Please be advised that the City of Manchester has experienced no CSO activations during the past 12 hours.
For more detailed CSO discharge information please go to EPD's website at:
https://www.manchesternh.gov/csomap
Thank you
Please be advised that the City of Manchester has experienced CSO activations due to heavy rainfall and corresponding high flows.
For more detailed CSO discharge information please go to EPD's website at:
https://www.manchesternh.gov/csomap
Thank you
Please be advised that the City of Manchester has experienced no CSO activations during the past 12 hours.
For more detailed CSO discharge information please go to EPD's website at:
https://www.manchesternh.gov/csomap
Thank you
HOW DO I GET A TEMPORARY PHISH PEDDLER/VENDOR LICENSE FOR THE PHISH EVENT? Licenses must be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office, One City Hall Plaza, Manchester, NH. Contact is Tony Battistelli, Licensing Coordinator at 603-792-6636 or licensing@manchesternh.gov.
DEADLINE FOR OBTAINING A LICENSE: Friday, June 20 at 1 PM
HOW MUCH IS THE LICENSE? The fee is $225 and covers Friday through Sunday. We accept cash, check or credit card and our office is open Monday-Friday, 8 AM-5 PM.
Please be advised that the City of Manchester has experienced CSO activations due to heavy rainfall and corresponding high flows.
For more detailed CSO discharge information please go to EPD's website at:
https://www.manchesternh.gov/csomap
Thank you
Board of Mayor and Aldermen approve City Budget for FY26
New spending plan passes overwhelmingly
Supports roads, first responders, city employees while putting taxpayers first
MANCHESTER, NH – In an overwhelming vote, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed the city budget Tuesday night. When including the General Fund, Transit, Overlay and Veterans Exemptions, total expenditures are $201.36 million. For the second year in a row, this budget comes further under the tax cap than any previous tax cap budget. Highlights include support for roads, first responders, and essential services, while putting our taxpayers first.
“Budgets are about making tough choices, reaching compromise and finding balance. Every budget presents unique challenges, but covering essential services in a cost-effective manner is always the goal. That is exactly what our new budget for FY26 delivers,” said Mayor Jay Ruais. “This is a reality-based budget, it supports our roads, first responders, and delivers essential services while protecting taxpayers. It also enshrines our new fiscally responsible compensation study, bringing our city employees and all of those whose contracts were up, to market rate pay which will help tremendously with retention and recruitment as well as less overtime costs. This means better service delivery for our city residents. The conversation in City Hall is squarely focused on how few dollars we can spend, without crossing that red line into cutting essential services”
Appropriations for FY26 on the city side total $201.36 million. The previously passed budget for the Manchester School District came in at $237.9 million. Over the last two fiscal years, the Manchester School District has seen an increase of $11 million between local and state funds, while at the same time, their requests have been reduced by $12.2 million.
Ruais concluded saying, “We started the budget process back in January. I want to thank all of the aldermen who had a hand in the process, especially Aldermen Pat Long, Jim Burkush and Bill Barry for leading the effort on the Aldermanic side. They helped build a successful consensus through collaboration and compromise. We could not have reached this point without their efforts.”
The Mayor offered the following highlights for the FY26 budget:
- Comes 1.82% under the Tax Cap set at 4.27%
- $7 million for road improvements
- $1.2 million increase to Manchester Police Department
- $1.16 Million in HOME Funds to finalize Pearl Street Lot project and bring 125 units of Affordable Housing to city
- Includes $1 million in savings
- Rejects over $900,000 in spending requests that would have increased the tax rate
- $300,000 to retrofit city playgrounds, $300,000 toward paving parks, $250,000 in deferred maintenance for parks and $150,000 in park lighting.
- $500,000 for sidewalk repairs and expansion
- Through the Federal Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) Funds:
- $41,000 to Meals on Wheels
- $10,000 to Office of Youth Services Summer Youth Programs
- $9,000 to Child Advocacy Center
- $9,000 to Big Brothers and Sisters
- $14,500 to CASA
- $25,000 to Easterseals
- $9,700 to Girls Inc.
- $10,000 to Salvation Army
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Please be aware that on Friday, June 20 we are going to have limited staff available and will not be able to perform marriage ceremonies in our office.
Thank you for subscribing to the Manchester City Library's newsletter, MCL Notes. The June/July/August issue is now available.
Please be advised that the City of Manchester has experienced no CSO activations during the past 12 hours.
For more detailed CSO discharge information please go to EPD's website at:
https://www.manchesternh.gov/csomap
Thank you
Please be advised that the City of Manchester has experienced CSO activations due to heavy rainfall and corresponding high flows.
For more detailed CSO discharge information please go to EPD's website at:
https://www.manchesternh.gov/csomap
Thank you
Board of Mayor and Aldermen approve second sale of vacant city lots
Money raised from 3 combined parcels will be dedicated to affordable housing
MANCHESTER, NH – Mayor Jay Ruais today announced a second round of surplus properties will be sold to benefit the city’s affordable housing trust fund. This latest initiative follows the successful auction of 15 vacant lots in May of 2024 that generated $1.13 million. The Board of Mayor and Alderman agreed to combine three vacant lots at the May 20th meeting - the first on Smyth Road measuring .70 acres, with the other two lots located on Sheffield Road for a combined 41 acres.
Mayor Ruais said, “I hear constantly from residents, businesses and others that affordable housing is the top issue in Manchester right now so bringing more units online has been a top priority since day one. But to accomplish this, we needed to be creative and that is exactly what these vacant lot sales are all about. The fact that 100% of the net proceeds are transferred to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund is a true game changer.”
He added, “We conducted the inaugural vacant lot sales through a first of its kind auction last year. It was a tremendous success, generating over $1 million dollars for affordable housing in Manchester. We learned a lot too. The second round will be carried out using a broker. This made more sense given the size of the newly created lot is almost 42 acres and it will likely draw interest from developers, instead of the individual buyers who dominated the first round. But whether it’s by auction, or with the help of a broker, the bottom line regarding these vacant lots is the same – we are making our lots available for new housing, raising significant funds for new housing and returning the land to the city’s tax roll all at the same time.”
City Tax Collector Brenda Masewic Adams is equally supportive of the second round of sales saying, “The additional capital into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund will allow the City to have a more robust funding to help improve the housing market, giving adults and families the opportunity to work, stay and play in Manchester.”
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Mayor Ruais announces departure of City’s HR Director Lisa Drabik
Tenure highlighted by generational compensation study and 11 new union contracts
MANCHESTER, NH – Mayor Jay Ruais announced today that the city’s Director of Human Resources, Lisa Drabik, will be returning to her hometown to lead the HR department for the Town of Londonderry’s School District. During her tenure, Drabik was instrumental in spearheading the recent compensation study that brought city employee wages to market rates and successfully negotiated 11 new contracts with city unions.
Commenting on Director Drabik’s departure, Ruais said, “Lisa’s contribution to Manchester cannot be understated. Besides running the HR department that covers 1,200 city employees and assists hundreds of retirees, she successfully led the compensation study that brought our employees’ wages to market rates and re-negotiated 11 union contracts that were set to expire, both of which are challenging tasks. Lisa’s dedication has ensured that the city is better able to retain our seasoned employees as well as recruit new ones.”
“Heading human resources is a tough job because professionals like Lisa regularly deal with difficult conversations, complex situations, and ever-changing laws and regulations, all while striving to maintain a positive and productive work environment,” said Ruais, “I’m delighted to say she succeeded in all the above. I have deeply appreciated her wisdom, strategic advice, and guidance. Lisa will be truly missed.”
In her letter of resignation to the Board of Mayor and Alderman, Drabik wrote, “It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the City’s human resources function for the last few years. Soon after my arrival in 2022, we embarked upon an exhaustive City-wide Classification and Compensation Study. I am proud to say the study resulted in a newly-modernized pay plan with market-competitive pay rates designed to position the City well into the future and to enhance the retention and recruitment of the City’s most valuable assets – its people.” She added, “We also strengthened the benefit offerings for our employees, updated and streamlined several City policies and ordinances, implemented a new HRIS system (MUNIS), decreased the rate of acceleration in health care costs, and successfully negotiated 11 of 13 expiring union contracts.”
Drabik also thanked the BMA for its support over her tenure and the city’s “stellar” group of department heads, saying, “not only are they all subject matter experts in their fields, but they are a true joy to work with and the City is fortunate to have each and every one of them.” Drabik paid tribute to her staff in the HR Department who work tirelessly and relentlessly to serve the needs of the city workforce and its retirees. She ended by thanking the City employees as a whole, saying “Their dedication to the very important work they do for the City is inspiring, and it has been a sincere pleasure to work with, and for them.”
Mayor Ruais thanks Director Drabik for agreeing to remain in her role throughout the first week in July to ensure a successful implementation of the new wage scale which takes effect on July 1.
The search for Drabik’s replacement will begin immediately. City Solicitor Emily Rice will serve as her replacement in the interim.
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Please be advised that the Livingston track will be closed starting June 2, with an expected reopening date of June 27. The closure is for surface application and lane painting. This is the final step in completing the track renovation started last Fall. We appreciate your patience as we finish this important work.
We’ll share updates as soon as the track is ready to reopen.
Thank you for your cooperation and continued support.
May 27, 2025
Manchester, NH - Mayor Jay Ruais today announced a second round of surplus properties will be sold to benefit the city's affordable housing trust fund.
Click Here for the full Press Release