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Kleiner gets full-time job; Nicotine age to remain 18

By Adam Urquhart - Staff Writer | May 16, 2019

Telegraph photo by ADAM URQUHART Nashua Corporation Counsel Steven Bolton officially swears Kim Kleiner in as administrative services director during the Tuesday Board of Aldermen meeting.

NASHUA – Kim Kleiner is now slated to earn about $105,000 per year as the city’s full-time administrative services director after her Tuesday confirmation, while members of the Board of Aldermen have no immediate route to hike the legal nicotine age from 18 to 21.

Members of the board had a long and busy Tuesday evening, leading The Telegraph to write this story to provide additional details of those proceedings.

Nicotine Age

“The bill is killed,” City Clerk Patricia Piecuch said. “It cannot be brought back in the same format this year.”

Officials could revisit this issue in January, but it has been indefinitely

postponed as a result of a roll call vote with eight members in favor of postponing and five in opposition.

Before the board reached this decision, they looked to bring up the amended version, which moved forward, seven to six. When it came time to vote on final passage of that version, it was unsuccessful being shot down six to seven. From there, a motion was made to table the ordinance, which again failed six to seven, leading to the indefinite postponement

So, next year it could be brought back up, if the state does not move forward on this issue in the meantime. Moreover, Piecuch said it will also not appear on the Nov. 5 ballot unless a board member brings something forward requesting a non-binding referendum.

Appointments

Wednesday marked Kleiner’s first official day on the job, serving the city in a new capacity after officially being confirmed Tuesday.

She was duly appointed to position for an indefinite term at the pleasure of Mayor Jim Donchess, who said she will be managing a number of functions at City Hall, such as assessing, IT and purchasing, to name a few.

“Kim Kleiner is very well suited for the position because she knows city government intimately — has been working with all these departments on a daily basis for several years,” Donchess said.

Alderwoman Jan Schmidt said everyone sitting around the Aldermanic Chamber Tuesday has dealt with Kleiner at this point, citing that she first did with the school board. Schmidt said she was impressed with Kleiner back then with how she was able to maintain relationships with people who may not always agree, and that she looked at every issue as being very important.

“Nobody here just heard what the mayor said and agreed along with it,” Schmidt said. “We all have our experience with her, and we are so grateful that she is doing this for us because I think she is the best person.”

Alderwoman Patricia Klee said she has full confidence that Kleiner will eventually fill the position of chief assessor that has been eliminated as a result of the audit. However, right now anyway, she said she thinks there has been enough change and would like to get things moving.

“I do believe that, eventually, we do need a chief assessor,” Klee said. “I think each of the departments should have a director, or at least, a lead assessor that – whether it’s above and beyond the four or one of the four – I think we do need something like that. I think that would be putting too much pressure on Mrs. Kleiner to hold that position as well.”

That will be a decision made further along down the road, but in the time being, Alderwoman Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja said as she has come to know Kleiner, she believes that if she sees things that she thinks aren’t right that Kleiner will bring them to the board’s attention.

“I also believe that she will give us a fair assessment of needing a chief assessor there, or whether or not we at least start with outside consultation,” Melizzi-Golja said.

In other news, Lydia Foley withdrew her name from consideration for appointment to the Board of Assessors.

Brandon Pierotti was reappointed to the Conservation Commission for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2021. He was sworn in Tuesday night.

Richard Gillespie was reappointed to the Conservation Commission for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2021. He will be sworn in at a later date.

Trisha Mullin was appointed to the Mine Falls Park Advisory Committee for a term to expire May 1, 2022. She was sworn in Tuesday night.

Nicholas Kanakis, Alternate was appointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a term to expire Sept. 11, 2020. He was sworn in Tuesday night.

Students

Also, Ordinance 19-041 received final passage Tuesday night, and will allow for two student members to be added to the Environment and Energy Committee. Officials said having these student members will be critical to not only getting that work done, but also bringing a younger mindset to the table as they look forward to making real change in terms of climate, the city and the city’s fossil fuels.

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