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TOWN OF HOLLIS BUDGET COMMITTEE 
September 9, 2026 
PUBLIC MINUTES 
 
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BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS 
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Present:  
Tom Gehan, Chairman; Christopher Hyde; Darlene Mann, Mark Kost; Tom Whalen, 
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Select Board Representative; Raffi Zack, Hollis School Board Representative; Bill 
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Moseley, Treasurer 
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Absent: 
Mike Harris, Vice Chairman; Mike Leavitt; Deb Padykula, Finance Director; Lance 
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Flamino, Business Administrator SAU41 
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LOCATION 
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This meeting commenced in the Town Hall Community Room, located at 7 Monument Square Hollis, 
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New Hampshire. 
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND AGENDA REVIEW 
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T. Gehan called the meeting to order at 7:01pm and led the group in the pledge of allegiance. 
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T. Gehan reviewed the agenda and asked if there were any proposed changes. There were none. 
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REVIEW/ ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES 
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MOVED by C. Hyde to accept the minutes of July 14, 2026 Budget Committee meeting as 
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presented; seconded by M. Kost.  
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R. Zack noted that the first paragraph, 2nd to last sentence should be changed from 
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“kindergarten” to “Pre-K”.  
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Motion to approve minutes as modified, MOVED by C. Hyde; seconded by M. Kost. All in 
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favor, none opposed or abstained. Motion passed unanimously 6-0-0. 
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REPORTS 
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Schools - T. Gehan asked R. Zack to update the committee on School Board business. R. Zack stated 
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since the last Budget Committee meeting the Hollis School Board has had two meetings. He began with 
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an update from the Hollis Renovation & Expansion Committee (HREC), formally the Enrollment 
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Committee. Enrollment for 1st and 3rd grades at HPS are under the projected NESDEC numbers. 
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Kindergarten is a little higher at 89, NESDEC is at 90. However, class sizes are all within the desired 
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range. Current enrollment for HPS is 370. R. Zack stated NESDEC is projecting kindergarten to 
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significantly high for next year’s incoming class. HUES enrollment has had little change and falls in line 
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with the NESDEC reporting.  
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R. Zack noted that HREC has a community survey in progress. This survey has been available to town 
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residents since August and has an end date of September 21st. Over 300 responses have been currently 
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received. The survey can be located on the HREC page of the SAU41 website, social media, the library 
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and Town Hall. The goal of the survey is to prioritize the needs in order to narrow the scope of the 
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existing renovation/ addition plans to HPS to decrease the cost. 
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It was noted that HPS has gone from two pickup lanes back to one lane with an emergency lane. 
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The paving on Drury Lane is still happening although timing is to be determined. 
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The new data dashboard on SAU41 website is now live. Residents can find state testing, enrollment, 
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athletic and graduation data on this new platform. 
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SAU41 has approved a Retained Fund Balance of $324,456 for FY27. They are expecting approximately 
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$300,000 to be returned to the tax payers.  
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T. Gehan asked if the school board would be coming to the March meeting with a revised plan for HPS. 
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R. Zack said that this is still to be determined. 
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TOWN OF HOLLIS BUDGET COMMITTEE 
September 9, 2026 
PUBLIC MINUTES 
 
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Town – T. Whalen stated that quotes for contracted cleaning have been received. It is undecided if the 
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contract will be for individual departments or the town as a whole.  
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T. Whalen stated that the CIP is almost up to date minus a few items for police.  
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Replacement of the septic system at the police station will begin on September 14th. Funds have been 
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allocated for this project.   
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An update on the new fields at Hardy West is scheduled to take place at the September 28th Select Board 
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meeting. A warrant article for this project is anticipated for Town Meeting in March. 
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Warrants from Department Heads are due by October 15th. 
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On behalf of the Select Board, T. Whalen asked when the Budget Committee’s guidance number would be 
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given. T. Gehan said that the committee plans to have a preliminary number by the October meeting with 
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that number to be finalized at the November 10th Budget Committee meeting. 
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T. Gehan is working to complete the 26/27 Budget meeting schedule. D. Mann requested to have the due 
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date for the MS-27 added to this schedule. 
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T. Whalen said no CBA’s are up for discussion during this budget cycle. However, due to the dissolution 
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of the 1801 union a consideration will have to be made for previous members of this union to be changed 
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to the non-union wage scale. 
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C. Hyde asked for an update on the structural analysis of Town Hall. T. Whalen stated that the Town 
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Administrator will be presenting the initial findings from the study at the September 28th Select Board 
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meeting. 
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NEW BUSINESS 
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R. Zack spoke to discussions that were had regarding HB1300 at the recent School Board meeting. He 
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said that the schools are waiting on guidance from the DRA especially because of the pending litigation 
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regarding this bill due to confusing and misleading language. He stated that this bill will cause further 
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confusion when it is on the ballot as it is written as one question but actually covers 2 separate limits, the 
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6% limit to the SAU operating budget and the inflation adjusted tax cap. 
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D. Mann stated that the DRA will be the authority in figuring out how to implement the wording of HB 
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1300. The calculation will be using data from March of 2026. The definition provided states the 
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percentage of property tax growth is added to the inflation percentage. The net new taxable property 
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growth is comprised of change in prior year new construction, physical expansion or improvement of 
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structures, subdivisions, or redevelopment of land, and conversions from exempt to taxable status. Any 
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physical change that increases taxable market value. It is not to address market appreciation, reevaluations 
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and changes in assessment methodology. C. Hyde asked to clarify if the percentage of property growth is 
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additive to the CPI. D. Mann confirmed that this is how the bill currently reads. She stated that Input from 
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DRA is forthcoming and will prove to be helpful when factoring this calculation. 
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ADJOURNMENT 
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MOVED by C. Hyde seconded by M. Kost at 7:50pm. All in favor. None opposed or abstained. Motion 
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passed unanimously 6-0-0. 
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Respectfully Submitted, 
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Jackie Hill 
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Tax Collector/ Deputy Finance Director 
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