Exeter's is a selectmen and town manager form of government. The board of selectmen is the governing body and it appoints Exeter's town manager.

Exeter’s fiscal year currently coincides with the calendar. although there is some support in government for changing to a fiscal year June to June calendar. 

The town budget includes its operating budget and a capital budget.   A volunteer budget advisor committee reviews budget recommendations and conducts public hearings after the budget is  prepared by the town manager and before they are finalized by the selectmen before presentation to voters for discussion during a town meeting.

Finally, the town's operating budget is put before voters as a single article on the Town warrant.   and voted on in March. The Board of Selectmen can determine, with recommendations from the Town Manager and Budget Recommendations Committee which items are to be included in the operating budget and which items should be presented to voters as separate warrant articles.

Any budget item that contemplates borrowing through a short-term note or a long-term bond, precedes other budget articles on the warrant.  Borrowing articles all require a three fifths  vote  to pass, unlike other articles that require only a majority decision. 

The town budget is separate from the school district budget. The school district, School Admininstrative Unit 16, prepares its own budget preparation and hosts its own annual meeting with its own moderator.  The school budget is voted on the same day as the Town budget at the polls, however.

The town portion of the tax rate has settled at around 25 percent of the total property tax rate over the past several years. About 25 cents of every local tax dollar goes to fund town services and the remainder goes to local education, the state's tax bill to Exeter and for county government. 

Exeter Town Office
10 Front Street
Exeter, NH 03833

Phone: 603-778-0591
Fax: 603-772-4709

Town Clerk Window Hours
weekdays from 8:30 to 3:30

All other town offices
weekdays from 8:00 to 4:30

Town Manager
Russell Dean
Manages town affairs  on behalf of board of  selectmen.
Weekdays during business hours, 778-0591

Police Chief
Richard Kane
Weekdays during business hours, 772-1212

Fire Chief
Brian Comeau
firechief@exeternh.org

Town Prosecutor
Attorney Elyssa Slater
Prosecutes violations and misdemeanor cases for the Exeter Police Department
Weekdays, 9 to 3, 773-6141

PLANNING BOARD
Seven member board, including a selectman serving a term concurrent with the elected term of office, and five alternates. Three-year appointments made by the Board of Selectmen.

Craig MacPherson
Kathy Corson
Dennis Derby
Gwen English
Langdon Plumer
Kenneth Knowles
Bill Campbell, Selectmen’s Rep

Alternate Members
Amy Bailey
Anthony Zwaan
Julie Gilman, Alternate Selectmen’s Rep

ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
Five member board with five alternate members. Three year terms appointed by the Board of Selectmen, one member of the Planning Board may sit on the Zoning Board.

Marc Carbonneau
Michael Dawley
Martha Pennell
Joseph Stone
Hank Ouimet

Alternate Member:
Maurice Fremont-Smith
Stephen Cole

CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Seven members and five alternates appointed by the Board of Selectmen for terms of three years,

Donald Clement
Richard Sugatt
Jay Sullivan
Virginia Raub
Don Briselden
Peter Richardson
John Henson
William Campbell, Selectmen’s Rep

Alternates:
Jeff Geary
Sean Lyons
Peter Waltz

OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE
Seven-person committee created for the purpose of establishing acquisition criteria, identifying parcels of land and submitting recommendations to the Board of Selectmen in carrying out the provisions of Warrant Article 12, Town Meeting of 2003. The Committee will provide recommendations to the Board of Selectmen in accordance with the goals of the Conservation Commission and in line with the goals and priorities of the Open Space Chapter of the Town Master Plan.

Jody Pellerin
Neal Jones
Tom Chamberlin
Peter Dow
John Haslam
Gwen English
Donald Briselden

EXETER RIVER LOCAL ADVISORY COMMISSION
Appointed by Board of Selectmen to serve as Town Representative to Local Committee.

Donald Clement

Board of Library Trustees -- meetings are held the 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Exeter Public Library.  Trustees meetings are not broadcast live but are shown in available 7:00 PM time slots as they become available.

Board of Selectmen - broadcast live the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at 7:00 PM.  Rebroadcast at noon Tuesdays and 8:00 am Wednesdays.  Tuesday and Wednesday rebroadcasts follow regular meetings.

Conservation Comission - broadcast live the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM.  Rebroadcast at noon Wednesdays and 8:00 am Thursdays.  Wednesday and Thursday rebroadcasts follow regular meetings.

Heritage Commission meetings are held  the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM.  Heritage Commission meetings are not broadcast live or taped for rebroadcast.

Historic District Commission -- broadcast live the 3rd Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM.  Rebroadcast at noon Friday following regular meetings.

Planning Board -- broadcast live the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 7:00 PM.  Rebroadcast at noon Fridays.  Friday rebroadcasts follow regular meetings.

Water and Sewer Advisory Committee -- broadcast live the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM.  Rebroadcast at noon Thursdays and 8am Fridays.  Thursday and Friday rebroadcasts follow regular meetings.

Zoning Board of Adjustment - broadcast live the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM.  Rebroadcast at noon Wednesdays and 8:00 am Thursdays.  Wednesday and Thursday rebroadcasts follow regular meetings.

Exeter School Board, Co-Op School Board: EXTV records and rebroadcasts ERCSB and Exeter School Board meetings.  EXTV currently does not have the capability to broadcast these events live but will broadcast them on the first open 7:00 PM slot after they are received.  Rebroadcast times for these meetings are posted on Channel 22 so check the bulletin board often for the latest information.

Sunday mornings from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm are reserved for School Board rebroadcasts.  If EXTV has more than 4 hours of School Board programming to show, EXTV will break at at 2:00 PM in order to run any public access religious services and return to School Board programming afterwards.

Other Channel 22 Programming

Book Talk -- Book Talk is a children's book show produced by staff at the Main Street School.  See it Mon, Wed & Fri at 4:00 pm, Tues, Thurs & Sun at 6:00 pm, Saturday mornings at 10:00 am and Sunday mornings at 8:00 am. New shows typically start each Wednesday.

Actual times and dates of all meetings can be found on the town calendar and on the Channel 22 Community Bulletin Board.  Meetings are subject to change with 24 hour notice.  Not all meetings will be held due to lack of quorum, board business or other reasons.

Very long meetings (over three hours long) can affect the EXTV rebroadcast schedule and may not make the next day's noon rebroadcast.  Missed shows will be rebroadcast as soon as possible.

Meeting Marathons run at least once per week.  Marathons are rebroadcasts of all prior week meetings.  Marathons begin at midnight Friday (into Saturday) and begin again at 7:00 AM on Monday morning.  Check the community bulletin board for details.