LEGAL NOTICE Town of Merrimack PublicHearing Thursday,December 18, 2025, at 7:00, Matthew Thornton Room, 8Baboosic Lake Road, Merrimack Residentsof Merrimack are hereby advised that the Town Council, in accordance with NewHampshire RSA 49-B:5, will conduct a public ......More
LEGAL NOTICE Town of Merrimack PublicHearing Thursday,December 18, 2025, at 7:00, Matthew Thornton Room, 8Baboosic Lake Road, Merrimack Residentsof Merrimack are hereby advised that the Town Council, in accordance with NewHampshire RSA 49-B:5, will conduct a public hearing to consider recommendedchanges to the following Articles of the Town of Merrimack Charter: ArticleVI, Administrative and Judicial Boards ArticleIX, Conduct of Officials; Code of Ethics Shall the Town of Merrimack approve the charteramendment reprinted below to eliminate the Ethics Committee? New language is indicated in italics andunderline. Deleted language isindicated with a strike through. ArticleVI, Administrative and Judicial Boards § 6-2 Electedboards/committees/commissions. C. Ethics Committee. The EthicsCommittee shall consist of five residents of the Town of Merrimack. EthicsCommittee members shall be elected at a regular Town election for terms ofthree years, staggered so that no more than two members are elected at onetime. A quorum of three or more Committee members shall be necessary to hearany complaint that is filed. Should a vacancy in the Committee arise, theremaining members of the Ethics Committee shall appoint a Town resident toserve out the remainder of the term. Any tie shall be resolved by the vote ofthe Town Moderator. The members of the Ethics Committee shall elect aChairperson on an annual basis. Article IX,Conduct of Officials; Code of Ethics § 9-4 Definitionsof terms. As used in thisarticle, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: B. Complainant:A resident of the Town of Merrimack who has submitted a petition to the EthicsCommittee Town Council requesting an inquiry or alleging a violationof the Code of Ethics. . . . E. EthicsCommittee: The committee established by Article VI of thisCharter. The Town Councilshall serve as the Ethics Committee. Ifthe ethics complaint is against one or more Councilors, the other Councilorsshall temporarily appoint 3 Town residents who are not Town employees to carryout the duties in § 9-6 with regard to the complaint against the Councilor(s). . . . K. Respondent:Board member or employee named in a petition submitted to the EthicsCommittee Town Council as an inquiry or alleging a violationof the Code of Ethics. § 9-6 EthicsCommittee. Process andComplaints EthicalComplaints will be brought before the Town Council. The EthicsCommittee shall: Educate officials,board members and employees of Town government regarding the provisions of theEthics Code; Provide advice andcounsel to officials, board members and employees regarding ethical issues withwhich they are confronted; and Hear and resolveethics complaints which are filed against officials, board members andemployees of Town government. A. Education. (1) At the time that each newly electedor appointed official, board member or employee takes the oath of office, theyshall receive a copy of this code and acknowledge in writing that they havereceived a copy of this code. (2) The Ethics Committee shall holda meeting each spring for newly elected or appointed officials, board membersand employees so they may familiarize themselves with the provisions of thiscode. (3) It shall be the responsibility ofthe supervisor of any new employee to ensure that the new employee familiarizesthemselves with the provisions of this code. B. Inquiries. The Ethics CommitteeTown Council shall establish a mechanism by which officials, boardmembers, employees and residents of the Town of Merrimack may obtain advice andcounsel from the committee Town Council regarding ethicalissues that may arise from time to time. Upon request of a Town official, boardmember or employee, the Ethics Committee Town Council mayissue a written advisory opinion in response to such an inquiry. C. Complaints. (1) The Ethics Committee TownCouncil shall: a. Have the power to investigate allwritten complaints which are filed; b. Establish forms by which officials,board members, employees, and residents of the Town of Merrimack may filecomplaints or request that an inquiry be made; c. Only review complaints based onalleged violations of § 9-3A to H of thisarticle. All such requests or complaints must be in writing, shall specify theprovision of the code which the complainant believes was violated, and must besigned by a resident of Merrimack. When signing the complaint, the complainantshall certify that he or she has read the Code of Ethics, that they believe thematter within the complaint is a fair subject of inquiry, and they haveexhausted all other avenues of relief available to them within our Towngovernment. (2) Any official, board member oremployee against whom a written complaint is filed shall be given a copy of thecomplaint and upon written request shall be afforded an opportunity to be heardand to present evidence to the Ethics Committee Town Council. (3) The Ethics Committee TownCouncil shall have sole discretion for setting rules regarding theconduct of hearings. The Committee Town Council shall seekto make sure that both the complainant and the respondent have an opportunityto be heard and to present evidence, but the Committee TownCouncil may limit the testimony and evidence which is presented to itif in the opinion of the Committee Town Council thetestimony and evidence in question is irrelevant, unnecessary, redundant, orunreliable. (4) The Ethics Committee TownCouncil may require, with sufficient written notice, any official,board member or employee of Town government to appear before it to providetestimony regarding pending complaints. The Ethics Committee TownCouncil, for this purpose, may administer oaths and require theproduction of evidence such as documents. (5) Within 30 days of concluding aninvestigation into a written complaint, the Ethics Committee TownCouncil shall issue a written statement setting forth its findings. TheEthics Committee Town Council shall not have the power toimpose any monetary or other penalty, only to issue a written statement as setforth above. Tobe effective, May 1, 2026. TheTown Council seeks this Charter amendment to eliminate the Ethics Committee,which has not had a complaint before it in years and frequently does not have aquorum to meet. Copies of the proposed changes are available at the Town Manager’s office, TownClerk’s office, the Merrimack Public Library and also on the Town’swebsite. All interested parties areinvited to attend. The public hearing will be held on Thursday, December 18, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Matthew ThorntonRoom located at 8 Baboosic Lake Road in Merrimack. For Town ofMerrimack Use: Posted: December 9, 2025 To Be Published: December 9, 2025 (Union Leader)
8 Baboosic Lake Rd, Merrimack, NH 03054, USA
