New Hampshire § 678-4 - Section 678:4 Duties of the Board.

§ 678-4. Section 678:4 Duties of the Board.

I. It shall be the duty of every board established under RSA 678:3 to prepare and amend from time to time a CSMP to guide the development of community services and support systems and the provision of health and social services and community supports to residents that affect community well-being. A CSMP may include consideration of any areas outside the boundaries of the municipality which in the judgment of the board bear a relationship to or have an impact on the planning of the municipality. Every board shall update and amend the adopted CSMP with funds appropriated for that purpose by the local legislative body. In preparing, amending, and updating the master plan: (a) The board shall have responsibility for promoting interest in, and understanding of, the CSMP of the municipality. In order to promote this interest and understanding, the board may publish and distribute copies of the community services master plan, or copies of any report relating to the community services master plan, hold public forums and meetings, and employ such other means of publicity and education as it deems advisable. (b) The board shall also have authority to make any inventories of community assets, investigations of community social issues, evaluations of the availability and accessibility of health and social services and support systems, and necessary recommendations. II. It shall be the duty of every board established under RSA 678:3 to prepare an annual state of the community report which shall be included in the municipality's annual report. The report shall include the community well-being index as defined in RSA 678:2, IV and information explaining all its components, how it was devised, and any other sections the board deems necessary to describe and explain the social services and support systems of the municipality and trends in the municipality. III. The board may report and recommend to the appropriate public officials and public agencies programs for the development, protection, and improvement of the social services and support systems of the municipality. Each program shall include recommendations for its financing. The board may consult with and advise public officials and agencies; health and human services providers and funders; civic and charitable groups, networks, and associations; schools; educational, professional, advocacy, and research groups; and other organizations. The board may also consult with citizens, for the purposes of implementing the CSMP and making recommendations for developing the social services and support systems of the municipality. IV. Members of the board, when duly authorized by the board as a whole, may attend planning conferences or meetings, or hearings upon pending municipal planning legislation. The board may by majority vote authorize the payment of reasonable expenses incident to such attendance. V. The board may recommend to the governing body amendments or additions to local ordinances, services, and programs to improve the community's social services and support systems. VI. In general, the board may be given such powers by the municipality as are necessary to enable the board to fulfill its functions.