Mayor won’t allow public to comment during special meeting

MANCHESTER, NH  June 5, 2026–Conservative Republican aldermen Ed Sapienza (Ward 8) and Crissy Kantor (Ward 6) have revised their original budget proposal in the hope of persuading the mayor and their three GOP colleagues on the board to oppose an override of the city’s popular tax cap that would allow for a massive increase in new taxes.

At it’s meeting on June 2, the Democratic aldermen, led by June Trisciani (at-Large) and Jim Burkush (Ward 9) made minor adjustments to their original proposal, which saw taxes soar by over $22 million, accompanied by a $14 million jump in taxes collected.  Their tax rate increase was 11.8%.  In response to a budget proposal from the GOP trio of Ross Terrio (Ward 7), Norm Vincent (Ward 11) and Kelly Thomas (Ward 12) that increased taxes by $17.7 million and spending by $10.3 million, with a tax rate spike of 10.14%, the budget amended by Trisciani and Burkush increased taxes by over $20 million, and spending by $13 million.  The tax rate would balloon by $11.2%

The vote to override the tax cap on the Democrats’ modified proposal failed, with all five Republicans voting in opposition.  Terrio said the Democrats’ budget “wasn’t ready for prime time” and that details remained to be worked out.

The budget originally submitted by Sapienza and Kantor was shot down on a 12-2 vote, despite staying within the tax cap and providing funds for items of concern, including police pay raises, health insurance, liability insurance and the overlay account, which pays abatements to taxpayers whose properties are reduced in value.

In this new proposal, the pair simply added the net value of new construction to the existing tax base, which is allowed under the tax cap, to the budget originally proposed by Mayor Jay Ruais, which complied with the city’s tax cap.  The added revenue from that change, along with the allocation of new surplus money expected by the close of the fiscal year, allowed the pro-taxpayer duo to add over $2.55 million to the city’s contingency account while remaining within the tax cap.  They removed all other changes they originally proposed

Sapienza said he wanted to show the board that those changes provided “cold hard cash” to address some of the concerns over the insurances, overlay and raises and bought time for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to look at other options to reallocate funds within the budget.  As an example, he noted there were several positions in the budget that had or were about to be transitioned from one time American Rescue Plan Act grant funds to the tax payer.  Kantor had previously stated her position that “one time money shouldn’t be used to increase ongoing expenses.”

Ruais’ budget stayed within the tax cap by defunding various vacancies and requiring cuts of up to 2 % in various departments, except the police department.  He also put $1.7 million in his budget to fund raises for police, which are currently being negotiated.  The police unions refused to accept a city offer to bring them in line with the city’s new compensation study last year, the only unions not to take advantage of the raises it contained.  Democrats, Ruais and Terrio have publicly stated that they are willing to override the tax cap to give them a contract.  Whatever amount will be required, it doesn’t necessitate an override that raises taxes by more than double to almost triple the amount allowed by the tax cap.

Meanwhile, the special meeting agenda for the BMA meeting on Tuesday June 9 does not contain an item that would allow for public comment.  The city charter requires public comment be allowed at all regular meetings of the board.  Since special meetings typically do not contain pubic comment, Girard at Large emailed Ruais Thursday morning to ask if he would allow for it.  He did not respond and we got our answer when the agenda was published.  There will be no public comment.

This frustrated Kantor who received messages from several residents who said they were turned away from the Aldermanic Chambers during the June 2 meeting by Deputy Police Chief Ken Loui.  Kantor told Girard at Large she contacted Chief Peter Marr, who admitted he had directed that action due to “capacity concerns” in the room.  Normally, such decisions are made by the fire department.  “I’ve seen that room with more people,” said Kantor, who noted that several people there were off duty police officers and teachers, many of whom don’t live in Manchester.  “It’s not right that citizens were turned away and weren’t allowed to tell the board what they went there to say.”  She said the people who contacted her were opposed to overriding the tax cap.

During more than three hours of testimony, approximately thirty people opposed overriding the tax cap and twenty one supported it, a number that rose to 27 if students mobilized by the Granite State Organizing Project’s Youth Organizers United group are counted.  (Publisher’s note:  We did not include them in our original count because they aren’t taxpaying citizens, nor are they old enough to vote.)

Kantor wants people to contact the mayor and the aldermen to share their opposition to overriding the tax cap and said that if the budget they proposed needed “another million or two” to take care of things like insurance and raises, that would be “much better for the taxpayers than another $18, $19 or $20 million.”

Both made a point of saying they used the current tax base to calculate their projected tax rate, sharing criticism of other proposals that used the pending results from the revaluation to mask their tax hike.

Click here to contact Mayor Ruais.  Click here to contact the aldermen.