Mayor James Donchess speaks to residents at the Ward 4 town hall meeting on March 31. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

NASHUA – During his recent town hall meeting at Ledge Street Elementary School, Mayor James Donchess updated Ward 4 residents on the impending effects that federal budget cuts will have on the Gate City.

During the March 31 meeting, he said funding from three federal health grants, totaling $174,000 has been discontinued.

Donchess said some of that money could be recovered with the city’s Opioid Abatement Trust Fund. The fund was established after Nashua and 12 other municipalities won a lawsuit against drug companies that were selling OxyContin.

The mayor is also working with the Division of Public Works on a cost estimate for a new garage. He said the current garage was built in the 1970s and is too small to house all the DPW equipment.

“It’s about half the size we need,” said Donchess, adding that several pieces of expensive equipment are being left outside.

However, Donchess said the cost estimate for the new garage is now expected to skyrocket by $4 million as a result of the 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum.

He also called attention to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which augments state and local funding for children in low-income households. There are currently six schools in the city that receive Title I funding. If those federal dollars are lost, Donchess said 50 Nashua teaching jobs would be lost as well.

In addition, Donchess said the cost of bus transportation for the Nashua School District, provided by First Student, has climbed by 20 percent.

He said the district put out a Request for Proposals in an effort to find a lower cost. However, First Student was the only company to respond. Donchess said First Student would not entertain the option of a one-year contract and is only interested in a five-year deal.

“They completely have the School Department over the barrel,” he said.

Speaking about housing, Donchess said the effort to clean up the Mohawk Tannery site is expected to begin later this year. Once that process is completed, construction will begin on 550 units, 20 percent of which will be affordable housing. Another 250 units are slated for the Nimco property as well as onsite parking and a dog park.

State Sen. Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua) said she and her colleagues are in the process of completing New Hampshire’s budget for the next two years.

However, with the repeal of the Interest and Dividends Tax combined with smaller commercial tax returns, Rosenwald said state revenue is projected to be $500 million lower than expected.

Rosenwald also said the true cost of education is $24,000 per student. Yet, the state only contributes $5,000.

Regarding healthcare, 186,892 Granite Staters were enrolled in Medicaid as of Feb. 28, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. Within that figure, 89,740 of them are children. The federal program is now at risk of being cut by $880 billion.

Rosenwald said a loss of Medicaid coverage would cause the state’s healthcare economy to plummet by $580 million.

“Medicaid is the underpinning of our entire healthcare system,” she said. “You’d be waiting longer for a colonoscopy, a mammogram, cancer surgery — anything.”

Ward 4 Alderman Thomas Lopez said raised concerns about reduced funding for the city’s Community Health Outreach Program, which provides assistance to homeless individuals and those struggling with substance abuse.

“People aren’t going to go away just because we stop funding intervention,” he said. “It’s going to be a very difficult summer, we’re going to have to be very nimble.”

The Ward 5 town hall meeting will be held on April 9 at 6 p.m. at Main Dunstable Elementary School, 20 Whitford Rd.