5-19-2026 The ICE Meeting

A full recap of the May 19th Brentwood Select Board meeting — a packed evening that covered routine financial business, the formal welcome of new Town Treasurer Linda Lambert, and a major conservation win as the board approved using the open space bond to fund a 55-acre conservation easement on the Sly property on Middle Road. The board also received updates on the ongoing town administrator and recreation director searches, and heard from auditors on four open items still requiring resolution. But the evening's most talked-about moment came when Police Chief Murch informed the board that he had signed a 287G task force agreement with ICE — a decision rooted in officer safety and twenty years of law enforcement experience that sparked a substantive public discussion about process, transparency, and what it means to keep Brentwood safe. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello Brentwin and welcome to another episode of Brentwick Jones Time.

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Hey then folks gather round the sound podcast with changes found. Let's go in the money in a little town. Let's lift each other up, let's break it down. Is it the art sale? Our friend in need. Let's let him help and hand plant that good seed.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Together we rise, together we stand Today we are going to recap the May 19th Select Board meeting. The meeting opened the way most meetings in town do, with the Pledge of Allegiance. What followed over the course of the evening was a meeting that covered a wide range of business, from routine financial housekeeping to a significant conservation land deal to a police agreement with federal immigration authorities that sparked one of the more substantive public debates this board has seen in some time. There was a lot to unpack, and this recap will walk through all of it. The meeting opened with the board working through the check manifest, the routine but essential process of reviewing and approving the town's outgoing payments. Following the manifest approval, the board took up a motion related to the town's treasurer. Linda Lambert, who had previously served as deputy treasurer, was formally welcomed in her new role as treasurer. The board voted to approve her as an authorized signer on town accounts, a necessary step to ensure continuity of financial operations. Linda addressed the board briefly, asking for one additional week before she begins presenting a weekly treasurer's report. She explained that she is still in the process of reviewing procedures, reconciling accounts, and catching up on the transition from her previous role. The board expressed support and agreed to the timeline. It was a quiet but important moment. Having a treasurer who was methodical, transparent, and committed to getting the numbers right before presenting them publicly is exactly the kind of financial stewardship a town like Brentwood needs. The next major item on the agenda brought Rob Woofchuk, chair of the Brentwood Conservation Commission, before the board. He was joined by Ben Angle from the Southeast Land Trust, known as SELT, who serves as the project manager for the conservation easement under discussion. The property in question belongs to Cindy and Warren Sly, located on Middle Road. Rob walked the board through the details of the proposed conservation easement, explaining both the resource values of the property and the financial structure that would allow the town to fund the easement through the open space bond approved by voters in 2022. The Sly property consists of approximately 55 acres that would be placed under conservation, along with a nearly four-acre exclusion area where the property owners retain the right to use the land as they see fit. The property has been consistently ranked high on the Conservation Commission's internal priority list and for good reason. About one-third of the property lies within the Coastal Conservation Plan, the regional guiding document developed by conservation organizations across the Seacoast watershed to identify the highest conservation priorities in the area. The property is surrounded by other conserved parcels, creating a connected corridor of protected land. It ranks highly for wildlife habitat with a rare species documented within a mile of the property. Two tributaries run through the land, feeding into Dudley Brook and ultimately into the Exeter River, a watershed that Conservation Commission has long prioritized for protection. The property also contains prime and locally important agricultural soils and more than 10 acres of wetlands, including a small fraction of one of the town's designated prime wetlands. Rob explained that an appraisal was conducted on the property and the value of the conservation easement, meaning the extinguishing of the development rights, came in at $310,000. To understand what that number means, Ben Engel provided a clear explanation of how easement value is calculated. The appraisal uses what is called a before and after analysis. The before value represents what the property is worth today, with full development potential intact. That analysis placed the before value at approximately $393,000. After the easement is placed on the property, the land retains some value. It can still be used for sustainable forestry, agriculture, and recreation, but the development potential is gone. That remaining aftervalue is subtracted from the before value, and the difference is the easement value. In this case, that difference is $310,000. The Sly family will retain ownership of the property. Salt will serve as the primary easement holder, with the town taking what is called an executory interest, a real property right that gives the town a stake in ensuring the easement is upheld in perpetuity. That executory interest requires formal approval from the select board, which is part of why this item was before them. It is worth pausing here to note what this easement represents. 55 acres of Brentwood land, land with rare species, wetlands, tributaries feeding the Exeter River, and prime agricultural soils, will be permanently protected from development. In a region where development pressure is constant and the rural character of towns like Brentwood is always at risk, this is exactly the kind of long-term investment that future generations will be grateful for. Next, the board provided a brief update on two ongoing personnel searches. The town administrator position remains open and the interview process is actively underway. Two candidates were interviewed the prior week, one was interviewed during the current week, and at least one more interview is scheduled for the following week. A fifth candidate had been contacted but had not yet responded. The board expressed hope that the process would continue to move forward efficiently. On the recreation director front, the board noted the applications have begun coming in for that position as well. The current director, Nick, is working through June 1st, giving the town a defined timeline for filling the role. The board then received an update on the ongoing audit of the town's finances. A meeting had taken place earlier that day between town staff and the auditors, and four open items remained that require answers before the audit can be finalized. The first open item involves ARPA funds, the Federal American Rescue Plan Act money the town received during the pandemic. The question centers on how these funds were handled. Rather than being deposited into a dedicated ARPA account and drawn down as approved expenditures, the funds were deposited directly into the general fund. That commingling of funds is creating reconciliation challenges for the auditors who need to trace exactly how the ARPA money moved and was spent. The second open item involves encumbrances at the end of fiscal year 2024, specifically a listing of what was being encumbered as of December 31, 2024. The auditors have narrowed the discrepancy down to approximately $79,000, which they believe may be the result of an erroneous entry rather than a substantive financial problem. That is a significantly smaller number than some of the figures that have been discussed in prior meetings, which is encouraging. The third open item, described by the town staff as no surprise, involves impact fees. Impact fees have been a recurring point of confusion and concern in Brentwood's financial and management. The auditors continue to have questions about how they are being collected and accounted for. The fourth open item involves the ambulance fund, with questions about how that fund has been managed and reconciled. Town staff indicated that work on the 2025 reconciliation will be paused while these four audit questions are addressed. The goal is to get the auditors the information they need as quickly as possible so the audit can be completed. Next, the most talked-about item of the evening was not on the printed agenda. It emerged when Police Chief Merch addressed the board to inform them that the prior Friday he had signed a memorandum of agreement with the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, ICE, under what is known as the 287G Task Force Model Program. Before diving into the discussion that followed, it is worth saying something plainly. Chief Merch made this decision because he is a police chief who takes his oath seriously, who has over 20 years of law enforcement experience, and who was hired by this town precisely because of that background and that judgment. He did not hide anything. He did not act in bad faith. He acted in the best interest of his officers and the community. That context matters and it should not get lost in the political noise that surrounds anything involving the word immigration in 2026. Chief Merch explained his reasoning clearly and directly. Among the most dangerous situations his officers face are domestic violence calls and late-night traffic stops, moments when an officer is alone, often in the dark, with limited information about who they are dealing with. Prior to signing this agreement, if an officer stopped a vehicle at 1 in the morning and the driver had an active ICE detainer, a federal immigration warrant, the officer had no authority to act on it. The only option was to write a ticket and let that person go. Think about what that means in practice. If that same driver had an active warrant from the state of Massachusetts, the officer could contact the issuing jurisdiction, confirm the warrant, and take appropriate action. But a federal immigration warrant? Nothing. The officer had to stand there, knowing a federal warrant existed, and watch the car drive away. Chief Merch was not willing to leave his officers in that position. The 287G agreement changes that. If a driver stopped on Route 125 has an active ICE detainer, the officer contacts ICE, provides the information, and asks how ICE would like to proceed. That could mean releasing the individual, getting an updated address, or arranging for ICE to come out and take custody. The decision is ICE's, not the officer's. The officer is simply no longer required to ignore a federal warrant that is staring them in the face. Chief Merch drew the comparison himself. The department works with the DEA, the ATF, the FBI, Customs, the Secret Service. Law enforcement supporting law enforcement. This agreement is no different in principle. It is about giving officers the tools to do their jobs safely and effectively. Brentwood is not alone in this. Approximately 20 jurisdictions in New Hampshire have entered into similar agreements, including Rockingham County Sheriff's Department, the State Police, Epping, Kingston, and Chester, with more reportedly in the pipeline. The state police with statewide jurisdiction on New Hampshire's highways have entered into the same agreement. That is not a fringe position that is mainstream law enforcement practice in this state. Chief Merch also addressed the financial dimensions of the agreement. Officers who complete the required 40 hours of ICE training would be eligible for a reimbursement of $7,500 per officer. Overtime and transportation costs incurred when dealing with an ICE individual would be in reimbursed to the town. There is also a potential grant of $100,000 available. The chief was emphatic that none of these financial incentives drove his decision, and there is no reason to doubt him. This is a man who has spent over 20 years in law enforcement. He knows what matters in the field and is not grant money. The discussion that followed included comments from State Representative Eric Turer, who raised questions about the provisions of the agreement and expressed a preference for prior public discussion. Those concerns were heard respectfully and to his credit, Representative Turr was clear that he holds Chief Merch in high regard and is not questioning the Chief's integrity, only the process by which the decision was made. On the question of process, Chief Merch acknowledged that in the future a decision of this nature might be brought to the board for discussion beforehand. This is a reasonable takeaway, but it is equally important to acknowledge what New Hampshire law says on this matter. RSA 106-P, which took effect in 2025, specifically prohibits towns from interfering with or preventing local law enforcement from entering into 287G agreements with the Department of Homeland Security. The chief was not only within his authority, he was exercising exactly the kind of independent professional judgment that the town hired him to exercise. Jim Hazer, a longtime Brentwood resident and chair of both the Cemetery Trustees and the Budget Committee, put it well when he addressed the board. He described the transformation of the Brentwood Police Department since Chief Murch's arrival as obvious and remarkable. Officers are visible in the community, they show up at events without being asked, they engage with residents, they have built a culture of community policing that is genuine and consistent. Jim said he trusts this chief, and that trust has been earned. Jim also made a broader point that deserves to be heard. Immigration is one of those issues that has become so politically charged at the national level that it is nearly impossible to have a national conversation about it at the local level. People hear the word ICE and they immediately retreat to their corners. But what Chief Merch did is not about politics. It is about a police officer at 1 in the morning on Route 125 alone, facing a situation where a federal warrant exists and the law previously gave him no tools to act on it. That is a safety issue. That is a law enforcement issue, and Chief Merch fixed it. The board expressed support for the chief while noting they would have appreciated being informed before the agreement was signed. That is fair feedback, and Chief Merch received it graciously. The relationship between this chief and this board and this community is strong, enough to absorb a process disagreement and move forward. What should not get lost in this conversation is the bigger picture. Brentwood has a police chief with over 20 years of experience who came to this town, built a department, culture rooted in community policing, and is making decisions every day with the safety of his officers and community as the North Star. That is exactly what this town asked for when it hired him, and that is exactly what it is getting. The ICE agreement is in place, the chief is open to dialogue, the board is supportive, and Brentwood is fortunate to have a law enforcement leader of this caliber making these calls. Jim Hadger, in his capacity as chair of both the cemetery trustees and the budget committee, raised a practical question about access to the town's financial reporting system. Currently running financial reports requires going through Jillian, the town's administrative staff member, a process that creates unnecessary bottlenecks for department heads and oversight bodies that need regular access to financial data. Jim asked whether read-only access to the financial system could be extended to department heads and budget committee members, allowing them to pull their own reports without burdening town staff. The board responded positively to the idea, noting that read-only access would not create any risk of unauthorized changes to financial data. The board agreed to explore making that access available with the understanding that it would be limited to relevant budget lines for each user. Jim noted with some humor that the budget committee's line item is so small, the result of rounding 50 cents and 50 cents to a dollar that the access would be largely symbolic for his purposes. But the principle of giving oversight bodies direct visibility into financial data is sound. The board's willingness to move in that direction is a positive step for transparency. Planning board member Doug Marino addressed the select board briefly on the question of impact fees, noting that a potential discrepancy had been identified between the town's local ordinance and state law regarding when impact fees are supposed to be collected. State law supersedes local ordinance, and if the town's ordinance is out of alignment with the relevant RSA, it would be prudent to bring the ordinance into compliance. Doug acknowledged that the details of this discrepancy were better known to Mark Kennedy, who had originally raised the issue. The board acknowledged the concern and indicated it is on their radar with the appropriate authority, either the select board or the building inspector responsible for addressing it. Impact fees have been a recurring theme in Brentwood's financial discussions, appearing in the audit update earlier in the evening and now resurfacing again in the context of potential legal compliance issues. This is an area that deserves focused attention and resolution. This was a full meeting, one that covered the routine business of town government alongside some genuinely significant decisions and discussions. The conservation easement on the Sly property on Middle Road is a win for Brentwood's future. 55 acres of wildlife habitat, wetlands, and watershed land will be permanently protected, funded through a bond that voters approved precisely for this purpose. Rob Woofchuk and the Conservation Commission, along with Salt and the Sly family, deserve credit for bringing this project to fruition. The personnel searches for Town Administrator and Recreation Director are ongoing, and the board appears to be moving through the process deliberately and carefully. The audit update is encouraging in one respect. The encumbrance discrepancy has been narrowed to approximately $79,000, which is far more manageable than earlier figures suggested. But the underlying issues around ARPA fund management and impact fees and the ambulance fund still need resolution. And the ICE Agreement. The 287G Task Force Model Memorandum of Agreement signed by Chief Merch is the item that will generate the most conversation in the days and weeks ahead. The Chief's intentions are clear and his integrity is not in question. Brentwood is a town that does things together. That's its strength. The best path forward on the ICE agreement, as with so many things in this community, is more conversation, more transparency, and a shared commitment to getting it right. That is what happened at this select board meeting. That is what Brentwood does. Thank you for listening. Keep our first responders and military in mind. Thank them for what they do when you see them. Let them know how important they are. Till next time, have a great week, Brentwood.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

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