5 Seek 3 Salem Town Council Seats; $38.6M Police Station Up For A Vote

SALEM, NH — Voters in Salem go to the polls on March 12 to make decisions about town and school budgets, political positions, warrant articles, and other issues.

Here’s what you need to know.

Voting

Voting will take place between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, at five polling locations:

• Ward 1: Fisk School, 14 Main St.
• Ward 2: Soule School, 173 South Policy St.
• Ward 3: Barron School, 55 Butler St.
• Ward 4: Ingram Senior Center, 1 Sally Sweets Way.
• Ward 6: North Salem School, 140 Zion Hill Road.

To find your street and polling location, visit this link.

Town Races, Info

Five candidates are running for three 3-year town council seats: Robert Bryant, Daniel Guild, Jeffrey Hatch, Donna Loranger, and Lisa Withrow.

Five candidates are running for three 3-year budget committee seats: Jeffrey Boyer, Gary Karibian, Scott Olsen, Jon Stark, and Brian Tipton Thornock.

Two candidates are running for one 1-year budget committee seat: Brenda Tecce and Ross Cooper.

Christopher Goodnow is running for the 2-year town moderator seat.

Two candidates are running for one 6-year supervisor of the checklist seat: Jaime Thornock and Melissa Sorcinelli.

Christopher George is on the ballot for a single 3-year library trustee seat.

Marybeth Stramaglia is on the ballot for a single 3-year trust of the trust funds seat.

Three candidates are running for two 3-year planning board seats: Lawson Brouse, Jim Harvery, and Damon Norcross.

Edward Huminick is on the ballot for a single 2-year ZBA seat.

Dionne Garon is on the ballot for a 1-year seat.

Article 2: Approval of a recording secretary for the town council.

Article 3: Clarifying the town manager’s role and the library’s budget within state law.

Article 4: Approval of charter amendments relative to charter and default budgets.

Article 5: Revising language to be more cohesive to aid the ethics committee.

Article 6: Clarifying budget impacts.

Article 7: Increasing the conservation commission from six to seven members and increase alternatives from three to five.

Article 8: Approve $38.6 million for a new police station (three-fifths needed).

Article 9: Approve $2.2 million for Millville Lake Dam rehabilitation project.

Article 10: Senior Center HVAC replacement (NHCDFA loan).

Article 11: Captain’s Pond watershed management plan (CWSRF loan).

Article 12: $62.2 million operating budget or a default budget of $58.8 million.

Article 13: $3.4 million for road construction and engineer program.

Article 14: IAFF Local 2892 collective bargaining agreement $438,890 in 2024 and 4 percent salary increases in April 2025 and April 2026.

Article 15: $50,000 other post-employment benefits trust fund.

Here is the link to the sample town ballot.

School Ballot, Articles

Two candidates are running for two 3-year seats: Pamela Berry and Michael Carney Jr.

Article 2: $90.5 million school budget or a $89.8 million default budget.

Article 3: Salem Educational Personnel Association collective bargaining: $149,755 increase for 2024-2025; $56,677 for 2025-2026; $52,225 for 2026-2027.

Article 4: Salem Educational Support Personnel Association collective bargaining: $390,522 increase for 2024-2025; $234,458 for 2025-2026; $262,163 for 2026-2027.

Article 5: Amending Feb. 8 deliberative session to include $1 million for an all-weather surface at Grant Field; $632,000 for impact fees; accept donations $68,000; $300,000 raised for via general taxation. The appropriation shall be void unless the school board votes to withdraw $700,000.

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