Manchester budget

According to a March 28 press release, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais outlined the city’s budget when he delivered the FY 2025 budget address before a special meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The budget included a historically high 4 percent cost of living adjustment.

Ruais detailed several decisions made to reduce spending, including the elimination of $792,957 from the Cash CIP project line, and did not allocate funding for $1,839,748 in department requests, according to the press release.

Mayor Ruais said in a statement that a “hiring freeze will continue for non-emergency personnel until our fiscal condition dictates otherwise.”

In regard to the school budget, Mayor Ruais said in a statement, “we were able to invest an additional $1 million into our School District. The $227 million we are proposing to allocate … represents the most ever allocated by the City of Manchester.”

Public safety and first responders garnered funding for mental health clinicians for the Manchester Police Department, the retention of 10 police officers previously funded by the federal government, and the hiring six additional police officers since Jan. 2 as well as $100,000 for firefighter protective gear and $3 million in upgrades to city fleet including MTA, Police, Fire and Highway Departments, according to the press release.

The budget allocates money from the FY 2025 CDBG and ESG programs to end homelessness such as Families in Transition, which will receive $70,000 for family emergency housing. WayPoint will receive $89,000 for their homeless youth shelter, YWCA will receive $70,000 for Emily’s Place, and 1269 Café will receive $50,000 to double its residential room capacity, according to the same release.

The press release also mentions the allocation of $1.65 million of federal funds to help construct 45 units of affordable housing on the Pearl Street parking lot.

The budget also includes investing $5.3 million in road infrastructure and improvements, allocating $1 million toward sidewalk maintenance and upgrades to promote pedestrian safety and investing $1 million in park renovations, upgrades and maintenance that includes significant playground renovations at Livingston, Wolfe and Howe parks and an additional allocation of $200,000 for a league partnership program, according to the same release.

Further community investment includes $50,000 for the Manchester Police Athletic League CHOICES program, $20,000 to Hillsborough County Child Advocacy, $110,000 to Manchester Community Resource Center, $42,000 to Meals on Wheels, $100,000 for Fun in the Sun summer camps for students in grades 1 to 7, and $150,000 to six agencies to provide youth services counseling, according to the same release. Visit manchesternh.gov/Government/Mayor-and-Aldermen/Mayors-Office/Press-Room.

Funding for shelters

A March 27 press release stated that the Executive Council approved $8.5 million in funding for local emergency shelter services supporting individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness while $6.74 million of those funds approved were allocated in Gov. Sununu’s FY2024-2025 budget. This includes $1,929,200 to Families in Transition serving Hillsborough County, $1,446,900 to New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence with statewide services, $1,019,200 to Cross Roads House in Rockingham County, $773,500 to Southwestern Community Services serving Cheshire and Sullivan counties, $755,300 to The Salvation Army serving Belknap and Merrimack counties, $464,100 to The Front Door Agency serving Hillsborough County, $436,800 to Hundred Nights serving Cheshire County, $419,200 to Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter serving Hillsborough County, $291,200 to Marguerite’s Place serving Hillsborough County, $263,900 to My Friend’s Place serving Strafford County, $254,800 to The Friends Program serving Merrimack County, $236,600 to Tri-County Community Action Program serving Coos and Grafton counties, and $209,300 to New Hampshire Catholic Charities serving Rockingham County, according to the release.

McAuliffe art competition

According to a March 29 press release, the Christa McAuliffe State House Memorial Commission announced the creation of a student arts-based competition to correspond with the creation, installation and unveiling of the new Christa McAuliffe Memorial in 2024. Submissions for the arts-based competition will consist of three categories — a visual art medium, poetry, and an essay shorter than 1,000 words — and will be divided into three grade levels — K-4, 5-8, and 9-2, according to the same release.

The contest’s theme is the life and work of Christa McAuliffe, a longtime educator and selectee of the NASA Teacher in Space Project. Winners will be recognized at the unveiling ceremony. All submissions must be entirely original, not utilize any form of artificial intelligence software, and must be delivered by Saturday, June 1, according to the release. Physical submissions must be sent to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (Attention Jeanne Gerulskis), 2 Institute Drive, Concord, NH 03301, and works of writing must be sent in a word processing document to arts@doe.nh.gov.

At Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord (45 S. Main St.) on Wednesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m., Concord author Renee Plodzik, APRN, returns to discuss her book Eat Well Move Often 2. Plodzik will share nutrition and wellness practices to help cancer survivors and the community stay strong, according to the event website. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

On Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. the Exploring Aviation presentation series at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry) presents a User’s Guide to the 2024 Total Eclipse that will review everything you need to know about the rare total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. Visit aviationmuseumofnh.org or call 669-4820.

Craft and Chat on the first and third Thursday of every month at Kelley Library (234 Main St. in Salem) from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Adults can gather, craft and chat. Participants are welcome to bring whatever project they are working on, according to their website. Visit kelleylibrary.org or call 898-7064.