Nashua taxpayers deserve full transparency, accuracy, and candor from their elected officials. Recent developments, however, raise serious concerns about how Mayor Jim Donchess and the Board of Aldermen are managing the City’s finances, and how residents are being informed about those decisions.
The FY2026 budget initially presented to residents totaled $474,895,381. Yet the City now states, explicitly on page 2 of R‑26‑048, that the actual FY2026 budget is $509,151,615. This represents a discrepancy of more than $34 million. Taxpayers are entitled to a clear, timely explanation for such a substantial difference and why it was not communicated at the outset.
More recently, it was disclosed that the Mayor failed to include documentation for $3,185,885 in salary increases for FY2027. This omission will further increase the budget and raises legitimate questions about internal controls, financial oversight, and the City’s commitment to transparent governance.
Compounding these concerns, residents attempting to obtain information through Right‑to‑Know requests frequently encounter delays, missing records, or staff who claim not to recall key details, even when events occurred only weeks earlier. This pattern undermines public trust and suggests a culture that may discourage transparency rather than uphold it.
To protect taxpayers and restore confidence in municipal governance, Nashua must strengthen its systems of accountability, improve public disclosure practices, and modernize its Right‑to‑Know compliance procedures.
1. Municipal Accountability
Responsible local government requires transparency, accuracy, and timely disclosure. When budget figures shift by tens of millions of dollars, from $474.9M to $509.1M, residents deserve a clear and comprehensive explanation. A discrepancy of this magnitude is not a routine adjustment; it is a governance issue. It signals potential breakdowns in:
- Internal financial controls
- Budget preparation procedures
- Oversight by the Board of Aldermen
- Public disclosure practices
The omission of $3,185,885 in FY2027 salary increases further underscores the need for stronger accountability mechanisms. When critical financial information is excluded from the budget process, residents cannot fully understand the true cost of government operations. This erodes trust and weakens the integrity of municipal decision‑making.
These concerns are not about personalities; they are about process integrity. Taxpayers have the right to expect that municipal officials follow established procedures, provide complete information, and uphold the principles of open government.
2. Taxpayer Impact
Budget inaccuracies and omissions have direct consequences for Nashua residents, including:
- Higher taxes to cover unplanned expenditures
- Reduced funding for essential services due to misallocated resources
- Increased borrowing or depletion of reserves
- Long‑term structural deficits that burden future taxpayers
When salary increases or other financial commitments are not disclosed upfront, taxpayers lose the ability to evaluate whether spending aligns with community priorities. This is especially concerning in a city where residents already struggle to obtain timely and accurate information through Right‑to‑Know requests.
A government that does not provide clear financial information forces taxpayers to operate without the facts. That is not transparency, it is obstruction.
3. Policy Reform
To restore trust and ensure fiscal responsibility, Nashua should adopt stronger policies in three critical areas.
A. Budget Transparency Requirements
- Mandatory disclosure of all salary adjustments, stipends, and benefit changes
- Public posting of full line‑item detail for every department
- Required public explanation for any budget revision exceeding 1%
B. Strengthened Oversight
- Independent financial review of the annual budget prior to adoption
- Quarterly public reporting comparing budgeted vs. actual spending
- Clear accountability measures for omissions or inaccuracies
C. Right‑to‑Know Compliance Reform
- Mandatory RSA 91‑A training for all city employees
- Penalties for repeated non‑compliance or obstructive “memory lapses”
- Elimination of the Right‑to‑Know Coordinator in favor of direct departmental responsibility
- Two‑day turnaround for system‑generated reports
- Centralized IT‑managed email searches to ensure comprehensive retrieval across departments
These reforms are not punitive; they are protective. They safeguard taxpayers, strengthen governance, and ensure that Nashua’s municipal government operates with integrity, accuracy, and respect for the public’s right to know.
