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Town Council Meeting Minutes – August 6, 2026 
 
 
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Town Council Meeting Minutes 
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Thursday, August 6, 2026, at 7:00 PM, in the Matthew Thornton Room 
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Call to Order  
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Chair Harrington called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Present at the meeting were Chair Harrington, Vice 
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Chair Jobin, Councilor Landrigan, Councilor Murphy, Councilor Rothhaus, Councilor Thornton, and Town 
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Manager Paul Micali. Councilor Albert was excused 
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Pledge of Allegiance 
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Chair Harrington led the Pledge of Allegiance. 
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Announcements 
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Upcoming Town Council Meetings: 
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• Thursday, August 20, 2026, 7:00 PM Regular meeting 
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• Thursday, September 10, 2026, 7:00 PM Regular meeting 
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• Thursday, September 24, 2026, 7:00 PM Regular meeting 
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The 2026 Hazardous Waste schedule is now available. You can access it by going to the Solid Waste page 
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on the Town website and clicking on the “Hazardous Household Waste Schedule” link on the top left in the 
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blue box. 
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The next collection day will be Saturday, August 8th at 33 Newcomb Pkwy, Pelham from 8:00AM-
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12:00PM. The cost is $20 per vehicle which covers up to 10 gallons of liquid waste OR 20 lbs. of solid 
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hazardous waste. Cash or check is accepted. Make checks payable to NRSWMD. 
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PAVING Turkey Hill Road on August 7th. 
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EXPECT LONG DELAYS. SEEK ALTERNATE ROUTE! 
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Last Concert of the Summer – Thursday, August 13th 
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Pam Felber: Ziggity Zag Music 
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Comments from the Press and Public 
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None. 
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Recognitions, Resignations and Retirements 
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None. 
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Appointments 
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None. 
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Public Hearing 
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1. Public Hearing – Operation Granite Shield Grant Funds for the Merrimack Police Department 
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Submitted by Police Chief Brian Levesque 
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The Town Council will hold a public hearing to consider the acceptance and expenditure of grant 
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funds in the amount of $20,398.73, made available through the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, 
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to the Merrimack Police Department, to be used towards combating the opioid epidemic and illegal 
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drug trafficking within our community, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15. 
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Town Council Meeting Minutes – August 6, 2026 
 
 
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Deputy Chief Tarleton was present to discuss the Operation Granite Shield grant funds Merrimack receives. 
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He shared that the NH Substance Abuse Enforcement Program (also known as Granite Shield) is a grant 
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funded initiative through the Department of Safety and administered through the Hillsborough County 
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Sheriff’s Office, and focuses on providing support for law enforcement efforts combating the opioid 
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epidemic and disrupting illegal drug trafficking throughout Hillsborough County. Granite Shield’s 
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collaborative partnerships involve several law enforcement agencies across the county in which participating 
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officers are deputized, allowing them to work across jurisdictional boundaries and support regional 
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investigations and enforcement operations that advance the goals of the program. For Merrimack Police 
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Department, Granite Shield funding is used to cover overtime costs associated with these operations, 
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ensuring that participation does not impact regular patrol staffing in the town’s operating budget. Merrimack 
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Police has been an active participant in Granite Shield for many years and remains committed to working 
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collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to reduce the impact of illegal drugs on our communities. 
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He is requesting that the Council accept grant funds in the amount of $20,398.73 from the Hillsborough 
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County Sheriff’s Office. He also provided some statistics on the amounts of grams of illegal drugs 
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confiscated during Granite Shield Operations in Merrimack for this year alone: over 3,400 grams of fentanyl, 
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over 1,600 grams of cocaine, over 1,700 grams of crack cocaine, over 5,000 grams of methamphetamine, 
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2,800 illicit pills, over 13,000 grams of marijuana, an excess of 4,200 edibles, 520 grams of testosterone, 
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1,300 grams of mushrooms, with 84 arrests, 7 search warrants, and 10 weapons seized. 
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The public hearing was opened at 7:12pm and closed at 7:13pm 
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MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Murphy to accept and expend 
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grant funds in the amount of $20,398.73, made available through the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s 
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Office, to the Merrimack Police Department, to be used towards combating the opioid epidemic and 
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illegal drug trafficking within our community, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15. 
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MOTION CARRIES 6-0-0 
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Legislative Updates from State Representatives 
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Councilor Murphy shared that returning legislators have the ability to file legislation from September 1- 
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September 11. If anyone has an idea of a piece of legislation they would like to file, she encouraged them to 
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reach out to her or any of the other state reps. 
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Town Manager’s Report 
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Mr. Micali shared that there is a scam video going around on YouTube regarding an assessment video and 
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forms to fill out which are incorrect and/or do not exist. He is warning Merrimack residents to not sign up for 
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anything as this is not a legitimate source, and these types of scams are becoming more convincing and 
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detailed. He then played a short video on the upcoming revaluation from Nick Lavallee that highlights why 
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the revaluation is being done. Mr. Micali also went over important information via PowerPoint presentation 
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that stated the following: 
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Why Revaluation 
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• This revaluation is done in accordance with NH state law every 5 years. Before you panic….your 
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assessment letter is NOT your tax bill.  
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How is the Amount to Collect Decided 
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• The town doesn’t decide how much money to collect based on your new home value. 
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Town Council Meeting Minutes – August 6, 2026 
 
 
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• The town figures out how much money it needs to operate during public meetings in December 
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through March. Residents vote on that number in April, and the town then sets a tax rate to collect the 
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approved amount. 
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Calculating the Tax Rate 
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• Please don’t take your new assessment and multiply it by last year’s tax rate. That’s the wrong math, 
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and it’ll make it look like your taxes are exploding- that’s not how property taxes are calculated. 
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• Your assessment is one piece of the formula. It is not your tax bill. Wait until the new tax rate is set 
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before jumping to conclusions. 
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• The new tax rate will be coming out this October. 
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• For questions about your assessment, contact Merrimack’s Assessing Office at (603) 424-5136. 
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The Children of the American Revolution asked if they could place a granite marker for Reuben Cummings 
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at the Matthew Thornton Cemetery. He was a child who fought in the Revolutionary War, and they would 
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like to do this on September 13th, which is the day that he passed away in the war. Mr. Micali has no problem 
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with this and is working on getting the flagpole installed closer to Brown and Brown, between the flagpole 
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and the Matthew Thornton monument, with the dedication in November to coordinate with the signing of the 
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declaration of independence ceremony they have planned. 
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Consent Agenda 
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None. 
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Old Business 
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None. 
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New Business 
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1. Acceptance of Dog Park Donations for Parks and Recreation Department 
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Submitted by Parks and Recreation Director Matthew Casparius 
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The Town Council to consider the acceptance and expenditure of various donations totaling $859, to 
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the Parks and Recreation Department, to be used towards the Dog Park located at Wasserman Park, 
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pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15. 
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Mr. Micali shared that every year, the dog park wants to do renovations, so they go out and raise money; this 
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year they brought in about $1,000 worth of chips and raised $859 combined with the $600 they already had, 
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they have enough money to pay for those chips through the donations. 
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MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Vice Chair Jobin to accept and expend 
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various donations totaling $859, to the Parks and Recreation Department, to be used towards the Dog 
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Park located at Wasserman Park, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15, retroactive June 
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30th, 2026. 
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MOTION CARRIES 6-0-0 
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2. Consideration of Changes to Chapter 178, Taxation (Article II, Elderly Tax Exemptions)  
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[First Reading] 
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Submitted by Town Manager Paul T. Micali 
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The Town Council to consider the recommended changes to Chapter 178, Taxation (Article II, 
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Elderly Tax Exemptions), of the Merrimack Town Code, pursuant to Charter Article V. 
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Town Council Meeting Minutes – August 6, 2026 
 
 
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Mr. Micali shared that the recommended changes relate to the upcoming revaluation, specifically for 
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individuals aged 65-80 years old as their assessments went up almost 54%. He is proposing changing only 
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the exemption amounts, not the dollar or asset limits, to the following, with it retroactive to April 1st: 
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From 65-75 years old: from $115,000 to $176,400; this group went up 53.39% 
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From 75-80 years old: from $155,000 to $239,000; this group went up 54.19% 
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From 80+ years old: from $195,000 to $296,750; this group went up 52.17% 
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MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Murphy to move the 
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recommended changes to Chapter 178, Taxation (Article II, Elderly Tax Exemptions), of the 
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Merrimack Town Code, pursuant to Charter Article V, effective April 1, 2026, to Public Hearing on 
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August 20, 2026. 
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MOTION CARRIES 6-0-0 
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Minutes 
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Approve the minutes from the following Town Council meeting: 
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♦  July 16, 2026 
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MOTION made by Vice Chair Jobin and seconded by Councilor Rothhaus to approve the minutes 
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from July 16, 2026 as written. 
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MOTION CARRIES 6-0-0 
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Comments from the Press & Public  
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None. 
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Comments from the Council 
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Vice Chair Jobin wanted to thank the Merrimack Police Department for a successful National Night Out. She 
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shared that she, along with Councilors Murphy and Landrigan, had a great time meeting residents. She also 
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wanted to give a shout out to the Garden Club for taking such great care of the Library and all they do 
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around town.  
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Mr. Micali also wanted to highlight Matt Casparius and Parks and Rec for working diligently with the Police 
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Department on National Night Out. 
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Adjourn 
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MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Landrigan to adjourn the 
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meeting. 
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MOTION CARRIES 6-0-0 
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The meeting adjourned at 7:42pm. 
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Respectfully Submitted, 
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Jennifer Steagald 
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