February 2, 2026 City Council

City Council Meeting
Preview of topics for 2/2/2026 City Council meeting
Author

Sam Jacobson

Published

February 1, 2026

Modified

February 1, 2026

Location: Franklin Elks

Time: 6:00 PM

Agenda

Packet

This is a standard city council meeting, starting with public hearings, public comment, and then moving onto council business.

Below are my preliminary thoughts and initial positions going into the meeting. Please email me at if you would like to discuss further.

Agenda Items

1. Approval of Minutes

  • Summary:
    • Minutes from both the old and new business portions of the January 2026 meeting.

How Sam Sees It:

  • A couple of minor grammatical/attribution errors to address.

2. Ambulance Fee Pricing

  • Summary:
    • Changes to state law stop balance billing, starting a cost study statewide.
    • City Manager and Fire Chief began negotiating to allow 325% Medicare rate. If the city does not continue these negotiations, we are locked into Medicare rate.
    • Now can bill up to 325% of Medicare rate, but cannot balance bill.
    • Council will vote on final contracts with insurance providers.
    • Proposed rates would increase. For example, basic life support would increase from $603 to $1,567.
    • Transport statistics (2025):
      • 67% of transports were from Medicare
      • 15% were from Medicaid
      • 9% were from commercial (i.e. private insurance)
      • 7% were self-pay
      • 2% were other

How Sam Sees It:

  • Continuing these negotiations allows us to collect more money from private insurance while negotiations are ongoing.
  • The Council can and should offer a self-pay discount. This should reduce the impact of these rate changes on people who cannot pay.
  • I suggest amending this motion to add a 60% discount for self-pay patients to keep them at current rates (25% above Medicare).
  • Ambulance transports should not be a revenue driver for this city. Raising rates on uninsured patients shifts the burden of funding the city onto those that cannot afford it.

3. Changes to Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Zoning Procedure

  • Summary:
    • State-level changes mean ADUs are easier to zone and build.
    • Anywhere that is zoned single family can construct an ADU.
    • Franklin can still put restrictions on the number of ADUs, other zoning categories (e.g. multi family), owner occupancy, aesthetics, and set backs, among other criteria.
    • ADU minimum is 750 square feet; maximum is 950 square feet.
    • Only 1 ADU allowed per parcel.

How Sam Sees It:

  • Changing the ADU zoning procedure as proposed has the potential to increase housing supply, reduce costs for renters, and bring new residents to the city.
  • ADUs are a potential additional income stream if/when constructed and if rented.

4. Policy on Council Appointments

  • Summary:
    • A proposal has been made for the Council to set policy for committee appointments as:
      1. Minimum 30-day public notice
      2. Notice added to next agenda meeting that there will be an appointment.
      3. Councilors nominate.
      4. Close nominations.
      5. Debate nominations.
      6. Election by paper ballot.
    • A proposal has been made for the Council to set policy for appointment of a vacant Council seat as:
      1. Minimum 30-day public notice
      2. Notice added to next agenda meeting that there will be an appointment.
      3. Councilors nominate.
      4. Debate nominations.
      5. Public hearing within 10 days.
      6. Election by paper ballot by the council at the public hearing.

How Sam Sees It:

  • I think we need a policy for appointments.
  • 30-day vacancy notice feels long for appointments.
  • I think paper ballots are excessive for committee appointments.
  • I like the policy as proposed for the City Council vacancy appointments.

5. Odell Park River Access

  • Summary:
    • Steven Mandella (Ward One) wants to work to build river access at Odell Park.
    • He is seeking Council feedback and permission for a feasibility study of river access.
    • River access will likely be paired with something called 603 Tubing.

How Sam Sees It:

  • Fantastic idea

6. Increasing Police Detail Rates

  • Summary:
    • Set a hearing to increase police detail rates.
    • Old rate: $95.00/hour; new rate: $110.50/hour.
    • Brings rates in line with other police details (e.g. Belknap county sheriff, Concord, Hill, Merrimack County).

How Sam Sees It:

  • We should charge similar rates to other departments.
  • I’m slightly concerned that this will make it harder for organizations to provide police coverage when needed.

Questions:

  • How many hours are Franklin Police Department (FPD) put onto outside detail?
  • How much do we budget for this detail work?
  • Who are the major consumers of FPD details?
  • How often does the department do rate studies?

Late Item 1: Creation of New City Positions

  • Summary:
    • The City Manager wants to create two on-call positions to facilitate RSA-91A (right-to-know) requests.
    • The City Manager reports that he’s inundated with requests that hamper his ability to do his job.
    • Some requests require thousands of pages of backup.
    • There is room in the budget for this by moving money around.

How Sam Sees It:

  • I’m not inclined to approve this. The City Manager has open positions that have not yet been filled in last year’s budget (e.g. Human Resources).
  • The time needed to service these requests should be logged, and if possible, some amount of the cost of it should be recouped from the requester.
  • The City Manager’s proposed solution does not help encourage people to request specific information via 91A.
  • There is not a position description provided with this request.