Public Hearing for 2024 Town Budget, Warrant Articles, Bond and Community Power - Community Room, 26 Railroad St
PROPOSED 2024 ANNUAL BUDGETS & WARRANT ARTICLE APPROPRIATIONS
Monday January 15, 2024 - 6:30 PM
Community Room – Silsby Library/Municipal Building
Pursuant to the provisions of RSA 32:5 and 40:13, the Charlestown Selectboard and Finance Committee will hold a Public Hearing for the proposed 2024 annual budgets for the Town’s General Fund, Water Fund and Sewer Fund as well as all Warrant Articles, including Bond Articles involving the appropriation of Town funds on Monday January 15, 2024 at 6:30 PM in the Community Room at the Silsby Library/Municipal Building. The public is encouraged to attend.
Community Power: Residents and taxpayers are encouraged to attend to learn about the proposed plan to create Charlestown Community Power. The aim of the program is to help electricity customers save money on the supply of their electricity. The public hearings are part of the preparations for bringing a warrant article on Charlestown Community Power to Town meeting in the spring.
Earlier this year, the Charlestown Selectboard established the Charlestown Community Power Electric Aggregation Committee to pursue potential electric cost savings for residents and taxpayers that may come from electricity aggregation under RSA 53-E, also known as the Community Power Law.
In enacting RSA 53-E, the New Hampshire legislature found it to be in the public interest to allow municipalities to aggregate retail electric customers in order to reduce electric costs and encourage innovative solutions to local energy needs.
The Committee’s mission is to recommend an entity to facilitate the Charlestown Community Power program and to draft an Charlestown Community Power Plan (also referred to as an Electric Aggregation Plan). At the recommendation of the Committee, the Charlestown Selectboard voted to join the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, a nonprofit power supplier created by New Hampshire cities and towns to share resources and maximize the benefits and savings of community power programs statewide.
Under Community Power programs, electric distribution utilities continue to own and operate and maintain the power lines and infrastructure while local communities gain control over the cost of their energy and where it is sourced from.
Information about Community Power programs is available at www.CommunityPowerNH.gov and www.cpcnh.org.
