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CITY COUNCIL
City Council meets regularly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at 7:00pm in the Council Chambers at Dover City Hall. Meetings are open to the public and residents, tax payers and business owners are encouraged to attend and make their voices heard on agenda items and general concerns. Visit the City Council website for additional details, and view the City's Public Records site for meeting agendas and materials.
The public is also encouraged to get involved with City Government by volunteering for committees, boards and commissions. For more information, visit the City's Boards and Commissions website.
THE ISSUES
Quality Public Education
Quality public education is about more than just classroom learning. Schools are often society's first nexus points in the lives of kids of who experience Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs). We need to ensure our schools have proper funding to provide a quality education, as well as the resources necessary to assist kids through their challenges. Addressing social issues in schools allows children to focus on their learning, while gaining valuable coping skills. This will set Dover children up for long-term success, and will reduce instances of mental health & substance use issues, and even prevent crime in the long-run. Quality schools build the resilience of our whole community, and ultimately contribute to our success. I plan to work with my colleagues on the City Council to re-think the way we do City Budgeting at a macro-level. I think with the right creativity, we can fully fund our schools while keeping property taxes in check.
Mental Health & Substance Use
Most of us are aware that mental health and substance use issues are at crisis levels in New Hampshire, and here in Dover. Working with my City Council peers, I want to create real solutions to these problems. No one should be waiting over a week to get a bed at a mental health facility, or even longer waiting for a space in a recovery program. Working creatively with other community organizations, including the newly formed Dover Mental Health Alliance, we can finally have an impact on these issues which have only been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Affordable Housing & Property Taxes
People should be able to live and play in the communities where they work. Yet, rents and property taxes continue to climb! We need to prioritize the building of work-force and affordable housing units in Dover, and we need to come up with incentives to encourage this kind of development. To keep property taxes as low as possible, we need to review outdated zoning policies, and diversify our City's revenue streams by bringing more business to Dover, taking full advantage of the City's desirability as a thriving Seacoast community.
Inclusion
Dover is a young, diverse community. I want to foster an environment where all voices are represented at the table where decisions are made. Our City is making great strides in this area, with proclamations supporting our Asian American, Black and Indigenous communities, to name a few. I'd like to see this work continue and see the City make real commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion in our legislative and administrative practices.
Climate Resilience
Climate change is here and we need to face it head on! I want to see our City adopt green building requirements and practices that support a healthier environment, such as real commitments to using renewal energy and reducing single-use plastics. I look forward to working with our City's new Resilience Coordinator on the many possibilities we have to make Dover a more climate resilient community.