State budget, water testing and vaccinations

By Charlene Lovett
Mayoral Notes
By Charlene Lovett

While summer often implies a slower pace for many, this isn’t necessarily so for our state legislators in Concord. On Aug. 13, the Senate and House Finance Joint Ad Hoc Committee held a hearing to ascertain the impact that the Continuing Resolution (CR) is having on state agencies and municipalities. While the impact has varied from one agency to another, it was an opportunity for me to relay how it is affecting Claremont.

Because the Committee has scheduled a separate hearing on Aug. 29 regarding the impact of the CR on school districts, my testimony did not include the issues related to a loss in educational funding. However, I did note that delays in additional education funding put greater pressure on property owners, making it that much more difficult for municipalities to address their needs such as infrastructure improvement and economic development initiatives.

Unlike the governor’s or legislature’s proposed budget, the CR does not provide more funding for these initiatives. Given bidding cycles and pricing factors, we are at a disadvantage in planning for next summer’s projects when we do not know how much state funding we will receive. If the approval of a state budget is further delayed, the projects that we could have accomplished next summer may have to be postponed until the summer of 2021. Let’s hope that a solution can be found soon, and that the governor is presented with a budget that he will sign.

On another note, in February 2018, Gov. Sununu signed SB 247 into law, elevating the importance of preventing childhood lead poisoning. Included in the law was the requirement that all schools and licensed child care centers test their water for lead by July 1 of this year. Statewide, about 85% of schools and 50% of licensed child care centers have met that requirement. In Claremont, the Department of Public Works (DPW) has tested all of the schools in our district, and the readings are well below the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard of 15 parts per billion.

The focus now is to ensure that all of the licensed child care centers in Claremont are in compliance with the state law. Some of the centers have already done their water testing, and are well below the EPA standard. Given the effects of lead poisoning in young children, child care centers are urged to make this a priority.

In my last article, I spoke of the Hepatitis A outbreak in New Hampshire and vaccination as a proven method of protection against the virus. In most years, the state averages about seven cases. From November 2018 to Aug. 20 of this year, that number is now up to 180, which is an increase of six from the previous week.

To help contain this outbreak, the public health networks are working with communities to offer free vaccination clinics. On Aug. 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a clinic will be held at the Claremont Soup Kitchen. The Center for Recovery Resources will also be offering clinics from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 and 5, as well as Sept. 9 from 1-3 p.m. Vaccinations are also offered by primary care providers and the Rite Aid pharmacy.

Charlene Lovett is the Mayor of Claremont and a member of the Sullivan County Public Health Network Advisory Council. Please email questions, comments or concerns to her at [email protected]