MANCHESTER, N.H.- The City’s Board of Mayor and Alderman this week addressed a number of concerns including a potential new member of the school board to replace outgoing member Chris Potter and worries over higher tax bills.

Tuesday night the board broke from the standard practice of filling a vacancy which resulted in tempers flaring when the board backed a candidate nominated by At-Large Alderman June Trisciani.

The drama arose after the board voted 7-5 in favor of Donald Spencer, to replace Chris Potter, instead of following the standard practice of filling the seat with someone who lives in the ward where the vacancy occurred.

As Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio had nominated Randy Tremblay to fill the seat, which led to Terrio voicing his dissatisfaction with the move and as he said it was disappointing the matter was super partisan and unpleasant.

Spencer’s nomination will now lay over until final his confirmation, which will take place at the board’s Oct. 20 meeting.

Officials note that Potter’s current term runs through the end of 2027.

Residents also got the chance to voice their concerns over higher tax bills after receiving potential new property revaluation information; however, city officials say they’re not tax bills and rates are actually expected to decrease.

The matter took the main spotlight when Charles Kurfehs, chair of the Manchester Board of Assessors went on the record and confirmed what people received in the mail are not tax bills and that with everything coming up to market value in the city, officials are anticipating that the tax rates are going to drop significantly.

The letters show preliminary property values, some of which are a lot higher than what a home was previously assessed at. The letters are part of a routine evaluation that the city is required by state law to complete every five years. This year’s revaluation reflects how much property values have changed since the last one.