How to participate
You don't have to be a lawyer, a lobbyist, or a meeting regular. Here's how to actually make your voice heard in Pembroke town government.
Speak at a meeting
Select Board and Planning Board meetings both have a public-comment period. You don't need to be on the agenda.
- Show up — Select Board meets most Wednesday evenings at 6 PM at the Paulsen Room in Town Hall (8 Exchange Street, Pembroke). Planning Board meets most Tuesdays at 6:30 PM. See the calendar for the next one.
- Sign in with the Town Clerk before the meeting starts. They'll have a sheet — give your name and the topic you're here for. This is just so the chair can call on you during the public-comment period.
- Wait for your turn — the chair calls public comment near the start of the meeting (after "Call to Order" and before "Old Business"). You'll have about 3 minutes.
- Be specific — "I support / oppose X because Y" is more useful than "I have concerns." If you're asking for something specific (a change to a road, a policy), say so plainly.
The Select Board's public-comment rules are set by the chair each meeting. If you can't make it in person, the meetings are livestreamed and minutes are posted to the agenda center after they're approved.
Email a board member
You don't have to wait for a meeting. Each Select Board member has a town email. They read them — most reply within a week.
For policy that affects multiple departments, emailing the whole board (selectboard@pembroke-nh.com) gets a coordinated response from the Town Administrator.
For Planning Board or other committee members, see the officials directory.
Tip: a one-page email with a clear ask gets more attention than a three-page email with context. Board members are volunteers with day jobs.
Get on the town-meeting ballot
March town meeting is where residents vote the budget, adopt zoning changes, and approve big spending. To get a question on the warrant, you need 25 registered-voter signatures and to file with the Town Clerk by the second Tuesday in January.
The Town Clerk's office (8 Exchange Street, open weekdays 8 AM – 4:30 PM) has the petition form and can walk you through the process. They also have a checklist of what's required to make a petition valid (wording, signatures, format).
Don't wait until January. Start drafting in November. The Budget Committee and Select Board both review proposed warrant articles informally before the deadline.
Run for office
Town offices are elected in March every year (some seats are 3-year terms, some are 1-year). Positions up for election rotate: Select Board (3 seats), Planning Board (alternating seats), Budget Committee, Cemetery Commission, Town Moderator, Library Trustees, and Supervisors of the Checklist.
Filing period opens in mid-January. You file with the Town Clerk — it's a one-page form, no fee, no party required (Pembroke uses the non-partisan ballot for local offices).
Most incumbents don't have serious opposition. The hardest part of running is usually deciding to do it.
Stay in the loop
If you don't have time to attend every meeting (you don't), the site will surface what matters to you.
- Daily brief on the home page — what's on the agenda this week
- Agendas & minutes — recent postings with auto-generated summaries
- Ask the bot — questions about meetings, services, hours, fees
- Email alerts — pick the topics you care about (sign-in required)
Rules summarized from the town's published Select Board procedures and the Pembroke Town Charter. When in doubt, call the Town Clerk at 603-485-4747 — they're the most helpful person in town government.