Milford — Town voters will see more than 20 warrant articles on the March 11 ballot after the town’s 2025 deliberative session, where the Board of Selectmen and town committees debated a slate of spending proposals ranging from the municipal operating budget to repairs at Keys Memorial Park.

The session approved sending the proposed $19.3 million operating budget to the ballot after presentations from the select board and town administrator, discussion about staffing and road maintenance priorities, and an explanation of revenue and tax impacts.

Several individual warrant articles drew extended discussion and amendments: library trustees and the select board won approval to place a $250,000 bond for lower‑level restrooms at the Wadley Memorial Library on the ballot, but voters at the deliberative session amended the article to specify two restrooms rather than the word “new.” The session also approved a petitioned article and select‑board changes aimed at funding repairs at Keys Memorial Park, and a separate petitioned article to fund safety and maintenance work at Keys Pool.

Fire department staffing was the meeting’s most contested item. A warrant article to fund three full‑time firefighter positions for six months was amended on the floor to clarify that the appropriation covered “six months and includes wages, salaries, and other costs associated with enabling this new staffing model,” and the amendment included an estimate of the full annual cost (approximately $555,399) if the measure moves into the operating budget in future years. Supporters including Deputy Chief Jeff Marshall and members of the fire department described declining volunteer ranks and rising call volume; opponents and some selectmen warned of long‑term budget implications and urged caution.

Other ballot items the session directed the town clerk to include as originally warned (no amendment) covered the wastewater and water department operating budgets, a state‑assisted rehabilitation of the historic swing bridge, a replacement dump truck for DPW via a lease purchase, additional funds for road reconstruction, an ambulance replacement revolving fund, an updated feasibility study for the McLean and Goldman dams (a state loan with partial forgiveness), and several recurring civic and cultural appropriations (social services, summer band concerts, Veterans and Labor Day parade support).

Select board members and presenters emphasized the operating budget’s main drivers — employee wages and benefits and additional roadway maintenance — and town administrator Lincoln Daley presented slides showing a 5.69% increase in the proposed operating budget and explained non‑tax revenues, fund balances and long‑term debt. Daley said the proposed budget would keep core services while addressing recruitment and road repairs.

Library trustees and the new library director, Beth Piazo, outlined why restrooms on the lower level are needed for accessibility and to support after‑hours programming; Piazo said the existing facilities pre‑date current ADA standards and described how two restrooms would be routed off the renovated meeting room.

On the fire article, Deputy Chief Jeff Marshall and others said volunteer ranks have fallen from near 48 to about 17 in recent years and that nighttime response times have lengthened; they argued adding staff would provide a more consistent level of service. Selectmen and the Budget Advisory Committee pushed for clarity in the article language about what the appropriation would and would not cover; the amended language adopted at the session aimed to make the fiscal effect clearer to voters.

On the Keys Memorial Park items, petitioners, recreation commission members, and the Select Board negotiated amended wording on a petitioned tennis‑courts article so that it became an advisory encouragement for the town and school district to cooperate on repairs; the select board’s capital reserve article to fund Keys Park improvements remained on the ballot. A separate petitioned article for urgent pool safety and maintenance (non‑lapsing through 2026) was also placed on the ballot after an amendment to broaden wording to “safety and maintenance concerns in the town pools.” Petitioners and longtime volunteers described heavy summer use, swim meets, and instances of surface wear that have caused abrasions.

The board also approved placing an ambulance revolving fund on the ballot that would deposit the first $140,000 of annual ambulance revenue into an interest‑bearing account to accumulate for future ambulance purchases, a change from the existing capital reserve mechanism; town counsel advised the governing body must have expenditure authority under the cited RSA governing revolving funds. The warrant article for a state‑assisted feasibility study of the McLean and Goldman dams was placed on the ballot as a loan that could be subject to partial forgiveness; the state loan mechanism caused the article to require a three‑fifths (60%) affirmative vote, according to counsel.

The session included multiple procedural votes to change the order of articles for discussion and to restrict reconsideration for earlier groups of warrant articles; those motions were approved by voice vote. The moderator reminded voters that final ballots will be cast at the March 11 election at the high school.

Votes at a glance (deliberative session outcomes)
- Article 3 — Wadley Memorial Library lower‑level restrooms (bond, $250,000): Amended (changes “new restrooms” to “two restrooms”) and placed on ballot as amended.
- Article 4 — Town operating budget ($19,300,099): Placed on ballot as originally warned.
- Articles 5 & 6 — Wastewater ($2,856,974) and Water ($2,429,662) operating budgets: Placed on ballot as originally warned.
- Article 7 — Swing Bridge rehabilitation (NHDOT grant + town match): Placed on ballot as originally warned (town match ~20% noted).
- Article 8 — DPW dump truck lease purchase (first‑year payment $70,452): Placed on ballot as originally worded.
- Article 9 — Road reconstruction ($300,000): Placed on ballot as originally worded.
- Article 10 — Fire department, three full‑time firefighters (six months funding): Amended on the floor to state the appropriation covers six months and “includes wages, salaries, and other costs associated with enabling this new staffing model;” amendment passed and article placed on ballot as amended. The amendment also included an estimated future annual cost of about $555,399.
- Article 11 — Ambulance replacement revolving fund (RSA 31:95‑h): Placed on ballot as originally worded (would deposit first $140,000 of ambulance service fees annually into the fund); counsel advised governing‑body spending authority is required by statute for revolving funds.
- Article 12 — McLean and Goldman dams updated feasibility study (state loan with forgiveness): Placed on ballot as originally worded (this loan/borrowing requires a 60% vote because of RSA 33:8 borrowing rules tied to forgivable loans).
- Articles 13, 22, 23 — Keys Park / tennis courts / Keys Pool: Article 13 (Keys Park capital reserve) placed on ballot as originally warned; petitioned Article 23 (tennis courts) was amended on the floor to an advisory encouragement that the town and school district cooperate to repair and resurface the Malcolm Ellingwood Rotch tennis courts and the amendment passed; petitioned Article 22 (pool safety/maintenance, $89,000) was amended to broaden wording to “safety and maintenance concerns in the town pools” and made non‑lapsing through 12/31/2026, and was placed on the ballot as amended.
- Articles 14–21 — Social services, public safety communications equipment withdrawals, transportation, IT capital reserve, conservation land fund, Veterans and parade support, summer concerts, Labor Day parade support: All placed on the ballot as originally warned.

What residents said and asked
Town officials repeatedly urged voters to review the voters’ guide and available budget documents posted on the town website and to note that the deliberative session is for discussion and amendment of warrant language; the final vote occurs at the March 11 election. Several residents asked for more detail on how projects would be prioritized (roads, Keys Park work), how long repairs would last (Keys Pool painting expected to last multiple years) and how revenue sources such as ambulance fees and ARPA funds are being used.

What happens next
The town clerk was directed to place the articles on the March 11 ballot (high school voting hours were announced as 6–8 p.m. on March 11). Select board members and department heads said they will continue public outreach and provide details in the voters’ guide and on the town website.

Ending
The deliberative session concluded after procedural votes limiting reconsideration of earlier groups of articles and brief closing remarks from the budget advisory committee calling for more work on long‑term revenue options and capital planning.