STATEMENT CONCERNING NOTICE FOR TONIGHT’S TOWN MEETING

This year’s Town meeting represents a change from prior years in which Newmarket held
its School Meeting in March and its Town Meeting in May. As a result of the Special Election in December, the Town and School meetings will both vote by official ballot on
March 13, 2012. This change should make the budget process easier and less time consuming for everyone involved.

Unfortunately, this year’s change resulted in two procedural errors that will need to be corrected by the Town:

First, for reasons known to all of you, the Newmarket High School building was
closed on Monday January 30, 2012, which was the last day for posting the Town
Warrant.1 State law requires that Town Warrant be posted in two locations, one of
which must be “at the place of the meeting.”. While the Town Warrant was
posted in four locations on Friday January 27, 2012,3 it was not posted at the place
of the meeting until the morning of Tuesday January 31, 2012.

Second, Section 5.4 the Town Charter requires that the warrant be posted in two
locations “in accordance with RSA 39:5.” However, Section 5.3, which governs the Town’s Budget Hearing, requires that an additional notice be published “in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least one (1) week” prior to the Town Meeting. While this meeting has been more widely publicized than many before it, publication of this notice did not occur as required.

Town Counsel has advised that the failure to provide proper notice requires that the Town
hold a Special Town Meeting under RSA 40:16 to cure the procedural defects in the
meeting. This Special Town Meeting will need to be held after the official ballot vote on
March 13, 2012. For the purpose of today’s Town Meeting, Town Counsel advises that
we are required by law to proceed as planned and cure the defect after the official ballot
vote on March 13, 2012.

On behalf of the Town Council, I apologize for this unanticipated inconvenience. I have
asked that this statement and the Special Town Meeting law be made available at the
Town Hall and on the Town’s web site. It is also my intention to place this matter on the
agenda for the Town Council’s next meeting on February 15, 2012 and to answer any
questions at that time.

footnotes:
1 RSA 40:13, II‐a (d).
2 RSA 39:5.
3 The Town Warrant was posted at the Town Hall; the Town Library; the Recreation Center; and the Town web site.

RSA 40:16 Legalization of Meetings. – When irregularities or procedural defects in the
actions of a local political subdivision are discovered in a local political subdivision using
the official ballot, the local political subdivision may, on the authority of the governing
body, call a special meeting for the exclusive purpose of curing such defect according to
RSA 31:5-b with a single session for deliberating and voting to cure such defect.

RSA 31:5-b Legalization of Meetings. –
I. In the past, irregularities and procedural defects in actions of municipal legislative
bodies have been cured by actions of the general court. The procedure in this section is an
alternative approach which enables municipalities to effect legalization by local action.
II. Whenever the legislative body of a municipality has voted by the requisite majority,
by written ballot or in any other manner legally authorized, to take any legal actions and
the vote is subsequently discovered to be procedurally defective, such defects may be
cured and legalized by a vote at a special meeting called for the purpose of ratifying the
procedurally defective action. Procedurally defective actions shall mean minor procedural
irregularities such as failure to comply with statutory requirements regarding time or
place of notice, vote, hearing, or wording, or with any procedural act not contrary to the
spirit or intent of the law. The ratification of the procedurally defective action shall be
subject to the following requirements:
(a) The municipality may, on the authority of the governing body, call a special town
meeting for the exclusive purpose of curing such defect.
(b) The special town meeting called for that purpose may not take place less than 21
calendar days after the original vote.
(c) Not less than 7 calendar days prior to the special town meeting, not counting the
day of the special town meeting, the governing body shall conduct a public hearing at
which the reasons for the special town meeting shall be explained.
(d) The municipality shall comply with all statutory notice and procedural
requirements for holding special town meetings.
(e) The necessary majority required to cure the defects shall be the same as the
majority as required for passage of the original article.
III. When any procedural defect has been cured under this section, actions of the voters
shall be valid as if all statutorily required proceedings had been complied with.