis of a collective bargaining agreement for the employer board’s review and consideration.

[Added 9-22-2009 by Ord. No. O-09-70[1]]

[1] Editor’s Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections H through J as Subsections I through K.

I. No resolution to approve the cost items of a collective bargaining agreement shall be introduced without an attached cost analysis of the collective bargaining agreement. This provision shall be waived if the cost analysis has not been completed within 21 days of the submission of the collective bargaining agreement to the office of City Solicitor/Corporation Counsel. Furthermore, all resolutions to approve the cost items of a collective bargaining agreement shall include both a marked-up copy of the collective bargaining agreement showing all additions and deletions to the agreement, as well as a clean copy of the proposed collective bargaining agreement.

[Added 2-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-70; amended 9-15-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-20]

J. No resolution that transfers or appropriates money from any reserve account, expendable trust fund, or undesignated fund balance shall be introduced without an attached account analysis showing the impact of the proposed resolution on the account, and the direct financial impact to any other accounts. For the purposes of this section, an analysis is defined as the process of breaking down a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it.

[Added 11-12-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-31; amended 1-25-2011 by Ord. No. O-10-39]

K. If the Mayor vetoes any ordinance, resolution or vote, or part thereof, pursuant to Section 47 of the City Charter, the following procedure shall be followed:

(1) The City Clerk shall place the veto message on the agenda for the next aldermanic meeting under the section designated "Communications."

(2) The City Clerk shall also, under the appropriate section of old business, set down as the last item of that section the ordinance, resolution or vote or portion thereof, which has been vetoed by the Mayor.

(3) Upon reaching the vetoed item of old business:

(a) The Board may take action by a motion to reconsider, made by a member who voted with the prevailing side on the original vote. A vote to reconsider shall be effective on a simple majority vote of those members present and voting.

(b) If no motion to consider is made, or if a motion to reconsider fails, the vetoed item shall not take effect. A failed vote to reconsider may be reconsidered at the next regular meeting of the Board, but not following that meeting's adjournment.

[Amended 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-50]

(c) If a vote to reconsider prevails the Board may, upon motion of any member, vote to override the Mayor's veto, or amend followed by a vote to pass or table or refer to committee; or reject, or indefinitely postpone, or table or refer to committee.

[Amended 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-50]

(d) If the Mayor's veto is overridden by affirmative roll call vote of at least 10 members of the Board, final passage over the veto shall become effective.

[Amended 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-50]

(e) If the vote to override fails, the Board may then vote to amend followed by a vote to pass or table or refer to committee; or reject, or indefinitely postpone, or table or refer to committee.

[Amended 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-50]

(f) A prevailing vote to substantially amend and pass the vetoed item cancels all previous action and the amended item is treated as a new measure, subject to the Mayor's veto in its amended form.

[Amended 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-50]

(g) The option to override the Mayor's veto following a successful vote to reconsider is unaffected by the vetoed item being either tabled at the full Board or referred to committee and is preserved until the item is finally disposed of by the Board of Aldermen, either by override, or amendment and passage, or rejection or indefinite postponement.

[Added 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-50]

§ 5-20 Rejection of bill.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 210; NRO 1987, § 2-44]

A bill may be rejected by the Board of Aldermen at any stage of its progress but may not pass through all its stages in one day.

§ 5-20.1 Appointments and reappointments.

[Added 3-22-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-54]

A. All requests for approval of appointments and reappointments shall be accompanied by a brief description of the relevant board, commission, committee, or position, and, if a reappointment, the number of terms and years that the candidate has served in that position.

B. All initial appointments or appointments from alternate to regular membership shall be interviewed in public by the appropriate aldermanic committee. Reappointments shall only be interviewed in public by the appropriate aldermanic committee at the request of any member of the Board of Aldermen.

[Amended 5-13-2014 by Ord. No. O-14-014]

§ 5-21 Conversation prohibited.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 212; NRO 1987, § 2-45]

No member of the Board of Aldermen shall hold conversation with another during the reading of the journal, while a paper is being read, a member is speaking in debate or a question is being stated by the Chair.

§ 5-22 Rules transgressed; call to order; appeal.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 213; NRO 1987, § 2-46]

If any member shall transgress the rules of the Board of Aldermen, the President shall, or any member may, call him to order. In such case, the member so called to order shall take his seat, and the Board may decide the question on appeal.

§ 5-23 Suspension of rules.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 214; NRO 1987, § 2-47; amended 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-003]

Unless suspended by a majority vote of the members of the Board of Alderman present for a specific purpose, the rules and orders set out in this division shall be observed in all cases.

§ 5-24 Other applicable rules.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 215; NRO 1987, § 2-48; amended 10-25-1977 by Ord. No. O-76-7; 3-14-1995 by Ord. No. O-94-78]

A. Except in cases covered by the City Charter or other ordinances of the City, the rules in Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, 2020 Edition, shall govern the proceedings of the Board of Aldermen.

[Amended 1-26-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-02; 4-26-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-013]

B. Action previously taken by the Board may be rescinded only when the proposal to rescind is placed on the Board's agenda by communication, resolution or ordinance, as appropriate. Passage of a motion to rescind previous action by the Board within the same two-year term of the Board shall require an affirmative vote of eight members of the Board of Aldermen.

[Added 1-23-2007 by Ord. No. O-06-74]

C. The originating (first-listed) aldermanic sponsor of legislation before a standing or ad hoc committee of the Board of Aldermen who is not a member of that committee may introduce and debate amendments to this legislation, but shall have no vote on the committee.

[Added 1-27-2009 by Ord. No. O-08-51]

D. Any recommendation made to the Board of Aldermen by City staff as part of their employment shall include the names and job titles of the City staff that participated in producing the recommendation and the reasons for the recommendation.

[Added 8-10-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-17]

E. The presiding officer of the Board or a committee may request of the Board or committee that any procedural motion be accepted in the absence of objections by members of the Board or committee.

[Added 2-13-2018 by Ord. No. O-18-004]

§ 5-25 Bylaws as ordinances; enacting clause.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 216; NRO 1987, § 2-49]

All bylaws passed by the Board of Aldermen shall be termed ordinances, and the enacting style shall be: "The City of Nashua ordains."

§ 5-26 Effective date of ordinances, etc.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 217; NRO 1987, § 2-50]

A. Unless otherwise provided therein, each ordinance, resolution or order passed by the Board of Aldermen as to which the Mayor does not have a negative shall take effect upon its passage.

B. A vote, ordinance or resolution or any part thereof as to which the Mayor has a negative shall take effect either upon signing and approval by him, or upon the failure of the Mayor to act, upon the expiration of seven days from its passage.

C. If a vote, ordinance or resolution or any part thereof is vetoed by the Mayor and upon reconsideration is passed over such veto by an affirmative vote of not less than 10 Aldermen on roll call, it shall take effect on its passage unless otherwise provided therein.

§ 5-27 Dating, signing, recording, publication and printing of ordinances.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 218; NRO 1987, § 2-51]

A. Each ordinance shall bear the date of its passage, as attested by the City Clerk and the President of the Board of Aldermen and, if necessary, the date of its approval by the Mayor or of its reconsideration or enactment by the Board of Aldermen notwithstanding the objection of the Mayor.

B. All ordinances which are enacted shall be recorded by the City Clerk in the order in which they were passed.

C. The City Clerk shall cause all ordinances passed by the Board of Aldermen to be published by title one day in a newspaper of local circulation; but whenever the City shall make a general revision of all its ordinances, no publication of such revised ordinances shall be required in any newspaper.

[Added 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-32]

D. Immediately after the passage of any ordinance, the City Clerk shall cause the same to be printed upon sheets uniform in size and style as the Code, and sufficient in number to meet the public needs.

[Added 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-32]

§ 5-28 Public hearings.

[Added 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-32[1]]

Public hearings shall be conducted as follows, unless another procedure is required by statute or ordinance:

A. An explanation of the subject of the hearing shall be presented to the public by the sponsor(s) of the measure being heard or by administrative or professional staff under prior arrangement with the chair of the board or committee holding the public hearing.

B. Following the presentation set forth in Subsection A, the chair shall recognize members of the public to testify in favor, followed by members of the public opposed and shall allow an opportunity for rebuttal by members of the public.

C. The chair of the board or committee holding the hearing may allow questions from the public and recognize sponsors or staff to respond to those questions.

D. The public hearing shall not be limited in duration nor may members of the public be denied the opportunity to speak, but the chair may set or extend time limits for each member of the public speaking, subject to motion and affirmative vote by members of the board or committee holding the hearing.

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former § 5-28, Publication of ordinances, adopted NRO 1975, T. 3, § 219; NRO 1987, § 2-52, as amended.

§ 5-29 Pennichuck Corporation sole shareholder voting. [1]

[Amended 10-22-2013 by Ord. No. 13-037]

A. Upon receipt of the notice of the annual shareholder meeting and the proxy card, these materials shall be submitted for approval to the Board of Aldermen.

B. All decisions necessary to enter the City's shareholder vote by proxy at the Pennichuck Corporation Annual Meeting of the Sole Shareholder shall be made by vote of the Board of Aldermen and the City shall submit its vote via proxy card mailed to the Pennichuck Board of Directors.

C. All individual proposals listed on the proxy card for the Annual Meeting of the Sole Shareholder shall be separately raised and discussed by the full Board of Aldermen.

D. For the election of directors for the Board of Directors, the qualification of each nominee shall be reviewed and discussed individually.

E. The Board of Aldermen shall authorize the Mayor to submit the proxy card, if the Mayor is not a member of the Board of Directors of the corporation, and shall otherwise authorize the president of the Board of Aldermen to submit the proxy card.

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 5-29, Printing ordinances for public distribution, adopted NRO 1975, T. 3, § 220; NRO 1987, § 2-53, was repealed 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-32. For current provisions, see § 5-27.

§ 5-30 City bonds and tax anticipation notes.

[NRO 1975, T. 3, § 221; NRO 1987, § 2-54]

The issuance of bonds or tax anticipation notes by the City shall be authorized by a resolution of the Board of Aldermen, passed by at least 2/3 of all the members of the Board. All such bonds and notes shall be signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the City Treasurer, and shall have the City Seal affixed thereto.

§ 5-31 Code of conduct.

[NRO 1987, § 2-55; amended 10-22-2002 by Ord. No. O-02-105; 3-25-2003 by Ord. No. O-03-141]

A. Members shall treat each other with respect and courtesy and as equals entitled to the same rights.

B. In order to best serve the citizens of Nashua, members must provide assistance and support to one another, and work together to accomplish their common goals.

C. Debate is an essential feature of democratic government and, as such, requires clarity and honesty on the part of each speaker and attentiveness on the part of all members.

D. Indecent, vulgar or disorderly language is always inappropriate and demeans the entire Board.

E. While it is always proper to question or condemn the nature or consequences of a proposed measure, it is never proper to question the motives or good faith of that measure's proponents or opponents.

F. Each member is responsible for the behavior of his or her fellow members, since inappropriate behavior which goes unchallenged reflects badly on the entire Board.

G. Members shall address his or her colleague by title followed by surname or title and the district/ward he or she represents.

H. Members of the public attending or participating at meetings and hearings shall be treated with respect and courtesy in accordance with this section.