What's New

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.

On Thursday, November 9, 2023 the City of Portsmouth Recreation Department invites all Portsmouth veterans and their spouses to a free pancake breakfast from 9 to 10:30 am at the Senior Activity Center at 125 Cottage Street. The Veterans Breakfast is an annual tradition in Portsmouth. To make the required reservation for the Veterans Breakfast, call 603.610.4433.

City of Portsmouth NH City Clerk Announces Use of Time-Saving Electronic Voter Check-in for Municipal Election

Portsmouth, New Hampshire – Portsmouth City Clerk Kelli Barnaby is pleased to announce that the City of Portsmouth will use electronic voter registration and check-in at Municipal Election polls on Election Day Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

City Clerk Kelli Barnaby has confirmed the polling hours for the City’s Municipal Elections on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. The polls will be open from 8 am to 7 pm.

Voting locations for Portsmouth voters are determined by the Ward in which they live. For a list of which streets are included in each Ward, visit: portsnh.co/votinginfo.

Ward locations for the November 7, 2023 election are as follows:

•     Ward One – New Franklin School, 1 Franklin Drive;

The Department of Public Works and Knowles Tree Service will be working November 8 to 10, 2023 to remove and trim trees at Hall Cemetery off South Street. The City continues to coordinate the tree work with the two abutting property owners to gain access to the cemetery. Additional work will be performed in November to clear the overgrowth in the City’s right-of-way pathway from South Street to the Cemetery.

Since 1984 a British phone booth, or ‘phone box’ as the iconic structure is known in the UK, has stood at the back door of what is now the home of the Portsmouth Historical Society. A gift from Portsmouth NH’s Friendship City of Portsmouth, England, delivered by the HMS Sirius, the phone box had deteriorated from the effects of weather and vandalism over the past 39 years.

The City of Portsmouth Recreation Department has several family events and activities scheduled to celebrate fall and Halloween, culminating with the City’s Halloween trick-or-treat hours (5 to 8 pm on Monday, October 30, 2023). The Portsmouth Police Department reminds everyone to watch out for trick-or-treaters and traffic on the roads.

Portsmouth Fire Chief William McQuillen announced that the Portsmouth Fire Department has received the gift of a 1920 American LaFrance Chemical Fire Truck  from James Dunaway, owner of Bayberry Vintage Autos, LLC in Hampton, NH. Chief McQuillen commented,  "We are excited to have this historic 1920 American LaFrance fire truck. We're looking forward to getting it out in the public. Something like this, that has been so well-maintained for over 100 years, people want to see it, and we are so happy to do that.”