Surveys and Data
Annual Member Surveys
New Hampshire Municipal Officials Directory Survey
This annual survey is conducted in the spring following town meeting, and the resulting data is published each summer in the New Hampshire Municipal Officials Directory. NHMA Member municipalities receive one complimentary copy. The New Hampshire Municipal Officials Directory is also available for purchase; visit the Print Publications page to preview details, including member/non-member rates and table of contents. (Select “Informational Resources” in the left-hand menu for easy access to publication details.) Municipalities are encouraged to send updates as they occur during the year.
Wage, Salary and Benefits Survey
Each spring, NHMA invites all municipalities to participate in the annual wage, salary and benefits survey. The resulting data is published each fall in the Wage, Salary and Benefits Survey for Municipalities. NHMA Member municipalities receive one complimentary download copy. The Wage, Salary and Benefits Survey for Municipalities is also available for purchase; visit the E-Publications page to preview details and table of contents. Learn more about the Wage, Salary and Benefits Survey components and process.
The 2012 data collection process will be conducted online. The designated contact for each municipality will be provided a unique user name and password. Municipalities with a January-December fiscal year will receive log in information the week of April 9 and may enter data from April 9-May 25; municipalities with a July-June fiscal year will receive log in information the week of May 28 and may enter data from May 28-July 13. If you are the designated municipal contact with log in information, you may access the online Salary Survey to update municipal data.
Topical Surveys
SB 2 at 15: Trends in Official Ballot Voting and Deliberative Session Attendance
The Official Ballot Referendum form of town meeting, commonly known as SB 2 (RSA 40:13), marked its fifteenth year of existence in 2012. Approved by the legislature in 1995, adopted in 30 municipalities in 1996, and put into practice for the first time in 1997, SB 2 is now in place in more than 60 New Hampshire towns. In the spring of 2012 Researcher Chris Porter conducted a study of voter participation in 27 SB 2 town deliberative sessions and election/voting days. View the SB 2 at 15 trends report.
Regionalization and Cooperative Agreements
NHMA surveyed municipalities in spring 2010 to gain an increased understanding of the variety of regional/cooperative arrangements in existence and under consideration. The three key areas of investigation were: shared positions/programs/functions; shared facilities/equipment; and cooperative purchase agreements. Preliminary survey findings were published in the July/August 2010 issue of New Hampshire Town and City magazine. Survey respondents were contacted in fall 2011 and asked to report on any new or changed agreements; a follow up report was published in the January 2012 issue of New Hampshire Town and City.
New Hampshire Town and City Reader Survey
Nearly 500 readers of New Hampshire Town and City magazine participated in a spring 2010 subscriber survey. Results indicated 80 percent of respondents save each copy for a few months or more, and 47 percent of respondents share their copy with at least one other person. Overall feedback was very positive, and the majority of respondents are pleased with the current publication schedule. Findings were published in the May 2010 issue of New Hampshire Town and City magazine.
Perambulation Survey
This survey was conducted over several weeks in early summer 2010 to gauge awareness of RSA Chapter 51 regarding perambulation—or walking—of municipal boundaries every seven years. The study’s areas of investigation included: level of familiarity with the RSAs; municipal officials charged with perambulation; record-keeping practices; boundaries walked and not walked in the past seven years; and impediments to regular perambulation. Review survey results (PDF). Read the series of perambulation articles published in the November/December 2010 issue of New Hampshire Town and City magazine.