Title III, Towns, Cities, Village Districts, and Unincorporated Places

Any town, school district, village district or county which may receive funds from the United States or any agency thereof in eminent domain proceedings for the taking of its property or other public facilities or in settlement for such taking or of claims for damages to its prop…

I. Any 2 or more towns, cities, counties, or other political subdivisions, may severally vote to establish cooperative arrangements for carrying out the purposes of this chapter. Appropriate action by ordinance, resolution or otherwise shall be necessary before any such agreement…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to authorize or to empower the bank: I. To make loans of money to any person, firm or corporation other than a governmental unit, or to purchase securities issued by any person, firm or corporation other than a governmental uni…

Any water works or sewer department of a city or town, organized by general law or special act of the legislature and financed principally by water or sewer rentals, may, by unanimous vote of the body charged with the administration thereof, whether the local governing body, wate…

I. The bank shall have the power and is hereby authorized from time to time to issue its bonds or notes in such principal amounts as it shall deem necessary to provide funds for any purposes authorized by this chapter, including the making of loans, the payment, funding or refund…

No town, school district, or village district shall raise and appropriate in any one year for such reserve an amount in excess of 1/2 of one percent of the last base valuation for debt limit computed pursuant to RSA 33:4-b of said town or district; no county shall raise and appro…

In any resolution of the bank authorizing or relating to the issuance of any bonds or notes, the bank, in order to secure the payment of such bonds or notes and in addition to its other powers, shall have power by provisions therein which shall constitute covenants by the bank an…

Each capital reserve fund shall be maintained separately on the books of the town. The assets of such funds may be pooled in order to invest in a broader range of investments to maximize growth and mitigate risk. Said capital reserve funds shall be invested only in deposits in an…

I. Any trustee or trustees of trust funds having custody of capital reserve funds authorized by this chapter may contract with the trust department or departments of a bank, a brokerage firm, a portfolio management department, or investment advisor in the same manner and for the …

The director of the division of planning and community development and/or a regional planning commission which is established under RSA 36, or both, may negotiate with the proper authorities of the states of Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont a compact for interstate regional plan…

Any city by vote of its city council, and any town at any duly warned meeting, may adopt or rescind the provisions of this chapter.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Interstate Regional Planning Compact.

A city or town which accepts the provisions of this chapter may establish a conservation commission, hereinafter called the commission, for the proper utilization and protection of the natural resources and for the protection of watershed resources of said city or town. Such comm…

I. The commission shall consist of not less than 3 nor more than 7 members as determined by the local legislative body. In a town which has a planning board, one member of the commission may also be on the planning board. In a city which has a planning board, one member of the co…

I. Said commission may receive gifts of money, personal property, real property, and water rights, either within or outside the boundaries of the municipality, by gift, grant, bequest, or devise, subject to the approval of the local governing body, such gifts to be managed and co…

I. The legislative body of a city or town may vote at an annual meeting to authorize the conservation commission to: (a) Expend funds for the purchase of interests in land outside the boundaries of the municipality, subject to the approval of the local governing body; and (b) Exp…

The purpose of this subdivision shall be to enable municipalities and counties to join in the formation of regional planning commissions whose duty it shall be to prepare a coordinated plan for the development of a region, taking into account present and future needs with a view …

I. If no regional planning commission exists in any specific planning region as delineated by the division of planning and community development, then 2 or more municipalities in said planning region and having planning boards may, by ordinance or resolution adopted by the respec…

[Paragraph I effective until September 13, 2026; see also paragraph I set out below.] I. A regional planning commission's powers shall be advisory, and shall generally pertain to the development of the region within its jurisdiction as a whole. Nothing in this subdivision shall b…

A regional planning commission shall elect annually from among its members a chairman, vice-chairman, and such other officers as it deems necessary. Meetings shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other time as the commission may determine. A commission shall keep …

A regional planning commission shall determine on a reasonable and equitable basis the proportion of its costs to be borne respectively by each municipality or county which is a member of said commission. A commission may accept and receive in furtherance of its functions, funds,…

Regional planning commissions are political subdivisions of the state. However, regional planning commissions have only that power and authority expressly provided for in RSA 36.

I. A town or city, having established a conservation commission as authorized by RSA 36-A:2, may appropriate money as deemed necessary for the purpose of this chapter. The whole or any part of money so appropriated in any year and any gifts of money received pursuant to RSA 36-A:…

A regional planning commission may assist the planning board of any municipality within the delineated region to carry out any regional plan or plans developed by said commission. A regional planning commission may also render assistance on local planning problems. A regional pla…

In order to implement any of the provisions of a regional plan, which has been adopted or is in preparation, a regional planning commission may, in addition to its powers and duties under RSA 36:47 undertake studies and make specific recommendations on economic, industrial and co…

I. The Strafford regional planning commission and the Rockingham planning commission either separately or jointly with participating municipalities may create climate resilience cooperative agreements forming an authority to plan for and address sea-level rise, storm surge, and f…

The purpose of this subdivision is to: I. Provide timely notice to potentially affected municipalities concerning proposed developments which are likely to have impacts beyond the boundaries of a single municipality. II. Provide opportunities for the regional planning commission …

In this subdivision "development of regional impact" means any proposal before a local land use board which in the determination of such local land use board could reasonably be expected to impact on a neighboring municipality, because of factors such as, but not limited to, the …

I. A local land use board, as defined in RSA 672:7, upon receipt of an application for development, shall review it promptly and determine whether or not the development, if approved, reasonably could be construed as having the potential for regional impact. Doubt concerning regi…

I. Upon determination that a proposed development has a potential regional impact, the local land use board having jurisdiction shall afford the regional planning commission and the affected municipalities the status of abutters as defined in RSA 672:3 for the limited purpose of …

The provisions of this subdivision shall supersede any contrary or inconsistent provisions of local land use regulations enacted under RSA 155-E and RSA 674.

The commissioner of the department of natural and cultural resources may establish a program to assist, at their request, the cities and towns which have adopted the provisions of this chapter, in acquiring land and in planning of use and structures as described in RSA 36-A:2.

As used in this chapter, the word "town" shall be construed not to include cities or school districts, but shall include village districts or precincts, and the words "town clerk" shall include clerks of village precincts or districts.

The town manager shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the selectmen, unless otherwise specifically voted by the town.

The provisions of this chapter shall not become operative in any town unless and until the same are adopted by a majority of the legal voters of the town present and voting at an annual meeting duly warned as hereinafter provided.

The selectmen, upon the written application of 10 or more voters, or 1/6 of the voters in the town, shall insert a proper article in their warning for such meeting, which article shall refer to this chapter.

A town that has adopted the provisions hereof may rescind such adoption by majority vote of the legal voters present and voting at a subsequent annual meeting, provided a proper article therefor is inserted in the warrant for such meeting; but no acts done or obligations incurred…

A village district or precinct organized under, or established by special act for any of the purposes set forth in RSA 52:1, may avail itself of the provisions hereof, so far as applicable, if a majority of the voters thereof present and voting at a district or precinct meeting s…

Whenever an article has been inserted in the warrant for the annual meeting of any town, village district or precinct, calling for consideration of the question of adopting the provisions of this chapter, the following question shall be submitted to the voters at such meeting: "D…

Any town which shall have adopted the provisions of this chapter may at the annual or a special meeting, under a proper article in the warrant, vote to authorize the selectmen to appoint the town manager to also be collector of taxes within and for such town and to fix his compen…

Any vote taken under the provisions of RSA 37:16 shall be by ballot. If the town wherein such action is to be taken had adopted an official ballot system, and has previously adopted the provisions of this chapter, the clerk shall add to the ballot the following question: "Shall t…

The selectmen of towns adopting the provisions of this chapter, as herein provided, shall forthwith thereafter appoint a town manager who may or may not, when appointed, be a resident of the town or state.

The town manager shall be selected with special reference to his education, training, and experience to perform the duties of his office, and without reference to his political belief; and shall in all matters be subject to the direction and supervision, and hold office at the wi…

Before entering upon the duties of his office, the town manager shall be sworn to the faithful and impartial performance thereof, and a certificate to that effect shall be filed with the town clerk; and he shall execute a bond in favor of the town for the faithful performance of …

The town manager shall be the administrative head of all departments of the town and be responsible for the efficient administration thereof, except as herein otherwise provided. He shall have general supervision of the property and business affairs of the town and of the expendi…

The town manager shall have the power and it shall be his duty: I. To organize, continue, or discontinue, from time to time, such departments as the selectmen may from time to time determine. II. To appoint, upon merit and fitness alone, and to remove, all subordinate officers an…