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The City of Portsmouth invites the public to attend the Inauguration for the Portsmouth City Council, Police Commission, Fire Commission and School Board to be held in Eileen Dondero Foley Council Chambers at City Hall on Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 7 pm.

The Inauguration program will include the National Anthem sung by the Portsmouth High School Singers, the posting of colors by the Portsmouth Police and Fire Department Honor Guards, and an invocation by Reverend Jennifer Mazur of North Church.

As is their annual holiday tradition, the City’s Welfare Office is collecting gift cards for families who have older kids that are not typically served by other gift donation programs in the City.

On a providentially mild November afternoon the City of Portsmouth returned fragments of remains thought to date to between 1820 and 1950 to North Cemetery. Their gravesites had been discovered when the wall bordering the Maplewood Avenue site of the cemetery was being rebuilt. The sites were not marked and work stopped immediately when the graves were disturbed.  

The City’s 2023 Annual Holiday Tree-lighting, Illuminated Holiday Parade and new Shop & Stroll event takes place on Saturday, December 2 with festivities starting at 2 pm. Each year the City selects a Grand Marshal who “best exemplifies the spirit of generosity and commitment to the community.” This year, Mayor Deaglan McEachern is pleased to announce that Steve Cirillo Portsmouth High School (PHS) performing arts coordinator and champion of the PHS and Portsmouth Middle School Holiday Ensemble since the early 1990s is the 2023 Grand Marshal.

The City Clerk announces that her office will start accepting applications on Monday, December 4, 2023 for the lottery to assign the twelve seasonal boat slips at Prescott Park for the 2024 season. The deadline for applying is Thursday, January 4, 2024. Go to the 2024 application package, 

The Citywide Neighborhood Committee’s Holiday Lights Contest has become a cherished tradition in Portsmouth as a way to give residents a reason to celebrate together this holiday season. Registration for this year’s decorating contest opens Friday, November 24.

The City’s 2023 Holiday Tree-Lighting and Illuminated Holiday Parade will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2023 (this is a rain, snow, or shine event) starting at 5 pm. Portsmouth’s Tree Lighting ceremony takes place on the first Saturday in December each year from 5 to 5:30 pm, followed by the annual Illuminated Holiday Parade. The City’s Department of Public Works will begin installing the tree in Market Square on Monday, November 20 and continue decorating on the following day.

The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration has approved the City’s property tax rate of $16.13 per $1,000 of valuation for Fiscal Year 2024. The tax rate is $0.93 more than Fiscal Year 2023, which results in the median single-family home valued at $480,100 paying $7,744 or $446 more this year. The newly approved tax rate will be reflected in the tax bills mailed in the next couple of weeks, with the first half due Thursday, December 28, 2023, and the second half due on Monday, June 3, 2024.

The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration has approved the City’s property tax rate of $16.13 per $1,000 of valuation for Fiscal Year 2024. The tax rate is $0.93 more than Fiscal Year 2023, which results in the median single-family home valued at $480,100 paying $7,744 or $446 more this year. The newly approved tax rate will be reflected in the tax bills mailed in the next couple of weeks, with the first half due Thursday, December 28, 2023, and the second half due on Monday, June 3, 2024.

The Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Historical Archives plans a public information meeting at the Portsmouth Public Library on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. The program is scheduled for the library’s Levenson Room starting at 6 pm and is free and open to the public.