The Public Hearing at Hudson Budget Committee meeting on Jan. 16 opened with the introduction of Hudson’s newly hired Town Administrator Roy Sorenson.
“I am a resident of Salem, NH, I have been for the past 23 years and I am happy to be here tonight,” he said. “I will be coming to Hudson’s new Town Administrator this Feb. 10 and I’m coming down in the meantime to get a chance to meet some folks and I’m excited to do that.”
Sorenson currently serves as Salem’s Municipal Services Director, overseeing public works, engineering, water, and sewer utilities.
“Previously when I spoke to the Board of Selectmen, I had some opportunities to become an administrator and some other town as well,” he continued. “But when I sat with the folks in Hudson, it felt comfortable and it was a unique opportunity for me. At this point in my career, I’m ready to take that next step.”
His role in Hudson will be Sorenson’s first as a town administrator, just in time to begin wrapping up budget season.
With the Public Hearing, the Hudson Budget Committee brought upcoming proposals, such as Warrant Article 5, which addresses the Police Employees Association Contract, and Article 6, which addresses the Hudson Support Staff Union contract. The Budget Committee unanimously recommended these without debate.
Article 7 would fund the hiring of four new firefighters/AEMTS personnel, and it drew a few comments from Committee member Shawn Jasper. He wanted more information about the number of back-to-back calls the Hudson Fire Department normally deals with.
“I don’t think we received that information,” said Jasper. “I do know that next year there’s an anticipation that four more firefighters will be asked for and at that point, I think we need to have a more in-depth discussion and more information.”
He encouraged the town to focus on the statistics, promising his support for the article this year while pledging to delve deeper into the matter in 2026. The Budget Committee unanimously voted to recommend Article 7.
For Article 8, the Department of Public Works requested funding for a replacement dump truck, with Town Engineer Elvis Dhima speaking for DPW Director Jay Twardosky, who was unable to stay for the full hearing.
“At one point the state had a clean energy program through DES to replace diesel engines with electric vehicles. I was just wondering if there was any effort to apply for that grant,” wondered Committee member Kevin Walsh.
Dhima indicated that nothing had yet been decided, although DPW was looking into the issue.
“There’s a lot of paperwork that goes with had come up but I believe he’s pursuing it,” said Dhima. “I don’t know if you can offset this, but I do know we’re pursuing everything we believe we can get out there and I think this is one of them, replacing the diesel engines.”
The Town Engineer encouraged the Budget Committee to follow up on the issue. The Budget Committee unanimously voted to recommend Article 8.
The Town Deliberative Session is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Hudson Community Center at 9 a.m. The School Deliberative Session is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Hudson Community Center at 9 a.m.