What's New

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.

During this October 2023 Lead Poisoning Awareness Week the City of Portsmouth is offering homeowners information resources about testing for lead in their paint and water. For details go to more information.

Starting immediately, the City of Portsmouth Assessor’s Office is working neighborhood by neighborhood to update the property images it has on file for preliminary revaluation purposes.

Staff from the Assessor's Office are taking street-view photographs of all residential and commercial properties that have not had a recent photo taken. Staff working on the project will carry a City photo ID. Go to the schedule of activity.

The City of Portsmouth is hosting the next in a series of public information sessions for the Community Policing Facility effort in Council Chambers at City Hall on Thursday, September 21, 2023 at 5:30 pm.  

The Portsmouth Department of Public Works Water | Wastewater | Stormwater Department is hosting a public information session, “Wastewater 101” at the Portsmouth Public Library on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. The program is scheduled for the Levenson Room starting at 6:30 pm and is free and open to the public.  (Go to the program presentation.)

Earlier this year the Portsmouth Arts and Nonprofits Committee formed a subcommittee tasked with creating a new Cultural Plan for the City. The subcommittee has just launched a community-wide survey to collect feedback from residents, businesses, and arts/culture/historic site audiences.