Council Updated On SNAP, Finding YDC Fund Administrator; Tables Ambulance Study

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH

CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire's Executive Council received an update on SNAP benefits, the process of hiring a new administrator for the YDC abuse settlement fund, and approved a new, pared down request to help indigent individuals get free legal counsel Wednesday.

It also temporarily tabled a $400,000 study to gather data on ground ambulance costs and continued its battle with Gov. Kelly Ayotte over how the councilors get their information packets and what is inside them.

Wednesday's meeting began with some honors given and a bit of patriotic music the day after Veterans Day by some members of the Company Beats, which is comprised of veterans, staff and volunteers at the New Hampshire Veterans Home.

SNAP UPDATE

Lori Weaver, commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said the state's 76,000 SNAP recipients received their full November benefits last Saturday, a week late because of the federal government shutdown.

Asked what happens next month, she said "If the (federal government) shutdown ends tonight it will be a moot point."

Asked by Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, what will happen with the $2 million contract with the NH Food Bank the state created to offer supplemental food in lieu of SNAP, she said there will be an offramp which will allow for the extended service to go through Friday 13th.

Ayotte said New Hampshire was far ahead of other states in getting not only cooperation with the NH Food Bank and other nonprofits to help deliver food and was able to restore SNAP faster than some other states.

"We did that," she said.

Ayotte thanked the DHHS for their work off hours to ensure food was available to citizens. She noted that local food pantries did it "the New Hampshire way" with everyone pitching in The governor urged citizens to help their neighbors in need with food donations and cash donations in the coming weeks as the problem of food insecurity does not end, regardless of what happens in Washington.

YDC CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR HIRING UPDATE

Liot Hill clashed with Attorney General John Formella over the issue of finding a new YDC claims administrator after the law change eliminating the administrator position held by former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick. It also gave Ayotte the power to appoint the administrator and Formella the authority to veto settlements.

"Justice delayed is justice denied," Liot Hill said for the hundreds who are still awaiting a settlement from the fund set up to compensate victims of sexual and physical abuse when they were children at the hands of state employees at the former Youth Development Center, now called the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester.

After the meeting, Ayotte noted that the state is currently being sued by lawyers for those claimants and that is in part an issue toward reopening that office and getting claims approved.

Attorney General Formella said it is a complicated process and said he "flatly denied" Liot Hill's assertions that the state is re-victimizing people by the process of having to wait for a new administrator.

The state set up a process to allow victims to avoid trial and several hundred cases have been resolved while a few have received direct settlements or went to trial.

Still there are about 1,700 outstanding cases and an estimate that the state's liability could be $1 billion or more.

Formella said in spite of the fact this has been a matter that took years to come to a head, there has been a lot of progress in two years.

NO BERLIN PROBE YET ON ITS HANDLING OF JULY MURDER/SUICIDE

Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, said it has been four and a half months since Sandra "Marisol" Fuentes Huaracha, 25, of Berlin was killed by her estranged husband, Michael Gleason Jr. who was out on $5,000 bail accused of raping and assaulting her. He then killed himself in the July murder suicide.

And although the state has issued a detailed report of system faults and suggested improvements, the public has not heard from Berlin Police on its internal probe.

He asked Formella if he has had an opportunity to ask Berlin Police when that document will be available to the public. Formella said his department has been involved with Berlin on the matter but had no timeline for that report's release.

Formella noted that when it involves personnel under review that process can take some time and those employees are entitled to a process that has to be done carefully to respect their rights.

He said it is not uncommon for this type of review to be lengthy given implications to personnel. Formella said there is no requirement for a review by Berlin Police and it is ultimately up to them.

Kenney said there is concern for public perception of the department. This particular homicide is a statewide issue, he said.

CONTRACT FOR INDIGENT COUNSEL COMES BACK, DOWN FROM $5.5M ASK TO $1.5M

The state's Judicial Council pared down a request of $5.5 million https://media.sos.nh.gov/govcouncil/2025/1112/18A%20GC%20Agenda%20111225.pdfmore for indigent legal defense counsel which was approved by the legislative fiscal committee but it was withdrawn at the last meeting by the council after members expressed concern.

On Wednesday it came back with a request instead for $1.5 million more which was approved, though they noted it might be that they have to come back for more money in January.

A task force has been established to examine ways to improve financial verification and accountability for indigent defense by the judicial branch, the Executive Council was told.

Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, said he was very satisfied that the courts will look at this process more carefully as he had concerns two weeks ago that there was not enough income verification for such free legal defense. Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, thanked the judicial council for that.

HONOREES

The Governor and Executive Council issued several commendations for New Hampshire individuals who have made a great difference in the lives of citizens. Michael Lopez of Manchester and Ray Goulet of Portsmouth, two recent recipients of an award for veterans who have defended the country, were honored Wednesday.

Goulet is a Vietnam veteran who has raised funds and support for veterans. Lopez followed his military career to be a public servant in Manchester who has worked to improve access to housing and care for veterans.

Lopez said Manchester is building a Gulf War monument at Manchester Veterans Memorial Park and any assistance that could help the effort would be appreciated.

"We need to bring our young people into the fold," Lopez said.

George Copadis, retired commissioner of the Department of Employment Security who served for over three decades, was also honored.

His dedication to public service also included service to many Manchester non profit organizations, the governor said. She added Copadis has always led with humor and humility. He was replaced by Rich Lavers as commissioner and was Copadis' assistant for more than 13 years.

COUNCILOR WHEELER MOVED TO TABLE MINUTES

Led by Executive Councilor David Wheeler, R-Milford, the council voted to table the minutes from the previous meeting.

"Could you please let the Secretary of State's office know what this is about?" Ayotte said.

Wheeler went through the meeting to outline his concern and those of other councilors on how the five-member board receives their information packets. Ayotte said she will continue to work with the council to come to something agreeable with her focus on making information available to the public online with added transparency, while Wheeler and others want those who wish to receive their paper documents as usual to be accommodated.

GROUND AMBULANCE STUDY TABLED

The council heard from D.J. Bettencourt, commissioner of the Department of Insurance, who advocated for a $400,000 contract with RAND Corporation to conduct a ground ambulance cost study and to develop a cost-based rate schedule to be used by health carriers in reimbursing ground ambulance providers in the state.

But in the end, the entire council had more questions and there was a lack of data available on comparative contracts.

Wheeler said the packet he received did not include the rating of the various contract bidders in relation to the weighting of the contract and the amounts offered. He said for some reason it "fell off the checklist" of important information.

Councilor Stephen questioned Bettencourt on the contract and noted this was not the lowest bidder and that he had to ask for that information, which was received only yesterday.

Wheeler said he did not have enough time to digest the scoring sheet, which was not included in the submitted item. Wheeler said he supports the study overall but wanted to get the information in front of him before voting.

Bettencourt said the strength of RAND's overall proposal was the reason it was chosen.

Councilor Liot Hill asked what the impact would be if there would be a delay, including increased costs and Bettencourt said there would be not an issue and it could be tabled until the next meeting.

The governor said this was a heavily debated issue in the legislature which her office was involved in and she understands the problems for rural municipalities to deal with these ambulance costs.

"The goal is to ensure that in commercial insurance the rates...are in line with the costs," Bettencourt said, and the study will help the state analyze it.

He said there has been a stalemate between the providers and the insurance carriers and the consumers.

For example, he said if the cost of an ambulance ride is $1,000, the provider might pay $200 but the $800 is then given to the consumer who didn't know it was coming, found it incredibly difficult to pay and it becomes a safety issue if people are afraid to call for help for financial reasons.

NOMINATIONS CONFIRMATIONS AND RESIGNATIONS

James Key-Wallace, executive director at New Hampshire Business Finance Authority, was nominated to a 60-day term as interim/acting commissioner for the state Department of Business and Economic Affairs.

He will temporarily replace Taylor Caswell who resigned after the votes were not there to support a third term.

Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, said the department needs leadership and he commended Ayotte for choosing Key-Wallace for the temporary role.

Liot Hill also said she supported the temporary appointment while the governor continues to search for a permanent replacement. Key-Wallace is going to continue in his state role as Executive Director of the state Business Finance Authority and will not be paid any more for the interim job.

Caswell resigned after three of the five members of the Council indicated they would not be inclined to confirm his nomination by the governor for a third term.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.