Londonderry, New Hampshire

access to municipal water is going to be a big issue for us as we go forward.” Especially as new contaminants start showing up. The impetus is partly driven by the state lowering its limits on the PFAS contaminants (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). When that happened, the town’s well testing showed the contaminant levels were over the state’s limit. “It’s created an unforeseen issue in town,” says Smith, “how to best deal with the problem, because they’re private wells. But these are our residents and you want to try to help them out. So, we’re looking at offering filtration systems or possibly extending the municipal water lines. People don’t necessarily want to pay every quarter for municipal water, but they want clean drinking water. It’s a trade-off, the way I look at it.” Traffic mitigation is another long-term challenge. Smith reasons since there’s more cars on the road, keeping a strict budget for road infrastructure is essential. Trying to keep traffic off the secondary roadways is also key. Many factors contribute to the overall traffic increase such as the town’s steadily increasing population growth, as well as the nearby Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. But Smith maintains, “The traffic increase, while concerning, is also a sign of the town’s vitality. We have a great relationship with the airport; it’s owned by the City of Manchester and spawns economic development for our area. With all of our developable land, we’ve really seen the economic benefit of having the airport in town and seeing the growth of industries in that area as well. It’s nice when you’re traveling out of town, you literally only have to drive 10 minutes up the road, and you’re in a terminal already.” When thinking towards the upcoming three to five years, Smith wants to continue to keep the property tax burden as low and stable as possible for residents. In New Hampshire, the biggest source of revenue comes from property