HOOKSETT, NH – The April 8 Hooksett Town Council meeting came to a halt when Councilor David Smith submitted a summarized account from residents and business owners that disparaged the conduct of the town’s active building inspector.
Though Councillor Smith did not mention the town employee by name, he shared that what he had collected showed a “consistent pattern of behavior described as rude, condescending, selectively enforced and in some cases, openly retaliatory.” As he continued to describe the interactions that were provided to him, he was interrupted by Council Chairman Timothy Tsantoulis, who warned that the group “may be treading into water that we shouldn’t be” and referenced the state’s public meetings law, with specifics about discussion that could adversely affect the reputation of a town employee or member of the public needing to take place during a non-public session.
As the debate continued around the logistics and legalities of discussing the matter, Councilor and Council Secretary Randall Lapierre encouraged Smith to read the 91-A public meetings law and summarized the part of the law that provided context for the disagreement on the proper forum for the discussion. When Smith shared that this was his second time addressing concerns around the town’s building inspector to the board and had not seen action on it, Lapierre pointed out that Smith wouldn’t have been privy to any nonpublic discussions that had taken place on the matter prior to his joining the council on July 9, 2025, and made clear to call out that “this board existed before you got on it,” and suggested that Smith doesn’t act like he is aware of that. Smith responded by calling Lapierre “overbearing” and stating that he “doesn’t take care of the people.”
Tsantoulis and Vice-Chairman James Sullivan interjected and encouraged the meeting to move on and into their previously scheduled nonpublic session, where they were due to discuss the proposed contract renewal for Hooksett Chief of Police Justin Sargent, which had been introduced and discussed at their previous meeting, but no conclusion had been reached.
After a return from a non-public session, the vote to extend Chief Sargent’s contract was approved in a 6-1 vote, with Smith being the lone objection.
Earlier in the meeting, Sargent was successful in gaining unanimous approval for the detail rate to be increased for the Police Chief and Captain to $70 per hour and reflect a rate of time and a half for detail shifts exceeding 8 hours, effective July 1, 2026. Sargent noted that these roles being called on to work details are rare, usually limited to major event days or for local elections.
The next Town Council meeting is scheduled for April 22, 2026, and you can find the agenda here.
Stephen Denis is part of the Granite State News Collaborative’s Civic Documenter program. He will be contributing stories from towns in the Greater Manchester area.