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• Slugs (Sunday, October 25 20 10:31 pm EDT)

  Way too many slugs it all comes from democrats get your hands out of the pockets of government little Nicky and now little Jeffrey need help running there business both free buildings in one way or another what happened to get the hell to work and pay your bills if you own a business not do it on the back of local government. Just amazing I bet there mommies are proud of the business men they are

• tom (Sunday, October 25 20 06:26 pm EDT)

  For the record here's the max allowable commercial for the CR-2 zoning the JSL sits in "Sec. 22-387.12. - Neighborhood commercial.
  Neighborhood commercial uses shall contain no more than one thousand five hundred (1,500) gross square feet per store. Notwithstanding the requirements of division 2 of article 5 of this chapter, off-street parking is not required.
  
  (Ord. No. 531, § 1, 4-10-2013)"

• Tom (Sunday, October 25 20 06:16 pm EDT)

  Looks like maybe jeff is a bit triggered by Mr. Sullivan.....Just wait for the zoning board meeting...should be a hoot.....NOT EVEN BY SPECIAL EXCEPTION IS THE PROPOSED USE ALLOWED.....Interesting times

• Donk (Sunday, October 25 20 05:06 pm EDT)

  Let's see if ole' Jeff is as free with his own money for remodeling as he is with ours.
  New roof going on the sober living farce.Tons of remodeling work going on at the community dental clinic that charges Park Avenue dental prices if you have a bank account and aren't on welfare.Root canals on baby teeth? Why Not? other people's money.I would have preferred just giving each of the so-called reformed druggies a bag of Heroin the size of their fists.The non-relevant losers would disappear quick fast.Perhaps we could get a group rate for cremation, Biomass fuel?

• John J O’Connor (Sunday, October 25 20 04:46 pm EDT)

  Wow, Jim Sullivan, you were just schooled by Jeff Barrette.
  Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

• Looser all the way (Sunday, October 25 20 08:44 am EDT)

  I agree with that Jeff the thought of tax revenue compared to cost to upkeep. We have such stupid people as managers and councilors I guess just give it away and why not to you the guy who loses buildings runs the ones you do have into the ground and gets govt subsidies to get a building to run his tshirt business BIDEN 2020 I guess for the likes of loosers like you I do agree the ignorant people who have run our city who make decisions are a absolute joke on every level but I guess that's not your fault you just did that to our county govt another beauracrat liberal.sorry you feel the backlash from all the decisions of you and your looser friends in our local govt obviously making you feel the need to respond go make some t-shirts

• Jeff barrette (Saturday, October 24 20 07:09 pm EDT)

  Hi Jim,
  If your research is so good why can,t you spell my name. Barrette.
  If you would like to option the jsl building from me please give me a call. I don't really think you want to take on a $12,700 tax bill, but I bet with a bit of lobbying we could get it up 18k for. The facts are that this building has been offered twice before and no one wanted it. The facts are that Claremont is going to see tax revenue instead of maintenance costs

• Linda Eckert (Thursday, October 22 20 04:57 pm EDT)

  I want to hear more

• Chris (Thursday, October 22 20 02:31 pm EDT)

  When I read Karen’s remarks, I just wanted to vomit. The part about Councilman Koloski being a local saint and a male version of Mother Teresa especially gave me the urge to wretch. Nicholas Koloski is no saint by any possible definition. He collects donations from other people and then grabs as much news media publicity as he can by taking credit for those donations as he distributes them to the needy. Even Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch would never sink so low. Sainthood? Hardly! As for prosperity, I recall that Nicholas Koloski has many numerous liens filed against his businesses from individuals and several government agencies including the IRS. I recall earlier Sullivan Report articles stating that they were available for public viewing on the website of the Sullivan County Registry of Deeds. I just looked and they are still there with no listings of any change of status in regards to any restitution of any of these debts. Therefore, it seems that all of these liens remain unpaid all of these years later. Karen is this your definition of business prosperity? Karen, to suggest that city managers and municipal assessors routinely change property assessments in secret by 76% with a bonus of delinquent property tax forgiveness of $222,725 for the landlord of a sitting city councilor that routinely endorses with his city councilor vote everything desired by the city administration is ludicrous. The same is true for the current situation of a 59% property assessment reduction for a property owned by the city or should I say the people of Claremont that is soon after handed over to a sitting county commissioner after requesting to purchase the property and then submitting the sole bid for only a paltry five thousand dollars. Karen everything in Claremont is most certainly not fine. We have the highest property tax rate in the entire state, one of the lowest per capita incomes for the population and three local governments all with a spending problem. In addition, to wish two people dead that you happen to disagree with is beyond the pale of human decency. I also do not believe for a second that your real name is Karen. I could be wrong but I believe your real name perfectly rhymes with Nicholas Koloski.

• Karen (Thursday, October 22 20 10:47 am EDT)

  That Francis Gauthier guy should just learn to shut the hell up. He spews the hatred of all that is Claremont from this travesty of a website all over local pages of Facebook so more people can see the lies spread by the likes of Sullivan and Maranville. Too disgusting old men who should just hurry up and die already so the rest of us in Claremont who want positive growth can continue on unimpeded. There is absolutely nothing to see with the Topstone building or the JSL building property assessment changes. These things happen all the time all over the country. So what? There is no story here. The property owners of both buildings are doing wonderful things for Claremont. Councilman Koloski is a local saint. A male version of Mother Teresa herself. He is a volunteer fireman for two companies one Claremont and one in Wethersfield VT, and he donates toys to needy children at Christmas and he donates tents and necessary living supplies to the local homeless. He is a great man and a fine leader for Claremont. His businesses bring jobs and prosperity the Claremont and the owners of the building have helped Nick realizes his dreams of business prosperity. They should be commended not vilified. The same with Mr. Barrett, who has dedicated his life to public service and is entitled to accolades for his investment in Claremont. So what did he paid $5000 for the building. So what that the property assessment was changed. These things happen all the time. All of you need to grow up and start looking at the good in Claremont and forget about the bad because there isn’t any. Everything is wonderful here why don’t you see that?

• Henry (Thursday, October 22 20 09:15 am EDT)

  The article I read in the newspaper said that a zoning board exception change would be needed for the JSL building to allow for light manufacturing. If you look who’s on the zoning board Mike Hurd, school board member James Petrin, ex-mayor and ex-city councilor Scott Pope’s wife Tracy and ex-city employee from the planning department, Councilor Abigail Kier and school board member and ex-city councilor Carolyn Towle you would know that the fix is already in. This exception change is already on the zoning board’s November 2 meeting agenda. We all know it’s going to be a quick rubberstamp vote of yes because the Barretts are in the local government clique and all of these local government officials all look out for each other’s best interests and don’t give a fig about the public’s best interests. They never have and they never will. I have lived in Claremont a good many years as I am a born and bred native and I have seen a few things. One thing I have noticed is that government corruption and special favors for those within the ole boy network is at an all-time high at least in my lifetime of 72 years. I am sad to say that this place is becoming just as corrupt as Tammany Hall and there does not seem to be any honest elected leaders for the school, the county or the city that is willing to stand up and do what is right.

• tom (Thursday, October 22 20 08:42 am EDT)

  According to the zoning code it appears that the use they propose for the JSL is not allowed for a residential neighborhood ? But hey even if its not allowed i am sure they will allow it neighboring property owners be dammed.

• Roger (Wednesday, October 21 20 11:19 am EDT)

  I personally have no problem with the $5000 bid price from the Barrett’s for the JSL. What I take issue with is the 59% reduction in property assessment that lowers their tax bill by 59%. A secret gift for a county official who is buying the building and taking it off the city’s hands.

• Brad (Wednesday, October 21 20 09:55 am EDT)

  Tina might be old slick Nick the city councilor. It sure sounds like him. Whoever it is sounds like they're feeling the pressure from public exposure because of your article. Keep up the good work guys. The taxpayers need to know what these scum buckets are doing with our money.

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, October 21 20 09:10 am EDT)

  “Tina” whomever you are, I can state with 100% certainty that you are pulling poo out of your bum and hoping some of it sticks to the wall. First of all, AJ does not post anything to the Internet whatsoever. Whenever I post something to the Internet I use my real name, I do not post anything anonymously. Your assertion that the Topstone incident, which consisted of a secret $222,725 property tax debt waiver combined with a 76% property assessment reduction and the JSL Building’s secret 59% property tax assessment and property tax burden reduction soon before the property transferred ownership is simply business as usual is quite frankly astounding and disturbing. It puts into question your honesty, integrity and ethics. Your posting does make one thing obviously clear, our reporting is clearly getting to someone or several someone’s in local government.

• Tina (Wednesday, October 21 20 08:44 am EDT)

  That is so odd. A proper assessment on a property before it sells. Tell me more. Almost sounds like a real estate transaction. So shocking. Almost as shocking as the owners of Topstone exercising their rights to fair taxation which any person can do. Almost as shocking as a "news flash" being posted followed by pats on the back by the same people, Jim and AJ. By the Industrial Property Owner is AJ Maranville.

• William (Wednesday, October 21 20 07:23 am EDT)

  Not one of the city councilors is worth anything. I thought Stone and O’Hearne were at least going to put up more of a fight but they are just laying back and taking it for the most part so we have no one on the council truly representing the taxpaying public.

• Joel (Wednesday, October 21 20 06:57 am EDT)

  Just watch the city employees are going to get another big pay raise once this study is finished and on top of that the taxpayers will be paying more retirement benefits for the same employees. Special friends keep getting huge benefits at the expense of the taxpayers and the nine knuckleheads on the council let it all happen, all of them acting like facilitators or fixers for the mob.

• John J. O’Connor (Tuesday, October 20 20 07:37 pm EDT)

  Fred, thank you for the correction.

• Fred (Tuesday, October 20 20 06:08 pm EDT)

  John O’Connor your comment is incorrect. The GCC building sold for $60,000 to the current owner at auction. I was there. Look it up. I have no issue with the JSL price, however I am a stickler for details and the information you provided as a comparison is incorrect.

• Jeanette (Tuesday, October 20 20 01:29 pm EDT)

  The ole boy network is alive and well in Claremont. It was always lurking somewhere hidden in the background but boy in 2020 it is loud and proud. Special interests are just as obnoxious as Councilors Kier and Contois and Koloski.

• Lisa (Tuesday, October 20 20 11:04 am EDT)

  It's true that Jeff Barrett is not running again County Commissioner. Nonetheless he was and still is a County Commissioner during the entire bid process that ended with his obtaining ownership of the JSL building and during that process the assessing Department reduced the tax burden by 59%. I also believe that Mr. Barrett's term ends in January. I find it very disturbing when government officials work amongst themselves secretly and one government official benefits greatly. Whether or not Mr. Barrett had a direct hand in this outcome is really irrelevant because the outcome is the same and the appearances absolutely awful. I say that because no government official admitted to the 59% property assessment reduction. Once again the Sullivan Report, operated by two former city councilors broke the story after government officials and the local press buried it as they do so many things they try to hide.

• Duh (Tuesday, October 20 20 10:51 am EDT)

  Barrette is not running again. He won't be a county employee after November.

• Industrial Property Owner (Tuesday, October 20 20 10:21 am EDT)

  Another fantastic Sullivan Report exposé. Mr. Morris has no excuse for the sudden fifty-nne percent reductrion of property assessed value of the Junior Sports League buildng. The timing is just too suspicious to not believe that it was an intentional act. The only excuse that Mr. Morris possibly has is that upon review of the building in anticipaton of the advertisement of bids the assesor found an assessing error and corrected it. However, that excuse does not hold water because the property has undergone several bid processes before and the property assessment never changed for any of those previous bid solicitations. The only difference this time is that by Nancy Merrill’s own public admission there was a potential buyer for the property that was presumably Sullivan County Commissioner Jeff Barrett and that put into motion another bid solicitation that only yielded one measly $5,000 bid. Claremont’s good ole boy network still exists and unfortunately it has never been as strong and active as it is now for the benefit of elected officials and their special interests. The recurring victims are the taxpayers and unfortunately they have no recourse because those elected to protect their interests are the very ones who are taking advantage of them via abuses of elected office or the casting of two blind eyes because friends or close associates are the beneficiaries and these ethically challenged public officials have no intention of rocking the boat so the speak. Going back to Mr. Morris’s possible excuse of a property assessment error of fifty-nne percent, it would be a public admission that property assessments are overstated and in need of another corrective adjustment. Presumably overstated to artificially deflate Claremont’s high property tax rate that is already the highest throughout the entire state of New Hampshire. Overstating property assessments is a hidden property tax as it overcharges residents on the entire range of property tax rates. I’m referring to municipal, school, county and state education. Inflating property assessments overstates Claremont’s county apportionment rate so Claremont taxpayers subsidize county costa for other communities within Sullivan County. It is a very insidious game that is being played, a nefarious game that has been played for many years and Mr. Morris seems to be continuing to play this game at the cruel expense of the taxpayers. It seems through their actions that no one currently in local political power cares about the working-class taxpayer.

• Tom (Tuesday, October 20 20 08:51 am EDT)

  John I always enjoy reading your comments but with all due respect I believe you are missing the point this time. Is it a good thing that the building will be pressed back into service so a local business can expand and hire new employees? Absolutely, positively yes! What isn't alright is the secret shenanigans that were played once again with property assessments by a city manager and a city assessor to ultimately benefit someone at the taxpayer's expense. There are striking similarities between the JSL and Topstone incidents. The primary beneficiary of the Topstone incident was the property owner of the building where Councilman Nick Koloski has all of his businesses located, making Koloski an indirect beneficiary of that secret backroom deal. The JSL incident is similar because this time a County Official is the direct beneficiary of questionable assessing practices by a different city manager and a different city assessor at a very suspicious time just before the transfer of ownership of the property. This resulted with a 59% decrease in property valuation and property taxation. John how can you honestly say that passes the smell test?

• John J. O’Connor (Tuesday, October 20 20 07:23 am EDT)

  Calm down!!! What did you expect the city to do with the JSL building?
  When there were rumors that the Sullivan County sober house was going to go there, people started losing their minds, complaining about how dangerous it would have been having that in a residential neighborhood.
  Now, a local business wants to move there, rehab a building that has literally been abandoned and you are upset because the price was 5k?
  That’s $4,999.00 more then the city got for the old community center.
  Speaking of the old community center, it has become such an eyesore. The dilapidated condition of the building and lack of ground maintenance is embarrassing for the city and something should be done about it.
  Be happy someone with pride in the community bought the JSL and not the same person that owns the old community center.

• Laura (Monday, October 19 20 06:20 pm EDT)

  I think the take away from the JSL article is that corruption seems to be the business model at City Hall no matter who is in charge as city manager. City Hall is just rotten to the core and the city councilors are nothing more than enablers to this corruption.

• Todd (Monday, October 19 20 04:04 pm EDT)

  This is what you get when you elect citizens willing to screw the taxpayers to push forward personal political agendas and help political leaders get what they want on a personal level.

• Diane (Monday, October 19 20 02:49 pm EDT)

  This quid pro quo bullshit has got to stop. The only way to do that is to throw out of office all the corrupt politicians that we already have in office. Right now it seems to be pretty much all of them. State representatives and county, city & school officials too. All of it rife with corruption.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, October 19 20 02:31 pm EDT)

  As of now the Barretts will pay full taxes on the now greatly reduced property assessment of $311,100. Whether or not they will apply for 79-E property tax relief to freeze the building's property assessment for however many years they can qualify for is yet to be determined.

• Donk (Monday, October 19 20 02:05 pm EDT)

  Is the property tax on the JBL Bldg. deferred until the structure is officially occupied?

• Rick (Monday, October 19 20 01:38 pm EDT)

  Commissioner Barrett certainly got a sweet deal for himself didn’t he?

• Chris (Monday, October 19 20 01:09 pm EDT)

  It’s amazing how local government leaders and the local reporters seem to collude to keep the taxpaying public in the dark as to how local government officials are taking advantage of the taxpayers time and time again. The widespread corruption in Claremont is sickening.

• Tony (Monday, October 19 20 11:32 am EDT)

  Public Officials sure get all the breaks don't they?

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, October 19 20 10:21 am EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) What City Officials and the local press did not tell you about the sale of the JSL Building!
  
  2) October 14, 2020 Claremont City Council meeting synopsis.
  
  Both articles are published on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Donk (Saturday, October 17 20 01:54 pm EDT)

  Did you guys see Mark Walters new 2021 Ford Bronco? My friend just go finished working on the 3000 sf addition on her house.Spare no expense,wher'd the money come from?

• It’s Time (Saturday, October 17 20 08:22 am EDT)

  Message to the city council.
  Time for a forensic audit of the entire TIF accounting for the last ten years!
  Any council member voting against this is in the kettle.
  Now! Who has the integrity to make the motion?

• Keith (Wednesday, October 14 20 09:59 am EDT)

  I don’t know about the rest of you but I want all of that $2 million of extra school funds to go back to the taxpayers. I think the school board is getting greedy and grabbing money illegally. And I agree with the previous writer that Patrick Adrian covers up more than he reports. Lazy and cowardly press have been one of the best tools in the shall we say ethically challenged government official’s toolbox because it allows them to get away with a whole lot of sneaky stuff. The Sullivan Report is the only source of local news that is performing the function of true journalism for Claremont political news.

• Tom (Wednesday, October 14 20 09:12 am EDT)

  It sure is beginning to look like City Hall is infested with crooks and several of them may be on the Council because they are all surely looking the other way really really hard. Isn’t the purpose of having elected officials to have honest citizens looking out for the taxpayer’s best interests? Why is it that not one of the nine are doing it? I know that Councilor Stone and Councilor O’Hearne wanted a forensic audit but they were trying to cast too far a net and it would have cost the taxpayers far too much money. Former Councilors Sullivan and Maranville have shown them a better way. Target only the Downtown TIF District and start with that. It looks like millions of dollars may be missing or stolen or both. If nothing is amiss then why is Mr. Sullivan having such a heckuva time getting the financial information that he is requesting? These are rational requests and both he and Mr. Maranville have raised some serious questions that need to be answered. If there is nothing there then that’s fine but I do understand what they are trying to say and that is there is a lot of money sitting there or at least it should be and that money could be used right now to fix our roads. I do not understand why the Council is ignoring this and not taking action to transfer that money into the general fund budget and order some road engineering plans be drawn up so more road work can be done next year. This isn’t rocket science so why are the councilors and the administrators making it look like it is? If I had to take a guess then I would say that the money is missing and that implies theft. Maybe we’ll find out eventually since we are the taxpayers after all and we deserve to know the truth. If we do find out the truth it will not be thanks to our elected officials or those who worik at City Hall.

• Mike (Wednesday, October 14 20 07:08 am EDT)

  Jim and AJ have got me and many of my family and friends curious as to what became of all this money and I hope they can finally get at the truth. We all seem to think that Mr. Morris is covering up for certain city employees to try to avoid a scandal during his administration. What Mr. Morris needs to understand is that all of these things occurred before his administration began and the last thing he needs is to be involved in a cover-up and have his reputation tarnished with any city employees who may be guilty of financial misappropriation or embezzlement, which seems to be a growing possibility. We all seem to think Mr. Morris has already started covering things up by dragging out Jim’s requests for information and using the auditing firm to help him slow down Jim’s and AJ’s investigation to a slow crawl and now Mr. Morris seems to be trying to stop the investigation entirely by not answering any questions or providing financial numbers but not the ones that Jim is requesting. If Mr. Morris wants to save his career he needs to knock it off with the stall tactics and other games and begin cooperating. Many of us are watching.

• Jean (Tuesday, October 13 20 05:38 pm EDT)

  I first read about the increase to the school contingency fund in the Eagle Times in an article written by Patrick Adrian, who at one time served on the Claremont school board. Patrick should have caught that himself and did not. So why not?

• Joyce (Tuesday, October 13 20 01:40 pm EDT)

  I think the reason why Mr. Morris is being so obtuse is not because he is stupid or inexperienced but because he only knows the answer and he is trying to avoid a scandal within his administration. I would hope he would realize that he is not the blame for any of this as it all happened before he was hired to the post of city manager. He would only be to blame if he tried to destroy evidence or cover-up any theft or other wrongdoing.

• Jerry (Tuesday, October 13 20 11:36 am EDT)

  The way they keep stalling and delaying at City Hall I think they realize that Sullivan and Maranville are onto something bigger than the Topstone building scandal and the roof is about to fall in on one or more longtime city staffers.

• Sara (Tuesday, October 13 20 09:27 am EDT)

  Ed Morris better be careful because if he does try to cover up millions of dollars of missing public funds that could end his career as city manager not only in Claremont but anywhere else for that matter.

• Todd (Tuesday, October 13 20 08:45 am EDT)

  It sure looks like a cover up to me with the TIF district. It would not surprise me to soon read on the Sullivan Report that Morris is drawing a line in the sand and refusing to answer any of Sullivan’s questions about the potentially missing $3 million of bond money or provide the revenue and expense numbers for 2007 – 2014 because it might implicate city staff even if it means breaking the right to know law to do it. Even though Morris had nothing to do with this it would not surprise me if he tried to cover it all up just like Nixon tried with Watergate and failed big time. Claremont is very corrupt.

• Jason (Tuesday, October 13 20 07:26 am EDT)

  I believe Jim and AJ are right about the school board vote about the contingency fund. I don’t think the school board had the authority either but they did it anyway. Maybe Jim hasn’t received an answer yet because they do not have anything in writing that would prove that what they did was legal. I guess we’ll all find out soon enough.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, October 13 20 05:44 am EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) The Claremont School Board unanimously doubles the maximum size of the Claremont School District's contingency fund – Is it legal?
  
  2) Downtown TIF District – miscommunication or stall tactics?
  
  Both articles are published on the News Flashes page of this website.

• An idiot who knows nothing (Friday, October 09 20 01:51 pm EDT)

  I don't think OP meant it like that but I see where he is coming from. Maybe companies should explore training opportunities to educate their employees how they want them to operate. Happy Friday!

• Duh (Thursday, October 08 20 01:21 pm EDT)

  Wait.. You think the city should pay for job training at private companies? That's up to companies, not the tax payers!

• Christian (Thursday, October 08 20 11:40 am EDT)

  Why are we pouring money into low-income housing instead of workshops or perhaps have jobs that actually TRAIN on the job. All these kush micro politicians in this city are trash. Corrupt to the core. I bet there are some good hearted and want to help, but there are so many signs of cover up with local government. City Council should be changed to City Country Club.

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, October 07 20 01:27 pm EDT)

  In today's Eagle Times there was a public notice stating that Southwest Community Services intends to seek a $1.2 million grant to purchase a building and renovate it to be used for a Transportation Center for Sullivan County transportation services.
  
  Tonight the Claremont City Council will meet in non-public session. One of the topics is real estate.
  
  Next week the City Council will hold a public meeting and one of the agenda items is regarding the sale of the Junior Sports League Building located on School Street.
  
  Coincidence?

• Jean (Wednesday, October 07 20 12:52 pm EDT)

  South Burlington Vermont town officials are online publishing their own news publication biweekly. Talk about crossing lines when public officials report their own press. Much like Charlene Lovett and John Cloutier have been doing for years. Only difference is this is one step more into the realm of fake journalism. Will the city of Claremont now follow suit and use our tax dollars to lie to us with phony news?

• Glenn (Wednesday, October 07 20 12:34 pm EDT)

  I find Abigail Kier and James Contois to be huge hypocrites. They have no problem rallying for their public causes whether it be on a national or local level and publicly voicing their opinions. However if anyone voices a contrary opinion then that person is evil incarnate and must be crushed under their heel. Sound familiar? I seem to recall someone over in Germany during World War II who thought and acted just like that. Both of them are bullies and the Claremont voters should not allow them to remain in power after this next election.

• Back@Molly (Wednesday, October 07 20 11:24 am EDT)

  @molly Limited power??!!! Individual councilors have limited power. The council as a body has allot of power. I agree Contois and Kier need to go. If they stay an get more fruit cakes in there it will be bad.

• Duh (Wednesday, October 07 20 09:01 am EDT)

  "Alleged victim"? He admitted guilt and already plead guilty to at least assault. There is no more "Alleged" about it. The "victim"

• Molly (Tuesday, October 06 20 04:33 pm EDT)

  James Contois and Abigail Kier are out of control. The limited power of a Councilor has gone to their heads and they need to go at the next election.

• William (Tuesday, October 06 20 03:32 pm EDT)

  I think it’s time for a good housecleaning over at school system. Starting with the principal, that life skills supervisor, the superintendent and the entire school board. It is disgraceful what has happened and the absence of any real response from the superintendent of the school board is unacceptable.

• Rachel (Tuesday, October 06 20 12:16 pm EDT)

  Yes there is definitely something rotten in Claremont. This has all the signs of a cover-up and no signs of holding accountable the employees who allegedly failed that poor girl or any remorse from the school administrators who looked the other way. I wonder how many other students are at risk because of these uncaring administrators?

• Steve (Tuesday, October 06 20 09:31 am EDT)

  It sure looks like there is a cover-up going on at Stevens High School with all the missing records. New paper trail to cover-up the royal screwup of the principal and her subordinates. She and the others involved should all be fired and the fact that the Claremont School Board and the Superintendent of Schools has not done that yet is reprehensible.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, October 06 20 08:46 am EDT)

  Five new articles published today.
  
  1) Lawsuit filed against Claremont School District, SAU #6 & various school officials.
  
  2) Facebook posting generates interesting revelation.
  
  3) Peterson Building sold.
  
  4) Claremont Arms Apartments sold.
  
  5) Council learns about governance.
  
  All of these articles are published on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Jim Sullivan (Saturday, October 03 20 05:02 pm EDT)

  The Chamber of Commerce has not done that for a while now and for several years they devolved into something that bore no resemblance to a real debate, where candidates could actually debate the issues with their opponents. They were simply a few prearranged softball questions distributed to the candidates prior to the "debate" so candidates could look good in a controlled public forum, which gave an advantage to the incumbents. The so-called debates became so politically correct and incredibly boring that they became an exercise in futility.

• Steve (Saturday, October 03 20 08:03 am EDT)

  I thought the Chamber of Commerce put on local debates ?

• John J O’Connor (Wednesday, September 30 20 01:40 pm EDT)

  Why are there not any State Representative debates ?
  A debate between prospective candidates would be a great way for the voters to get to know where each candidate stands on the issues.
  Without a debate, this election is more of a popularity contest then it is a declaration on the issues.

• Greg (Wednesday, September 30 20 09:10 am EDT)

  There was another article in the Eagle Times about a $1.7 million grant given to Sullivan County for lead paint reduction. With a $400,000 administrative budget, CM Derek Ferland will hire a project manager. Claremont Mayor Charlene Lovett was supposedly instrumental in getting the county the grant. Since friends and political allies usually get these cushy jobs, will Lovett become the project manager and pocket a cushy salary and benefits package? The way things work around here it wouldn't surprise me.

• Tom (Wednesday, September 30 20 06:46 am EDT)

  The Eagle Times reported today that the Claremont school district had a lawsuit filed against it by the aggrieved family in regards to the incident involving George Caccavaro. The article states that the family is claiming that Stevens high school principal Pat Barry and several other school employees failed to act to protect the victim, a 20-year-old special needs student. Based on what was reported in the press earlier in regards to police reports I would tend to agree with that assessment. I wondered back then why Pat Barry was not immediately terminated along with several other school employees who never took appropriate action to protect this young woman. In today’s article it is now disclosed that there are no school records in regards to this inappropriate behavior. Did they ever exist or were they shredded as a cover-up scheme? Heads should roll. The question is will they?

• thank you Joyce (Tuesday, September 29 20 11:32 pm EDT)

  Amen Joyce the police dept is a mess weak to no leadership its been a mess for years then handed to a " nice guy " not a leader on any level until that is fixed and you start policing this community with a small level of competence we will continue to be a failed joke of a city and never attract people that could help. On every level all the clowns around now are just a laughing stock

• Dick (Tuesday, September 29 20 04:06 pm EDT)

  I know the wing nuts on the delegation like John Cloutier will gladly spend all that money to build a new County Home. It is because taxing and spending is what they love to do because it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This is what true Democrats do.

• Chris (Tuesday, September 29 20 02:18 pm EDT)

  I watched the planning board meeting last night because it concerned a friend of mine and that city planner really sucks. I think his name is Scott Osgood and he is never prepared for anything. I watched a few meetings before and it is the same thing every time whether it’s the planning board or the zoning board, the man just never does his homework or the normal due diligence that one expects of a professional. The city manager is a member of the planning board and he watches this idiot bumble around all the time always unprepared to answer simple reasonable questions about whichever matter is before the board but yet city manager never fires him as he is an embarrassment to the city. Zero standards equals zero results and that will be epitaph of what I believe will be a short-lived Morris administration. The city councilors are also equally to blame for this sorry state of affairs.

• Don (Tuesday, September 29 20 01:12 pm EDT)

  Kudos to Sullivan and Maranville for showing the councilors for the hypocrites that they are. The councilors say how much they feel for the veterans and the elderly and then they shit on them at every meeting when they don’t increase the tax credits and the exemptions to a reasonable level. I can’t wait to see how big the raises will be for the city staffers whom the councilors all kiss the asses of.

• Joyce (Tuesday, September 29 20 11:28 am EDT)

  I do not think that we need a Adverse Childhood Experience Response Team Coordinator at the Police Department. They need to stop focusing on comfort dogs in this sort of thing and get away from wanting to be social service case managers and start doing the job they were hired to do and that is to stop crime.

• Bill (Tuesday, September 29 20 10:45 am EDT)

  Rubberstamp fever struck the councilors again with their passing of a leasing plan that spends $459,000 of our tax money without any councilor oversight are all. There are just told to vote for the $459,000 lease plan and they all get out their rubberstamps and say okey-dokey Mr. Manager whatever you say Sir and then it’s a done deal. Claremont has really pathetic leadership and representation. Definitely not the cream of the crop.

• Steve (Tuesday, September 29 20 09:39 am EDT)

  I don’t know who the lawyer is for the city nowadays but boy they sure know how to screwup on a regular basis. Four screw ups had to be fixed in just one meeting, I think that’s a record. It’s time for a new attorney. One is actually knows what either he or she is doing would be nice.

• Rachel (Tuesday, September 29 20 09:29 am EDT)

  I am glad to see the County Home project defeated. I am not sure about spending nearly double the $35,500,000 number to build a new County Home somewhere else and then increase the operating expense funded by the taxpayers by about $1 million a year. I think that is a terrible idea.

• Donk (Tuesday, September 29 20 09:18 am EDT)

  So we have $25,000 for airport runway renovation,but we don't have the money to pave Sugar River Drive properly?
  Fuckin' town makes me sick!

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, September 29 20 07:46 am EDT)

  Four new articles published today.
  
  1) Sullivan County Delegates vote thumbs down to Sullivan County Health Care Renovation Project costs.
  
  2) Claremont School Board votes to bring schools back in full session.
  
  3) What were they thinking?
  
  4) September 23, 2020 Claremont City Council meeting synopsis.
  
  These articles are published on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Eyes (Friday, September 25 20 08:50 am EDT)

  No idea. It's just like how is she paying attention to the actual meeting going on while having a conversation with 5 people in the room with her? That wouldn't fly in council chambers.

• John J.O’Connor (Friday, September 25 20 07:46 am EDT)

  I have seen the same thing,Councilor Keir chows down like she has been fasting for days .
  Has the council gone non public during these zoom sessions?
  If they have, wouldn’t Keir be in violation of council rules to have fans in her stands during these meetings?

• Eyes (Thursday, September 24 20 02:44 pm EDT)

  Anyone else notice all Kier does is eat and talk to people on zoom. Like who the hell invites family over during a zoom council meeting? She's probably been trying to keep zoom meetings going so she can keep having her fun at home during the meetings.

• Richard (Wednesday, September 23 20 01:41 pm EDT)

  Katie, are you kidding? This is Claremont! The lamebrain councilors will probably name something after the perpetrator for a job well done. Breaking the rules, lying to the public and picking the public’s pockets for every penny they can get to spend the money foolishly on grandiose schemes when they are not using taxpayers money to line the pockets of VIP constituents, city employees and close political friends is business as usual here. It has been that way for years but it has gotten much worse lately.

• Katie (Wednesday, September 23 20 11:47 am EDT)

  If some or most of the $4.5 million is missing from the city’s books then how will city officials get that money back? Will they prosecute whomever took it?

• Henry (Wednesday, September 23 20 11:15 am EDT)

  I think Jim is making certain people really nervous at City Hall with the tough and straightforward questions he is asking them. It’s a shame that he and AJ have to do the jobs of the nine city councilors for them. We elected nine city councilors with a giant yellow streak running up all of their backs. Cringing cowards all. A bunch of useless idiots.

• Tom (Wednesday, September 23 20 10:13 am EDT)

  William, I’ve been thinking the same thing for quite a while now. I think there’s a cover-up going on too. That is presumably why the auditors are involved to try to come up with a plausible excuse to explain away the missing money. So far they have done a terrible job of it because even those of us who are not accounting whizzes can see right through this deception.

• William (Wednesday, September 23 20 09:59 am EDT)

  Jennifer, I’m guessing those millions of dollars wasn’t lost, it was stolen and the city officials are trying to cover it up with the lame excuse of the money, what money spiel.

• Jennifer (Wednesday, September 23 20 09:10 am EDT)

  I just want to know where those millions of dollars went. How could anyone in city government lose track of that much money?

• Don (Wednesday, September 23 20 06:40 am EDT)

  I am not surprised that Morris is asking for more time to accumulate the financial records for Jim.Sullivan. I presume that Morris is utilizing the services of the auditing firm again. Final revenue and expense numbers for the Downtown TIF buidget should be a pretty simple thing to pull out of the computer. Heck, there should be hard copys of that information sitting in a filing cabinent somewhere in City Hall. If Mary Walter or any member of her Finance Office staff is incapable of finding that information then they should not be working for the city. We as taxpayers should not be paying their salaries and for their benefits. It is ironic that Jim and AJ found three different numbers for the amount the city borrowed for the renovation project for the TIF District. The same number of versions they found for the community center budget a couple of years ago. That was blamed on a computer software problem and then swept under the rug as fast as it could be. Will the same thing happen again? I believe that there are city staffers that need to be fired for at the very least incompetence starting with Mary Walter and Nancy Merrill. Will Morris do that? Probably not, he seems rather milquetoast to me. Too cowardly to do anything even remotely appearing to be bold and decisive. Morris does not posess the characeristics of a true leader.

• Gail (Wednesday, September 23 20 05:36 am EDT)

  What is wrong with the city councilors? They do absolutely nothing to help us citizens they just sit behind their computer screens and pass votes to spend more money on big projects that will benefit companies doing the work and developer friends when they are not voting for pay raises for city staff members, while working on their personal social climbing efforts. They do not seem to be there to represent us. They should be demanding answers about this missing TIF money. Fat chance. These councilors only know how to say, oh no we cannot do that and rock the boat and make it look like Claremont is anything but the perfect place that we always lie about to the press and anyone else dumb enough to believe us.

• Steve (Tuesday, September 22 20 06:28 pm EDT)

  I really believe if Claremont had a decent press that had journalists with grit and true ethics that most of this crap would not be happening at City Hall. The Eagle Times and the Valley News are both putrid examples of lazy press staffed with chicken-shit reporters that only know how to do sloppy reporting. Their cowardice sets the stage for this type of abuse of power.

• Shawn (Tuesday, September 22 20 04:25 pm EDT)

  I am thinking that crimes took place at City Hall. I may be wrong but I am heavily leaning towards embezzlement of millions of dollars all belonging to the Claremont taxpayers. At the very least millions of dollars is being squirreled away somewhere that even the auditors cannot seem to find. Ask yourself who would have the ability to do that? To me there is only one and possibly two answers for that question. They should be investigated and prosecuted if necessary. I admire Jim and AJ for looking into this and trying to get the answers to these important questions and trying to find the money. It’s too bad they are not both back on the City Council, at least then we would know we have at least two honest ones there. I can’t say that about any of the folks we have on the Council now. I think they are all damaged each in their own way and most of them are dishonest as hell. At least in my opinion.

• Jeremy (Tuesday, September 22 20 02:29 pm EDT)

  Or were two sets of books being kept with the Downtown TIF District to hide these huge cash surpluses from the city councilors and the auditors and any snoopy members of the public? It would be a great way to embezzle the money don’t you think?

• Jeanette (Tuesday, September 22 20 01:10 pm EDT)

  I noticed something with the figures that was not mentioned in the article. The first eight fiscal years of the Downtown TIF District produced a cash surplus averaging $161,456.20 per year. The five fiscal years between 2015 and 2019 averaged considerably less, $43,764.42 per year. Cash surpluses totaling over $161,000 per year for eight years should have raised some eyebrows with the staffers managing the Downtown TIF District within the Santagate Administration. So why didn’t it? Also, where were the auditors? Shouldn’t they have caught this?

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, September 22 20 11:38 am EDT)

  Morris Administration needs more time to provide Downtown TIF District Financials!
  
  Article is published on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Yawn (Tuesday, September 22 20 11:26 am EDT)

  It's funny how you guys support one guy who abstained through every single vote in a council meeting, instead of doing his job. And another who couldn't even follow the rules at his old cop job. But, ya, those 2 will certainly do the right things for the residents.

• Yawn (Tuesday, September 22 20 10:09 am EDT)

  You all should really write soap operas.

• Kevin (Tuesday, September 22 20 10:00 am EDT)

  I just don’t understand how all of this money can be floating around in the budget somewhere without nobody at City Hall noticing. I think some first-class embezzlement has gone on and most of this money was stolen years ago. Isn’t Nancy Merrill supposed to be overseeing the Downtown TIF District in her role as Planning and Development Director? I would think the Finance Director Mary Walter, who has also been here as long if not a little longer than Nancy Merrill as both were hired early in the Santagate Administration years of operation. I believe both were hired before the Downtown TIF District came about. And I think the city managers also bear some responsibility for this because they are supposed to be paying attention to the city’s finances as part of their duties for their high-paying job. I think this is a scandal and I don’t believe that Mayor Charlene Lovett and her like-minded cronies on the Council and the Rookie City Manager Ed Morris have a broom big enough to sweep this all under the rug. Although I do think they’re going to try by saying there is no money which is completely and totally unbelievable. They must think Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Maranville and all of the rest of us living in Claremont are really stupid. Well I’ve got news for all of you bozos, we are not. It’s time you show us the money.

• Ethan (Tuesday, September 22 20 09:40 am EDT)

  I want the city roads paved. The city councilors need to pull their head out of their asses and order the money found and withdraw the money from the TIF or whereever it is and put it into the city coffers and then use it to do more street paving next year. If they can’t or won’t do that then we need new city councilors. Jim Sullivan and AJ Maranville are two former councilors who have found that there is millions of dollars lying around somewhere. They are doing more for the people of Claremont than the entire council combined. Their loyalty to the citizens of Claremont is not in question but I do question the loyalty and the priorities of the present day councilors with the likes of Lovett, Dameren, Koloski, Kier, Matteau, Contois and Sweetseer on it. They are all snakes in my opinion. I am not thrilled with the likes of Stone and O’Hearne either but at least they sometimes try to buck the system and represent the average people in Claremont instead of the special interests.

• Matt (Tuesday, September 22 20 08:30 am EDT)

  Just look around the city council table or should I say the Brady Bunch like television screen and look at all the faces and you will not see a lot of intelligence, honesty or ethics there. Except for Jon Stone and Andy O’Hearne there is really nobody else on the council that really seems to give a crap about the public. Erica Sweetser has already gone over to the dark side as the Dark Emperor Charlene Lovett has taken Sweetser under her wing and the Mayor has Sweetser pretty much under her control. Sweetser is so dumb she doesn’t even realize it. Morris is just going along for the ride trying to survive because he knows he is in the best job he will ever have because he is not qualified for any of this. He is like the boss in the Dilbert comic strip, promoted way past his abilities. I thinik the last council wanted to hire someone really really dumb so they could control either him of her and they succedded in finding a real moron. Lucky us.

• Marie (Tuesday, September 22 20 05:14 am EDT)

  It is shameful that the news reporters in our area do not do their jobs very well. The Sullivan Report seems to be doing all the heavy lifting in that regard. Look at the latest story about the TIF district and all the unaccounted for money that is probably either missing or stolen. Will the Eagle Times cover this story? Of course not because the reporter's wife works for the city in the planning office. She has a good job with great benefits and her husband will not jeopardize that family income no way and no how. The Valley News and the Union Leader do not have local reporters and they only do occasional stories about Claremont and usually nothing earthshaking. The E-Ticker News has the look of journalism but it is slanted with pro-government articles that never criticize anything officials do unless it they are part of a minority that the majority wants tarnished in the press. I have been a taxpayer for over 50 years and my husband and I want to know what the city leaders did with our money. Millions of dollars may be missing or stolen and it looks like Mr. Morris and his employees and the high-paid auditing consultant are all trying to sweep this scandal under the rug. The question is why?

• Michelle (Monday, September 21 20 05:17 pm EDT)

  I think this Downtown TIF District is a scandal of enormous proportion for Claremont. I think Ed Morris and Mayor Lovett and the rest of the clods on the council are all pissing themselves about what Jim and AJ uncovered. Our city officials can lie with the best of them and claim there is nothing to see here and no money to be had but we all know that is total bullshit. Jim and AJ have shown us documented proof that would hold up in any court that the money exists and having the city officials and the auditors say there is no money is a lie and it makes me wonder why they are lying about there being no money. Are they covering up major embezzlement to try to keep people out of jail? Aren’t they all supposed to be protecting the taxpayers who are paying the bills? Shouldn’t they be trying to recover that money for the public good? I knew we had terrible leadership and representation many of them with questionable ethics but I never thought it’d would ever get to be this bad. It’s a shame when two councilors from nearly a quarter of a century ago are the only former city officials who care about the people of Claremont to expose these hidden funds and try to get the money back and gain justice for the taxpayers and citizens of Claremont. It shows how low Claremont has sunk.

• Joel (Monday, September 21 20 03:25 pm EDT)

  I do not trust this auditing firm. They could not find over $2 million in bonding that the city did to finance the Downtown TIF District project and almost $3 millionof bond debt is not accounted for in the budget for the Downtown TIF District and there are years worth of cash surplus adding up to at least $1.6 million plus and then we have the auditor representatives say there is no money because there was a deficit. What a giant steaming pile of crap. Cach is cash. If you had a business and you took in more than you spent then there is cash left over. Even if you owe tons of money you still have the cash if you don’t pay those bills and spend it. Common sense. The auditor has said that none of the money has been transferred out of the accounts for several years. So that money must be somewhere because it just doesn’t mysteriously vanish. I am wondering why the auditors seem to be trying to cover up for the city. I just don't understand it.

• Linda (Monday, September 21 20 02:29 pm EDT)

  Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive. Something is definitely rotten at Claremont City Hall, right to the very core. I believe it has been for a very long time and Jim and AJ are finally getting down to the bare bones truth. Good for you two, you are a big asset to this community. You seem to be the only two who actually care about the taxpayers and the average hard-working citizens of Claremont. But then you always did care for the average Joe and that is what put you both at odds with the rest of the councilors who were there to only represent special interests and no one else. Little has changed since you both served.

• Ted (Monday, September 21 20 12:05 pm EDT)

  Mr. Morris may not realize it but he’s got two tigers by the tail when it comes to Jim and AJ. They will not quit until they get to the bottom of this mess. Mr. Morris would be wise to just give Jim all the information that he is asking for and let the chips fall where they may. As they wrote in the article Mr. Morris is not responsible for any of this so he should just get the hell out of the way. If Mr. Morris was really smart he would take the bull by the horns and find the money or find out what happened to the money and investigate and prosecute any wrongdoers if there are any. Easy peazy lemon squeezy.

• Bob (Monday, September 21 20 11:36 am EDT)

  Claremont has always been a corrupt city but the corruption has really gotten out of hand. This really looks like fraud big-time. It also looks like Mr. Morris might be trying to cover it up. If that is the case then he better heed the harsh lesson of Richard Nixon and don’t throw his career away because of a misguided sense of gallantry for people who do not deserve it. Mr. Morris, fall on your sword at your own risk.

• Rick (Monday, September 21 20 11:12 am EDT)

  Unless the money was stolen or misappropriated their should be $1.6 million or more just parked in some Downtown TIF District account then the council should yank that money out of there, call it a partial repayment of the debt owed to the city and use that money to pave some damn roads. I don’t mean that patch and skim crap they’re doing now but real pavement on a road that will last for a while. I know the director in the DPW has gone but that damn assistant has to go to and the city needs to hire a professional DPW had that actually knows what the hell they are doing.

• Industrial Property Owner (Monday, September 21 20 10:00 am EDT)

  Another incredible exposé from the Sullivan Report. An undocumented cash surplus of $1,604,471.70 for the beleaguered and often maligned Downtown TIF District that presumably no one except top-level City Hall insiders knew about. The greatest failure of the Santagate Administration as it created an essential Claremont taxpayer bailout of over $6.6 million if I remember correctly. After reading this morning’s article, I am thoroughly convinced that the entire $1,604,471.70 did at least at one time reside within the Downtown TIF District accounts as cash. The multi-million dollar question that Jim Sullivan and AJ Maranville are trying to ascertain for the taxpaying public is what became of that astronomical amount of taxpayer’s money. Unless the money was illegally spent or embezzled it certainly begs the question why are the taxpayers still depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year into the Downtown TIF District budget to supposedly balance the budget so the district can meet its expenses if a large cash surplus is just sitting there waiting to be used. I am also fascinated with the revelation of three wildly different sets of numbers all allegedly totaling the municipal bond indebtedness the Downtown TIF District. I am reminded of the day when Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville attended a Claremont City Council meeting a few years ago with proof that the Finance Director Mary Walter had been showing three sets of randomly different financial numbers for the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center. That was quickly blamed on a computer glitch and new software was purchased to eradicate the alleged computer glitches. I never bought that argument as I thought it was something dreamed up to cover staff incompetence. Back to the Downtown TIF District. Seeing the documentation always professionally provided by the Sullivan Report that was all by the way generated over the years by the Claremont City Administration, much of it presumably from Finance Director Mary Walter, I believe the true number of indebtedness is $9,906,000. The shocking revelation that the auditing firm could only account for $7,755,000 of that $9,906,000 amount is astounding. As the Sullivan Report summation table shows, that is a substantial $2,151,000 difference. It is also disconcerting that there was a $2,915,317 discrepancy between what the City of Claremont originally borrowed utilizing municipal bonds and the amount of money that was actually deposited into the Downtown TIF District Accounts, with no accounting documentation for that nearly $3 million amount. I am wondering if this will turn out to be a fraud embezzlement investigation dealing with as much as $4,519,789 or more. This money must be found and if any of these funds were spent without proper Claremont City Council authorization then an itemized account of where these funds were deposited and how and when these funds were spent must be generated and made public with a full explanation. If these funds were spent illegally then any current staff members, who took part should be terminated immediately without question. If any of these funds were embezzled than a criminal investigation followed by criminal prosecution of everyone involved including both past and present municipal employees is the only answer. No exceptions no matter who was involved.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, September 21 20 07:38 am EDT)

  Three articles published today.
  
  1) FEMA Reimbursement Reversal.
  
  2) City issues a voluntary water restriction.
  
  3) Morris Administration dodges Downtown TIF District question of – Where is the money?
  
  These articles are published on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Joel (Friday, September 18 20 04:20 pm EDT)

  Mr. Morris sure is quite the character isn’t he? I watch all of the council meetings and seeing him operate gives me the impression that he does not have an affinity with the truth. The COVID reimbursement money is a great example as Jim and AJ showed quite well how Mr. Morris likes to show we say embellish the truth. How anyone can trust this guy is beyond me. His job performance review is coming up and I do not doubt for a minute that he will get a glowing review from this council of fools and probably a big pay raise to seal the deal and assure his continued presence as they financially destroy the city together.

• Travis (Thursday, September 17 20 03:08 pm EDT)

  I know the veterans and the seniors issues are on the agenda for the next meeting but they have been waiting months and months for this to happen and it has been nothing but continued foot dragging. The councilors we have elected today just do not give a fig about either group of people. They only seem concerned about putting more money in the pockets of city employees at taxpayers’ expense and putting more money into the bank accounts of certain non-profits and certain real estate developers. It seems we have a city government that has been totally corrupted by the special interests.

• U.R. Anidiot (Thursday, September 17 20 10:58 am EDT)

  CLICK on this link for soemthing you people can't talk about, POSITIVE NEWS!!
  https://www.businessnhmagazine.com/article/making-it-in-claremont?fbclid=IwAR3n8ZOhMy0Fg9wNReMmfie0Ml-RQUVTlsvxtauUBqAZmk585VoYBETvfUg$

• Jim Sullivan (Thursday, September 17 20 08:52 am EDT)

  Chris, the City sent out an email blast yesterday stating that the paving portion for this current part of the project will be done at night sometime next week. No other specifics were given.

• Craig Todd (Wednesday, September 16 20 05:07 pm EDT)

  "Todd" "Craig" and the other fuck sticks that are pretending to support each others bullshit. Watch a single story or article where Koloski states each time its not him and gives thanks. You are really are dumb fucks with no comprehension.

• U.R. Anidiot (Wednesday, September 16 20 04:47 pm EDT)

  You bunch of degenerate idiots, I'm certain you've missed me giving you back your own shit and calling you out on bullshit.
  Look at this article just published in NH Business. If Claremont is so bad YOU yes You need to leave. NOW!!! We need the room where assholes and negative people like you, occupy.
  Be part of the solution or problem! Pull your heads out of each others asses and do something instead of spin this pages bullshit!

• Chris (Wednesday, September 16 20 04:21 pm EDT)

  With the mess that is currently on Washington St. due to the construction at the Walmart corner, and the huge traffic backups currently happening, does anyone know why they don't do the work at night? I've seen tons of night construction on the highways in my travels, and wasn't complaining, was just curious.

• Craig (Wednesday, September 16 20 12:01 pm EDT)

  Nick Koloski organizes trips to casinos. Will city official excursions to casinos with all-expenses-paid of course where they can gamble taxpayer’s money be part of the new investment strategy? Sounds about right with this ethically challenged bunch of miscreants.

• Peter (Wednesday, September 16 20 11:28 am EDT)

  I thought it was interesting about the abrupt removal of the fund balance policy from the meeting’s agenda and Allen Damren’s desire to rework the city’s investment policy. He reworked the fund balance policy to give the city councilors and administrators more leeway to spend more money while maintaining a phony semblance of adequate cash reserve. Now that that money has been blown, I think they are looking for more wiggle room with a revised policy. I am also concerned than Allen wants to get his hooks on the investment policy and probably make some changes there. God only knows what he and the other councilors will do with that. I am guessing the city will be broke in no time.

• Dan (Wednesday, September 16 20 10:21 am EDT)

  The veterans and the seniors get it in the shorts again from our illustrious elected officials. They all just sit there like yipping dogs while the meeting is going on just waiting to listen for the city manager to tell them how to think and how to vote on practically everything. It was not as bad when Santagate was in charge because at least he had a brain and knew how to be a city manager. The one they hired now is a total dunce and he makes the one the councilors fired seem brilliant by comparison. What we have are imbeciles calling the shots and it shows. I thought Sullivan County was bad off with their dopey manager but Claremont is worse off.

• Marie (Wednesday, September 16 20 09:46 am EDT)

  I am very disappointed with Mr. Contois. He is a self-proclaimed local advocate for environmentalism and Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville are correct that he did absolutely nothing by asking no questions about this new sludge project. Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville did a fantastic job highlighting the possible problems with the project, all questions that Mr. Contois and the other members of the City Council should have asked. Rubberstamp politics has no place in Claremont but that seems to be the business of the day. Especially with Charlene Lovett and Allen Damren at the helm taking charge and bullying the other councilors into submission. I am very disappointed with Andrew O’Hearne and Jonathan Stone for I thought both of them had a little more spine similar to Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville but Councilors O’Hearne and Stone are pale imitations. I am also very disappointed with Councilor Sweetser. I spoke to her many times at her former place of employment and she always seemed to me to be a sweet young lady with a good heart. I voted for her and now I deeply regret it because she has become a gushing protege of Charlene Lovett and it sickens me to think that I helped elect her to public office. I hope a better presentation comes forward before the city moves forward with a sludge plant in Claremont. I know Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville will find whatever information they can but I also know that is very difficult for them because Mr. Morris likes to hide things from the public and the weak city councilors just sit back and allow him to do that which makes me distrust all of them.

• Stipend (Wednesday, September 16 20 08:18 am EDT)

  Gee, I wonder how WCAX, all the way in Burlington, heard about Nick's latest round of "look at me! I need to feel important and relevant off the backs of others!"
  The entire script of the story sounded like exactly that: A script, one that we;ve heard many times before.
  "Firefighter stipend"
  "Single Mother"
  "Had to grow up without"
  Almost sounds like Nick sent WCAX a pre-written press release himself!!!!
  You know that he is likely writing “lend receipts” which are federally taxable for loaned property and their value - with daily credit. So he’s gonna skate by on paying taxes in his shit little wanna be restaurant.

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, September 16 20 07:20 am EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) Current student population levels within the Claremont School District during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
  
  2) September 9, 2020 Claremont City Council meeting synopsis.
  
  Both articles appear on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Todd (Tuesday, September 15 20 06:54 pm EDT)

  I see that Nick Koloski is at it again grabbing the public spotlight by taking credit for other people's donations. This time used medical equipment. Nick has been collecting and storing them upstairs in the Topstone building and then giving them out to anyone who needs them. WCAX did a report on him showing him as a great humanitarian. I will admit that he is doing some work for this program he created but he is not using any of his money or resources but donations from other people and taking all the credit for himself. Typical Koloski. He has done the same thing before with other donated items. When will the public finally see through him?

• They just don't know better (Sunday, September 13 20 09:49 am EDT)

  The incompetence in our claremont city council and city managers office is disgusting these people want to spend $5,500,000 on pleasant street not a one has the knowledge to build anything they couldn't build a house but we allow them to spend our tax money like that its just amazing we have such a poor excuse for elected officials and leadership anyone that puts there name in a hat gets a nod because someone has to be there just too bad the talent has gotten this bad

• Alex (Wednesday, September 09 20 09:01 am EDT)

  I really thought Andrew O’Hearne would be a voice of reason and practicality on the County Delegation. I was wrong. He is simply a younger version of John Cloutier, Mr. Tax-And-Spend himself. You just cannot trust anyone these days.

• Bonnie (Wednesday, September 09 20 08:35 am EDT)

  If it were not for the Sullivan Report the public would not have any knowledge whatsoever about what is really going on with our tax dollars. What constitutes the local press is a joke as they only report what the apathetic, milquetoast and in some instances compromised reporters are told to report from government officials. I do not know if pressure from advertisers to not create any waves or fear of government officials are contributing factors to the dearth of investigative articles that dig beneath the surface to uncover the truth. What I do know is that the local press is in a very sorry state, as none of these reporters or editors seems to know what the word journalism truly means.

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, September 09 20 07:28 am EDT)

  Local primary election results are on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Rick (Tuesday, September 08 20 09:45 pm EDT)

  Ken you are freaking dreaming. Derek Ferland is a government bureaucrat through and through. The only thing he will ever suggest is more spending, government expansion, increased bureaucracy and higher taxes. Mr. Ferland is not the solution he is the problem along with the County Delegation Dunderheads and the County Commissioner Clods all of whom have signed off on spending plan after spending plan wasting millions and millions of our tax dollars to grow and expand the size of Sullivan County's government and create more government jobs. I was very surprised to learn about the jail today as I thought they had a much higher inmate population than that. It is truly sad and pathetic what happened and see how all of your elected officials and the administration employees all colluded together to keep this information from the taxpaying public. Instead of addressing this problem what did they do? They all double down and ignore the dwindling prison population and expand the Department of Corrections with the Sullivan House on Sullivan Street in Downtown Claremont that will house recently released inmates with drug addiction problems. I went to two of the public meetings on the Sullivan House and I do not remember anyone from the County government mentioning the dwindling population at the prisons. What a bunch of lying sacks of crap. I do remember John Cloutier and Walt Stapleton placing their full support behind the Sullivan House project saying how much we needed the program but neither of them ever been said anything about the declining prison population. Politicians lie all the time and unfortunately Claremont has politicians of the lying variety. Who are they really representing? It is not the average taxpayers that is for sure.

• Ken (Tuesday, September 08 20 07:49 pm EDT)

  Derek Ferland should have been suggesting the closure of the County Jail and finding cost savings for the Sullivan County Nursing Home project. Instead he asked Jim Sullivan for ideas. I have no faith in Mr. Ferland’s ability to do anything but spend scads of money and then systematically wasted before asking for more from the County Delegates, who gladly spend more money at every turn as they do not care a whit about the taxpayers who have to foot the bill. Bad representation and management all around.

• Elaine (Tuesday, September 08 20 06:17 pm EDT)

  In order to make any realistic changes we would have to start by getting rid of John Cloutier and his ilk on the County Delegation. John has been in elected office far too many years and he has made far too many personal ties with County employees to ever be willing to go along with laying off any of them. He would rather raise taxes and continue to throw good money after bad for a penal colony with virtually no prisoners. If it were not for the Sullivan Report, I would have had no idea about how ludicrous it is to continue operating the County Jail. It is sad when the only people that look out for us is two former city councilors from nearly a quarter of a century ago. It is a shame that the new councilors and other elected officials do not share their ethics and morality or commitment to the community.

• Gary (Tuesday, September 08 20 04:47 pm EDT)

  I was shocked to find out about the jail. I think Jim is onto something about closing it down and sending the convicted convicts elsewhere. Spending $6.9 million to create a jail for 168 prisoners and then have that jail turn out to be practically empty with only 39 prisoners and have the cost of incarcerating them more than double in price per prisoner in just two years is crazy. Yet our County Delegation and County Commissioners want to keep on doing business as usual and to help with the cost to the taxpayers. Just like, they want to do with the nursing home. There is a big deficit in the budget and they do not care about that either. It is only the taxpayer’s money so who gives a crap seems to be their motto. It is time to clean house and get new representation that will look out for us instead of the special interests.

• Amanda (Tuesday, September 08 20 04:06 pm EDT)

  What about the capital reserves that Ferland wants to gut and leave only $400,000 left to try to bailout the nursing home project that he totally screwed up with the original estimates forcing a second set of estimates and now he trots out a third set of estimates and the project has doubled in size in that time. Is a fourth set of higher estimates waiting in the wings? I think Mr. Ferland should be shown the door don’t you?

• Tom (Tuesday, September 08 20 02:45 pm EDT)

  I was shocked to find out that nearly 10% of Sullivan County’s budget is paid for with savings and the money has run out so now it will be put on the property tax rate at some point. A 51% drop in the savings account in only seven years is mind-boggling. John Cloutier and the other idiots on the County Delegation should be ashamed of themselves but instead they are ramping up to spend millions of more dollars on the nursing home as that project keeps rising in price just like the halfway house for the ex-convicts on Sullivan Street. It seems imbeciles are running local governments in Claremont and at the County seat.

• William (Tuesday, September 08 20 12:59 pm EDT)

  Jim Sullivan seems to have a knack for getting right to the important aspect with just the asking of a few questions. Today’s article about the County finances is very eye opening and informative. A nice example of local journalism in a desert of actual newsworthy stories. I am well acquainted with Councilor Nick Koloski and he complains about Sullivan all the time. Nick says that Jim is making the city staff worked too hard to answer all of his questions. I say Nick does not like the question that Jim asks, questions that Nick and his fellow councilors should be asking and usually do not because it does not mean their political agenda of screwing the public over at every opportunity. Jim was a different Councilor than Nick as he was trying to help the little man and little woman instead of the politically well-connected or union employees with their hands out for more pay and benefits at the public’s expense. These few questions asked of Mr. Ferland gave a brand-new perspective on the County’s finances and it is not looking good. Our elected leaders within the County Delegation have betrayed the trust of their constituents and none of them are worthy of reelection.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, September 08 20 07:08 am EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) Staffing levels within the Claremont School District not affected by the pandemic. However, other staffing problems exist!
  
  2) County Manager provides interesting answers to inquiry.
  
  Both articles appear on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Donk (Friday, September 04 20 05:37 pm EDT)

  I've been wondering about all the raises that have been handed out to city employees.So as it stands now,there is no money within all the taxes collected to p00ave the streets and keep up normal maintenance schedules.So now we're going to float some big improve Pleasant Street bond and then just let that go to shit too? It seems to me that we can clean up Pleasant Street a little but as far as floating bond,shouldn't float this bond to care for what we already have? I know there's no glamorous ribbon cutting ceremonies for politicians and their cronies in paving our existing streets,but I do think that the neglect of the existing is one sure way out the door for anyone managing the infrastructure on behalf of the Claremont citizenry.

• Ted (Thursday, September 03 20 05:04 pm EDT)

  Charlene and Allen tried to take more control again and failed big time with their rule changes. Councilors are beginning to smarten up about some things. Too bad it is too little too late. A lot of damage is already done because of their colossal stupidity.

• Katie (Wednesday, September 02 20 10:17 am EDT)

  I cannot wait to see what Jim Sullivan gets for an answer from Mr. Morris about this Downtown TIF money. This whole thing smells fishy and may blow up into a big scandal like the secret Topstone matter did. Talk about embarrassment the news staff at the Eagle Times, E- Ticker News and the Valley News should be all hanging their heads in shame for being so inept at their jobs.

• Pamela (Wednesday, September 02 20 09:31 am EDT)

  The Downtown TIF sounds like a great prospect for a forensic audit. Nevertheless, I would use a different auditing firm. This one that the city administration hired is too cliquey with the city leaders and they did not find anything when they looked over the books the past few years. It took two ex-councilors from 20 years ago to find the problem. That is embarrassing and shameful for the auditing firm that the city hired on contract presently. If a new team of auditors find something amiss then they should move on to the River Road TIF and forensically audit those books. If money is missing or money was misappropriated in the Downtown TIF then the same thing probably happened with the River Road TIF too. It just makes sense.

• Linda (Wednesday, September 02 20 09:23 am EDT)

  I am not convinced that Mr. Morris will wait until the dispatch center question is answered. I mean regional vs. Claremont going its own way. I think he wants a regional facility to take the management duties off of himself because he seems like a lazy cuss. I think that he will spend the $1 million to fix up the dispatch center in the police department and then maybe a few months down the road after that he will say good news an agreement has been reached for a regional dispatch center. I just wonder if the tax and spend dopes on the city council will then say ok how much are we spending on that and then break out their overused rubberstamps for approval. Unfortunately, that sounds about right.

• Gary (Wednesday, September 02 20 08:56 am EDT)

  You guys really nailed Nick Koloski with his lies about the amount of positive support for the downtown project. Just look what he does with the donation drives he runs. He collects donations from other people and then takes all the credit and all the glory for himself in the press and on social media. This shows what a sleazebag he is. He is an embarrassment to the city council and to all of Claremont.

• Norman (Wednesday, September 02 20 06:56 am EDT)

  What about Allen Damren? His head is so far up Mayor Lovett’s buttocks I think the fumes are getting to his brain. Praising the highway staff for the grotesque looking paving work is the sign of a demented mind. Jim and AJ are correct that it is not the road crew staff’s fault for the terrible pavement job. They are simply following orders from the lunatics running the asylum. Damren and the other councilors are among that twisted bunch because they allowed this cockamamie plan to go forward when any rational person can plainly see that it is just a thrown together plan to justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on what looks like pavement work so the administrators and councilors can divert money for employee raises and projects to help friends. The Topstone secret deal and now the Downtown TIF District money mystery just adds to the public distrust. Quid pro quo and councilors using their political influence to buy votes for themselves at election time with the taxpayers money is the new politically correct way of doing business in Claremont. Tammany Hall had nothing on Claremont City Hall.

• Laura (Tuesday, September 01 20 05:23 pm EDT)

  What about the Hunter property scandal? Remember that?

• Tony (Tuesday, September 01 20 05:21 pm EDT)

  This reminds me of the whole DPW vehicle leasing affair that got a director fired. Jim and AJ exposed that debacle too. This was several years ago but for those of you that remember overpayments to the leasing company was made and the money was accumulating in a off the books account somewhere until the person handling the money for the leasing company left their employment and it got caught by the manager and the city administrators wanted to keep overpaying even after they were told it was illegal. This downtown TIF district thing has a lot of the same nasty smell to it.

• Marie (Tuesday, September 01 20 05:09 pm EDT)

  If the money was moved elsewhere in the city's books and the auditors could not find it then that will open up a whole new can of worms. Like what else are the auditors missing?

• Dan (Tuesday, September 01 20 04:50 pm EDT)

  I just saw this on Facebook. Holy shit that is one hell of a lot of money to be parked in an account somewhere if it's even still there. The lady auditor says none of the money has been moved in five years so if the money turns up missing that my friends is called embezzlement. I wonder if the councilors will look the other way on this if the money is gone? Will that nitwit Koloski lead the charge to save the administrators by saying these things happen? It would not surprise me if he did.

• Kevin (Tuesday, September 01 20 04:43 pm EDT)

  Over 600 K is a heck of a lot of money to be kicking around the Downtown TIF District. Why is Mary Walter still throwing money into the district if they have that extra money in their to pay bills? That would stop the yearly bailout for at least two years. Why did prior city managers McNutt, McLean and Santagate allow this to happen? Weren't they all paid a pretty penny to be keeping an eye on things like this? Somebody isn't doing their job.

• Helloooo (Tuesday, September 01 20 01:30 pm EDT)

  http://indepthnh.org/2020/08/31/claremont-councilor-had-11-sustained-internal-affairs-cases-as-police-officer/ "Former Claremont Police Officer Jon Stone was the subject of 11 internal affairs investigations that found sustained allegations of misconduct, according to a letter from Claremont City Manager Ed Morris.
  Stone, who stopped working for the Claremont Police Department some time in either 2005 or 2006, is a current member of the Claremont City Council and a Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives.....“For purposes of clarification, a ‘sustained’ finding occurs when a police officer(s) involved with those investigations are found to be in violation of City of Claremont’s and/or Claremont Police Department’s policy, standard operating procedures, NH Police Standards and Training Council’s rules/regulations or New Hampshire law,” Morris wrote.
  All of the 11 sustained allegations involved Stone and his actions while on duty for the Claremont Police Department, Morris wrote. Morris also disclosed in the letter that Stone was the subject of one investigation that was not sustained for lack of evidence, and other investigations that were deemed unfounded because the evidence lacked merit....“For example, the City intends to redact such references to: a) names of minors; b) names of parents/relatives of minors; c) birth dates; d) Social Security numbers; e) telephone numbers f) addresses of individuals and g) other personal information of those names in these records,” Morris wrote...… Stone and Decato have previously objected to the release of much of this information."

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, September 01 20 01:28 pm EDT)

  New article.
  
  Where did the money go?
  
  The article appears on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Sullivans A Dickbag (Tuesday, September 01 20 12:30 pm EDT)

  Guy who gets voted off council along with his fellow cohort in the same boat calling someone a narcissist when they craft fake articles and praise themselves right after publishing them on a site called the Sullivan report. Now thats classic right there. Poor Nicky got Jimmy flustered. AJ can hold you.

• Alex (Tuesday, September 01 20 10:54 am EDT)

  Nick Koloski is a real piece of work. He is a pathological liar and so many people in Claremont are so F-ing stupid they believe his BS as gospel. Why do you think Slick Nick Facebook blocked Sullivan from calling him out on his lies? When it comes to lying on social media he makes Jonathan Stone look like a Christian Bible thumper. Maranville and Sullivan are right about the Councilor hypocrites Abby Kier and Jimmy the doofus Contois because they will never call their good friend Slick Nick Koloski publicly on the carpet for his many online sins of distorting the truth to the naive and unsuspecting public. These councilors and their cronies like the public clueless and on their side while they pick the taxpayer’s pockets mercilessly for whatever random spending idea they might have. Nothing will change until these skunks are thrown out of public office and the skunks at City Hall are all kicked to the curb.

• Todd (Tuesday, September 01 20 09:43 am EDT)

  Wow! The PSNH rebate of property taxes that will eventually come will come with a hefty price tag. The city assessor in the city manager are nuts to have this consultant jack up all of the utility property assessments to try to deflate the property tax rate for Claremont because it will blow up in all of our faces sooner or later. While it seems later is coming pretty darn soon and it is gonna be one heck of a deficit in the budget when it does. Doesn’t our city leaders get that? Or are they too stupid? The consultant’s contract should be terminated and perhaps the interim city assessor needs to get the heave ho as well. I’m not too keen on the city manager as he seems like a real mindless drone and a complete imbecile but that is who Queen Charlene and Prince Allen wanted and the rest of the fool councilors bowed and scraped to their wishes and hired this idiot. You reap what you sow and the councilors sowed a bad crop of top city administrators. It’s a shame that the taxpayers are going to pay the price big-time for their incompetence.

• August (Monday, August 31 20 08:12 am EDT)

  Hmmm. even Jon Stone rubberstamped all those votes?

• Donk (Monday, August 31 20 08:05 am EDT)

  So Jim, Do you think that if a person of color,or even possibly gender non-specific if asked to move along from these benches,would have a good discrimination case against the city?
  If a group of us paint Black Lives Matter on Pleasant Street,could we have it deemed sacred ground?

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, August 31 20 06:34 am EDT)

  New article.
  
  August 26, 2020 Claremont City Council meeting synopsis.
  
  The article can be found on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Steve (Sunday, August 30 20 07:34 pm EDT)

  I have known John Cloutier most of my life and while he thinks he is doing a lot of good for the public, he really is not. He is ineffectual as a leader and not that swift when it comes to details such as finances. I think he intentionally omitted the first project cost increase to make it easier to politically spin this disaster. His articles in the e- ticker news, Claremont’s answer to the National Enquirer, gives him the political platform to be the local spin doctor for the county and the state representatives. He does a fair job of that as his articles read as if they are heavy on details but they are really skewed toward Democrat ideology and placing a positive face on everything no matter how bad something might be. I wish there was a better candidate running against John Cloutier, as I am not a fan of Jonathan Stone because I think it is time for John Cloutier to be permanently retired from politics so I intend to vote for Stone.

• Henry (Sunday, August 30 20 06:46 pm EDT)

  The County Home project is out of control with the costs. Another Derek Ferland fiasco. Instead of firing him for gross incompetence for not only this project but for the Sullivan Sober House project too, the imbeciles running the County will probably give him a big fat raise. John Cloutier, the County’s resident whitewasher, will probably make the motion to do it because he is such a doofus.

• Tony (Sunday, August 30 20 04:52 pm EDT)

  Charlene Lovett is no prize either. It seems that she has a real cozy relationship with the owners of hydroelectric and solar energy plants in Claremont and she will do anything to help them lower their expenses at the expense of the Claremont taxpayers. Yeah she is a real peach of a mayor.

• Bob (Sunday, August 30 20 04:06 pm EDT)

  Mark Chase needs to retire, he did take over a mess after Santagate’s lackey Alex Scott ran the police department into the ground. Now years later the city has a comfort dog and no working cops? Jim Sullivan needs to look at the real crime numbers in this city and what is actual cost to the tax payers.

• Joyce (Sunday, August 30 20 03:29 pm EDT)

  Vandalism and trash dumping is really getting out of control. The cops know where these areas are so why aren’t they patrolling them more or placing hidden cameras at these sites to catch the perpetrators? I thought the police were hired to stop crime. Is it just to look pretty in their uniforms?

• Ken (Sunday, August 30 20 03:06 pm EDT)

  Boy that Ferland character is a real piece of work isn’t he? A true bureaucrat through and through. Promises one thing and then switches it up afterwards with the pilot payments. He never said it would only be for three years and I do not doubt for a minute that it will not go for longer than that. This is just another way to appease the public in the short run because the halfway house ex-convicts is going in no matter what. The Claremont people never had a say in the matter. That is what governments do these days they ram crap down your throat that you would never want. Next we find out that the County Home project is about $14 million over budget or maybe that it was the true budget and the administrators hid that from everyone to get approval from the delegation. I do not trust any of the administrators and I do not trust the delegates to vote in the best interests of the taxpayers.

• Rick (Sunday, August 30 20 10:15 am EDT)

  I see that Jeff Barrett did not put his hat in the ring for County Commissioner again. Ole Jeffrey must see the writing on the wall for the County finances and how he and his buddies spent the County into the poor house and now he is getting out before it all comes crashing down because he does not want to take any of the political heat. He also probably does not want it affecting his business on Water Street. Atta boy Jeffrey.

• Marie (Sunday, August 30 20 08:44 am EDT)

  Mayor Charlene Lovett certainly has her head right in the clouds with her weekly articles full of sunshine and politically spun news. This week the CVS pharmacy was robbed and on local Facebook it says that the CVS pharmacy was robbed for a second time in the same week. By the way, for those of you who may not know the CVS pharmacy is located right next door to the Claremont police station. How incredibly embarrassing. Then there are the incredibly unattractive roadways that our public works crews and their subcontracted help are for all intents and purposes vandalizing with their roadway patchwork. Mayor Lovett does not get the idea that she and her colleagues are doing a terrible job managing this fair city. She and her colleagues are so deep in denial I doubt they ever will.

• Lack of any leadership what so ever (Thursday, August 27 20 04:58 pm EDT)

  let the bath salts prevail and the drugs while you walk your stupid comfort dog in the park what a waste and lack of leadership Wake up Claremont !!!! the "leaders" LOL will never get it

• stupidity (Wednesday, August 26 20 02:59 pm EDT)

  cloutier drools and ferland wipes it up bunch fucking liberal loosers

• Terry (Wednesday, August 26 20 11:26 am EDT)

  I was surprised to see that so many councilors have close connections to the school district and how easily they turn their backs on the administrators and the teachers and all the parents and students with this truck traffic plan. Because this truck traffic plan will destroy all of the hard work and all of the investment the taxpayers have paid for to try to turn the schools around. The bad leadership of Claremont is really taking its toll on Claremont.

• Tom (Wednesday, August 26 20 09:13 am EDT)

  I do not want my tax dollars going to creating infrastructure facilities for low-income housing residents that usually do not contribute anything to the community except higher tax bills to pay for their existence. Where are all the school officials? Why are they not yelling to the rooftops about this insane traffic plan? We just spent a heck of a lot of money on the high school to fix it up and to fix up the middle school to and now it is going to be all screwed up by this traffic plan of the cities. Are all the school officials hiding under their desks cowering in fear from that little pipsqueak Morris? Or is it Charlene Lovett that scares the crap out of them? I just don’t see it.

• John J.O’Connor (Tuesday, August 25 20 10:48 pm EDT)

  If you get a chance, please read Wayne McElvery’s letter to the editor in the eticker.
  It’s a must read for anyone still on the fence about the Pleasant street project.

• Donk (Tuesday, August 25 20 12:56 pm EDT)

  Thanks for the update on Sugar River Jim.I guess our taxes are only good for paychecks and health benefits.There just isn't enough to do things like paving the streets.
  What's next,as insurance premiums rise for public employees? Plowing only after 10" of snow fall?
  
  I think between the over stated assessments by the city which costs in court fees and greatly reduced tax revenue and the county under stating the costs associated with the sober living facility and the county nursing home we here in Claremont are totally Fuggazzed.Grandiose Pleasant Street bonds,911 call center upgrades,extra cops,extra firemen, just how much money do they think Claremont taxpayers have?
  Just wait until the pensions blow up.
  I suggest you vote for John Stone against the asshole that will spend us into the poor house(Sullivan County Nursing Home).

• Larry (Tuesday, August 25 20 11:56 am EDT)

  You watch the County leadership will move forward and spend the extra $13-$14 million no questions asked. John Cloutier never saw a tax increase he didn't love in far too many of the other County representatives think the same way as he does.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, August 25 20 09:13 am EDT)

  Three new articles published today.
  
  1) Sullivan County Healthcare Renovation Project costs go right through the roof!
  
  2) Morris Administration releases rest of property abatement information.
  
  3) Mystery of Sugar River Drive notches solved.
  
  These articles appear on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Jim Sullivan (Saturday, August 22 20 08:23 am EDT)

  Mario, it is a Federal Grant from the Dept. of Justice.

• Mario (Saturday, August 22 20 06:56 am EDT)

  Thank you Mr. Sullivan for the calcification. Is this a State or Federal grant for an extra Officer?
  It does seem if the money goes to the state, the state will expect a return on their investment and the taxpayers will be the victim.

• Revenue (Friday, August 21 20 07:37 pm EDT)

  Local ordinance tickets stay local 100 percent and any state ticket the state funds the police academy and other things with

• Jim Sullivan (Friday, August 21 20 04:06 pm EDT)

  From my time on the Claremont City Council I seemed to recall that all of the revenues collected from traffic violations and speeding tickets went directly to the State of New Hampshire and the City of Claremont did not keep one single penny of those funds. Seeing this debate on the Public Forum, I sent an email inquiry to Claremont Police Chief Mark Chase and he confirmed my recollection that Claremont does not keep any of those speeding ticket / traffic violation revenues, 100% of those funds goes directly to the State of New Hampshire.

• Alex (Friday, August 21 20 09:16 am EDT)

  The city gets to keep 100% of all revenue collected through ticket writing.

• Chase Elliott (Friday, August 21 20 07:57 am EDT)

  Dubba Wallace I think you will find that if checked out the city of Claremont gets NO money from traffic tickets or court judgment on them.

• Glenn (Thursday, August 20 20 10:43 pm EDT)

  Excellent points Guy, thank you for commenting.

• Guy (Thursday, August 20 20 10:24 am EDT)

  Glenn,
  This new Officer will have to justify their existence but issuing as many tickets as possible. I am certain this Officer would have daily quotas that will have to be met.
  Getting an extra Officer is always a good but not at the expense of the driving public in these tough economic times.
  Driving in this state , without mass transit, is not a luxury but a necessity. Too many violations or failure to pay the judgements will mean more people having their driving privileges suspended or revoked.
  That will cause undo hardships.

• Glenn (Thursday, August 20 20 09:14 am EDT)

  Chief Chase said traffic stops are not being done that often and that is why he wants a full time traffic cop. So this new cop would not really free up anyone. Also thinking ticket revenue will pay for the new cop is nuts. Enough new revenue would never be raised from speeding and other infraction tickets.

• Yawn (Thursday, August 20 20 07:44 am EDT)

  Did you guys consider a cop to solely do do traffic stops would leave time for other cops to "walk the beat" Idiots

• Bubba Wallace (Wednesday, August 19 20 05:19 pm EDT)

  The cost of the cop grant will be off set by the money collected from traffic infractions.
  In other words, don’t expect a break if you are pulled over because that officers only job will be to ticket motorists and gather revenue.
  This Officer will have to justify his or her their salary by giving out as many tickets as humanly possible.
  “Drivers start your engines”

• David (Wednesday, August 19 20 02:49 pm EDT)

  I cannot believe were doing another cops grant in this time for what amounts to a full-time meter maid. Woo hoo! What we really need is beat cops to patrol the streets at night keep the crime rate low.

• Kevin (Wednesday, August 19 20 11:45 am EDT)

  Boy that is a heck of a thing having over $1.25 million floating around in the city budget each year as a slush fund. I remember reading about this before and it started with Santagate and went on with the other city managers to build that padded budget bit by bit over the years. Now it is gotten to way too high and Morris is taking advantage of it right to the hilt. He is also doing the same thing to the taxpayer’s right along with all nine-city councilors, who are acting like little puppets nodding yes when told to do so. It is sickening to see our city leaders in action.

• Dan (Wednesday, August 19 20 11:18 am EDT)

  Typical Allen Damren with the old bait and switch trick. Tell everyone that this cash reserve fund is to chip away at the capital improvement plan when the money is really going to be spent on building new city property or buying new city property or maybe fixing up city property. I think that hundred thousand dollars is going to go to buy some of those property lots that they need for the downtown rethink Pleasant Street project because there really is no parking plan at all it’s just wishful thinking.

• Tom (Wednesday, August 19 20 10:22 am EDT)

  I think we need to rethink the rethink downtown plan because it is not really a plan at all it is a wish list without any real vision or specifics. The parking plan does not exist because 50% of the public parking spaces do not even belong to the city with no real plan to convert them to public parking spaces. The truck traffic plan is a disaster by adding 332% of truck traffic right by the middle and high schools. Jim and AJ are right the noise and the vibrations will be tremendous and it will impair the learning environment schools. For anyone to say otherwise is naïve and wrongheaded.

• Adam (Wednesday, August 19 20 08:54 am EDT)

  I know this is about older news but I have been on vacation the last few weeks and I am just catching up and there is something I would really like to get off my chest. I was surprised at the amount of some of the savings on the property assessments and the high percentage of favorable results for those who filed. It was really worth their time and effort to do so and I and other family members intend to do so next year. Anyone who does not file for a property abatement is a fool, I want to thank Jim and AJ for making me realize that I and so many other property owners have been taken advantage of by city officials for far too long. The property assessments are overstated and we are overpaying on our property taxes because of it to support all of the pie-in-the-sky spending initiatives of our city officials. The city staff members do not need pay raises and we do not need to create more parking for Section 8 housing. Yes, we need the water and sewer upgrades for downtown Claremont and the road paving but that’s it. It is time for Claremont officials to focus on actual needs instead of unnecessary pay raises for city staff members and special favors for special interests.

• Donk (Tuesday, August 18 20 04:34 pm EDT)

  With all these big grandiose ideas that they're floating,I know what I'm going to do.I plan on contracting with local private holders of parking spaces for towing.I will create an impound yard and everything.With all these low income people moving in I'm quite sure they will try parking all over the place,I've seen it before.$100 to unhook 'em once up,no ifs ands or buts and I don't care about your babies or your kids,$100!
  I'll probably wind up having to get into the auction game too,since a lot of these people won't have towing and storage fee money for their cars.

• John J O’Connor (Tuesday, August 18 20 04:28 pm EDT)

  I heard the City Manager say the current emergency 9-11 equipment is 20 years old and out lived its usefulness years ago and therefore needs to be replaced.
  My problem is doing it with a 20 year bond.
  If the equipment is replaced now, it will have to be replaced again before the proposed bond is satisfied. This doesn’t make economic sense.
  We once had a City Manager who prided himself on paying as we go. The purchase of this equipment should be made with the 1million dollars they just miraculously found and not a 20 year bond.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, August 18 20 02:55 pm EDT)

  New article – August 12, 2020 Claremont City Council meeting synopsis appears on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Frances’s Mother (Tuesday, August 18 20 09:10 am EDT)

  Jim,
  I have a suggestion, next time you go on an extended vacation, let Frances Guathier post articles in your place.
  Frances is the real voice of the people. He deserves to be in politics.

• Donk (Thursday, August 13 20 11:53 am EDT)

  Thanks for L@@kin' out Jim.
  You do this community a great service and all without the ridiculous paychecks we pay our civil servants.
  I wonder if they all see the great reckoning that's coming,concerning their benefits?

• Jim Sullivan (Thursday, August 13 20 10:59 am EDT)

  Donk, in regards to the notches I have no idea. I sent Ed Morris a request for information regarding this issue just now and I will publish his response once I receive it.

• Donk (Thursday, August 13 20 07:53 am EDT)

  Laying off city,state,or federal employees anymore is a big taboo.The only shrinkage we will ever see is city employees retiring.
  Giant notches cut into Sugar River Drive and it appears no work to be done.It is beginning to damage people's tires and rims on their cars.
  Do you know anything about this Mr. Sullivan?

• John J. O'Connor (Wednesday, August 12 20 03:47 pm EDT)

  Great insight Chris, failure to answer is an answer.
  I'm not sure why Claremont would want to do this? The cost would never be split down the middle because Claremont would be using more of the services.
  Maybe some thought should be given to a Regional High School instead of a dispatch center.

• Chris (Wednesday, August 12 20 09:40 am EDT)

  Morris avoided Sullivan’s question about layoffs in the 911 dispatch office. Common sense dictates that if a new separate government entity manages a new facility then new employees will be hired. Depending how many dispatch offices are affected like Claremont and Newport for example it will be a free-for-all as to who is hired to work in the new dispatch office. It will be a game of musical chairs where some employees may be from Claremont do not end up with a job anymore. The layoffs will occur in Claremont that will be for sure and the fact that Mr. Morris would not answer the question really answered the question as that layoffs are a certainty if Claremont’s forward with the regional dispatch project.

• Tom (Tuesday, August 11 20 02:38 pm EDT)

  Reader is assuming honesty from dishonest public officials. I am sure that any incriminating emails were deleted once Sullivan asked Morris for copies of any correspondence. I think that Morris is covering for Kier to save her Council seat because he needs every Councilor on that board who will favorably vote for everything he wants every time no questions asked. Kier is such a Councilor.

• Scott (Tuesday, August 11 20 01:06 pm EDT)

  I am not comfortable with the $250,000 contingency because that money could be better spent on roads. The quilt patch design on Broad Street and in the municipal lot is, excuse my French, butt ugly and a disgraceful blemish on our fair city. How will we ever generate any real economic development that will create well-paying jobs instead of just more residential housing if Claremont’s city government will not professionally and properly maintained the main thoroughfares of our great city. The terrible leadership is turning Claremont into the laughing stock of the Upper Valley.

• Laura (Tuesday, August 11 20 12:19 pm EDT)

  I found it highly insulting that city manager Morris does not believe that the average Claremont citizen possesses the intellect to know the difference between a municipal bond and a municipal note. I found that very condescending and arrogant. I have thought that he was acting very aloof with the public and I thoroughly disliked his routine behavior of answering questions with vague answers and his predilection to keep the public in the dark. I presume he does the same thing with most if not all of the city councilors. I do understand from friends that work with the city that Mayor Lovett and Assistant Mayor Damren are constantly inserting themselves with city affairs. It seems that it has not come to the level of interfering per se raising it to the level of a violation of the city charter but it is extremely close. They were called on the carpet about it once before but they seem to have not learned their lesson, just hide their clandestine actions a little better. It seems most of the city councilors do not adhere to rules and regulations very well as they arrogantly seem to feel that they are all above the law.

• Gail (Tuesday, August 11 20 11:05 am EDT)

  Not being sure if there will be enough teachers, janitors or bus drivers to operate the schools and transport the students to and from the schools on the four days of operation is one of the most stupid things that I have ever heard. That is not a fully formed plan that a majority of the school board members blindly rubberstamped, while bowing at the feet of Mr. Tempesta. Claremont’s sorry excuse for leadership rears its ugly head again.

• William (Tuesday, August 11 20 10:32 am EDT)

  I thought Mr. Tempesta was a top shelf administrator. He is clearly of the bottom shelf variety. Recommending a plan without an inkling about the school district’s ability to achieve the staffing levels necessary to bring the reopening plan to fruition is indicative of gross incompetence. It is the very definition of insanity, yet it is business as usual here in Claremont and the school board members who voted for this unfinished plan and just as stupid as the administrators presented it for passage. Mr. Morris is doing the same thing with the Rethink Pleasant Street Downtown Renovation Plan by not nailing down the public parking spaces prior to proceeding with the passage of a $4.8 million municipal bond. The revised truck route is also insane because it diverts the truck traffic right past the schools, which was the reason for the original change many years ago because education was important to our community and the truck traffic noise was distracting students. I have no illusions that city councilors will any raise objections to all of the incredibly obvious flaws of that plan. It seems that the die is cast and the $4.8 million municipal bond will gain councilor approval with little or no discussion. Claremont’s brigade of imbecilic leaders is selling the taxpayers down the river once again.

• Reader (Tuesday, August 11 20 08:23 am EDT)

  May want to look into why Keir was not using her official council “gmail” address for correspondence. May just do a 91a for all Emails to and from abi1410.ac@gmail.com between the first and last that you already have.

• Richard (Tuesday, August 11 20 07:45 am EDT)

  There is nothing about George Caccavaro's sentencing in the Eagle Times today. Boy oh boy, those newshounds are right on the ball aren't they? Are they quaking in their shoes about the controversial two-month sentence that was nothing more than a slap on the wrist? Or the Judge's outrageous comments about what a pillar of the community Mr. Caccavaro is? Perhaps that was true at one time but it does not excuse his actions with this young woman and the sentence does not fit the deed. Is the Eagle Times afraid of printing the truth?

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, August 10 20 06:40 pm EDT)

  Ex-Claremont Mayor George Caccavaro sentenced to a two-month jail term!
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Allison (Monday, August 10 20 03:39 pm EDT)

  How are parents going to be able to hold down a job and pay the exorbitant property taxes in Claremont when at least one parent has to stay home three days per week so their children can remote learn? What are all the single parents of Claremont going to do?

• Mike (Monday, August 10 20 12:34 pm EDT)

  I think Jim and AJ raised an excellent point about no email responses. I do not believe that Ed Morris released all of the correspondence and I am of the opinion that shredding and deletions may have occurred. Of course, we will never know the truth but all of the non-responses is frankly unbelievable. I have two teenagers and everything is done with electronic messaging. The same is true in business and government day-to-day communication. I believe the missing emails or text messages contain compromising or contradictory information from the well-crafted narrative Mr. Morris is releasing to Jim Sullivan and to the public. My opinion.

• Alex (Monday, August 10 20 11:34 am EDT)

  One thing that struck me about the property abatements is the high percentage of approvals. I am a retired mathematics teacher so numbers are my thing. Here is some very simple math that will not make anyone’s eyes glaze over. There were 82 property assessment abatement applications filed with the city assessor’s office. Of those 82 filings, 45 of those applications were approved and another 18 were granted cash payments, which is also an approval of a sort. Adding 45 to 18 equals 63, which rounded upwards is 77% of 82. I do not know about you but I think a 77% property assessment abatement application approval rate is extraordinarily high. The high approval rate is quite encouraging and strongly suggests that property assessments throughout Claremont are overstated. I concur with Sarah that all property owners should file for a property assessment abatement during the first quarter of next year. I know I certainly intend to do so.

• Sarah (Monday, August 10 20 10:02 am EDT)

  Some pretty significant property owner savings on the Sullivan Report’s property assessment abatement chart. Jim and AJ also made a very sobering subtle point that the city leaders are not operating in our best interests concerning property assessments. The property assessments can be wrong and if they are wrong, they are usually overstated to the benefit of the city. As we can all see from this list as property owners we may all benefit from filing property assessment abatements during the first quarter of next year.

• Yawn (Monday, August 10 20 09:28 am EDT)

  Craig, you do realize that a lot of the "leaders" are not Claremont natives, nor their parents. So how are they a product of Claremont inbreeding? And Guy, when you make a comment about intelligence spell correctly.

• Craig (Monday, August 10 20 09:12 am EDT)

  I am not pleased with the hybrid approach that the school board passed. Once again, brain-dead rubberstamp elected officials ruled the day as it is easier for them to approve whatever is laid out before them by the school administrators then it is to come up with something themselves. That requires brainpower and there is not a lot of that on the school board. I remember when that Mr. Zimmerman character representing a consulting firm made an inflammatory public statement that enraged our little community. Mr. Zimmerman essentially stated that Claremont’s population was the product of inbreeding as the children possessed less intelligence than those in other communities. I am not so sure about that but Mr. Zimmerman’s conclusion certainly seems to have merit in regards to Claremont’s elected leadership on the school board, city council and county delegation as well as with the administrators of all three government entities.

• Yawn (Monday, August 10 20 08:24 am EDT)

  Are you guys a bunch of grumpy old men? You realize the only time there's chatter here is after a news release comes out. What the fuck do y'all do inbetween? Watch Wheel of Fortune and wish for Viagra?

• Guy (Monday, August 10 20 07:55 am EDT)

  Councilor Sweetzer is AOC without the looks of intelligence.

• Marie (Monday, August 10 20 07:32 am EDT)

  I do not believe for an instant that the city manager ever gave Councilwoman Abigail Kier permission to work hand-in-hand with a city employee to write that resolution about the Police Department. Councilwoman Kier has shown on CCTV in vivid living color that she is rabidly obsessed with national causes like Black Lives Matter, the LGBTQ community, etc. I find it extremely unlikely that she showed one ounce of restraint or a monochrome of common sense when she sought out help for writing her resolution so she could once again bask in the public limelight. Councilwoman Kier seems to have the same psychological malady of extreme narcissism and a desire to be in the public limelight as her city council colleagues Charlene Lovett, James Contois and Nicholas Koloski. I am also beginning to believe that Erica Sweetser should perhaps be added to that list of narcissists. There elected positions have clearly gone to their heads and they all seem to believe that laws and rules of conduct do not apply to them. I am of the opinion that Mr. Morris requested an extra week’s time before providing Mr. Sullivan with any documentation or reply to his politically charged question so he could contemplate any consequences before taking any revocable action and he decided to take the path of action that we see before us. I am not convinced that what we see in this documentation is the truth.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, August 10 20 05:40 am EDT)

  Four new articles published today.
  
  1) Claremont School Board approves hybrid approach teaching method!
  
  2) City response does not pass the smell test!
  
  3) Morris Administration releases information regarding 45 Abatements.
  
  4) City Manager answers questions about the proposed $5.8 million municipal bond.
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Guy (Thursday, August 06 20 06:49 am EDT)

  Seamus,
  The reason everyone picks on St.Nick is because we know him better then you do. You only see “politician” Nick, we know the real Nick.
  The real Nick never does anything for nothing, free publicity is his payment. Taking credit for the hard work of others is his drug.
  And this my real name.

• Seamus (Wednesday, August 05 20 08:36 pm EDT)

  When your hate of someone clouds all your logic you are plainly a simpleton. If you read any of Kolosky posts it states thank you all no credit taken over and over. Medical equipment included. I deliver produced that he purchases. so pardon me if I call bullshit on your attack. Which fake farm do you think donates goods? Its cute you think that is a real thing. No overhead, no time, no organization all just free from some magical non existent giving farm and the rest just does itself. You must be so pissy that media picks up good stories and passes on the garbage posted here. I have volunteered and been on the end of good deeds by everyone that helps out. I found these people based on purchases made. Those that take action are not bothered by your cowardly posts. If you had the balls you would state your issues with a real name. Own those words. Take off the hate blinders. The same person writes about the endorsement being blasted all over commenting on a shirt. How dare someone wear a t-shirt. The nerve of this guy. Well as always your many attacks on this page over the years just makes him cooler to all of us that voted for him and help out. Keep on hating its so cute. He helps the homeless so you attack and characterize him. Very mature.

• Guy (Wednesday, August 05 20 04:37 pm EDT)

  How dare you criticize St. Nick!!!!
  St. Nick takes in all the charitable contributions, calls the local newspaper and lets everyone believe it all comes from him.
  St. Nick takes in food from the farms and vendors and redistributes it through the community taking credit for it all.
  How dare you criticize someone that has taken the good actions of others as his own.
  St. Nick scorns you!!!!!!!

• Rick (Wednesday, August 05 20 11:25 am EDT)

  Good point.

• Susan Prentiss for Senate (Wednesday, August 05 20 10:43 am EDT)

  "he looks like a homeless person wearing a wrinkled T-shirt and a look of unintelligent bewilderment on his face"
  
  How is this different from the other 364 days of the year?

• Rick (Wednesday, August 05 20 09:55 am EDT)

  I just saw the Nick Koloski endorsement of Sue Prentiss for Senate. Yikes! For a City Councilman representing Claremont, he looks like a homeless person wearing a wrinkled T-shirt and a look of unintelligent bewilderment on his face. They might as well have wrote Morons for Prentice for the caption. This Democrat candidate must really be desperate for endorsements.

• Susan Prentiss for Senate (Wednesday, August 05 20 09:14 am EDT)

  Have you seen the new Sue Prentiss "endorsement" from Nick Koloski that he, of course is sharing all over social media? I suggest you change your stock photo of him to this new one. He looks even more stupid in this one.

• Donk (Tuesday, August 04 20 01:04 pm EDT)

  FLOATING A $5 MILLION BOND IN TIMES LIKE THIS IS BEYOND FUCKING INSANE!
  
  HEELLLOO, EVERYBODS GOIN' BROKE AND YOU FUCKERS WANNA STILL SPEND?

• Jeanette (Tuesday, August 04 20 12:52 pm EDT)

  I am deeply concerned about the school reopening plan. I have two granddaughters and one grandson in the elementary school system and I think this corona virus has not gone away yet if you watch the news reports on television. You also see that all the cases of corona virus deaths seem to occur in closed spaces with many people inside. For example, nursing homes, prisons and hospitals. Schools will be the next in that category once the children arrive and interact with each other. Trying to get the very young ones to social distance and wear masks will be like herding cats, an impossible task. Teachers many of whom are older and more susceptible to the corona virus will be at high risk to catch the virus. This is an incredibly bad idea that will yield only one thing disaster. Fortunately, my daughter has decided to quit her job and homeschool our grandchildren to keep them safe. My son-in-law has a good job and my husband, my daughter’s in-laws, and I will be helping them financially through this crisis as we all come together as one family keep our grandchildren safe. We are doing what is best for our family but I know that other families do not have the wherewithal to do what we are doing and for them I truly fear for the health and safety of their children. The world is simply opening up too soon due to inpatient politicians seeking reelection and the calming of everyone’s nerves. It is a temporary gesture just before the elections and it will produce a greater pandemic crisis down the road.

• Charles (Tuesday, August 04 20 11:04 am EDT)

  I tend to agree that Councilors Abby Kier and Jim Contois are intentionally diverting attention away from exacerbating city financial problems with all of these national social issues and the personal vendetta they both have with Councilor Jonathan Stone. That is a gross misuse of their political office. Mrs. Kier’s haunty nature and inconsiderate attitude in regards to the following of rules and regulations such as the code of conduct and the city charter are not qualities for anyone supposedly serving the public good of the city council. I do not believe Mr. Morris’s unverifiable statement of him giving permission for Mrs. Kier to work with the city employee as he could easily have done that after the fact to answer Mr. Sullivan’s query and save his boss Mrs. Kier from further public scrutiny and embarrassment for her increasingly out-of-control bazaar behavior. Mr. Contois seems to be Mrs. Kier’s lackey and willing to ignore rules, regulations and all reason to keep his colleague out of trouble but he has no problem acting the hypocrite holding Councilor Stone to a standard higher than any other Councilor has ever been held in the history of our fair city. All in the name of hatred and vengeance. Mrs. Kier and Mr. Contois are truly deplorable people.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, August 04 20 07:49 am EDT)

  Tom, I listened to Mr. Morris’ radio interview as well and on July 31 I submitted a request for information to Ed Morris asking that same question (it’s actually a $250,000 difference) and a few other questions as well that I will state here for full transparency.
  The City Manager said that $340,000 worth of municipal bonds will be retired and he had previously stated that three municipal bonds were being retired. I examined the Debt Retirement section of the Claremont Municipal Budget Book, a PowerPoint presentation given a few years ago by Finance Director Mary Walter on the City’s debt and the most recent City of Claremont Audit Report for Fiscal Year 2019. I only found two municipal bonds being retired at the end of Fiscal Year 2021 with an annual savings of $285,620. The Audit Report has a schedule of debt reduction for future years and between Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022 (through municipal bond retirement and the reduction of annual payments in regards to the remaining bonds) the savings only totals $318,870. Still well short of the $340,000 that Mr. Morris is publicly stating. I asked for an explanation and for him to state what the third municipal bond is because it may be possible that I may have missed it with the limited information stated in these documents. We will see.
  Ed Morris stated during his interview that the annual cost on the tax rate for the Rethink Pleasant Street Downtown Project is now $302,000. However he stated to me in a letter dated June 9, 2020 that the annual payment on a $4.8 million bond at 2.1% interest for 20 years for the General Fund would be $253,168.79 – Water Enterprise Fund $24,699.39 – Sewer Enterprise Fund $18,524.79. I asked for an explanation regarding the large differential.
  In regards to the proposed $1 million Claremont 911 Dispatch upgrade, I asked why the City of Claremont is moving forward with this project, if as the City Manager stated during his interview on the radio that he and other municipal officials from more than one Sullivan County community are looking at other facilities to locate a Regional Dispatch Center. It obviously seems to be a colossal waste of $1 million worth of taxpayer’s money that could be better spent on road paving if the Claremont 911 Dispatch Center is going to be upgraded now and then closed in the very near future.
  Ed Morris stated during the podcast that it was going to cost Claremont $800,000-$1 million to upgrade the radios and it was going to cost Newport $800,000-$1 million to update their radios and that there was a potential $500,000 savings if Claremont & Newport purchased the radios together. I asked him to verify that comment. I also asked if these radios are only for Police or if they were for other municipal departments as well.
  I also asked Ed Morris another question regarding the proposed Regional Dispatch Center. Based on the several vague comments made so far, this new plan will require a new facility, a separate government administrative bureaucracy, staff to work under this new bureaucracy, etc. I asked the City Manager, how much is the City of Claremont expected to save annually if the City goes along with this regional dispatch plan? I also asked Ed Morris if some of those savings would come from Claremont Municipal Employee layoffs and if so how many jobs will be eliminated to achieve those savings? I will publish Morris’ answers to those questions once I receive them.

• Tom (Tuesday, August 04 20 06:31 am EDT)

  I listened to Mr. Morris’s radio interview and I heard that he is still pushing for $4.8 million for the downtown renovation project when the presentation during the televised city council meeting stated the cost at roughly $4.5 million. Mr. Morris is now requesting nearly $300,000 more than what is necessary for the project. So where is this money going? Pay raises for the city staff perhaps because Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville exposed the truth about Mr. Morris’s budget, that it came with a property tax rate increase instead of a decrease as Mr. Morris and Mrs. Walter were saying. Then in response, Mr. Morris and Mrs. Walter added back in meals and rooms tax revenue they had grossly understated and purpose to give them a slush fund of about the same amount. Just me speculating but the nearly $300,000 difference is very real and it does need to be explained.

• Brenda (Monday, August 03 20 01:00 pm EDT)

  Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville thank you very much for all the information about the school administration's intentions for reopening for the new school year. Personally I want to keep my two children home and remote learning full-time until this corona virus burns itself out and is no longer a danger to anyone. It does not seem that I am being given that option and I intend to address that with school administrators. Publishing the PowerPoint slides was really a wonderful public service because he gives us the information we need as parents without having to go through and read 99 pages of what is probably useless information in regards to most of it. Thank you once again.

• Kevin (Monday, August 03 20 11:47 am EDT)

  I read an article about Windsor not doing the budget allegiance no more during the select board meetings. I thought how incredibly unpatriotic and I also thought that the brain addled snowflakes on the Claremont city council would jump on that in a heartbeat to create more division amongst the councilors when they should be working together to help our city. These children on the council just cannot get along so at the next election will be up to us voters to give all of them a well deserved permanent timeout by voting in other candidates if hopefully any run. For those of you who do not know what a snowflake is it is a person, that has an inflated sense of uniqueness, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, is overly-emotional, easily offended, and unable to deal with opposing opinions. Sound familiar in regards to any of the councilors?

• Kaitlyn (Monday, August 03 20 11:40 am EDT)

  I noticed that the Eagle Times posted an article about the school reopening plan after the Sullivan Report published earlier this morning. The Eagle Times article did not make the morning online edition and it says it was posted three hours ago. I read the Sullivan Report article with all the PowerPoint slides little after 6 AM. I guess this article gave Patrick the kick in the butt that he needed to get is article in as many families are quite interested in this particular story. Although Patrick wrote a pretty fair article about opinions the Sullivan Report article offers far more facts and details and useful information to families with young children that will be affected by this plan if adopted by the school board. So much for our hometown paper.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, August 03 20 11:20 am EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) Windsor Select Board ceases Pledge of Allegiance; will Claremont be next?
  
  2) Claremont School District announces Hybrid School Reopening Plan.
  
  Articles appear on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Steve (Sunday, August 02 20 03:27 pm EDT)

  It is time to kick Morris, Lovett, Damren, Koloski, and Kier to the curb. The longer they stay in charge on the council the worst it is going to be for the taxpayers.

• Chris (Sunday, August 02 20 12:05 pm EDT)

  Mr. St. Pierre may be gone but Mr. Clay remains and he is the face and the driving force behind this terrible roadway plan that is turning Claremont into a ugly community because roadways are always the first impression to outsiders because that is the first thing that they see. Do you see any business or family wanting to move to a community that takes a little care to maintain their main roadways? The condition of Broad Street is disgraceful and Mr. Clay and Mr. Morris should be terminated posthaste. The city councilors should also be removed from public office for authorizing this new plan would make mostly rubberstamped Mr. Morris’ municipal budget proposal for the current fiscal year.

• Ethan (Sunday, August 02 20 11:19 am EDT)

  Talk about low standards, there are no standards when it comes to the local press. You have to go a little further away from Claremont to the Valley News or the NH Union Leader for somewhat accurate news as their reporters are far away and only see Claremont through binoculars as their reporters are not part of the community and they do not see the real Claremont as so many of us do. If my public interactions are any indication, and I encounter local people every workday, more and more people are becoming dissatisfied with the city council and the city manager and many attribute their dissatisfaction to articles they have read in the Sullivan Report. Some have commented that local officials say the Sullivan Report is fake news but these citizens are not taken in by those comments because they have read the public documents the Sullivan Report published to improve the accuracy of their articles. Claremont’s leadership needs a complete makeover. Mr. St. Pierre’s departure should be the first of a long list of ousters.

• Bill (Sunday, August 02 20 09:57 am EDT)

  I read Lovett’s column and having just watched a John Wayne Western I will say it in that vernacular, is nothing but a pack of lies beginning with her title progress on many fronts right down to the final word of her op-ed piece of crap. The Eagle Times and presumably the E- Ticker News that also prints her weekly op-ed pieces have no journalistic ethics to allow something like that to be published for their customers to read. Many people will believe the half-truths and deceptive content. This is a betrayal to their publication’s readership.

• Denise (Sunday, August 02 20 07:10 am EDT)

  I cannot believe that anyone would honestly think that Ed Morris is at best anything more than a mediocre city manager. He has had the job about a year and the only thing he is accomplishing is brainstorming or agreeing to terrible plans for our roadways and for the downtown business district. The roadways look dreadful and Broad Street is a blot on the beautiful historic Claremont landscape. The downtown plan for $4.8 million is a travesty. The public parking plan is undefined, as the Sullivan Report has shown us that over half of the purported new parking spaces are located on private property with no plans from the city as to how they are definitely going to change them from public parking to private parking. That is a key element in this $4.8 million plan, it remains undefined, and our city councilors are all thrusting their heads in the sand and ignoring the deficiencies of this plan. They will not give senior citizens are realistic property tax abatement exemption and they will not give all the veterans who served our country a small token of our appreciation for their service with the tax credit but they will support increasing salary levels for mediocre city employees. They will gladly devote public funds to developers of public housing and to non-profits who cater to those populations that add to our tax burden and attract more to come to Claremont. Mayor Lovett, Assistant Mayor Damren and Councilors Contois, Kier and Koloski have all made their views crystal-clear with their support for more public housing and an eventual change to Claremont becoming a welcoming community, which is better known as a sanctuary city. I do not know Councilor Matteau’s views but she may support this never as well since she has many apartments she needs to keep filled in regards to her day job. I also have no faith in Councilor Sweetser as she is fully supporting a $4.8 million plan that is not really a completely thought-out plan at all. None of these nine councilors is saying anything critical about this $4.8 million plan or the terrible roadway plan that has already destroying the look of our fine community. These nine councilors are not representing us, the average hard-working citizens of Claremont, in any way, shape or form.

• Randy (Saturday, August 01 20 05:24 pm EDT)

  Good riddance to St. Pierre. If Ed Morris is serious about changing the old guard in the city administration he needs to terminate all the weak links. The directors who are just so much dead wood, they take up space in jobs that exceed their competence level. Mary Walter and Nancy Merrill should both be at the top of that list. I would add Rebecca Vindeska too because she and Merrill are not bringing any economic development into Claremont that is creating new good paying jobs. I would also add Jeremy Clay for pushing this new stupid paving plan that does not pave any streets at all. It just spends millions of wasted tax dollars to patch and skim coat our streets. Lame-o thinking like that is not welcome here, especially in any management position with the city.

• Don (Saturday, August 01 20 04:29 pm EDT)

  The patchwork effect might look nice in a quilt but it certainly does not look nice on city streets and municipal parking lots. I am afraid that all of Claremont’s roadways and parking lots will look like this eventually because of our inept city manager and the nine morons on the city council that allowed this to happen.

• Tony (Saturday, August 01 20 02:19 pm EDT)

  Donk, why are you pissing all over the fantastic economic development plan dreamed up by Ed Morris and Nancy Merrill? You're supposed to drive over the road, wreck the shit out of your car and go to your local garage to have it fixed. Great for the car repair and body shops but not so great for your wallet. That's economic development in Claremont folks. Crappy services for more money every year.

• Donk (Saturday, August 01 20 01:56 pm EDT)

  They cut notches in the road on Sugar River Drive 2 mos. ago.
  When the fuck are you going to do something? It's destroying people's cars.

• John J.O’Connor (Saturday, August 01 20 01:53 pm EDT)

  Nick(idiot),
  I’m sure Vic did just enough to justify his hefty salary but even you can admit he did the City a disservice is how he paved the roads. If you’re going to claim he did all he could with the limited cash available, then why are we even considering the Pleasant Street project when we don’t have enough money to properly maintain our roads?
  The next DPW Director can learn a lesson about doing more with less from Mark Beslin. Every year he has to beg for pennies, doesn’t get them but still manages to run a top flight Community Center and Fitness club.

• Ken (Saturday, August 01 20 12:24 pm EDT)

  Councilwoman Erica Sweetser has her heart in the right place I think but it is where her head is that I am worried about. She seems to have join the cult of tax-and-spend liberals led by Mayor Charlene Lovett and Assistant Mayor Allen Damren. I thought Erica would be a strong, solid voice of the people instead; she became a voice of the misguided leaders of Claremont who represent the special interests over the best interest of the average hard-working citizens of Claremont.

• Katie (Saturday, August 01 20 10:38 am EDT)

  I am happy the public works director is leaving regardless of the circumstances. My husband has a friend who works for the highway division, told him that it was a quit or be fired situation based on a number of things that Mr. Morris was unhappy with regarding Mr. St. Pierre’s job performance. I hope that Mr. Morris will continue cleaning house because there are other directors that need termination. For instance, Mary Walter, Nancy Merrill and Mark Brislin immediately pop to mind.

• Mike (Saturday, August 01 20 10:33 am EDT)

  The public works director is on his way out and the assistant public works director should both be fired along with that nincompoop Ed Morris that the councilors hired to be a city manager wannabe. Morris is no Guy Santagate by any stretch of the imagination no matter what that moron U.R. Anidiot might think.

• Erik (Saturday, August 01 20 09:43 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot strikes again praising the outgoing DPW Director that led the change to skim coat and crackfill our roads turning our beautiful city into an eyesore. it is painfully obvious that U.R. Anidiot is in bed with the city administration and city council. I suspect that he or she is one of the councilors with lots of time on their hands. I think the Sullivan Report is bringing too much heat for them to stand because they cannot stand the scrutiny of true journalism with real news that is undeniably true because the documents are posted with the article instead of fake news which seems to be business as usual for the local press these days.

• Matt (Saturday, August 01 20 09:38 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot seems to really believe that Ed Morris, the nine councilors and the department heads and the most intelligent leaders that Claremont has ever had. Wow U.R. Anidiot really is mentally challenged. U.R. Anidiot says that Claremont is on the brink, I agree but it is not the brink of success it is the brink of financial disaster with the out-of-control spending and the coming financial crisis because of the pandemic if financial director Mary Walter's is correct with her cost and loss calculations. U.R. Anidiot is parsing words supporting raising document costs for right to know request information to a height that it will be cost prohibitive to buy many documents. Then saying the intent is not to create a financial barrier for citizens. What a load of crap. You can't have it both ways and that is what he or she is trying to do. It is pretty clear that this is a city official writing these posts and he or she is trying to stop the Sullivan Report from reporting the real news so only the fake news of how wonderful all these morons are has ever seen in print written either by Mayor Lovett or a compromised local press that never writes a contrary word about any public official who was presumably told to do so.

• Jennifer (Saturday, August 01 20 09:30 am EDT)

  Mayor Lovett’s puff piece column also appeared in today’s edition of the Eagle Times and she pulled out all the stoops to break out the rose-colored glasses, the political spin and the whitewash. The Sullivan Report’s in depth investigative journalism that is exposing the truth instead of the fake news reported by the local press must be getting to her. She starts with the Goddard Block with praises for the 36 new apartments as the largest investment in the city center since 2009. She omits the reality that it was all public money that paid for the property rehabilitation and that tax breaks were given to the owners as an inducement. Mayor Lovett also did not include in her article that most of the apartments qualify for Section 8 low-income housing residents or that she presumably pressured the city manager to appoint her to the local housing board so she can achieve her goal of increasing the number of Section 8 housing vouchers for Claremont. She mentions the Arrowhead Ski Lodge renovations she says that unanticipated revenues received by the city paid for the renovations. That’s true, but she leaves out that the property belongs to the city not the nonprofit operating the ski lodge. Some of that money could have been used for property tax rate reduction but that was never a consideration with the nine councilors we have elected who would rather spend money instead of giving it back to the taxpayers to give them a much-needed break during this financially crushing pandemic. The Farwell Block owned by the CDA, a city offshoot agency, is also under renovation. Of course, Mayor Lovett never mentioned the facts about how this project is paid for with public money and the CDA going into debt up to their eyeballs. If a bailout occurs the taxpayers will be the ones doing the bailing when our hard-earned money is our tax rate goes up to pay for any follow-ups. She never mentioned the pleasant restaurant project, but then maybe she’s a little smarter than I give her credit for because in my opinion that project will be a disaster and a future financial bailout just as the Downtown TIF District and the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center is presently. I know this because I read the Sullivan Report, which keeps me well informed about the wasting of my hard-earned tax dollars. Mayor Lovett’s head is set so high and the clouds she even praises the city’s supposed efforts in regards to road improvements. The patch and skim coat plan is already in action and all you need to do is drive down Broad Street to see what it looks like. It makes me ill just to think about it. She calls it “actions to protect the longevity of roads recently paved and address those that have needed attention for quite some time”. I call it a terrible plan that will eventually destroy what little quality road infrastructure we have left. Her weekly column supposed to inform the public about the truth but all she has created is a column of fake news to lull the public into compliance as their wallets and purses continue to be drained more than more to enrich public employees and certain non-profit agencies and developers. Local corruption at its finest.

• U.R. Anidiot (Saturday, August 01 20 09:09 am EDT)

  This is what I mean by twisting the facts with a narrative to trash someone JOHN. Shame on you! Vic St. Pierre has done a superb job saving tax payer. Using solar power, different lights throughout the city, running DPW like a business and getting things done and on schedule with limited resources. I doubt you could do that? This is not good and is hardly more than a personnel issue and of course the normal progression would be for the Asst Director is going to fillin, Jim!
  And John, regarding your comment, Vic brainwashes the City Council into agreeing to only pave half the road, turns the city into a laughingstock and leaves... priceless. Mr. St. Pierre did what he could do with the resources available to answer the issues people have identified. He didn't brainwash anyone, he didn' t get the council to agree to 1/2 a road> as jimmy, the experienced should be doing here, I'll bring in the Assist! The City Manager is the boss and the discussion would be with him not t he Council, the City Manager would bring this to the Council , please get the facts right and try to refrain from negativity. Vic is leaving why shoot at his departure

• Lynette (Saturday, August 01 20 09:08 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot is a rude and crude individual and has the audacity to call us knuckle draggers. I personally have a college degree and there are many others in the community even with a high school education that have more intelligence, manners and class than you. You call us a laughingstock but you are the real laughingstock. Please continue to write in your rantings are fun to read. I wonder how drunk or high you get before you start pounding away on the keyboard. Must cost you a bundle.

• Todd (Saturday, August 01 20 09:03 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot is really guzzling the City Hall Kool-Aid isn't he or she? Probably getting it straight into the old veins with an IV, works faster that way and the high is so much better I hear.
  
  Great job guys on the DPW Director change. I called a few of my friends who work at the DPW and they said he was pushed out by Morris. If they know why they're not telling.

• U.R. Anidiot (Saturday, August 01 20 08:41 am EDT)

  Thank you Deborah!
  Please don't be upset with me I did "Jimmy's" experience as a Councilor who was extremely ended up getting kicked off the Council twenty years ago is like as I said, trying to use a cell phone from the 90s today . Things have changed. procedures, regulations, needs, and more!
  Yes, I think the fee should be raised and have suggested it for consideration. Not to make unattainable but to make people to
  that waste inside man hours have to think twice if it is truly newsworthy and needed to be shredded apart so that a particular narrative to prove a point is needed.
  Jimmy and AJ, and the rest of the knuckle dragging primates, spew nothing but what I am targeting here. Tammany Hall is actually nothing like the Govt or quality of people running Claremont. The irony in your statement and historical reference is that tit is very much how most residents in Claremnt feel the Council was run when Jimmy was on the council. Words like Integrity, Honor, Honestywere nor know to the majority then. They act for Claremont not themselves or associates like then. Been a long time coming. Claremont is on the brink of success and this page and Jimmy have nothing to do with that! I am very happy that he wont back down. It means our relationship will continue to build as I do not as well.
  And once again, the point is missed and twisted here, I am not a bully and only demonstrate the mean spirit constantly demonstrated on this page. Doesn't feel good to receive or be the target of a rant or point you don't agree with and be beat down constantly. Want to really help Claremont move forward, pick up a tool, start a volunteer group to HELP, Go clean up trash, do something constructive instead of tearing people down. Morris,the Council. Dept. heads are the most educated and experienced we have ever had. Hiring the right people in the beginning is a huge step in the right direction. Like changing the mind set here. Be part of t he solution not part of the problem.

• John J.O’Connor (Saturday, August 01 20 08:33 am EDT)

  Talk about timing.
  Vic brainwashes the City Council into agreeing to only pave half the road, turns the city into a laughingstock and leaves... priceless.

• Gary (Saturday, August 01 20 08:10 am EDT)

  Boy, the folks at the Eagle Times are sure right on top of things. Today’s edition has an advertisement for a new Public Works Director in a big display ad. You would think that some knucklehead in the sales department would have mentioned this to the news reporting division if anyone were actually in the building. COVID and all you know. The advertisement had to be placed no later than yesterday, plenty of time to scribble a few words down and write at least a news blurb about Mr. St. Pierre’s departure. But oh no that is by far too much work for the Eagle Times newshounds and it is a negative news story and the Eagle Times does not do those because it might upset someone’s delicate sensibilities at City Hall or perhaps one or more of our elected leaders on the city council and we cannot have that. Oh my. Heavens no. This is what the Claremont local press has sunk itself to; it is really sad and pathetic.

• Deborah (Saturday, August 01 20 04:03 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot you need to take a class in remedial reading. Jim never said that he had all the answers, he merely expressed that his past experience as a city councilor gives him an inside perspective as to how the municipal government information is gathered so he knows what to ask for with right to know requests for public information. This is information that our new city manager is trying desperately to sweep under the very lumpy rug so as to hide things from the taxpaying public and the lazy press in Claremont. Jim and AJ, whom I have never met, may not be professional journalists but they sure act like it with their fact gathering and reporting with the documents strewn in the article, which is a higher standard of reporting than anything offered elsewhere about Claremont news. You hinted that you want the fees for public documents raised. I assume by that you want the price to be a financial barrier to the public to keep us in the dark, while you and your cronies run the city like a corrupt version of Tammany Hall from history. Make no mistake Mr. or Mrs. or Miss U.R. Anidiot you are most definitely acting the part of a bully but you picked the wrong targets. I went to high school with Jim Sullivan and I remember his years on the city council. Jimmy is not someone who backs down from a confrontation and he is the type of human being who helps others whenever he can. I may not always agree with his commentary but I do know that his heart is in the right place when it comes to our hometown Claremont.

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 31 20 09:02 pm EDT)

  Pamela! This is what we need are people like you Pam saying what really happened, actually was said and without spinning it. Thank you! Ill bet Pamela is your real name too!

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 31 20 08:59 pm EDT)

  So Steve, I'm not Nick. You are clearly guessing again and clearly so full of bullshit its affected your brain. Im really impressed at your skills of writing analysis and the compare. BUT..... you are totally wrong, my fingerprints don't match Nick's and trying to start a narrative of negativity. Lot's of people care about Erica. Way more than you ever did. Calling her names is not proper and I am surprised you didn't come and and say that you are pissed your letter you wanted read which was in the packets given to the council, Jim, I'm getting to you I promise, blaming councilor Sweetser.Sounds like jealousy. SHitty Council has gotten more done in hte last 5 years than any other Council. Having to clean up so much, ordinances, rules and regulations of the governing body, so much while running the city still..
  Now Jim, thank you from coming out to engage me directly, First, lets be clear, I am not a bully nor want to be one. If you feel bullied I want to apologize for doing to you what you and this page do every frikkin day to the City Council who do not break and do follow the rules. Everyone knows you know 91A and everyone knows there is a fee. Apparently it isn't high enough!
  
  If you are saying that your Council experience qualifies you now to know how Council works or that you want the best for Claremont then you should run again. Pretty certain we all know the answer to that! Even you must realize what have been trying to do here is get you morons to see that what you do and say has consequences and it isn't much fun being on the receiving end, IS IT? Clean your page up. You are not a councilor you are a private something. Citizen, isn't the word I would use. Instigator spinning everything to you very negative narrative that fits your thought process I suppose. If you think sitting on the council twenty + years ago and the needs of Claremont, the opportunities of Claremont, are the same, they are not. The world isn't. Its like trying to use a cell phone from twenty+ years ago now. It ain't gonna be the same at all! You are not a councilor and weren't much of one back then. This page is nothing more than swill. Always running people down. Good people that are willing to make a difference. Have you thought of working with instead of finding falt with absolutely everything and monitoring this page for assholes. Hey, I know you are all about the first amendment and freedom of speech but even that has limits. You need to realize when you send in the 91A Dore'e or someone take up valuable time from doing their job to get these documents that are available. I know a bit about the Council Robert's Rule and history too! You are not the know all end all! Stop the bullshit and stop finding fault. If a mistake was actually made go for it let it be known to dont make shit up! and the editorials are total conjecture and simply guessing, Pick up the frikken phone. Ive written quite a bit the last two weeks here and there is plenty to look at, If not I am going to continue to give it back. If you really want folks to know what their tax dollars are being spent out first make sure they have to pay taxes, Next help them to get their own information if they want it. You aren't bringing anything to the table here big guy except entertainment presently! So much more Id like to say but, I need my beauty sleep.

• Pamela (Friday, July 31 20 08:51 pm EDT)

  Did you actually read Koloskis posts? I mean how bothered are you that you have to rush to the Sullivan Report to trash talk free wheelchairs? Imagine. I did ask him if he ever read this page last week when I saw him at Home Depot. I also shared screenshots. He really didn't seem to care either way even with his name trashed over and over on here. He remembered Sullivan from Council days and didn't say a negative word. I asked about AJ and he recalled him as a shop owner when he was a kid. Also not a negative word.

• OMG, I'M USING A FAKE NAME! (Friday, July 31 20 06:49 pm EDT)

  It's funny. U. R. Anidiot has stopped posting, right around the same time Little Nicky is sharing his "look at me, look how amazing I think I am" posts on every page within a 50 mile radius.
  It must be really tiring to be such a narcissist and work constantly to get so much attention.
  Every time he posts, he mentions that he's been "doing this quietly" whether it's passing out toys to the hospital, or collecting wheelchairs, but yet has to draw attention to himself by sharing his own posts EVERYWHERE.
  Just a sad human, who can't survive more than a day or two without someone giving him an Atta Boy!"
  You can tell us that U.R. Anidiot is NOT Nick Koloski, and I'll call you a liar until the end of time.
  Nick's past posts on here, and this "persons" writing style are exactly the same. The terrible spell check is the same, the vitriol is the same, it's almost like a fingerprint.
  Tell us again you're not Nick, and I'll call you a liar.
  And who really gives a fuck where that loser Erica Sweetser works? Whether it's Taverne or Common Man, she's trash, just like the other eight members of the "shitty" council.

• Jim Sullivan (Friday, July 31 20 06:38 pm EDT)

  Victor St. Pierre out as DPW Director.
  
  Article appears on News Flashes page of this website.

• Jim Sullivan (Friday, July 31 20 02:42 pm EDT)

  My turn. U.R. Anidiot (aptly named) I will try to explain this in itty-bitty words for you to understand. The documents I buy are not available within the City Council information portable document format (PDF) files or anywhere else on the City of Claremont website. Nor is this information provided to the public during the City Council Meetings or any of the meetings televised on Claremont Community Television. The information I purchase is then usually cross-referenced with other information either available on the Internet or other government documents that I purchased previously or other government documents that may have been available on the City Website at one time that I saved when it was available. Most people do not have time to go to City Hall and review paperwork there. I certainly don't, which is why I purchase the documents via right to know requests. Having been on the City Council at one time, I am very familiar with how the information is gathered and what is available utilizing the Right to Know Law. Unlike certain Councilors, I am not violating any rules or regulations, I am merely asserting my right as a private citizen and I am paying for every single document that I receive. What seems to irk you and many other public officials is that the Sullivan Report provides the scrutiny that the fourth estate (the conventional news media) is supposed to provide and has in most instances woefully failed. You can most certainly continue posting here as much as you want, it's a free country. But if you think for one second that it will either bully, pressure or deter us from continuing to inform the public of what is really going on and how their tax dollars are being spent, then you are sadly mistaken to the point of hallucination. You clearly do not know us very well for we have never backed down and we never will back down. We both love the city and we will continue informing the public of the truth.

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 31 20 01:55 pm EDT)

  Gail, I call bullshit. All of the documents the papers don't print are readily available if anyone wants to see them. without a 91A being filed. Hey here's an idea, Send in a 91A form, can download from the SOS page and send it in to the City Manager's office, ask for a copy of the bill showing the money logged to 91A Its an amount that I am certain would be surprising. to all you thrifty fellow idiots. I'm smarter cuz I already know the answer and then publish that. So much time is wasted and spent shagging this already available information for Jim's Lazy fat ass and the rest of you, it is a travesty. That number is way larger than you think!

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 31 20 01:45 pm EDT)

  My Buddy Bob,
  Thank you for seeing my strategy, and understanding I am entertaining. "Most of us" you mean the 5-8 individuals using 10 names apiece to make it seem like your ranks are far more vast than anyone on the outside would again Now you all know how you are seen and read. Pretty ridiculous bullshit! Right? You are all of the rails and say dangerous, hurtful and generally incorrect stuff. So that feeling of amusement and entertainment you are trying to convey is exactly how this page, you, Jimbo, Aj(who ever that is, and the bitching, griping, and whiners are seen. Get a life, Be part of the solution not part of the problem. As long as this page continues so will I so get used to it and trust me, I have the time and love to fuck with you all as much as you like to whine.

• Liz (Friday, July 31 20 01:10 pm EDT)

  My comments were about the conditions of the roads and the ugly patchwork look to them. Broad Street is the first road that will receive this patchwork treatment and if I understand correctly other Claremont streets will follow. I am just imagining how terribly ugly and how embarrassing it will be as this will represent our city to those who see it. This is a administration and city council responsibility to budget money for road paving and spend it responsibly. Right now they are doing neither and paving on Broad Street was taxpayer's money wasted.

• Gail (Friday, July 31 20 01:05 pm EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot, you gave yourself the perfect pen name because it suits you to a T. The Sullivan Report does something that the press does not do, they publish the documents mostly from the city government that prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what they are printing is the truth. It must drive you and your ilk at City Hall right up the wall to have your own information exposed to the general public and used against you to show everyone the scoundrels you all truly are. I suspect that is the reason for all of these mindless attacks.

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 31 20 01:00 pm EDT)

  Liz,
  If you are expecting them to go out and pick up trash or garbage or something they do allow folks to do it themselves if it really bothers you. You need to be aware that all of them do , infact go out and pick up trash, cigarette buts, sweep, pick up trash, plant flowers. and help several groups n town . You should join in and invite your friends and neighbors to take care f their neighborhoods. Many mornings. mornings our Mayor Charlene Lovett whos actually, I would suppose, has a real life and family, is out cleaning, planting, weeding, etc. Don't see any of that on here EVER!
  Pick up a tool or just say thank you. Its not the City Admin sor City Councils job to clean up your shit! They make the rules, the Admin runs the City and it you have a complaint call the Deprtment in charge of t he issue. Get done a lot faster that NOTHING will come of it here!

• Bob (Friday, July 31 20 12:58 pm EDT)

  Hey IDIOT are you playing the victim here, that is HILARIOUS. Attacking you HAHAHA!!! You come on here fake name, bashing this page and everyone on it. Calling everyone names, calling everyone out, and then when they do the same to you, you cry foul. SMH.....keep posting your garbage, everyone here thinks you are a joke and your post's are merely entertainment. So please keep posting we are all having a good laugh. I hope you have a wonderful day.

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 31 20 12:48 pm EDT)

  Brent,
  Another name caller admiring the attention I'm getting! Brent and everyone on here should invite at least one more person not on this page, to join in the fun here. Oh wait, that's right this is a very small and trivial page with nothing but non information, dribble about the HORRIBLE City and its leaders in the community. Be a risky move to invite people who are even of your like mind as you would out yourself and them. Sorry bad Idea. Maybe there are people here that simply check in for the laughs to see how ridiculous you all sound or what poor bastard is the subject of this next attack. Ive already proven beyond reproach that Jimbo is spewing conflicting and outright wrong information with help from his trolls!

• Liz (Friday, July 31 20 12:41 pm EDT)

  Every time I drive down Broad Street, it makes me sick to see my city so badly abused by city administrators and local residents elected to the council who have no sense of community pride or professionalism or sense of accomplishment for a job well done.

• Brent (Friday, July 31 20 09:40 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot what you are is a nut. A real screwball.

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 31 20 08:06 am EDT)

  Now Bob there you go again and this time you didn't even put your fake name. But one thing is for sure you qualify as the caliber of person that is on this page and a definite requirement to be on this waste of time and worthless page, you have to use name calling and guesses. Be careful what you guess it might be wrong AGAIN. Could be just the opposite of what you envision. You are assuming I'm a guy! Second, maybe, Im stupid and liberal, I have PTSD and on SSDI. You might want to rethink all that But hey, I understand its all you have here. Guesses, misinformation, nothing based in fact and attacking me. I am hurt!

• How that feel sorry snowflake (Thursday, July 30 20 10:25 pm EDT)

  This guy definitely has been ass fucked but truly nothing new for another stupid liberal man only a liberal because of his ass gaping that happened now he has ptsd and social security disability

• U.R. Anidiot (Thursday, July 30 20 04:25 pm EDT)

  Why Bob I asked yo first, twice! I will if you will! Besides I don't want to spoil the game. I am getting lots of press for the page I accept your redneck challenge. By the way," thats a real pretty mouth you got there boy!" Do you talk to your mother with that mouth? You come, I will! and get the rest of these lowlife scum suckers to do it too. Besides everyone, and I think you actually started it Bob-L-head, Everyone here thinks I'm Nick! Write to Nick and see if I (he) answers back you very severely mentally handicapped authority of real news and Scum, I mean cum! Such colorful language my friend. Hey Stephanie, Karen and other "ladies" here I apologize for my colorfully speaking friend. Bob-L- licious, my pet name for Bob, isn't minding his manners because he is obviously escalating in the big word category because of his anger issues. I still think he needs a hug But alas, he wont tell me his address or who he is!

• U.R. Anidiot (Thursday, July 30 20 04:08 pm EDT)

  Did I mention that someone is using the name SCATTER. Wow that brings back memories to when Jim Sullivan and AJ were on the Council. Remember those days? when the City was a real shit show NUTHIN got done! SCTTR group was made up of Sullivan, Maranville, A Whipple, Chapman, Belisle were some of the members, maybe Jimmy got screwed by the group somehow and this page is his answer, I DO NOT KNOW this. I will only say what I know. I wont speculate This page is a waste of everyone's time It represents nothing but negativity, bile, and each of its members puking on someone and I truly think each other!

• Bob (Thursday, July 30 20 03:56 pm EDT)

  HEY IDIOT take your own advice and post your real name, you gutless POS stop running your cum dumpster and step out of the shadows

• U.R. Anidiot (Thursday, July 30 20 03:20 pm EDT)

  Rick and Kevin are late to the party. But no matter. Two more meatballs to the troll meeting to add their 2 cents in the only way they know how. Jim and AJ are not, Btw, how do I get notariety here like this AJ. This guy is like a phantom?Must be a Ninja always lurking in the shadow of a well rounded Jim Sullivan who seems to be the only one without a job cuz no way Jimbo couldn't work and put all this garbage together. How does he pay bills, how does he afford this fiasco and how does he keep suckering you assholes in. Oh guys, guys, Im not angry I just don't seem to get through to you dumb goat humpers unless I seem angry. You see I'm actually an abhorition of your true subconscious. You are actually reading your own words, feelings and inner beliefs. You know this is a joke and you've all been. The only brave soul I know here is
  
  John O'Connor who actually has a pair. I like him for that.
  But I Digress.......
  Rick and Kevin, or whatever your real names are, please don't be get too concerned, I know I am perfectly sane and I wish everyone would stop calling me Nick. I'm truly not him or a disciple of his. Rick, Kevin, you need to get a real name and a set of balls to use your real names and email addresses.
  But I digress...........
  Do you much of mental midgets want to continue insulting the City Council, City Manager, Dept heads, business owners and other good people in Claremont and gossip about any good thing that happens, twisting it to fit what ever bullshit line you all are trying to collectively sell. There is a lot of great stuff coming soon to Claremont. Stay tuned. By the Way, any you know it all assholes see where I might be confused that Big Jim is or isn't starting another web site like before but different. Also did you boneheads finally figure out that Erica Sweetser does work at Common Man and not Taverne. Just so you idiots don't miss any real news, and are talking about restaurants, Revolution Cantina is supposed to open in another 1-2 months once they get there build out, new equipment and try to get some of their employees back!
  Remember, when out in public where your masks, use gloves and wash your hands bunch of filthy bastards...

• Rick (Thursday, July 30 20 11:58 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot sounds really angry. Jim and AJ must be squeezing his boys pretty tight. LOL! Jim and AJ are Claremont's answer to 60 Minutes and other investigative reporting type journalism. Don't think the Eagle Times is going to do it, the reporter has to keep wifey gainfully employed with the city so there won't be any rocking of the boat there and the ticker POS rag won't rock the boat either because then they would lose what few advertises they have left and column contributors too. Because this bunch of local government officials are mean vindictive bunch much like the snowflake liberal Democrats which is what I think they all are.

• Kevin (Thursday, July 30 20 10:57 am EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot sure does sound like Councilman Nick Koloski and it seems that he is very much in need of some anger management therapy. I worry for his psychological well-being. Maybe these posts on the Sullivan Report is his cry for help.

• John J. O'Connor (Thursday, July 30 20 07:31 am EDT)

  Nick,
  Great one liners. Keep it coming, I feel so much smarter every time you post something.
  Unlike you, I'm not afraid to use my name.
  Please don't stop Nick, you're hilarious.

• U.R. Anidiot (Wednesday, July 29 20 08:01 pm EDT)

  Not that its important to point out conflicting information here but di I just read below Your fearless leader is NOT starting a new web site or closing this one down? Right that what I thought too> I hates saying this but I actually agree with you dumbasses, BUT in Jimmy's thorough and completely fact based (NOT) report in News Flashes, he clearly states he is starting a new website. So Jimbo, is it yes or no. Enquiring minds need to know so we know how to twist this to our advantage. Oh and your math still sucks apparently you didn't go back and edit! If I send you a 91-A will I get better results from you on accuracy and grammar? Moreover, would you for the love of all holy do the world a favor and shut this shit show down, I would be eternally grateful. If not come on down to Time Out and bring all your tribe down. Be sure to bring your EBT cards and we can shoot a game of pool and have a quality meal and cold beer. Please call and make a reservation at Time Out! That way Nick, I mean my mom knows were gonna be busy helping out a bunch of dumbasses Who can't take what the have been dishing out for too long!

• U.R. Anidiot (Wednesday, July 29 20 07:23 pm EDT)

  Has anyone considered .You all better keep your day jobs as serious deranged trouble makers, psychopaths without a future and wanna be Citizens of a community instead of a day care for challenges individuals; cuz your futures in investigation and verifying information sucks! I just called Common Man and guess who works there. Then I called Taverne and spoke to Paige the manager. Guess who doesn't work there fucking self absorbed idiots. This page is very amusing and thank you all for the vote of confidence here. Maybe Jimmy will rename the page Im excited for a new age and calling every one of you morons out on your bullshit and misinformation. Of course you could just all come down to Time out and we could have a grand time watching you fucking idiots try as a team to get out of one of the escape Room. Not one of you could find your ass with both hands tied behind our back!

• SCATTER (Wednesday, July 29 20 02:38 pm EDT)

  The Taverne website has a picture of Paige, the manager.

• Bob (Wednesday, July 29 20 02:23 pm EDT)

  HEY IDIOT: Sweetster publicly stated she worked at Tavern and their website has pictures of the staff and hers is front and center. your name definitely suits you

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, July 29 20 12:10 pm EDT)

  I have people privately inquiring if I am either starting a new website or closing down the Sullivan Report, because of baseless comments made by one individual on this Public Forum. The answer to both questions is No.

• Lisa (Wednesday, July 29 20 11:41 am EDT)

  Ms. Sweetser says she is working at Tavern on the Square on her Facebook page.

• SCATTER (Wednesday, July 29 20 11:39 am EDT)

  Haven't y'all gotten old enough to SCATTER by now?

• U.R. Anidiot (Wednesday, July 29 20 09:39 am EDT)

  I forgot to ask, Jim Sullivan, savior and prophet of Claremont this next website you are going to, will it be anonymous also. I hope so! will allow us all to hide and say whatever we want about anyone, especially anyone that at least tries to do something right, say something good or be positive for Claremont!

• U.R. Anidiot (Wednesday, July 29 20 09:17 am EDT)

  And now the trolls come out from under the bridge. Listen you synapse challenge neanderthal primates, I said it nice, I wont say it again, I'm not Nick K. Its a riot that you are convinced I am, giving him that much credit. Your leader has some issues in his News Flash. It seems you all follow like were Sun Su's The Art of War. His math is off in several places, Counselor Sweetser doesn't work at the Taverne she works at Common Man, and Sullivan is spinning in his cave the words to embellish and make colorful some really dull news. So, here is a question for you genius's the new agenda has Water Street property on it. What is that about?
  
  I fully expect U.R. Indeedanidiot, Anidiot fuck and Karen to all be on the ballot next year for Council as it would seem that Sullivan and the rest of these degenerate knuckle dragging dumb bastards who wont use real names or email addresses because they fear Nick Koloski calling them up for donations too much? Maybe because they don't want to give up there space under the bridge?
  
  The job on Washington St/Bowen, did anyone bother to call DPW and find out what is going on and why it isnt finished on your bitchy time line. Christ you whine more than a 5 year old spoiled brat.

• U.R. Indeedanodiot (Tuesday, July 28 20 08:06 pm EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot must be mad that everyone knows he only got $16,977 for his shit restaurant.
  Apparently that's not enough to buy wheelchairs and veggies to make himself look good.

• Anidiot fuck (Tuesday, July 28 20 07:54 pm EDT)

  Fuckface it doesn't take 2 years to tear down a shithole not like you would know you have never done anything but get free handouts from the govt fucking loosers we have libtards get a clue oh maybe you have only worked for the government get a real job where you have to get shit done and yes if you had people working for us that when you put a job as washington bowen out you expect it done in a timely fashion but there again you are a fuckface never had to work maybe trust fund 😉 and being little college boy makes you liberal idk you tell us looser

• Karen (Tuesday, July 28 20 06:41 pm EDT)

  I think U.R. Anidiot needs to lay off the caffeine and seek serious psychiatric therapy. Don't you?

• U.R. Anidiot (Tuesday, July 28 20 05:56 pm EDT)

  Construction Stalled,
  What is your statement or real question you dumbass. If your question is a stalled project, what does that have to do with 139 Main? That job is out for bid and waiting. That information was given by City Manager at last weeks public meeting--LISTENOr maybe your real motivation is a stupid attempt to make a statement diparaging our City its leaders and the projects... Or maybe its a statement that common sense and me don't get along so I'm throwing this shit out here to see if anyone else is as dumb as I am? Ever thank to call DPW dept. for your answers dumbass???Why don't you take one out of the Sullivan play book and file a 91-A for information that is public and out there already and waster more of our precious tax paid dollarsso resources have to be spent in hours of labor by various depts, to look all this fucking useless information up for you fucking idiots, everyone of you.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, July 28 20 05:46 pm EDT)

  July 22, 2020 Council meeting synopsis.
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Construction Stalled (Tuesday, July 28 20 12:35 pm EDT)

  So, is the Washington St/Bowen St. project stall too? Much like the 139 Main St. debacle, are we going to be driving around comes for the next year here as well?
  This city, it's leaders and it's projects are an absolute joke.

• U.R. Anidiot (Tuesday, July 28 20 09:40 am EDT)

  Glenn,
  "The last bastion of Free Press"?
  Don't forget you often get what you pay for. This page is nothing but venom and buckets of bullshit of twisted, spun and inaccurate information to feed the narrative of people that hide behind a blanket of anonymity. Trying to guess who I am is amusing in and of itself...
  Yes Jim, savior of Claremont, remind us again why you aren't on the City Council? Please continue to waste our tax dollars forcing resources to go get you everything you ask for under the cloak of Right to Know 91A. Crock of bullshit! Everything you ask for is public record anyway numb nuts! Stop wasting the tax dollars you and these idiots think you are saving I assure you Glenn, I am not Nick Koloski. I am afforded the same guise as the rest of you baboons who do not use your real names and use fake email addresses. You all crack me up and amuse me very much. How can a group of people collectively, be this stupid and misled. Get real people, get a job jim sullivan

• TRUMP 2020 (Monday, July 27 20 08:26 pm EDT)

  Agreed the liberals have nothing else to do go TRUMP 2020 !!!!!!!

• Glenn (Monday, July 27 20 06:45 pm EDT)

  Wow Jim sure got U.R. Anidiot's goat. Nothing but nonstop venom. I'm guessing it's Nick Koloski but it could also be one of the small group of council groupies who want to constantly embarrass Jonathan Stone and push a liberal agenda without any resistance from a free press. The Sullivan Report is the last bastion of a free press for Claremont. Jim please keep doing your right to know requests as you seem to be getting too close for their comfort. Time to hide under the bed Nicholas.

• U.R. Anidiot (Monday, July 27 20 03:15 pm EDT)

  Stephanie,
  YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS! For as long as this bullshit page has been around and," exposes the corruption" you are you saying that people since late 90s or early 2000 are all corrupt, that all of these folks are corrupt? self serving? That is just total bullshit? So the sign reads, RUN FOR CITY COUNCIL Get What JIM SULLIVAN GOT!
  
  Do you read the garbage you write and the others write here? It exposes nothing and never has? Nothing but a puddle of muddy water with blood sucking insects feeding off each other. Haven't seen so much quackery, disinformation, and self serving bullshit in my life as here. You should be ashamed of yourself for the venom and shit you spread. Our City leaders that were elected in a fair election beat out those that the majority believe in. Election after election. Every single Council and Counselor according to your bullshit way of thinking is corrupt and a bad person who does not want the best for Claremont. Time to get off that ride darling. This page is an insult to intelligence and real progress.

• Stephanie (Monday, July 27 20 12:24 pm EDT)

  U.R. Anidiot must be the spokesperson for the tax-and-spend Morris administration bureaucrats and the liberal councilor rubber stampers that never saw a spending initiative or tax increase that they did not like. The Sullivan Report is the only source of local news that has not been compromised. It is very hard to say that the articles are lies when documents are either published in full or excerpts are provided showing the truth and most of those documents are created in the Claremont City Hall or one of the city departments. The problem is our city leaders love to keep secrets and use an abuse their power not for the greater good but for the good of the special interests that they represent as they are the only people that the city leaders truly represent. The Sullivan Report exposes the corruption of the city government on a regular basis because there is just so much happening at any given time. Most of the councilors are in the know and they lie to the public all the time and seemed quite comfortable doing it. These people are contemptible and shameless and not deserving of our trust or support.

• Bob (Monday, July 27 20 12:11 pm EDT)

  IDIOT: Thank You, you just proved my point.

• U.R. Anidiot (Monday, July 27 20 12:02 pm EDT)

  Bob-licious,
  That is Mr. Anidiot to you. This page is a great place for people with no brains, actions and names to be. all hiding behind false names, hiding like trolls under the bridge and having non answers for everything. Makes it easy to say what is really on enquiring minds. Jim Sullivan is a grown ass man that has nothing better to do but thinks he is actually contributing to something when in fact he isnt! the rest of you morons are no better. Nothing to say that is constructive of positive, just tearing the City down and the real people that make a difference and actually do A real sesspool of whiney little girls that contribute nothing but gossip, negativity and gloom/doom. Egging each other on to trash someone or something. Sullivan thinks his best friend is a 91-A wasting the tax payers money by tying up resources having to answer his every beckoned call for useless information that is AVAILABLE. Always spinning everything to make himself look intelligent. Why was he booted of the Council, what has he contributed to Claremont, what has he really brought to t he table? Seriously, i thing that has made a difference to this City ???? Bunch of putzs... This page should be shut down!
  
  welcome to the party "Really" More "like minded folks" should join in the fun to shut this shit show down.

• really (Monday, July 27 20 06:50 am EDT)

  Racial injustice my ass you fucking loosers need to have meetings about how to push our city forward i know you have no idea as most of you have nothing and know nothing but fuck get it together stop meetings that are meaningless and get to work already on real stuff

• Bob (Sunday, July 26 20 04:10 pm EDT)

  Hey IDIOT just as I thought you have nothing to offer this city. all you have is name calling, you are a do nothing mouthpiece. Just like that IDIOT Mooshan go back into your mom's basement and play video games

• John J. O'Connor (Saturday, July 25 20 07:48 am EDT)

  Let the voters decide on the 4.5 million dollar Pleasant street project.
  Put it on the ballot in November.

• John J. O'Connor (Friday, July 24 20 06:56 pm EDT)

  It is definitely an abuse of power and makes me wonder why they won't comply?
  Keep up the good fight, I think you're on to something.

• Jim Sullivan (Friday, July 24 20 04:23 pm EDT)

  John, unfortunately there is nothing we can go to court on regarding right to know requests submitted to the City of Claremont because the Morris Administration is technically acting within the law as it currently written. The City government is allowed to ask for a "reasonable delay" provided they give a reason for the delay no matter how lame that reason may be. They do that every time to cover their butts legally. The law does not specify the maximum length of the "reasonable delay". Does the Morris Administration use this clause within the law far too often whenever I ask for anything controversial? Absolutely! However at the present time there does not seem to be anything that we can do about it because eventually they do provide the information although I sometimes have to make several requests because things sometimes tend to seem be "missing" from my requests despite the fact that I clearly requested certain information. Another delaying tactic. The Morris Administration always eventually complies, I simply want the public to be cognizant of the childish political games that are being played by public officials in regards to the release of public records to citizens of Claremont. I consider it an abuse of power, I'm sure they consider it business as usual because the Council will never say or do anything to make the abuses of power stop.

• U.R. Anidiot (Friday, July 24 20 02:26 pm EDT)

  Bob-bin for dicks,
  Dont get your panties wound up, I said, because you apparently missed it and can't readEnglish,"Wow, 1 minute of reading and I am convinced that this page and its ringleader are nothing more than a bunch of whiney babies with not one good thing to say. Not about there City Council City Manager, not about anything positive happening. Nothin but negativity, fault finding never offering solutions. Hey all you true losers and dumbasses, why are you here? What do you offer, what do you truly bring to the table? Open a business, offer solutions, get on a board or Council or Board. You all from what I see very quickly are a very negative stop pointing fingers and butt fucking each other. Do something constructive. You are driving anything and everyone positive away from this anything good!" Say something positive , supportive. I do watch the meetings and appreciate the these people who volunteer their time for dumbasses like you and the rest of your whiny cronies here. You are obviously having issues and defensive. Tell me who you and everyone here who you really are and your address and I'll come give you a hug!

• Bob (Friday, July 24 20 10:35 am EDT)

  U.R. ANIDIOT or what ever your name is. After 1 minute of reading I am convinced you are just as bad as the people you bitch about. Why don't you run for city council or a board OH wait you wont because your to busy bitching. Take your own advice. Oh and by the way emails have been sent to the entire city council on issues and ways to solve problems but as you have seen because I know you watch every city council meeting right NEVER has the council or the Mayor even talked about it, so yeah people have provided solutions to problems but the mayor and most of the council don't give a shit. So if you are so convinced about this page do your own research and prove everything wrong BUT you wont because you're a keyboard warrior. your name suits you IDIOT

• U.R. ANIDIOT (Friday, July 24 20 08:58 am EDT)

  This is what I mean you people make it all up as you go to fit your degradating narratives about anything positive. The numbers that Linda's neighbor rightly points out is based on sales if anyone bothered to check as I did. His business doesn't do what anywhere near the other two

• Lindas Neighbor (Thursday, July 23 20 06:00 pm EDT)

  All that money Linda? Are you daft? Tavern 80k, Revolution 80k. All those Claremont business and one guy at 16k is "lining pockets". Least amount of funds for a Claremont restaurant. The balls on this guy eh'. Try again.

• Donk (Thursday, July 23 20 03:58 pm EDT)

  Why would anyone open a business when they can work for government? Good pay,good vacation time,good health insurance with low deductible,guaranteed pension,and never miss a paycheck or get laid off no matter how bad anything ever gets.
  Not so sure the pension thing is going to work out though.Everybody that pays taxes are starting to circle the drain.The disability/section 8 crowd ain't gonna pull your wagon,that's for sure.

• U.R. Anidiot (Thursday, July 23 20 03:34 pm EDT)

  Wow, 1 minute of reading and I am convinced that this page and its ringleader are nothing more than a bunch of whiney babies with not one good thing to say. Not about there City Council City Manager, not about anything positive happening. Nothin but negativity, fault finding never offering solutions. Hey all you true losers and dumbasses, why are you here? What do you offer, what do you truly bring to the table? Open a business, offer solutions, get on a board or Council or Board. You all from what I see very quickly are a very negative stop pointing fingers and butt fucking each other. Do something constructive. You are driving anything and everyone positive away from this anything good!

• U.R. Anidiot (Thursday, July 23 20 03:03 pm EDT)

  Bob, or whatever your name is. I think its closer to watch my head bob of Jim and the rest of these people are idiots

• Bob (Thursday, July 23 20 01:01 pm EDT)

  Doesn't Erica Sweetster work for Tavern on the square? if so she needs to recuse herself from any discussions on the pleasant st project because she works for a business that would directly benefit from this project and so would she. So her decisions would be biased just like the presentation she gave

• John J. O'Connor (Thursday, July 23 20 07:21 am EDT)

  Jimmy and AJ.,
  When are you going to grow a set and bring Morris to court ?
  You guys are typical Claremonters, you complain, complain and complain only get violated and then you just complain some more.
  There is a provision in the " Right to know" law that allows you to sue the city of they do not provide the material requested in a timely manner. If they dont, as you know, you can go to court.
  GO TO COURT.
  Stop being a b***h.

• council of loosers (Wednesday, July 22 20 09:49 pm EDT)

  These retards meeting about covid and supporting blm and resolutions against police brutality get a clue you loosers deal with issues our city has not bullshit that doesn't matter fucking disgraceful slugs

• Linda (Wednesday, July 22 20 10:09 am EDT)

  I think Little Nicky is mad because the Sullivan Report exposed how much corona money Nicky got from the federal government for his restaurant. Nicky has been whining to folks about how bad things are when he secretly lined his pocket pretty damn good with our tax dollars.

• Todd (Wednesday, July 22 20 09:27 am EDT)

  I'm guessing Miller is Nick Koloski because Miller is a brand of beer and Nick owns a dive bar. Besides whoever wrote Miller's statements were really angry and Nick is very vindictive and he has always had an ax to grind with Maranville and Sullivan. The hatred runs deep and it got worse after they publicly exposed the Topstone scandal.

• Keith (Wednesday, July 22 20 09:24 am EDT)

  Miller you are wrong about the dispatch center. I watched the meetings at home too and the city manager said the dispatch center would be a standalone facility. He also said that the $1 million bond to upgrade the city's dispatch center might be up in the air if the regional dispatch plan moves forward.

• Bud (Wednesday, July 22 20 09:18 am EDT)

  Wow Jim and AJ are sure putting a crimp in someone's shorts. Miller has to be someone in the city government to be that mad. Nice job guys keep up the good work. It seems the City Hall mob can't handle the truth or worse yet have it exposed to the general public.

• Miller (Wednesday, July 22 20 08:58 am EDT)

  I love as soon as a "news" flash hits Sullivan and AJ then begin writing themselves support "public" forum posts. They always read the same over and over. Sullivan maybe leave your basement once in a while. Seems that a delay in documents might be the 2 people you want information from publicly stated at 2 meetings they were on vacation. Sucks actually paying attention to meetings I know. You also question what takes so long. A fulltime city staff member is needed just to respond to all of your witch hunt requests. Someone should 91a request how much staff time meaning our tax dollars go in to your hobby. What's interesting is you are fully aware of that but need to spin a web of bullshit. Your web of bs on the regional dispatch center supposed bond is rich. Having watched the meetings from the comfort of my home they state they would move ahead potentially and set it up to be the Regional center. Whats absolutely stupid as you say is your inability to listen to words as you are clouded with fake gotchas and that axe you grind of being once a somebody. Nothing but a few keyboard basement dwellers who couldn't run for local dog catcher. Whatever you say people do the opposite so keep up the good work. You are lucky you found your bff AJ and his lack of being allowed to be involved in his other hobby, pulling over women and pretending to have authority. Came to and end. Not by his choice. Surprise he has the time for you still though will all his supposed accomplishments. Is it green beret, surgeon, scientist, business owner, general, special forces still or just local asshole?

• William (Wednesday, July 22 20 06:57 am EDT)

  I can see it all now. Mayor Lovett leading the charge to save their little lamb Abby, the oh so naughty City Councilor. That little scamp Abby is always in the something. Breaking the code of conduct and hiding it from everyone until the Sullivan Report exposed her. When the Council spoke about it Abby’s comrade Councilor James Contois immediately leapt into action, once he figured out how to use the mute button, to silence all discussion by tabling a motion that was never made in the first place. Contois seems to live in his own little world far, far away from reality. Then Councilor Debbie Matteau through in her two cents to try to save Abby’s hash by saying the infraction was no big deal implying that the rules do not matter when you are a city councilor and you have a majority of councilors who will always have your back no matter what heinous thing you might do. On the other hand, if your names happen to be Johnson Stone or Andrew O’Hearne than the wrath of city council will fall upon you for the most trivial of infractions because you are not part of our clique and that is how we roll. If Mayor Lovett even allows sweet, dear Abby’s city charter infraction onto the council agenda the city government’s frequently used big broom will be ready to sweep it all under the rug. Of course, Ed Morris will gladly help because he likes his city manager’s job and he does not want to lose it because he’s never been paid so much to do so little all of which is clearly beyond his extremely limited capabilities. The councilors hired a toady and that is exactly what they got. I predicted Abby will get off scott free again and will continue to do so no matter how many times she breaks the rules. It is a sad commentary on the present day state of Claremont’s municipal government. It as corrupt as Tammany Hall and they were Democrats too!

• Richard (Wednesday, July 22 20 06:40 am EDT)

  Well it’s beginning to look like a cover-up at City Hall pertaining to Abigail Kier’s crystal clear violation of the city charter. Giving orders to city employees is the one cardinal sin that has removed councilors in the past and Kier should not get a pardon because she is a member of the mob that has taken over Claremont. There does not seem to be a lot of scruples and ethics on this City Council. The cast of characters are a bunch of a narcissists with a very dangerous political agenda that closely mirrors the Democrat national political agenda. There is no valid reason why it is taking another week from Mr. Morris to answer a simple yes or no question and run off a few photocopies of emails. He has plenty of staff members who could do this easily within 15 minutes so why is it taking so long? I think it’s because coming up with plausible lies is not an easy task especially when you’re dealing with the likes of Jim Sullivan and AJ Maranville, who will see through any BS right away and then report the BS on their website for all of us to see. Exposure is a wonderful thing and these government officials need to be publicly exposed for what they truly are.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, July 21 20 05:16 pm EDT)

  Morris Administration stalling for more time once again!
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Abby (Tuesday, July 21 20 10:09 am EDT)

  Stipends are being paid to essential workers in the healthcare profession so the argument should easily be made for teachers as essential workers. The case needs to be made to Gov. Sununu and not to the local taxpayers. Have your union leaders contact the Gov.'s office. Organize with other unions throughout the state to increase your effectiveness and chances for success. I wish you well with this endeavor. I wish you would've used another Internet platform as I truly hate this disgusting website and I only read it for personal self-interest reasons.

• Educator (Tuesday, July 21 20 09:54 am EDT)

  With schools opening up shortly I think that hazard pay for teachers and administrators is in order.Nost of the teachers that I have been in contact with agree that an extra $300 per week is reasonable.We wanted to put feelers out to see how the citizens of Claremont feel on the matter.I figured that this site may give us an idea how the public feels.

• Keith (Tuesday, July 21 20 09:30 am EDT)

  The Claremont taxpayers are getting screwed left and right by the latest batch of councilors and city manager Ed Morris and his band of ne’er-do-well no goods working at City Hall. Claremont has the worst government right now in the history of the city and the taxpayers are paying a heavy price for it.

• Paul (Tuesday, July 21 20 08:37 am EDT)

  Morris might be a big fat zero but he is getting a big fat paycheck with lots of zeros behind the first digit. He is being paid far more than Guy Santagate was and Ed Morris is no Guy Santagate by any stretch of the imagination.

• Cheryl (Tuesday, July 21 20 07:59 am EDT)

  On a scale of one to five I would give city manager Ed Morris a one presuming that one is the worst score possible. I would give him a zero if I could because that’s what he is a big fat zero.

• Pam (Monday, July 20 20 01:21 pm EDT)

  Councilwoman Sweetser is one if the biggest sell outs of them all. Read her Facebook postings she is so pro-downtown development that will bring more parking for the welfare recipients living in the new Section 8 qualifying apartments because it will help the restaurants including the one where she works as a server. It is all about self-interest with the city councilors we have now.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, July 20 20 09:41 am EDT)

  John, I have to agree with everything you stated but we have to deal with the reality of the City Charter, a government document that certain Councilors do not like to follow for they seem to arrogantly feel that rules and regulations do not apply to them. Simply put the City Council cannot order the firing of the Finance Director or any other City Employee for that matter, the Council can only fire the City Manager. However, the Council can hold the City Manager responsible for anything bad that any of his subordinates do that he does not properly address. That is within their purview, however considering the fact that the Council of 2020 is reticent to hold even members of the Council accountable for their actions such as in the case with Councilor Abigail Kier and the infractions that have recently come to light, it seems highly unlikely that this Council will even consider doing the right thing about anything. My opinion based solely on their past actions and I would love for them to prove me wrong.

• John J. O'Connor (Monday, July 20 20 08:53 am EDT)

  Looks like the Claremont administration got caught again . I understand why the City would try and inflate their Covid loss numbers, it's what any person would do but don't ask for an amount you can't come close to substantiating.
  A person's word is their bond and after this does anyone think the powers that be in Concord will ever believe anything that comes out of the City Managers mouth again.
  To be off by over a million dollars is unacceptable. Someone should be held accountable and since they can't fire another City Manager, they must fire the Financial Director.
  Mr. Morris seems like a nice , humble man and I thank him for his service as a firefighter but let's be honest, he is not a Mensa member.
  It is obvious he is being majorly influenced by the Financial Director. A mistake of this magnitude can not be brushed under the rug.
  Someone MUST to be held accountable.

• Peter (Monday, July 20 20 08:53 am EDT)

  I am wondering about the property abatements and how much it is going to lower the city’s overall property valuation and how that will affect the property tax rate for all of us. It will certainly go up. There are so many things that our city leaders purposefully keep us in the dark about that if it was not for the Sullivan Report and all the fine work our two ex-city councilors do to keep us informed we would be totally lost. This is because the pathetic excuse we have for a local press will not report the real news because they are too afraid to ruffle any feathers.

• Chris (Monday, July 20 20 07:35 am EDT)

  Big takeaway from today’s Sullivan Report headline article is a potential impending $1,300,607 municipal budget deficit hitting home later this fiscal year that will add $1.74 to Claremont’s Property Tax Rate that is already the highest in New Hampshire. Councilors and Mr. Morris are ignoring the situation to push through large spending programs before the crisis hits to appease / pander to their true constituents, city employees with pay raises and certain non-profits, developers of Section 8 housing and the Downtown business community. The rest of us taxpayers get it right in the shorts as per usual. No reasonable senior property assessment exemptions, no tax credits for all veterans, no professionally maintained roadways, only the patch and skim-coat monstrosity on Broad St. that will soon be the look of other thoroughfares in Claremont as well. Our city leaders have sold out the average taxpayers.

• Ted (Monday, July 20 20 06:02 am EDT)

  Watching the councilor meetings is like watching the stupidest thing ever. Every meaning is like a Seinfeld episode, fans will remember that Seinfeld was the show about nothing, because these imbeciles accomplish nothing and argue about nothing. The Three Stooges were certainly smarter than these nine clods. That’s no joke.

• Greg (Monday, July 20 20 02:48 am EDT)

  The quality of city government management is at an all-time low. We have an imbecile for a city manager who is working way above his competency level and we have a city council comprised of nine buffoons who strut during the meetings to show off their imagined self-importance while all acting like either Nero and letting Claremont burn or Caligula completely delusional regarding everything that is going on around them. The Claremont voters need to pick better leaders if this community has any hope of surviving.

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, July 19 20 06:51 pm EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) Covid-19 financial crisis looming!
  
  2) Ex-City Manager Ryan McNutt receives good job performance review from new bosses.
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• thats why (Friday, July 17 20 11:06 am EDT)

  Because people suck and are lazy scumbags

• John J. O'Connor (Friday, July 17 20 08:46 am EDT)

  I just saw there are 7 active cases of Covid in Sullivan County with 1-4 active in Claremont, with only 1-4 active cases why is a split school schedule even being considered ?
  The Governor has left it up to each district to decide what will be the appropriate action in school reopenings, shouldnt the number of active cases be taken into serious consideration?

• Maintenance on a budget (Thursday, July 16 20 09:15 pm EDT)

  Wow city workers weedwack the sidewalks finally 👏 what great job spraying roads if you like living in ghetto lol

• Craziness (Thursday, July 16 20 08:15 am EDT)

  I meant defund not defend lol but ya send them back to school your right 60 people who are educators lol never get a decision that makes sense

• John J. O'Connor (Thursday, July 16 20 07:33 am EDT)

  It takes 60 people to figure out this problem ? No one the school system ranks near the bottom for education in the state.I
  The one thing we learned during this pandemic is school is more about childcare than it is education.
  I haven't heard one parent complain about the lack of learning their child received during this time, what I have heard is how hard it is to balance home schooling/ childcare with the ability to go to work.
  It's a scientific fact that grade school students are the least likely to die from this virus but all you hear is concern for the students when the real concern is for the teachers and staff.
  If the teachers and staff wear masks and practice social distancing they should be able to survived just like out grocery store workers.
  Are teachers lives more valuable then the lives of our essential workers ?
  Kids need to go back to add school full time.

• Defend the school educated idiots (Thursday, July 16 20 06:33 am EDT)

  Our schools squander our tax money and these idiots are thinking about a hybrid model but not reopening fucking time to really cut there funds these kids in our community need school alot of them are safer there then home they need interaction the issues these ignorant educators are creating are going to be catastrophic

• Deb (Tuesday, July 14 20 04:27 pm EDT)

  It seems that with the exception of Councilors Andrew O’Hearne and Jonathan Stone that none of the city councilors actually wants to serve the people of Claremont. It is the system that allows people like them to rise that have no talent and no desire for good clean governance, nor do they care for anyone but themselves. This city deserves better leadership than them.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, July 14 20 03:14 pm EDT)

  Superintendent of Schools responds regarding Claremont School District reopening.
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Kaitlyn (Tuesday, July 14 20 01:48 pm EDT)

  I'd suggest everyone boycott Nick Koloski's businesses but that would be stupid because most people won't patron the place anyway. Would you? They are all located in a dirty old building that is building rated lower than the Main Street building that is about to be demolished for being a public safety hazard. Besides that there is all the environmental hazards plaguing the building and surrounding property. Who in their right minds would go and have a bite to eat or hang out and drink with friends or do anything else there? Who would subject their significant other and children to that kind of environment? I certainly would not. I doubt most responsible and loving people would.

• Brian (Tuesday, July 14 20 01:02 pm EDT)

  Contois is a real piece of shit. I just read in today's NH Union Leader another article about Councilor Stone and Councilman Contois is quoted in the article pleading that citizens boycott Mr. Stone's business. Now that is vindictive and totally out of line just because someone happens to disagree with you. Contois and his cronies on the Council are a bunch of real wackos.

• John J. O'Connor (Tuesday, July 14 20 11:36 am EDT)

  Charles,
  Your statements would be hilarious if it wasn't so true but I have to disagree on one point, it's not all 9.
  Councilor Stone and O'hearn have tried. They are the voices of reason on this council, they are without a national agenda.
  Jon Stone will do more for the citizens of Claremont in 2 years then John Cloutier has done in 25 years.
  Can anyone tell me about one piece of legislation that John Cloutier sponsored that directly benefited Claremont ?
  Good luck trying to find any.

• Charles (Tuesday, July 14 20 11:15 am EDT)

  Boy, that James Contois is a real moron to the point that a new word must be created to fully express the extremely high level of buffoonery he has reached. Contois cannot even figure out how to operate the mute on/mute off button on his laptop computer. This f-ing certifiable nut job is so dimwitted that he thinks he is actually a genius. All he seems to be interested in is social justice and national issues and he is wasting the city council’s time with this political bullshit along with his obsessed cohorts Lovett, Damren, Matteau and Kier. Alternatively, as I like to call them dumb, dumber, even dumber and dumbest of them all. What a crew of losers on this council, the voters blew it big time.

• Steve (Tuesday, July 14 20 10:08 am EDT)

  Thank you Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville for opening up our eyes to the extremely high dollar amounts that several local businesses received from the government for the Main Street Relief Funds. Many of these business owners are crying poverty especially Councilor Nick Koloski who according to this information received $16,977. That is not exactly chump change. Based on what I found online these are grants that do not have to be repaid.

• Kevin (Tuesday, July 14 20 09:13 am EDT)

  I cannot believe how unprofessional Ed Morris and his administrative staff is. The City Hall roof project has a decade’s old price quote from only one source that was supposedly re-asked over the telephone about five years ago and that is enough to quote a project that is almost $1 million in price according to Mr. Morris and his cohorts today. There is no proof that the price tag is that much and I am wondering if it is inflated so city officials can get their hooks into extra money from the taxpayers for God knows what purpose. Then there is the $4.5 million downtown project that has flashy pictures but no solid financials and about half of the parking spaces that are categorized as public spaces are on private property and those partnerships as the present has called it have not even been agreed upon yet. Don’t get me started on the condition of Broad Street in this new program that will make all the streets look like incredibly ugly patchwork quilts and a big waste of our tax dollars. I could go on but you get the idea of how many things that are going wrong with our city. So what do our nine elected councilors do? They just sit there deaf, mute and blind to everything because they do not want to rock the boat. Of course, there are councilors who have been recipients of special favors, etc. in the past who want to keep their access to the public trust or city official influence open. The corruption in this city is running rampant.

• Donk (Tuesday, July 14 20 08:35 am EDT)

  PUBLIC UNION LIVES MATTER
  
  We should paint that on Pleasant Street.

• lawns look good weeds look better in the sidewalks (Monday, July 13 20 10:40 pm EDT)

  We can't get our lawnmowers out to mow the wheels broke pushing it on the sidewalk then i hit a pothole going to tractor supply and my tire popped and wheel bent and ball joint fell off so now I so tired from working extra to pay for those things my lawn can't get mowed oh and my taxes went up and the needles on the street washed onto my lawn and stuck in my foot good job morris and council thanks for all the hard work you fucking asswipes

• Dennis (Monday, July 13 20 09:25 pm EDT)

  Wow the manager and the council certainly have brought the city to near bankruptcy and they still want to keep on spending more and more. The amount of money left in the city’s rainy day fund is down to a trickle or a dried-up puddle depending on which method you choose to figure things do not out. I know when they passed the cash reserve policy about a year or so ago that it was totally fubar because I trust Allen Damren as far as I can throw him. In my humble opinion he surely knows how to work a pencil and misleading the public with fancy math and lies of omission is just his speed. The other councilors I read that too dumb to notice, too lazy to care or they are co-conspirators of the deception. Either way Claremont has the worst leadership it ever has had in our city government.

• Todd (Monday, July 13 20 05:07 pm EDT)

  I can see Kier and Koloski going around Claremont with a yardstick measuring every lawn for grass height and writing up everyone who violates the new grass height rule. Talk about the height of hypocrisy. Koloski indirectly profited from the Topstone building scandal and I don’t doubt for a minute that is because he is a city councilor that this even happened. I say that Koloski indirectly profited because the Topstone building owners received nearly a quarter of $1 million property tax break from the taxpayers with the tax forgiveness deal that took place in some back room at City Hall. The owners saved on future taxes with the 70% plus property assessment reduction and they got to keep their building instead of the city repossessing it for back unpaid property taxes. The city also did not condemned the building even though it has a lower building safety rating than the Main Street building that the city is about to knock down and all city leaders and employees are looking the other way regarding all the environmental hazards on the property. All of these things let Koloski keep his businesses where they are. Kier broke the nepotism rule in the city code of conduct and she told everyone to go to hell because she will do as she damn pleases. Now it looks like she broke the city charter with giving orders to a city employee. Councilman Dietz resigned when the councilors said that he broke the rules by giving DPW chief Bruce Temple a suggestion on an intersection. What Kier did is far worse so she should get the heave ho too. I imagine that Kier will give everyone the middle finger regarding that violation too.

• John J. O'Connor (Monday, July 13 20 02:41 pm EDT)

  I need a second to calm down......at first , I was somewhat sympathetic to Councilor Keirs resolution and then I read the last paragraph.
  Angela Davis is a communist educated, cop hating piece of shit racist, who benefited greatly by the freedom of America only to preach hate.
  It is obvious by using Angela Davis as your role model, Councilor Keir is only looking to divide this community and she should be removed from office immediately.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, July 13 20 01:16 pm EDT)

  Four articles published today.
  
  1) Lawsuit withdrawn!
  
  2) City petitions Sullivan County Superior Court in regards to Councilor Stone!
  
  3) Claremont businesses receive Main Street Relief Funds.
  
  4) July 8 Council meeting synopsis.
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, July 13 20 08:06 am EDT)

  Friend, I am actually addressing that very issue within today's article, which I'm still writing in regards to the Council meeting of July 8. I thought of that very issue while watching the meeting. That article will be published later today. I do appreciate the heads up, many of our readers help AJ and I keep on top of things.

• Friend (Monday, July 13 20 06:51 am EDT)

  Jim, you left one thing out in the charter. Didn’t the council remove a councilor for something like telling highway what to do. Which begs the question of Kier involving a city employee by her own admission to help her draft a resolution? Asking for a friend.

• Get a job (Friday, July 10 20 08:30 pm EDT)

  I saw some of the looser protesters were out harassing people this afternoon because the dont have fucking jobs im sure our leadership of pussies will coddle them again go hold hands with the scum maybe walk our waste of tax money comfort dog down from the pd and hang with them

• John J. O'Connor (Friday, July 10 20 08:31 am EDT)

  Jim,
  Don't waste your time, your message reaches the same group of people that continuously complains about our elected officials and come election time vote for the same people they come here and complain about.
  I travel so over that state and Claremont is ahead of the curve as far as road repair is concerned. I have seen miles and miles of freshly paved roads and no other town or city is paving just half the street, these fools are actually paving curb to curb.
  It is a rare occurrence when Claremont is a trend setter but we are. Paving half a street is the future, regardless of how ridiculous it looks. Regardless that it makes Claremont look like a 3rd world nation, the rest of the state is not reaping the savings .
  During my time at the Statehouse, I became painfully away of Claremont's reputation throughout the state, unfortunately with our current paving projects, we are living up to that reputation.

• Jim Sullivan (Friday, July 10 20 02:17 am EDT)

  There is no recall provision in the Claremont City Charter. A petition to could be circulated to demand a City Councilor to resign and used to try to pressure the elected official to maybe resign but that is all. The only way to remove any elected official in Claremont's municipal government is through the ballot box during election day.

• Recall (Thursday, July 09 20 07:25 pm EDT)

  Kier is an at large councilor. It will take allot of signatures to recall her. Let me know when and where to sign. She is bad for the city.

• Bob (Thursday, July 09 20 03:50 pm EDT)

  So who is going to start a petition to remove councilor Keir, I will sign it

• Donk (Thursday, July 09 20 03:44 pm EDT)

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX748C5JAws
  
  WATCH THIS ONE

• Donk (Thursday, July 09 20 03:38 pm EDT)

  You all may appreciate this video
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTlMLeEHjw8

• John J. O'Connor (Thursday, July 09 20 02:52 pm EDT)

  Donk,
  You are correct, there are a small number of police officers that take injuries just so they can receive a disability pension but a far larger number of Police Officers that retire early do so because they were injured in the line of duty.
  There should be major scrutiny in regards to ALL disability claims, including Social Security and those claims that are false should go to jail.

• Donk (Thursday, July 09 20 02:07 pm EDT)

  The bigger problem with cops is the sheer number of them going out on disability claims with their trick backs.The union shields them from true scrutiny.The disability payments are tax free.Many have been caught red handed doing extreme sports and the like.Should they be caught I think forfeiture of pension and health benefits are in order.I also believe that when cops are found to have wronged people in a bad way the lawsuits that the families bring should be paid from police pension funds.Why are taxpayers responsible for bad behavior? When good cops shield bad cops with this so-called wall of blue,they then become just as bad as the perpetrators of the wrong doing.Conspiracy carries the same penalty as the act itself.Start prosecuting the bad apples.The relationship between prosecutors and cops is a little too incestuous for the American public to put up with any longer.Be honest,and do the right thing and all will be well for all.The storm trooper equipment has to go.You should feel ashamed gearing up with all this shit while nurses don't even have enough masks.I'm all for a 20% cut in police pay,while at the same time increasing traveling nurses assistants should be given state vehicles for use,as well as a 40% pay raise.Paying these poor women $10-$12 per hour in this day and age is disgusting.

• Joe (Thursday, July 09 20 11:38 am EDT)

  This is an email I sent to the entire council this morning.
  
  To: Mayor Lovett, Assistant Mayor Damren, and the council, I am expressing dissatisfaction of an incident that happened during the July 8th council meeting. During the discussion on the police brutality item I as a citizen on the zoom app hit the “raise hand” button and it turned blue. I was not recognized. I had a prepared statement as to my feelings and did not have a chance to give it.
  
  It is my opinion that a resolution regarding police brutality is purely political at this time. I am not denying brutality happened recently. The number of cases are open for debate. Looking at the whole picture is reason enough to see this as political. The actions of Black Lives Matter in retaliation and their brutal murders of innocent police officers and citizens young and old as well as the burning of houses and businesses not being addressed in a resolution such as this is purely political at best. There are more than 800,000 police officers in the United States. Any group of people will have bad apples. Sadly the population of African American people in the United States experiences the same problem and it should not go unnoticed in this time of political uprising. What further upsets me is the clear position Councilor Keir has taken on this matter. Although it is perfectly within her rights to post on her front lawn a Black Lives Matter sign I find her enthusiastic comments on her Face Book page shows a clear political bias to this subject. I will try to forward a screen shot of both. In my eyes and many others this is talking out of both side of your mouth to condemn the police brutality and not the resulting brutality against the far majority of good police and innocent people. Again this is political!
  
  I would like this e-mail in its entirerty included on the minutes of the next council meeting
  
  Thanks Joe Osgood.

• Jason (Thursday, July 09 20 09:31 am EDT)

  John this mayor is a weak human pandering to the crazy left wing loosers lets face it she couldnt make a right decision on anything write another article to the non existent eagle slim but not know how to run a meeting let alone a city as we see with there paving and there breck ave sidewalk job being led by morris who is a flea just straight up a joke

• John J. O'Connor (Thursday, July 09 20 09:17 am EDT)

  Why must the City Council make a resolution condemning Police brutality and inequality ?
  I have not met anyone that supports Police brutality or inequality so what is the purpose other than self promotion by Councilor Keir.
  Councilor Stone seems to be the only voice of reason, this so called resolution is supposed to be a feel good moment but it actually is a poor attempt capitalize on a national issue.
  Councilor Keir should be more concern with her own actiona, her blatant disregard for the City Charter should be addressed and her constant harassment by her and her cronies of Councilor Stone MUST stop.
  Shame on the Mayor for turning a blind eye to Councilor Keir's total lack of respect.

• Donk (Wednesday, July 08 20 05:57 pm EDT)

  Do you think the city council would approve the residents of Sugar River Drive using 1 year of tax payments to get the paving done professionally?
  I know some professional that would do a very good job.The city would just have to let us use our own money.

• Keith (Wednesday, July 08 20 05:50 pm EDT)

  Donk, you are right about Sugar River Drive. It is another prime example of Morris's bad management combined with nine city councilors who don't give a damn about Claremont.

• Donk (Wednesday, July 08 20 04:48 pm EDT)

  Sugar River Drive is like Mad Max at this point.They compacted some shit that's supposed to act like pavement,it doesn't.Just wait until the plow trucks start being destroyed by these giant ruts.

• Craig (Wednesday, July 08 20 10:10 am EDT)

  Broad Street is a disaster area. It is horribly ugly with its Frankenstein-ish patchwork design it is a disgrace and an embarrassment to everyone in Claremont. Where are our elected leaders? Why are the nine elected members of the city council saying nothing about this to their employee Ed Morris? Are they afraid of him? Are they getting something out of this we, the general public are not aware of or is it just the ambivalence of nine individuals with no civic pride? I can only imagine what Claremont will look like when other roads receive the Morris patchwork treatment.

• Jon (Wednesday, July 08 20 08:30 am EDT)

  Ed Morris is a dimwitted city manager. He is definitely no Guy Santagate that is for sure.

• Phil (Wednesday, July 08 20 06:39 am EDT)

  This is what the voters deserve for not paying attention as to who is elected and for staying home on voting day and not giving a crap. When the tax bills sharply increase which they will then maybe they will give a crap but that will be far too late to fix it. Karma is a you know what.

• Jeff (Tuesday, July 07 20 03:51 pm EDT)

  This downtown project is beginning to look like a taxpayer boondoggle. I wonder which favorite contractors will get the project go ahead so they can pocket as much of the taxpayers $4.8 million as they can. I also wonder how much of that money will find its way back into certain pockets under the table so to speak.

• Marie (Tuesday, July 07 20 01:42 pm EDT)

  It’s really dirty pool to have one set of assessing rules for the special interests and then another set of assessing rules that squeezes every tax dollar they can out of the rest of us. Welcome to Claremont.

• Brad (Tuesday, July 07 20 11:46 am EDT)

  What happens when the property abatements come in and it is time to pay the Piper? I am concerned about those utility companies that were socked very hard over the last couple of years with higher property assessments that seem outrageous. What happens when the tax money the utilities paid in that was overpaid has to be paid back because two of the utilities are fighting back according to what was written in the Sullivan Report. Then it will really hit the fan and the city might not have the money to pay it back. Whoopsie! Guess the taxpayers will have to open up their wallets again to pay for another fine mess that our city leaders got us into because the voters picked the wrong representatives to lead them. The voters and the taxpayers have to wake up and get rid of these morons before things become worse. Although it may be too late already

• Donk (Tuesday, July 07 20 11:13 am EDT)

  Mr Morris isn't concerned with any of you.He doesn't count on your vote.He does and is creating an incestuous relationship with our local public unions.This is a page out of Chicago styled politics.He know with their support he is protected in his job,no matter his performance to you and me(the ones that pay him).

• Alex (Tuesday, July 07 20 09:34 am EDT)

  His evasiveness to things that should be public knowledge is the reason why you cannot trust Morris or any of his subordinates and that includes the dolts on the council, who continuously let him get away with this crap.

• Todd (Tuesday, July 07 20 08:31 am EDT)

  I see that changing the road pattern for Downtown Claremont making it one way on Pleasant Street. What I would like to know is which way the truck route is going to go? Nancy Merrill and Ed Morris hemmed and hawed about it every time they were asked that question. Morris is a real piss poor city manager with a staff of directors that are mediocre at best.

• Sara (Tuesday, July 07 20 08:14 am EDT)

  Do we really need another park in Claremont? Just saying. It sure sounds like more taxpayer’s money is being wasted.

• Industrial Property Owner (Tuesday, July 07 20 07:41 am EDT)

  My, my a rare occurrence happened today. An article appeared in the Eagle Times this morning that was actually about Claremont. Succinctly the article was in regards to the local real estate market; the economic reality of supply and demand is in full gear as there is a low supply of residential property for sale and a higher supply of potential buyers causing bidding wars over available properties driving the selling prices up. I remember when the previous City Manager Ryan McNutt was under the false impression that Claremont’s property was undervalued and he easily convinced greedy city councilors with thoughts of driving up property assessment values, lowering the property tax rate to create the opportunity for city officials to spend more of the taxpayer’s money while maintaining the current property tax rate. Essentially a hidden property tax increase on practically every property owner in Claremont. Of course, the plan failed because property values did not rise as much as anticipated. Then there is the problem of the utility property assessments that will in my humble opinion be impossible to justify in a court of law when the two utility cases currently filed against the city are finally heard. This will cause a significant financial crisis for the city government and ultimately the taxpayers who will have to pay for the mistakes of their inept city government leaders. My justifiable mistrust of City Manager Ed Morris, in regards to his reticence to be forthcoming regarding explaining his actions and releasing information about his administration’s spending of public funds, has me doubting his ethics and integrity. I am wondering if Mr. Morris, after reading today’s article in the Eagle Times, intends to follow Mr. McNutt’s footsteps and request another citywide property assessment to justify raising property values again for the same reasons Mr. McNutt had. I see this property valuation increase as nothing more than a temporary price inflation bubble because of the current COVID-19 crisis and nothing more. An honest property assessor would also realize that and not include those property sales within their property assessment calculations, as they are not truly reflective of Claremont’s real estate market. However the Sullivan Report has proven without a shadow of a doubt that our local city government and particularly the assessing office, under Mr. Morris’s management, is still continuing the unfair property valuation practices that benefit a select few to the detriment of all of the property owners. These unfair practices also effect tenants who have to pay higher rent or lease prices if they wish to either live or conduct business in Claremont. A vicious circle orchestrated and executed by vicious, unethical people. While all the while, our nine elected representatives on the city council cast a blind eye to all of it.

• incompetant nothings in control (Monday, July 06 20 08:29 pm EDT)

  Gotta love new sidewalks entire on breck Ave where there are 14 people that live and the half ass shit job of paving main roads are you kidding me fucktards put in sidewalks on a road 10 cars drive on and has never had a sidewalk oh and good job weeding and mowing new community center building

• Patricia (Monday, July 06 20 05:47 pm EDT)

  The attitudes of Abigail Kier and Nicholas Koloski are way over the top, as neither of them believe that rules and regulations apply to them. Charlene Lovett and Allen Damren are equally as guilty as they continue to involve themselves in to the day-to-day affairs of the municipal government in violation of the city charter. No one cares and only a few of the Councilors dare to stand up to them. It is unfortunate that Andrew O’Hearne and Jonathan Stone are pale imitations of the likes of Alan Whipple, Sharon King, AJ Maranville, James Sullivan, Paul LaCasse and Robert Picard, to name a few of the Councilors who well represented the public and had the courage and the intelligence to stand up to those who did not.

• Bob (Monday, July 06 20 03:51 pm EDT)

  CODE OF CONDUCT: VIOLATIONS/ This policy shall be enforced by a court of competent jurisdiction with regard to members of the city council or other elected officials. THIS IS DIRECTLY FROM THE CITY OF CLAREMONT CODE OF CONDUCT, this matter is out of the hands of the city council and some one needs to tell them. This CAN NOT be swept under the rug Kier must answer for her actions to a Court of Competent Jurisdiction !!!!!!!

• Steve (Monday, July 06 20 03:34 pm EDT)

  If this company is so professional then why didn't they submit a written price quote for the roof repair with an exact dollar amount?

• Questions Answers (Monday, July 06 20 03:10 pm EDT)

  I have had experience with Rodd Roofing. No way they would jump an estimate like that without a site visit. Reputable people in my eyes. More questions than answers.

• Richard (Monday, July 06 20 02:11 pm EDT)

  I like the comparison about a week ago between Lebanon and Claremont in regards to leadership. While Lebanon might be making some controversial decisions, at least they are making drastic steps to cut the budget because they realize that the unemployment rate is so high and that their constituents are hurting financially. Claremont’s dumbass leaders on the other hand have bending over backwards to find new ways to spend more money starting with a $4.8 million boondoggle in downtown Claremont to make more parking for illegal aliens and welfare deadbeats and then large pay increases for city staffers or should I say city loafers. Then they want to hire more city loafers to help the city loafers we have already got on staff. While they allow buildings like the JSL and City Hall rot and sell the public a bill of goods on this new road-paving plan that really does not do any paving at all so they can pay for their political plans to put lots of taxpayer’s money directly into the pockets of the special-interests. Claremont is no Lebanon that’s for sure.

• Dave (Monday, July 06 20 01:16 pm EDT)

  Don’t forget the lies and the cover-ups. Allen Damren and Nick Koloski and Charlene Lovett seem to be taking the lead on that score. Damren and Koloski want to bury the growing community center losses that are increasing the public subsidy every year by combining the community center budget with the parks budget to make it impossible for anyone to see the public subsidy grow and grow more and more with each passing year. Lovett publishes her rhetoric every week in the Eagle Times and e- ticker news to keep the masses uninformed and uneducated about the truth. Then let’s not forget the Eagle Times reporter who’s an ex-school board member and married to a city employee in the planning office that does his best to whitewash all the so-called news he writes about. Claremont is a corrupt community you just can’t get past it if you look objectively.

• Greg (Monday, July 06 20 09:40 am EDT)

  I think all the commercial property owners who have vacancies in their buildings should demand to be assessed using the income method to lower their property tax bill. If the property owners do not get that consideration, all they have to do is use the CDA example to prove disparity and win a case with either the courts or the BTLA. If enough property owners file a case then maybe the state will come in and clean up this rat’s nest.

• Shawn (Monday, July 06 20 09:27 am EDT)

  With the Councilors about to rewrite the code of conduct rules there will be no more ethics rules that will apply to them once they are done with the rewrite. Of course, they were not following the rules in the first place so I guess none of this really matters. There is no integrity or honesty on this Council. We have had dishonest Councilors before but this is clearly the worst collection of miscreants ever in the history of Claremont.

• John J. O'Connor (Monday, July 06 20 08:22 am EDT)

  The Right to Know law is a law and it seems the Morris administration is taking niceness for weakness.
  Take him to court.

• Industrial Property Owner (Monday, July 06 20 08:09 am EDT)

  Three great exposés. I was hoping that Ed Morris would rise above his limited experience and shine as a city manager. I am sad to say that I have no more faith in his abilities as a leader. The City Hall roof, the $4.8 million Downtown Pleasant Street Project and the grossly unfair commercial property assessing policy that secretly rewards property owners with close ties to those within Claremont’s municipal government highlights not only the high level of corruption within our city government but it also shows the absence of character and integrity of those who have been entrusted to manage the public’s affairs. I am referring to both members of the administration and the city council. Still to come is the Sullivan Report’s exposé in regards to the Downtown TIF District and the millions of dollars that were allegedly repaid to the city coffers that should be a complete impossibility. I believe the books are clearly being cooked which adds another layer of corruption performed by the current and previous municipal administrations.

• Bert (Monday, July 06 20 07:50 am EDT)

  I am using the name Bert as someone else is already using the name Robert. I am the first time contributor to the forum. I read today’s three articles and my blood is just boiling as I have finally had enough. Mr. Morris, Mayor Lovett Assistant Mayor Damren and the rest of the folks on the Council have brought corruption to a new disgustingly distasteful level. This does not mean that anyone is illegally lining their pockets although they might be for all we know. What I mean by corruption is that they are perverting and manipulating the system for their own ends. A political agenda that is contrary to what I believe is best for the overall populace of Claremont. All they seem interested in doing is spending money foolishly to create more low income housing to presumably benefit on a more developers of such properties as well as certain non-profit agencies such as the dental clinic, Sullivan County’s new ex-convict drug addict residential home, and other social service agencies. We also must not forget the municipal employees as they will all be the beneficiaries of bigger pay raises and possibly improved employee benefits as well all on the taxpayer’s dime. I do not believe for a minute that Councilor Nicholas Koloski had nothing to do with the Topstone scandal. I do believe his Councilor cronies protected him and his businesses from any harm by letting the $222,725.09 tax break slide when the Council had full authority to countermand that action. Just as I believe Councilor Abigail Kier’s Councilor cronies protected her from censure for her violation of the code of conduct. I was appalled at her attitude and commentary that she did not need to follow the code of conduct because nobody could do anything to her about it anyway. Someone with that bad attitude should not be in public office ever. The Claremont taxpayers need to rise up and vote this entire corrupt City Council out of public office at their first opportunity.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, July 06 20 06:33 am EDT)

  Three articles published today.
  
  1) City Hall roof estimate cloudy!
  
  2) Pleasant Street Project parking availability numbers are significantly erroneous!
  
  3) Claremont Municipal Government continues unfair assessing practices!
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Gone Now (Friday, July 03 20 03:11 pm EDT)

  No matter what is spent on Pleasant it will only be mostly junk stores. Only wealthy communities have flourishing old downtowns. This city is fast tracking the population into poverty with totally ridiculous spending.

• Guy (Thursday, July 02 20 09:40 am EDT)

  Thank you Nick (Drooler, you can change your name but not your IP address) for your insight.

• Drooler (Wednesday, July 01 20 10:48 pm EDT)

  Libtard douchbags all of you drooling pajama wearing fucks

• Deserving loosers (Wednesday, July 01 20 10:40 pm EDT)

  We have such deservant libtards in this city i bet if you added up there credit scores all of them they might equal 650 maybe even a 700 to bad they couldn't add them all up and as a group they could actually buy something scumbags they are they still wouldn't know what to do if they got anything nevermind

• Sullivan Isadouchebag (Wednesday, July 01 20 06:41 pm EDT)

  Sullivan I watch the meetings. Your rundown is garbage. You might want to rewatch meetings and try to follow along. Your statements are bullshit that tries to spin statements to whatever suits your need. Perhaps that is why you and AJ didn't make it past a term. You can't comprehend. Councilors were dialed in by telephone by the way not zoom. This is the smallest of details you just don't understand. You are a douchebag.

• big paving project (Wednesday, July 01 20 05:13 pm EDT)

  No councilor has the brainpower to do any project all delinquents in there own life cant run a checkbook themselves but give them the city checkbook and add there ignorance to work and holy fuck we are screwed lets close this place and be done with these idiots trying to spend our money

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, July 01 20 11:11 am EDT)

  Unfortunately John that's just the beginning as this is only the first project under the Morris Administration's new 20 year skim coat & patch road maintenance plan that was rubberstamped by the Council of 2020. Eventually the roads throughout the entire City will look like Broad Street. That will elevate Claremont from having a few embarrassing looking roads to becoming the laughingstock of the entire area!

• John J. O'Connor (Wednesday, July 01 20 11:02 am EDT)

  Funny you mentioned 4 feet of paving, I was wondering how much it would have cost to quasi-pave the entire street?
  I doubt it would have cost the tax payers as much as the downtown TIF.
  I see the city manager wants to use the current money being spent on bonds and pour that money into some half ass Pleasant St. project, my advice, hold back. Use that expired bond money for road repair.
  Fix every road that needs fixing before you do something that has significant odds of fail.
  I agree with Guy, the current completed paving is an embarrassment.

• cuddle time with the police dogs (Wednesday, July 01 20 10:36 am EDT)

  I could really use a comfort dog right now with all this maybe we could sell him for $500 and get more another 4 feet of paving on the 34 feet they did go to the edge maybe What a joke

• Roberts Rule (Tuesday, June 30 20 07:10 pm EDT)

  So a motion to table and voted to pass passed. A suggestion to consult legal council but not voted on it to get approval leaves no council authority to be doing anything. Am I wrong but doesn’t a motion need to be made to remove a tabled item from the table and a two thirds vote required to take it off the table? Asking for a friend. Oh wait, never mind, this is the Claremont. They do as they please.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, June 30 20 11:45 am EDT)

  Council meets for their June 24 meeting with their rubberstamps at the ready!
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Guy (Monday, June 29 20 01:41 pm EDT)

  I have this feeling the roads of the entire city are going to look like a senior center patch work quilt.
  It's embarrassing.

• Donk (Monday, June 29 20 01:41 pm EDT)

  William, those big raises and paychecks and low deductible health insurance costs big money!
  MAGA doesn't entail going back to dirt roads to pay the pensions I hope.

• William (Monday, June 29 20 12:36 pm EDT)

  Wow! Broad Street at the intersection of Broad & Water Streets is butt ugly! It looks like an horrendous patchwork paving job where the entire road is not done. All around the islands is bare of new paving. A real half ass job if you ask me. As a taxpayer I am really displeased and I am wondering if this is what we have to look forward to with many more roads in Claremont looking like streets in a third world country with Mr. Morris's handy-dandy skim coat paving and patchwork plan. Mr. Morris should be fired for this travesty and if the councilors won't do it we should fire them at the next election.

• Joyce (Monday, June 29 20 08:30 am EDT)

  The Eagle Times really isn't the price of their subscription anymore. Whoever is putting the paper together continues to recycle old articles as new articles to fill the paper up and the number of pages in each edition are far less than they used to be. People pay for new reporting not recycled news that appears multiple times in multiple editions.

• Joel (Monday, June 29 20 07:12 am EDT)

  Boy oh boy are the folks at the Eagle Times really stupid. On their website subscribers have to read online editions every day of the week except Saturday. Today's edition is really Friday's edition put up for the second time. Do the turkeys of the Eagle office think their readers about stupid that they would realize a repeat edition instead of a new one? I know the paper has changed from a class act to a pale shadow of its past especially when you look at the caliber of reporters these days. But now they are not even trying to fake being real newshounds. This paper really has gone to the dogs.

• Joe (Thursday, June 25 20 04:21 pm EDT)

  the tiny "city" of Claremont is as corrupt as it gets. they get away with it because there are so many people living there who pay no attention and don't bother voting, they're too busy finding their next drug fix.
  when I lived there they doubled my property taxes in one bill and defended it saying they had to come into state compliance, that was a lie, they had two years to do so.
  when I lived there after one election, at the first meeting of the city council they got 2 elected members to resign along with the mayor and they then proceeded to install their own people. that was YEARS ago but nothing has changed.
  ignorance and self absorption breeds corruption and Claremont is a good example, on the small scale, of what's happened to this country.

• Bob (Thursday, June 25 20 03:35 pm EDT)

  Look at Erica Sweetster's posts on FB she says some pretty awful things about her constituents calling them assholes and condemning their way of life when she was working at Cumbies. Some of the garbage she has posted is far worse than Stone. Where is the outcry for her removal. What about Kier she BLATANTLY violated the Code of Conduct and you can't tell me she did not know, ignorance of the law is no excuse where is the DEMAND FOR HER REMOVAL don't let this get swept under the rug DEMAND something be done about her

• Local Liberals Want to Squash Claremont’s Conservative Voice (Wednesday, June 24 20 10:34 am EDT)

  The four Claremont musketeers (Councilor Abigail Kier, Patrick Adrian, Sam Killay, and Matt Mooshian) are banding together to stoke public anger against Councilor Jon Stone for the personal opinions he has expressed on Facebook. Their current charge is just the latest in a long-standing personal battle against Councilor Stone. The four of them, like all liberal progressives, claim to support every person’s “right to free speech” – but only as long as those personal opinions agree with the liberal progressive ideology. Anyone who dares to openly disagree with them, or the groups they support, will be publicly shamed, scolded, and censured. Basically, the liberal progressive party are hypocrites.
  
  Matt Mooshian, as reported by Patrick Adrian in the Eagle Times, accuses Stone of using “language that incites further violence” and of causing harm and sowing discord. Exactly what do he and the other three Claremont musketeers think the BLM and Antifa movements (which liberal progressives support) are doing?! Both BLM and Antifa are openly promoting violence. These groups are nothing more than domestic terrorists! Are Kier, Killay, Mooshian, and Adrian also in favor of people tearing down statues, looting and vandalizing property, and taking and occupying other people’s land?! The real story here is that Kier, Killay, Mooshian, and Adrian, along with other local supporters of domestic terrorism, want to squash the conservative voice in Claremont.

• Steve (Wednesday, June 24 20 10:16 am EDT)

  Two weeks ago, someone named Joshua Lambert started an online petition requesting the removal of Jonathan Stone from the Claremont City Council. Only 26 people signed the petition one week ago and no one has signed the petition since. Out of a population of 12,967 only 26 signatures is not a lot. In fact, it is incredibly pathetic and it shows that only a small group of people led by a few citizens including Councilor Abigail Kier are trying to remove a City Councilor by any means necessary simply because he disagrees with them on many issues. This suggests to me that many people support Mr. Stone’s presence on the City Council. I also disagree with this small group of hatred-filled rabble-rousers so I guess from their warped perspective I would never be qualified to be on the City Council either.

• Mike (Wednesday, June 24 20 09:33 am EDT)

  Boy this Morris character sure is a sneaky SOB. Withholding money from the revenue column of the budget so it can show up later in the year to be spent on enormous pay raises for municipal staff using the old chestnut it won’t raise taxes to justify the move, which is a crock of shit.

• City Hall Insider (Wednesday, June 24 20 05:57 am EDT)

  Mr. Morris planned to use that $200,000 of room and meal tax revenue that he intentionally left out of the budget to fund employee pay raises with the $90,000 presently allocated within his budget. The plan was to call the $200,000 unanticipated revenue and the $290,000 salary increase for FY 2021 would not have affected the property tax rate and that is how it would have been sold to the public and given the councilors the political cover they would have wanted to satisfy the employees who support them at the polls and keep the taxpayers relatively silent. The Sullivan Report's exposure of the property tax rate error, which I am not so sure really was an error on the part of the administrators, forced Mr. Morris's hand to use that $200,000 now to save his skin. Where will he find another $200,000 for the pay raises now?

• Richard (Wednesday, June 24 20 04:10 am EDT)

  I see in the latest eagle times edition that Patrick Adrian is at it again. He is in my opinion abusing his position as a reporter to incite anger against one city councilor while protecting another city council who is in hot water herself and actually violated the code of conduct. Calling Mr. Adrian a reporter is using a term very loosely. This time a front page article about the continuing personal battle between Mr. Killay and a few of his close friends and Councilor Stone about personal comments Councilor Stone has made on Facebook during his own personal time. Free speech and personal opinions are now under siege by a few individuals who believe that anyone who happen to disagree with them is anti everything. Mr. Adrian, whose wife is the business specialist for the City of Claremont, conveniently left out Councilor Abigial Kier's involvement in this whole political driven affair. Mr. Adrian also did not do an article about Councilor Kier's code of conduct violation the day of the council meeting as he did for Councilor Stone for posting comments that some people disagree with on Facebook of all places. The Eagle Times has become a political rag not worthy of purchase.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, June 23 20 03:33 pm EDT)

  City Manager explains FY 2021 municipal budget property tax rate impact discrepancy.
  
  Details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, June 23 20 12:38 pm EDT)

  Mayor Lovett responds to my inquiry regarding FY 2021 municipal budget property tax rate impact discrepancies.
  
  Details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Andy (Tuesday, June 23 20 10:06 am EDT)

  When people act as if they have something to hide they cannot be trusted and Mr. Morris is acting like someone with many somethings to hide.

• Marie (Tuesday, June 23 20 09:22 am EDT)

  How can anybody trust this person Morris judging by the way he is acting with the relaying of public information to the public?

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, June 22 20 07:01 pm EDT)

  The upcoming June 24 Council meeting offers a few surprises.
  
  For details go to the News Flashes page of this website.

• Bob (Monday, June 22 20 04:09 pm EDT)

  We need to get the AG involved and these people investigated. This is BS we should all email the AG's office and tell them what is going on and we need help with our crooked city Govt.

• Dennis (Monday, June 22 20 02:03 pm EDT)

  I am upset that they are not taking care of the JSL building by at least heating it during the winter and not one member of the nines councilors had the guts to ask why Morris was doing that. This current batch of city councilors is the worst Claremont has ever had.

• Gary (Monday, June 22 20 11:48 am EDT)

  What the hell is wrong with Abby Kier? Dear Abby are you a nut job or what? The tax rate and Claremont is the highest in the whole state and all you want to do is spend more and more money and were talking thousands and millions of dollars and you don’t care spend spend spend until the cows come home. Then you break the code of conduct rules and hide it from everyone. You are not the type of Rep. Claremont needs on the Council.

• Richard (Monday, June 22 20 10:06 am EDT)

  Ed Morris, Claremont’s latest and definitely not greatest city manager as I would rank him as one of the worst, is acting more and more like a sleazy bureaucrat because he keeps hiding the truth from the councilors, Mr. Sullivan and the public at large.

• Tom (Monday, June 22 20 09:38 am EDT)

  Looks like the cops will soon be getting another big raise and then once the consultant submits their predetermined report that the employees are woefully underpaid which is a total lie then another big raise will be given to all the city employees. Then more city employees will be hired after that, how many will be friends and relatives of city councilors and other city officials? This keeps the city employees in the pockets of the city manager and the councilors when they need votes for reelection from the employees and their families and friends. Claremont sure has a corrupt political system here that rewards those that have been deemed entitled and penalizes the rest of us who simply pay in pay and pay more in property taxes to keep the gravy train flowing.

• Depressed, Unrepresented Claremont Taxpayer (Monday, June 22 20 09:11 am EDT)

  It has become evident that every time a council rule, municipal law, or contradictory fact gets in their way, Mayor Lovett and most of the City Council conveniently choose to ignore it. Recent case in point is the questionable nine cents city tax rate decrease, as determined by the Morris Administration and published by Mayor Lovett in her Mayoral Notes column. The Sullivan Report has shown the accounting used to produce this figure to be confusing, at the very least, and possibly downright false. This is a tale of two cities: One city is factual; the other is a sanctuary utopian fantasy.

• Dan (Monday, June 22 20 07:18 am EDT)

  Claire Lessard is definitely a city employee, how could she not be? Just like with Councilor Kier’s serious violation of the code of conduct, Morris city officials and the councilors will just sweep this under the rug because they are arrogant and in power so they do not care about rules or whether if any are broken.

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, June 21 20 05:52 pm EDT)

  Three new articles published today.
  
  1) Council decides not to decide about FY 21 budget spending initiatives until later!
  
  2) Morris Administration continues stonewalling and delaying tactics.
  
  3) Morris Administration issues opinion.
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Bob (Saturday, June 20 20 11:40 am EDT)

  Erica Sweetster needs to be ware the things she posts on FB are not that of an elected official. Even though it is her own personal account she still represents the city with it and the things she posts are that of a narrow minded individual and can not see other peoples opinions or ideals if they are not the same as hers. Check out some of her post's and you will see what I mean" Erica Rae"

• John J. O'Connor (Friday, June 19 20 08:22 am EDT)

  I'm not surprised by the city's current situation, look at who we elect.
  Every election the voices here all all screaming for change and then we elect the same people over and over again.
  This last election, three new councilors were elected and there was genuine hope their would be actual progress in the re-building of the city.
  Deb, Jim, and Erica seem to mean well. It is obvious that Deb and Jim have personal agendas but that's ok because it is also obvious they do their research and homework on the important issues the city faces.
  It is also obvious that being on the city council is above Erica's intelligence level. I am sure she means we'll but the requirements to be on the council should be more then drawing pictures on store windows.
  Hopefully she will start doing her homework so she can finally engage in meaningful council discusses instead of just being a person in an empty seat.

• Bob (Thursday, June 18 20 04:24 pm EDT)

  Jim: Good luck with that ..the state is not just going to change a truck route at the behest of a municipality for aesthetic reasons, and where are the trucks going to go everywhere in the city is residential. this should be fun to watch. I can see a lot of " I don't know" answers from dept heads this will be another fiasco ...SNAFU

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, June 17 20 04:43 pm EDT)

  Yes it is and City Officials are looking to change the truck route for this project. Since our article was published this morning the Council meeting agenda for June 24 was changed to include a presentation of the project and the truck route. Curious to see if any relevant details will be revealed or if it will be another rambling presentation devoid of facts and figures. Time will tell.

• Bob (Wednesday, June 17 20 03:59 pm EDT)

  Is Pleasant St.a truck route and don't they need approval from the state before they can change a truck route??????

• Bob (Wednesday, June 17 20 03:56 pm EDT)

  Kier needs to RESIGN she violated the code of conduct which is a removable offense, GET OUT!!!. I say get the AG's office involved and tell the state to investigate, provide all evidence and let the people of Claremont see what is going on!!!!

• Brian (Wednesday, June 17 20 12:30 pm EDT)

  Don't be so sure Morris. I watched the Council meeting the other day and all of them seem to be totally on board with spending the $5.8 million for the municipal bond. A total of $4.8 million of that bond will go for this wet dream project to create more parking for the illegal immigrants and welfare recipients living in section 8 apartments with the other $1 million going to the cops for their radio system and whatnot. It's a done deal if you ask me. The same goes with the extra raises for all the city staffers, hiring four more firefighters and a children's librarian, while ignoring all the other problems in Claremont like the City Hall roof that leaks like a sieve, unfunded post-employment costs, defunded capital projects for the streets and roads, water and sewer. The patch and thin coat plan by the DPW is a freaking joke. Political spin control by Morris and his stooges to trick the public into shutting the hell up and keep paying higher taxes. I believe the councilors will spend more money with these new proposals and rubberstamp Morris's budget and call it a day. We need all new leaders at City Hall.

• Morris the cat (Wednesday, June 17 20 10:49 am EDT)

  Pipe dreams, nothing to get your panties in a bunch about, it will never happen.

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, June 17 20 10:45 am EDT)

  Kyle Messier was part owner of the building. We could never find any documentation on the Registry of Deeds website stating that Messier was no longer a partial owner of the building when the new owner came around. It is unclear whether the new owner and maybe other partners bought the entire building or simply bought a partial ownership of the building making Messier still a partial owner because when that new owner came around Messier remained as the buildings manager. Don't know if she still is or not.

• Rick (Wednesday, June 17 20 10:34 am EDT)

  Doesn't Kyle Messier the former councilor own a piece of the Goodfellas property?

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, June 17 20 09:01 am EDT)

  Does the Morris Administration intend to use taxpayer's dollars to either buy or lease property for the $4.8 million Downtown Project?
  
  Details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Les (Tuesday, June 16 20 10:09 pm EDT)

  She is a liberal anyway good for her these do nothing councilors all should resign no vision for city except the liberal agenda sure FAIL policys

• City Employee (Tuesday, June 16 20 12:00 pm EDT)

  Rumor has it amongst the city employees that some citizens are pressuring City Councilor Abby Kier to resign her elected position. It seems she is terribly distraught about her code of conduct violation and what it will do to her public reputation. Oh boo-hoo, poor Abby.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, June 16 20 10:28 am EDT)

  The auditors only look at a very small number of financial transactions each year. I cannot remember the exact number the auditor said during this year’s presentation but it was more than 40 but less than 50, that is not many considering the number of transactions conducted by city staff each year. The auditor’s only spot check to see if the right numbers are placed within the right boxes so to speak. The auditors are not performing any type of sophisticated financial analyses and therein lies the problem. Things fall through the cracks like what is happening with the Downtown TIF District. This is why a forensic audit of the Downtown TIF District dating back to its very inception is necessary because of the discrepancies that total millions of dollars of taxpayer's money!

• Roger (Tuesday, June 16 20 10:15 am EDT)

  How did the auditors miss this $1.7 million screw up?

• Shawn (Tuesday, June 16 20 08:10 am EDT)

  I agree that the Kier code of conduct violation scandal will be quickly swept under the rug because that’s what Claremont’s corrupt city councilors do. I’ll bet there was no intention of dealing with this issue once the Sullivan Report revealed it until Councilor Stone got angry and shot back at Councilor Kier doing tit-for-tat on the censure votes.

• Charles (Monday, June 15 20 02:27 pm EDT)

  Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville are doing an excellent job as amateur investigative journalists for they are putting all of the so-called professionals to shame that report on this local beat. As long as Patrick Adrian is on the payroll for the Eagle Times and assigned to cover Claremont local news the readers of that newspaper will never read about the truth because Mr. Adrian’s wife works for the city government so he has a tremendous conflict of interest that he seems to let get in the way of true journalism. The e-ticker is a waste of time as it panders to the whims of local government entities and the Valley News and Union Leader are both too geographically distant to adequately report about Claremont news. Local officials take advantage of the absence of the fourth estate. Which is why they must all despise the Sullivan Report for it is the only true representative of the fourth estate in Claremont.

• Tom (Monday, June 15 20 12:19 pm EDT)

  Jim and AJ must be getting too close to the truth about things that the city manager and others in the administration must want to keep buried real deep. I don’t like this new city manager I think he needs to go.

• Ted (Monday, June 15 20 10:33 am EDT)

  The secret Pleasant Restaurant tax break is the Topstone scandal all over again just with less money. Different city manager and assessor, same staff and similar result. Corruption in Claremont’s local government is rampant.

• Linda (Monday, June 15 20 09:04 am EDT)

  Typical Claremont city government. Give a former city councilor a job because she’s part of the clique. Now the doofuses have appointed her to the city board overseeing the rights of city employees when she herself as an employee of the city. Only in Claremont where corruption, ethical violations and dishonesty are standard business practices.

• William (Monday, June 15 20 08:01 am EDT)

  Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville certainly have dredged up several interesting angles for news articles of late. The surreptitious property tax waiver endowed to the Claremont Development Authority by the Morris Administration that property owners in similar situations such as Mr. and Mrs. Illick have not received, strongly suggests a predisposition for dishonesty and unethical behavior by members of this tarnished municipal administration. The unexplainable $1.7 million that the Downtown TIF District allegedly repaid to the City’s General Fund between the fiscal years of 2015 and 2019 that is according to data distinctly stated in consecutive municipal audit reports, when there was no apparent money to accomplish that repayment strongly suggests that fraud of some kind was committed. Presumptively this $1.7 million of debt was illegally written off in smaller amounts each year seemingly indicating corrupt behavior within the city’s municipal administration spanning the leadership of several City Managers. Mr. Sullivan stated that the $1.7 million was a drop in the bucket so presumably more revelations are forthcoming. Then there is the street paving plan that is an obvious sham. The unaccountable dollar amounts totaling $250,000 for two different projects, the City Hall roof project and the Downtown project. Are they coincidence or potential intentional diversion of funds? How many scandals need to be exposed before strong action is taken in regards to the Morris Administration? Or has a majority of our elected city councilors been corrupted to the point that they no longer represent the citizenry of Claremont?

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, June 15 20 06:11 am EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) Morris Administration continues policy of stonewalling & delaying tactics regarding the release of public information.
  
  2) June 10 Claremont City Council meeting synopsis.
  
  For full details go to the News Flashes page of this website.

• Not Nick Koloski (Friday, June 12 20 07:20 am EDT)

  I agree with Charlie, stop hating Nick.
  Nick has never received special treatment from the city, also the picture that is used for me, I mean Nick is not very flattering.

• Charles (Thursday, June 11 20 03:09 pm EDT)

  Gloria you should probably read a facebook for dummies book. Businesses are not listed. Facebook suggests area business based on your location. Take the tinfoil hat off sweetie. Get a hobby besides spreading hate.

• Gloria (Wednesday, June 10 20 03:11 pm EDT)

  I looked at the city's Facebook page today and I noticed that Councilman Nick Koloski's restaurant is listed as a related page with other city Facebook pages. No other local restaurants are listed only Councilman Koloski's. The only other non-city business listed is the E-Ticker News, another close friendly business supported by the city leaders. Where Mayor Lovett gets free space each week to spread her rhetoric filtered through her rose-colored glasses prism. This is highly improper and yet our unethical city officials are doing it anyway. Nothing is sacred anymore.

• Tony (Wednesday, June 10 20 11:39 am EDT)

  The city administration and the councilors use the ignorance of the common man and woman in regards to how municipal government works and finances like what an audit review really is against all of us. We are lucky to have Jim and AJ, two former very intelligent and knowledgeable city councilors on the public’s side looking into these terrible things that our city leaders do with millions of dollars of our money.

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, June 10 20 08:49 am EDT)

  John, AJ and I are thinking along the same lines as you are regarding this issue. Depending on what City Manager Morris' explanation is regarding the miraculous $1,729,992 that has been incrementally written off in Downtown TIF District debt to the City's General Fund over a four-year period, we intended to recommend a forensic audit of the Downtown TIF District finances dating back to its creation because there were other significant discrepancies prior to Fiscal Year 2015 regarding the Downtown TIF District's borrowing of funds from the River Road TIF District and alleged repayments of that separate debt that we do not believe ever occurred. We believe the $1.7 million discrepancy is a drop in the bucket. If you remember, the owner of the auditing firm said that the company could do the forensic audit but in order to make the cost reasonable you would need a narrow scope to examine instead of the entire volume of the city's books. The Downtown TIF District would precisely be that narrow scope. Especially when millions of dollars of public funds are involved.

• John J. O'Connor (Wednesday, June 10 20 08:22 am EDT)

  Councilor Stone was right, the City needs a financial autopsy and it needs it NOW.
  Don't let Mary scare you with the cost, it couldn't cost as much as the downtown TIF is costing the taxpayers.

• Keith (Wednesday, June 10 20 06:20 am EDT)

  Illegal tax breaks, nearly two million dollars either missing or illegally written off without council approval. Bid practices either bent or broken and the big loser is the taxpayers. Letting the city buildings, streets and underground infrastructure rot to give pay raises to over paid and under worked city employees. The city government is a hot mess and the city councilors are not doing anything about it. They are just enablers. They are not worthy of our trust.

• Steve (Wednesday, June 10 20 05:53 am EDT)

  Something else the Morris Gang is doing is not posting the agenda to board meetings anymore. The energy committee and the conservation commission are meeting and there is no agenda for either meeting. More of CM Morris's government transparency.

• Gail (Wednesday, June 10 20 05:44 am EDT)

  The councilors thought that McNutt was a terrible city manager but Morris is a thousand times worse. He is a man not in control of his people and he is fixated on pay raises for all city employees at the cost of everything else that needs to be addressed in the city. He does not care about the people of this fine community and it seems neither do our elected city leaders.

• William (Wednesday, June 10 20 05:05 am EDT)

  Claremont’s municipal government is corrupt through and through, forging ahead with political agendas that are contrary to the average citizenry’s best interests. Manipulating budgets by stripping funding from necessary repairs to city hall and other municipal buildings, devising a pathetic patchwork scheme for the roadways in Claremont that will deteriorate them even more to avoid proper fund allocation of paving and other roadway infrastructure work and defunding the water and sewer capital projects to divert funds for sizeable salary raises for municipal staff. The CDA pulling the city deeper into debt and mortgaging all of their real estate assets to renovate building space to give non-profits large space at rock bottom rental prices. I am talking about the dental clinic and the music center. Supporting the county’s dumping of ex-convicts all of whom are recovering drug addicts on downtown Claremont to live crammed into the old Eagle Times building. The mayor’s efforts with the council to support the creation of more low-income housing for section 8 tenants. The mayor’s efforts to land a position on the housing board and her desire to gain more section 8 vouchers to bring more of those tenants to Claremont. Maybe illegals because of her plan to turn Claremont into a sanctuary city and she has several council votes in her pocket for that it seems. A city councilor breaking the code of conduct and city officials all looking the other way. The bidding process that is tremendously flawed, Mr. Morris does not seem to believe in employee oversight and some of his directors are running amok especially at the DPW. A director diverting business to his family should raise eyebrows and initiate an investigation. Anywhere that is but in corrupt Claremont’s municipal government. Mr. Morris is preventing Jim Sullivan from getting access to public documents in a timely fashion, pulling every shady trick in the book; he is also giving the CDA special privilege with what appears to be an illegal property tax break while other property owners in similar situations are required to pay full property taxes. Now a new revelation from the Sullivan Report, the only true journalists in the entire area who are performing a valuable free service to the citizenry of Claremont, over $1.7 million dollars of our tax money may be missing, embezzled, or maybe the administrative staff is secretly writing off the Downtown TIF’s growing debt off. Whichever it is the taxpayers are being taken advantage of right under the nose of the city councilors the voters put their faith into to look out for their best interests. The voter’s trust is obviously misplaced. Jim Sullivan is trying to get answers from these less than honorable city officials. I hope he succeeds because he and AJ Maranville are trying to fight for taxpayer justice for all of us. We owe them our support and heartfelt thanks and appreciation.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, June 09 20 07:15 pm EDT)

  City auditing reports suggest that Downtown TIF District repaid City of Claremont's General Fund $1,729,992 sometime over the past five years! So where did the money come from?
  
  For more details go to the News Flashes page of this website.

• Back At Ya (Tuesday, June 09 20 04:59 pm EDT)

  William, The last I knew the NH constitution state that it is not permitted to tax one class of people different than another. If this is the case the city can’t let the CDA off on taxes.

• Matt (Tuesday, June 09 20 11:23 am EDT)

  Do not forget about the $5.8 million bond. $1 million goes to the cops for a new communication system and $4.8 million goes to the downtown to create all of the infrastructure amenities necessary for the supposedly recovering drug addicts, ex-convicts, and presumably welfare recipients that will be living in all the new living spaces downtown. All of them must be properly pampered at taxpayers’ expense. Be forewarned, Mayor Lovett will not let the city manager stop her from bringing in more section 8 vouchers to Claremont. Mayor Lovett seems hell-bent on importing illegal immigrants to come and live in Claremont and by then she may have a majority of votes from the councilors to turn Claremont into a welcoming community, which we all know means a sanctuary city. These buffoons are destroying Claremont’s wonderful way of life to achieve some dubious liberal political agenda that is not right for Claremont.

• Todd (Tuesday, June 09 20 11:00 am EDT)

  Look at what Morris did with the budget. Decimated all of the capital infrastructure improvement projects and all of the building maintenance projects by either reducing their funding by a lot or not funding those budget lines at all. Ignoring the extra employee costs that the city will not be funding for another year. Letting all the roads turn to shit with a half-ass patch and super-thin skim coat scheme that will not do crap to protect the roads and keep them maintained. Just so, the city employees can get a big fat raise using all of the money stolen from the budget line items that should be properly funded to cover the very necessary infrastructure maintenance of the city. It is not right but I think it is a done deal because Morris seems to have the support of the councilors who have all turned their backs on the citizens who elected them. Dirty rotten slimeballs the entire lot of them.

• Craig (Tuesday, June 09 20 08:44 am EDT)

  I think Morris is a pretty damn shady character too. Look what he and his people did with the documents Jim tried to get. Morris and his crew delayed the request through BS bureaucracy for almost a month, when all city staffers needed to do was make a few photocopies and answer a couple of easy questions. What is up with that? Then to add insult to injury Morris and his crew left out half of the pages of the CDA’s financials. These sleaze bags must be hiding something. Crooked stuff if you ask me.

• William (Tuesday, June 09 20 07:35 am EDT)

  There is just so much corruption in Claremont’s city government. The city administrators are giving sweetheart property tax breaks to the CDA letting them not pay any taxes on the pleasant restaurant until they get a tenant. Jim and AJ make a very strong case why this is not kosher by any stretch of the imagination. Property assessments must be handled fairly and everyone treated equally. If the CDA does not have to pay taxes on an empty building, then neither should the Illicks, who are paying over thirty grand a year in property taxes to Claremont. There are many other empty buildings all around Claremont and I will bet all of those property owners are paying property taxes, the full amount without any tax breaks. If the CDA does not have to pay property taxes on their empty building then why are they? Where is the fairness and taxpayer justice? Of course, this would be devastating to the Claremont taxpayer because the property tax rate will go sky high to make up for the difference in property tax revenue that would be permanently lost. Of course, Claremont city officials could go against their true nature and actually do something honest and ethical for a change and make the CDA live up to their responsibilities and make them start paying property taxes as of April 1 of this year. I think this Morris follow is a shady bureaucrat and I think the city councilors made another bad choice when they hired him.

• Tom (Monday, June 08 20 09:40 pm EDT)

  City Manager Morris is turning out to be no different than Ex-City Manager McNutt. Doing dirty tricks behind the closed doors of City Hall and playing with the property assessments and property tax collection for special interests. Morris should be fired.

• Ken (Monday, June 08 20 09:29 pm EDT)

  Yeah, Jason in Lebanon. Claremont's city leaders suck.

• jason (Monday, June 08 20 08:16 pm EDT)

  I haven't read the articles yet but is there good leadership somewhere finally !!!!!!!!

• Guy (Monday, June 08 20 05:05 pm EDT)

  As the great Guy Santagate use to proudly state, " this doesn't pass the smell text"

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, June 08 20 11:02 am EDT)

  Two new articles published today.
  
  1) CDA's public financial documents are proving very difficult to obtain. Do City Officials have something to hide?
  
  2) What a difference good leadership makes!
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Jim Sullivan (Saturday, June 06 20 03:03 pm EDT)

  I do not know what is going on at the old Rite Aid property on Washington Street. Sorry.

• Just Curious (Thursday, June 04 20 05:28 pm EDT)

  Hay Jimmy. What’s going on at the old RiteAid on Washington Street? The just redid the parking lot and striped it for parking. Put arrows in the drive up. Looks to good to remain abandoned.

• Carl (Wednesday, June 03 20 04:52 pm EDT)

  I think spending $350,000 a year for additional services for the water and sewer plants is absurd. Nevertheless, our tax-and-spend administrators and councilors do not bat an eye when it comes to spending that amount of money. Democrat snowflakes have taken over Claremont and now the taxpayers are going to be paying excessively for years to come. For those idiots who stayed home on Election Day I hope you pay more than anyone else does. I hope your property assessments went sky-high and your tax bills along with it. You deserve it for being lazy morons.

• William (Wednesday, June 03 20 02:48 pm EDT)

  Mr. Morris has shut down virtually all capital projects for the DPW highway, water and sewer divisions in exchange for pay raises for all personnel. Mr. Morris’s political agenda really is detrimental to Claremont’s financial health. Combine that with Mayor Charlene Lovett’s sanctuary city political agenda that is shared with Councilors Allen Damren, Abigail Kier and Nicholas Koloski and you see how badly off Claremont really is.

• Todd (Wednesday, June 03 20 01:13 pm EDT)

  After reading all the recent Sullivan Report articles, I do not think anyone will support a water and sewer rate increase. It is just not needed. I also think it was pretty slimy that Morris and St. Pierre said that they are not asking for a water rate increase for this year when there is already one in place. Lying sacks of shit both of them.

• Brian (Wednesday, June 03 20 12:00 pm EDT)

  I appreciate Jim and AJ explaining how the taxpayer subsidy for the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center is nearing $1 million and how city officials are cooking the books to make it look like the taxpayer subsidy is only about half that amount. I think liars, thieves and cheats run the city. Then there is Councilor Nick Koloski making the push to cover everything up by combining the parks and community center budgets so that no one will ever know ever again, how much the taxpayer subsidy is going up each year. Koloski is just as corrupt as the rest of them.

• Sarah (Wednesday, June 03 20 10:40 am EDT)

  I am peeved about the JSL building receiving no funding to maintain the building as it sits empty. I am also concerned that practically nothing was spent this year when money was put aside. I think Morris is doing this on purpose so that the city will have to pay to knock the building down and create another open city lot. Similar to what previous city managers did with the Goodwin Community Center so a new facility would have to be erected. Is the plan to sell the property for one dollar to another welfare apartment developer and then give that developer all sorts of government freebies, tons of money and Section 8 vouchers for the building if Mayor Lovett can convince the federal government to give Claremont more of them?

• Laura (Wednesday, June 03 20 09:07 am EDT)

  I was shocked to find out about the GASB OPEB Liability of over $12 million and Morris’s answer is to ignore it and do nothing just like his predecessors did. Four years in a row and no funding for any of the past or present liability. Morris wants to continue to zero appropriate for this liability so he can fund the large pay raises for the municipal employees many of whom do not live in Claremont or pay property taxes here. When this increased property tax bill comes due, it will destroy the personal finances of many Claremont taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet now. What is most sickening is that the nine city councilors the voters elected are perpetrating this injustice on the entire populace without a shred of shame or regret.

• Bill (Wednesday, June 03 20 08:25 am EDT)

  Morris will never agree to increasing senior exemptions and veterans tax credits because none of them works for the city. All Morris cares about is expanding the size of the bureaucracy and greatly increasing the compensation levels of all the employees within it. He also is working hand-in-hand with Mayor Lovett to increase the spread of low-income housing in downtown Claremont. They can live next to the ex-convicts who are all former drug addicts who may or may not stay off the wagon.

• Joanne (Wednesday, June 03 20 07:37 am EDT)

  We do not need a $4.8 million municipal bond to set the stage to make more apartments for welfare recipients and illegal immigrants to move to Claremont. What we need is a municipal bond for road paving and other road construction work so we can drive around Claremont without wrecking our cars.

• Tom (Wednesday, June 03 20 06:38 am EDT)

  Now the City Hall roof repair is gonna cost over $1 million and Morris has not put a single penny towards paying to fix it. He wants to let the roof deteriorate for another year or more just as he is doing with the roads and everything else. Worst city manager ever. Worst city council ever as they will look the other way and do nothing but rubberstamp whatever Morris wants or add more spending to the budget on top of his spending.

• Patti (Wednesday, June 03 20 04:10 am EDT)

  I have no faith in any of the city councilors or the new, vastly inexperienced city manager. Their priorities do not match the priorities and values of most of the citizens of Claremont.

• Keith (Wednesday, June 03 20 03:56 am EDT)

  It’s disappointing when city leaders break the rules without any sense of shame or regret. It shows their true nature and their true personality.

• Dan (Tuesday, June 02 20 09:13 pm EDT)

  I think Councilor Kier broke the code of ethics and I doubt she cares about it at all. I also doubt that any of the other councilors care either or Mr. Morris and the administrators because none of them seem to have a whole lot of ethics between them. Claremont has a corrupt municipal government.

• Gail (Tuesday, June 02 20 07:51 pm EDT)

  Mayor Charlene Lovett just wants Claremont to become a sanctuary city using the Section 8 voucher program to do it by getting more vouchers for Claremont and giving developers lots of money to build more welfare apartments. The other councilors are just sitting back and allowing it to happen. None of them deserves to be there. The people of Claremont deserve much better leadership.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, June 02 20 01:39 pm EDT)

  Three new articles published today.
  
  1) Did Councilor Abigail Kier violate the City’s Code of Conduct?
  
  2) Claremont City Council’s budget review goes about as expected.
  
  3) May 27 City Council meeting synopsis.
  
  Full details on the News Flashes page of this website.

• Donk (Tuesday, June 02 20 01:33 pm EDT)

  Why is Claremont charging extra fees for renewing registrations online?
  Don't we already pay them,the internet connection,the web design,and everything else associated with this?
  These people are really unreal.Guess I'll just pay for a stamp.

• Larry (Monday, June 01 20 09:27 pm EDT)

  Since when does some looser mayor have anything to do with police action just wondering if it was when law enforcement was taken over by weak people and looser lawyers as we have seen in the last decade or so

• jason (Wednesday, May 27 20 08:07 pm EDT)

  The day that group of idiots tell me what to do lol weak humans 🤣

• Government regulation council (Wednesday, May 27 20 07:57 pm EDT)

  Bunch of loosers we have on council couldn't regulate there bowels let alone run this city or really there personal lives they are in charge of nothing but destroying the city but hey they are in charge they think

• mask that (Wednesday, May 27 20 07:49 pm EDT)

  This council is so fucked try to send your elite police dept or your health inspectors oh ya they not hired yet to police your mask rule and do a PowerPoint on how you idiots have mismanaged our city and not try to tell people what to do just FYI you are leaders of nothing at all

• Donk (Wednesday, May 27 20 12:45 pm EDT)

  Should we be looking at the lifestyle of Mary Walters?

• William (Wednesday, May 27 20 10:34 am EDT)

  I can understand why Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maranville are looking into the surplus funds for the Downtown TIF District. Assuming a low $30,000 per year average surplus it would total $420,000 in 14 years. If the average surplus is $40,000 per year then the 14 year total would be $560,000. Both gentlemen have effectively proven that the surplus money must still be within the Downtown TIF District accounts somewhere unless illegal fund transfers occurred. Where are those funds and how much have they accrued to become are very interesting questions.

• Joe (Wednesday, May 27 20 06:47 am EDT)

  Deb Matteau was the leading voice in the City Manager search committee, she wanted Morris "the cat".
  Does Morris the cat live in Claremont?

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, May 27 20 06:09 am EDT)

  Yes Diane I did. I submitted that exact information request yesterday morning. It will take about a week for an answer and then I may have to do one or more subsequent requests depending on what answers we receive. Excess funds for the Downtown TIF District must go somewhere and at the present time, we do not know where that is, so that is what we are inquiring to determine that important answer through documentation. For example, within the FY 2021 budget proposal, the FY 2020 Downtown TIF District expense budget states that for Marketing $20,000 was allocated but as of March 2020, only $895 was spent. Environmental Cleanup of the Sawtooth Property had an allocation of $5,000 and as of March 2020, nothing has been spent. Maintenance and Repairs of the Parking Garage $30,000 allocated and as of March 2020 only $10,882 was spent. Legal Services $2,000 allocated and zero spent through March. Just those budget line items alone totals $45,223 in potential excess funds during only one fiscal year. Looking back at FY 2019 there was only $2,535 in excess funds for those same budget line items through March; however, in FY 2018 there was $50,890 in excess funds for those same budge line items. Nearly $100K in just three years. Since the municipal bonds for the TIF District were taken out in 2007, the District has been in financial operation for at least 14 years. That is a lot of potential excess Claremont taxpayer dollars. For the General Fund Budget any excess funds are deposited into the General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance Account. Think of it as the City’s Cash Reserve. For the Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds, excess funds are deposited into their separate Retained Earnings Accounts, their Cash Reserve Accounts. To move money from one municipal budget to another requires a Public Hearing and a majority affirmative vote of the Claremont City Council and that has never happened once. There is a NH Public Deposit Investment Pool Account for the Downtown TIF District but it only has a balance of $214.21. It is probably a placeholder amount to keep the investment account open. Municipal budgets are never 100% spent every year, there is usually always surplus funds left over. In the past three years there’s nearly $100,000 left over as of March each year and is highly unlikely that all of that was spent with only three months remaining in each of the fiscal years. Multiply that by 14 years and it is highly unlikely to the point of virtually impossible that only $214.21 is left over. So, where does all the excess funds of the stand-alone Downtown TIF District go? That is the question! If we cannot get the answers that we are seeking as to what is being done with those excess dollars that rightfully belongs to the Claremont Taxpayers, then perhaps a forensic audit of the Downtown TIF District’s finances from day one is in order.

• Diane (Wednesday, May 27 20 02:04 am EDT)

  Jim is any of this true? Did you file this request with the city manager as City Hall Insider asserts that you did?

• Phil (Wednesday, May 27 20 01:01 am EDT)

  Just wait for that compensation study to finish up. That $90,000 put aside will look like a drop in the bucket because I think Morris will end up wanting to increase payroll by at least 1 million bucks. He does not care if he has to burn down the rest of Claremont to do it. At the very least, I think he intends to let Claremont rot just so long as all the city workers have lots more money in their pockets.

• Michael (Tuesday, May 26 20 07:00 pm EDT)

  Enough is enough. How many times is the public going to get robbed by city officials before the public steps up and takes action? The cowards on the Council certainly will not. This downtown TIF district thing with the leftover money has potential fraud and embezzlement written all over it. The district has been active for many years, lots of money could have been gobbled up into a slush fund account, and who knows what officials did with that money. This would be perfect for a forensic audit to see if any criminal activity has occurred. If any is found then maybe, some of these city officials will spend some time in jail.

• City Hall Insider (Tuesday, May 26 20 05:42 pm EDT)

  One other thing I forgot to mention. Jim asked for a five-year printout of transactions for any surplus account for the Downtown TIF District. Five years spans several municipal administrations but they all have the same city staff except for the city manager. Maybe this is what has so many people so excited at City Hall?