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

The ward clerk shall record the votes and proceedings of all ward meetings, shall enter upon the record the names of all persons voted for and the number of votes given for each, in words, at length; and shall, within 7 days after any meeting of the ward, deliver to the clerk of …

Upon the written application of 10 percent of the registered voters in any city, presented to the city clerk prior to the municipal election, the city clerk shall insert on the ballot to be used at said election the following question: "Shall fluoride be used in the public water …

If 25 legal voters of a city shall, before the expiration of 15 days from the date of an annual or biennial municipal meeting, apply in writing to the city clerk for a recount of the ballots cast at said meeting on a question affecting said city only, the clerk shall appoint a ti…

If, in case of a recount of such votes, it shall appear that the result of the voting on said question is other than that declared upon a canvass of the votes by the city council after a municipal election, the city council shall declare the result found by it upon such recount a…

Cities holding elections on days other than those of state elections shall be governed by the provisions of RSA 658 and 659 in the choice of city and ward officers insofar as such provisions are not inconsistent with city charter provisions or other state statutes.

All provisions of statutes, now made or hereafter enacted relating to towns, shall be understood to apply to cities; and all provisions relating to the selectmen and town clerks of towns shall be construed to apply to the mayor and aldermen and clerks of cities, respectively, unl…

In accordance with the provisions of RSA 44:2, no candidate for a city office shall file for more than one seat on a city or school district board, commission, committee, or council.

In cities which use more than one ballot during any city election, each ballot shall be of a different color, or display a differently colored header on white paper, than any other ballot used at the election.

The administration of all the fiscal, prudential and municipal affairs of any city, and the government thereof, shall be vested in one principal officer called mayor, a board of aldermen, and a common council, and the said mayor and aldermen and common council, in their joint cap…

Each ward into which a city may be divided by law, or in pursuance of law, shall be a town for the purpose of the election of governor, councilor, state senator, representative to the general court, all county officers, senator and representative in congress, and electors of pres…

All boundaries of wards, other than those boundaries which are coterminous with the boundaries of municipalities, shall follow easily identifiable physical features. For the purposes of this section, physical features include public and private ways, public utility lines, railroa…

Any person having his or her domicile within the city, qualified to vote as provided in RSA 654:1 through 654:6 and whose name is on the checklist shall be qualified to vote in city elections. The supervisors of the checklist shall prepare, post, and revise the checklist for city…

The ward clerk shall deliver to his successor in office all records, record books, journals, files, papers and other things whatsoever held by him in his capacity of clerk.

All meetings of the voters for the election of county, state, or United States officers, who are voted for by the people, shall be held in their respective wards at the time legally appointed for those elections respectively.

The selectmen and clerk of each ward shall perform the same duties in relation to jurors as are incumbent on like officers of towns subject to RSA 500-A.

All statutes heretofore passed applying to particular cities shall remain in force.

Salaries of all city officials and employees, excluding court personnel, shall be fixed in accordance with the provisions, if any, of the respective city charter; otherwise by the governing body of the city.

The qualified voters in each ward, at the meeting for the choice of city and ward officers, shall give in to the moderator their votes for a mayor of the city, which shall be received, sorted, counted and declared, and a record thereof made in the same manner as votes for senator…

He may call special meetings of the board of aldermen and common council, or either of them, when in his opinion the interests of the city require it, by causing a notification to be given to, or left at the abode of, each member of the board to be convened.

He shall from time to time communicate to the city councils, respectively, such information, and recommend such measures as the interests of the city shall, in his judgment, require.

He shall receive for his services such salary as the city councils shall determine, payable at stated periods, and shall receive no other compensation; and such salary shall not be increased or diminished from the time of any election till the close of the term of the mayor then …

The board of aldermen where the city government is composed of 2 bodies, or the city council where the city government is composed of one body, may choose one of their members to be chairman, and, whenever the mayor of any city shall be absent or shall be disabled by sickness or …

The city councils shall meet in convention on the day appointed by law or ordinance for that purpose, and the city clerk, having entered upon the record the number of votes given in each ward for every person voted for as mayor, shall lay before the convention the returns of such…

In case the election of mayor is contested the city councils in convention shall have power to send for persons and papers, may inquire into the correctness of the returns, and shall hear and receive evidence as to any fraud or misconduct in relation to the election; and for that…

If no person is elected mayor, or if the person elected declines, the convention shall make a record of the fact and appoint a day for another election; and the mayor and aldermen shall issue their precept to the selectmen of the several wards, requiring them to call meetings of …

In case a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor of any city, by death, resignation or otherwise, the board of aldermen shall elect one of their number chairman, who shall have all the powers and perform all the duties of mayor until the vacancy shall be filled by the election and…

As soon as may be after such vacancy shall occur, the board of aldermen and the common council shall meet and respectively declare the existence of such vacancy and the cause thereof, whereupon said board of aldermen and the common council shall meet in convention and elect a may…

The mayor thus chosen and qualified shall be the chief executive officer of the city, and for the preservation of the peace shall have the powers of sheriff and conservator of the peace, and, in case of any unlawful assembly, may appoint as many special constables as he may think…

He shall cause the laws and regulations of the city to be executed, and shall exercise a general supervision over the conduct of all subordinate officers and cause their violation or neglect of duty to be punished.

He shall preside in the board of aldermen and in convention of city councils, and shall be ex-officio chairman of the board of overseers of the public welfare. He shall have a negative upon the action of the aldermen in laying out highways, and in all other matters; but shall hav…

There shall be chosen in each ward, at the regular meeting thereof, by ballot and by plurality of votes, so many aldermen and common councilmen as shall be authorized by law or ordinance. If the choice of aldermen, common councilmen and ward officers cannot be conveniently comple…

They shall choose a clerk, who shall hold his office during their pleasure, shall attend their sessions and keep a record of their acts, doings and proceedings, and perform such other services in his office as the council shall require.

No member of either branch, except the mayor, shall receive any compensation for his services, or shall hold any office or agency created during his continuance in office.

A majority of each branch of the city councils shall be a quorum for the transaction of business; their meetings shall be public, and, on motion of any member, the yeas and nays on any question shall be taken and entered upon the journal.

Each branch may make, alter or repeal rules for the orderly transaction of its business; and the 2 branches, by concurrent vote, may make and alter joint rules for the transaction of the business of the 2 branches.

The ward clerk shall, within 24 hours after such choice, deliver to each person chosen alderman or common councilman a certified copy of the record of his election, signed by himself, the moderator and a majority of the selectmen.

Each branch shall be the final judge of the election and qualification of its members, and, if any election is contested, shall have the same powers to ascertain the facts as the city convention have in regard to the election of mayor; and in case of a vacancy in their branch, by…

The mayor, aldermen and common council shall meet in convention, on such day as shall be appointed by law or ordinance, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, when the oath of office may be administered to the mayor-elect, if present, by any judge or justice of the peace, and to the alde…

A record that the oaths have been so taken shall be made in the journal of the mayor and aldermen, and of the common council, by their respective clerks.

If from any cause the mayor or any of the aldermen or common councilmen are not then sworn the oath may be administered to them at any time thereafter, a record thereof being made on the journal of their board.

The mayor and aldermen shall compose one board, and shall sit and act together as one body, at all meetings of which the mayor, if present, shall preside; but in his absence a chairman shall be chosen.

The persons chosen and qualified as members of the common council shall sit and act together as one board, distinct from the mayor and aldermen, except when the 2 bodies are required to act in convention.

The common council shall from time to time choose one of their members to preside at all meetings of the board, who shall have, for the preservation of order, the powers of a moderator in town meeting.

All the powers vested by law in towns, or in the inhabitants thereof, shall be exercised by the city councils by concurrent vote, each board having a negative on the other.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no city council shall contract with any private firefighting unit unless said unit has been certified by the state fire marshal pursuant to RSA 153:4-a.

Cities may, pursuant to RSA 47:1-c, vote to restrict revenues from a specific source to expenditures for specific purposes. Such revenues and expenditures shall be accounted for in a special revenue fund separate from the general fund. Any surplus in such fund shall not be deemed…