Revision: April 11, 2024, 9:40 a.m.
Sen. Gray, Dist 6
April 10, 2024
2024-1473s
11/05
Floor Amendment to SB 448-FN
Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:
1 Town of Haverhill; Woodsville Fire District. 1887, 204:1 - 204:4, as amended by 1899, 196:1 - 196:4; 1913, 313:1; 1990, 37:1; 2009, 147:1; and 2021, 124:1, is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
Section 1. The Woodsville fire district is hereby established as a village district governed by RSA chapter 52 and shall have all the rights, duties, and obligations of a village district pursuant to such chapter. The district shall be a body corporate and politic pursuant to such chapter. Woodsville is established for the purposes set forth in RSA 52:1, I(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (k), (m) and (n).
Section 2. The board of commissioners, and all other officers and officials of the Woodsville fire district, shall have and hold their offices of the village district as though duly elected or appointed pursuant to RSA chapter 52, until the next duly called annual meeting.
Section 3. The boundaries of the district shall be co-extensive with the boundaries of the existing fire district established by the town of Haverhill board of selectmen on or about December 1, 1990.
Section 4. All obligations and liabilities of the fire district shall be the obligations and liabilities of the village district. All legal or equitable interests in property of any kind, wherever located and by whomever held belonging to the existing fire district shall vest, subject to all liens, claims and encumbrances, in the village district.
2 Repeal. 1887, 204:5 – 204:13, as amended by 1899, 196:5-196:13, relative to the Woodsville fire district, is repealed.
3 New Section; Town and Village District Expenses. Amend RSA 52 by inserting after section 52:1-a the following new section:
52:1-b Town and Village District Expenses. Any village district organized under the provisions of this chapter may at a regular or special village district meeting vote to cooperate or act jointly with other village districts or with towns to defray expenses and take other appropriate action necessary to protect its interest in connection with purposes stated in RSA 52:1, I(a)-(n) for state and local issues.
4 Highway Maintenance and Fire Protection Responsibilities; Woodsville Fire District.
I. Each year, the Woodsville fire district and not the town of Haverhill is responsible for maintenance of class IV and V highways within its limits:
(a) The town shall compensate the district an amount determined by the following formula:
(1) For each mile of class IV and V highway in the district, the district shall receive 50 percent of the average cost for Haverhill to maintain the class IV and class V highways in the previous year, as determined by Haverhill’s per mile expenditures for highway operations as reported to the department of revenue administration; and
(2) The district shall receive 50 percent of the amount determined by a fraction of the cost, calculated with reference to subparagraph (b), to maintain class IV and V highways, the numerator of which shall be the assessed valuation of the properties in the district, and the denominator of which shall be the assessed valuation of the properties in the entire town of Haverhill as determined annually from the town’s prior year MS-1 form.
(b) The calculation of the cost to maintain class IV and V highways set forth in subparagraphs (a)(1) and (2) shall include items, including but not limited to, the cost of labor (including benefits), road maintenance contracts, insurance, first line supervision, materials, maintenance of equipment, and depreciation of equipment. The calculation of cost shall not include any amount for highway capital projects.
(c) The district shall also receive a share of the state highway block grant funds received by the town in the previous year, calculated according to the formulas in RSA 235:23, but based on population and road mileage of the district compared to the population and road mileage of the entire town of Haverhill.
(d) If district residents vote at an annual district meeting or special meeting to relinquish to the town of Haverhill the district’s responsibility respecting highways within its limits, such vote shall take effect at the start of the next fiscal year, provided such date is at least 3 months from the vote.
II. Each year the Woodsville fire district and not the town of Haverhill is responsible for fire protection within its limits.
(a) The town shall compensate the district as follows:
(1) For every square mile of area covered by the district, one half of the average cost for Haverhill to provide fire protection per square mile, in the previous year, for the area covered by the town fire department; and
(2) For every resident covered by the district fire department, one half of the average cost per capita to provide fire protection, in the previous year, to the residents covered by the town fire department.
The cost to provide fire protection in subparagraphs (a)(1) and (2) shall be the total gross fire budget of the town from the previous year.
(b) If district residents vote at an annual district meeting or special meeting to relinquish to the town of Haverhill the district’s responsibility respecting fire protection within its limits, such vote shall take effect at the start of the next fiscal year, provided such date is at least 3 months from the vote.
5 Applicability. Section 4 of this act shall apply to the town of Haverhill and the Woodsville fire district and is suspended if agreements pursuant to RSA 52:1-b covering the issues in section 4 are in effect.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2025.
2024-1473s
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the Woodsville Fire District as a village district, with all rights, duties, and obligations of such a district. The bill also allocates responsibility for highway maintenance and fire protection between the district and town of Haverhill.