There was a rumor spreading at the polls on Tuesday that Liz Thomas chairperson for the Library Board of Trustees had resigned. I emailed Thomas and Helen Palmieri, Vice Chair, on 3/11/2026 asking about the possible resignation, no one responded to the email. I emailed the the Londonderry Town Manager and Ron Dunn Chair of the Town Council asking if Thomas had resigned and when. Councilor Dunn did not respond. Town Manager Shaun Mulholland responded stating that he received a copy of Thomas’s resignation on March 11, 2026 which was sent to his office by a Library Trustee. The resignation letter was dated March 10, 2026.
From: Elizabeth Thomas, Chair Leach Library Trustees
To: Leach Library Trustees
Subject: Letter of Resignation
March 10, 2026
Under NH State Statutes RSA 202-A:2, 202-A:3, 202-A:6, and other related NH Statutes, and
reaffirmed via Case Law (1994 Littleton vs Taylor), the library is a separate and distinct entity from
the town. Oversight is provided by elected trustees.
Last year, when most trustee members did not want the position of Chair, I accepted the position
and set about providing oversight as required by State Law. I did so with the promise to govern
under the state statutes, rules of the NH Library Trustees Association, Leach Library By- Laws, and
Leach Library Personnel Policy. I promised to always act in the best interests of our taxpayers and
patrons. I also promised myself that I would hold the position of Chair for only one year, no matter
the course, and I have virtually accomplished that.
We have an excellent Library that our patrons love. However, during my tenure, I discovered
several policies and practices inconsistent with state law, best practices, NH Library Trustees
Association rules, Leach Library By-Laws, and Personnel Policy. Attempts were made to correct
these inconsistencies, despite much misinformation spread by a trustee. These changes would
not have adversely affected the library’s services and programs to our patrons but would have
aligned practices under the approved guidelines as they should be. The Trustees corrected the
handling of funds inconsistent with library policies that would save taxpayer money. Recently,
these changes have been overturned by the trustees present.
The Board of Trustees needs to approve spending before the Director can act. This is called
oversight and that is the job of the Trustees. Some Trustees disagree with this concept and have
sought to take unilateral action and made financial decisions that are unsustainable within our
budget and can only lead to increased taxes for our taxpayers. These included approving
excessive bonuses and treating salary caps as only a suggestion by distributing checks to bypass
the salary limitation. Another questionable practice was to give exempt (salaried) employees
administration time for time worked beyond the scheduled time without verified financial
oversight.
There has also been a disturbing trend by the town manager to interfere with the independence
of the trustees, largely unchecked, that points to his desire to have the library under his control.
Our previous Director claimed that she was treated as a valuable member of the Town Manager’s
staff and met weekly with the Town Manager and took directions from him. While the manager disclaimed this statement, he continued these meetings and has now started to direct the
library team. This points to his desire to have the library directly report to him.
One example of possible interference was House Bill 1214 submitted locally to Concord that
would change the Trustees Board to a figurehead advisory committee, stripping their oversight
authority of the library and putting the library directly under the control of the Town Manager.
This bill was soundly defeated by the House committee in a unanimous bipartisan vote after over
1000 testimonies were received against its passage. In other examples, the Town Manager has
routinely usurped the trustee governing body, disregarding or grossly misinterpreting state law
and making decisions on how the library was operating without the approval of the Trustees.
Except for the Budget Committee and included in the town budget, all other policies need to be
under the control of the elected Trustees.
These actions threaten the authority of the Trustees as a separate entity as required under SB2
town government. As Chair and as a member of the Trustees, I do not condone this trend.
believe the Trustees should resist this practice and take back the oversight authority and work in
cooperation with, not direction from, the Town Manager.
For these reasons, I no longer feel comfortable serving under these conditions. Therefore, I am
resigning my position as a library Trustee effective immediately and thank those Trustees who
have tried to provide oversight as intended by the governing statutes and to act as good stewards
of taxpayer money.
Respectively submitted,
Elizabeth Thomas
Chair, Leach Library Board of Trustees
Cc: Chairman Dunn, Londonderry Town Council
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