MANCHESTER, N.H. – A proposal to create the first Aldermanic pay raise in 48 years earned a negative recommendation from the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) Committee on Accounts during their Dec. 16, 2025 meeting.
The idea was pitched by outgoing Ward 1 Alderman Chris Morgan, noting during the Dec. 3, 2025 BMA Meeting that he would not benefit from the pay increase since he did not earn re-election to the board earlier this fall.
Currently, Manchester Aldermen are given $4,000 a year, plus a $1,000 stipend for expenses that they were provided beginning in 1994. Morgan stated that since the salary was last increased in 1978, the salary has fallen behind that of other cities in New Hampshire. He added that the workload, time commitment and constituent service expectations for aldermen have also grown since 1978.
“An updated salary helps that service on the Board of Aldermen remains accessible to residents of diverse economic backgrounds, strengthening representative local governance,” he said in a letter to the committee. “Aldermen who oppose the salary always have the option to decline or waive compensation, as they do today, ensuring personal choice and fiscal conscience are respected while allowing the city to modernize its compensation structure.”
Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long stated that Aldermen in Nashua receive $9,000 a year and that amount is adjusted with the consumer price index. He also said that the newly elected board that will take its seats in January should ask for voter input on the proposal, but Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza said that was unnecessary.
Sapienza felt that his proposal to transfer funding for Aldermanic health and dental insurance into a salary and stipend increase was a better idea. However, later that evening during the BMA full board meeting, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais noted that Aldermanic health and dental costs change each year and not all Aldermen use their health and dental benefits when a proposal arose to use those benefits to pay for the proposed Wolfe Park skate park.
Ward 4 Alderwoman Christine Fajardo said that she felt torn since she agreed with Morgan’s statement about making it easier for a broader number of Manchester residents to become an alderman, but it was inappropriate for aldermen to take a raise now given the city’s financial strain and that she did not see being an alderman as a full-time job.
During the recommendation vote, both Fajardo and Ward 12 Alderwoman Kelly Thomas expressed mixed feelings about their vote, but both joined in the unanimous decision not to recommend passage of the proposal.
The report of the committee including the non-recommendation will go before the full BMA for a final determination in January.