Sidewalk repairs, paving roads, buying dump trucks and skidders, and renovating schools and town halls. Granite Staters will weigh in on a wide array of local concerns at annual town and school meetings, in addition to the all-important operating budgets.
There’s policy — like warrant articles for tax caps and calling on the Legislature to avoid downshifting state costs onto local taxpayers.
And there’s local priorities, from land purchases to employee contracts, to invasive species prevention for area lakes.
There’s also patriotism on the ballot, like Windham’s request for $20,000 for America’s 250th birthday celebration.
Here’s a look at just some of the business before voters this town meeting season.
School issues and pleas to state leaders
There are numerous petition articles this year that call out the state government for cutting spending and shifting expenses to local taxpayers.
A petition in Londonderry reads: “Do we call on the New Hampshire Legislature to protect local taxpayers by ensuring adequate state revenues for essential services, and by avoiding policies that shift costs onto local property taxpayers?” Towns with similar petitions include Exeter, Greenland, Meredith, and Seabrook.
In 2025, a new state law allowed any family in New Hampshire to seek funds from the state to pay for private school and homeschool expenses through the state’s voucher-style Education Freedom Account program. According to news reports last December, a committee meant to monitor the program’s performance had not met publicly in more than a year.
This town meeting season, a dozen or so communities, like Rye, have articles singling out these accounts, calling for the program to have greater transparency, and to be limited to families with demonstrated financial need.
There are about two dozen communities where voters will see an article about “open enrollment.” Last year, a court decision ruled that if students choose to leave a school district, some of their tax dollars go with them. Now, some school districts are trying to limit the number of students who can come or go. At the same time, Republican lawmakers at the State House want to pass legislation that would restrict towns from setting those limits.
Related coverage: Open enrollment: school choice or a ‘wrecking ball’ for NH? Here’s what you need to know.
Articles on open enrollment are also on the ballot for elections in Claremont and Lebanon on March 10.
The state of Keno and “games of chance”
Over a dozen towns are asking voters whether their town should “opt out” of Keno and games of chance.
In 2025, legislators changed the “opt in” under state law for Keno to an “opt out,” so that, starting next year, Keno games will be allowed in every town or city in New Hampshire, except for those communities that have expressly voted to prohibit Keno.
There is similar language for warrant articles on games of chance. About a dozen towns are asking voters, “Shall we prohibit the operation of games of chance within” the town, including Barrington, Candia, Bedford, Henniker, and New London.
About those petition articles
Besides regular warrant articles, residents who gather at least 25 signatures may submit what are known as petition articles, or citizen petitions. For example, some of the articles discussed above are petition articles. They can vary greatly in scope and subject.
Several towns, including Hampton, Ossipee, Carroll, and Troy have petition articles seeking the public to weigh in on whether their police department should enter into Section 287(g) agreements with the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. (Troy police entered into an ICE partnership last year.)
Many of these petitions are unique or specific to a particular community.
In Barnstead, there’s a petition article asking voters to allow OHRVs, including side-by-sides, ATVs and trail bikes, on public roads in town.
In Warner, a citizen petition was submitted in response to a state-proposed mountain bike trail in Rollins State Park on the side of Mount Kearsarge. Article 4 cites concern for neighbors abutting the lands and a lack of botanical or biological inventory conducted along the proposed trail.
The petition, which is unanimously recommended by the selectboard, asks Warner to urge “the responsible state entities to deny further consideration of the current proposal” until its concerns have been met.
Buildings and grounds
There are the familiar spending requests for upkeep and upgrades to town halls, and plans for new facilities to address space needs.
Swanzey seeks voter approval for a $1.2 million new public works facility. The Oyster River Cooperative School District, which covers Durham, Lee and Madbury, is requesting $9,827,000 for renovations to two elementary schools.
Claremont, meanwhile, wants voters to let it sell one of its vacant elementary school buildings.
Sandwich voters will be asked to approve $1,175,000 for the reconstruction of a police facility. Conway is looking for $9.3 million to expand and remodel its police station.
Newton voters will consider spending $500,000 to buy about 8 acres near its safety complex, as the future site of a new town hall and library. The town of Charlestown wants voters to approve $269,000 to buy land for a new fire station.
Some land purchases at town meetings are focused on conservation. Take Kingston, where a petition article asks the town to appropriate $395,000 for the purchase of 101 acres on Farm Road, in partnership with the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire.
