Lucille Noel has lived in Chichester for 60 years. She grew up in neighboring Pittsfield, then moved out of state, but decided to return to New Hampshire when her mother fell ill.

Across the decades, the sense of community she has found in town – through thick and thin – has remained unparalleled.

“This town, over the years, really has been a wonderful home,” she said. “My husband passed away, and I have one son who lives out of town, but I had a sickness of cancer a few years back, and I had such wonderful support from the library organization and the groups that I belong to. It, to me, felt like having a warm blanket wrapped around me.”

While she’s been supported by her neighbors and friends, Noel, now 85, feels the town has taken a turn.

“I’m really distressed at the animosity that some people are feeling against other members of the community,” Noel said. “I think communities have their strengths by working together, and if there’s an issue, then working it out and not doing any name calling or putting anybody down. So I’m all for the cooperative solving of these problems. I’m sorry that it’s happening in town.”

The town will hold a second session of its town meeting on Saturday after residents on March 15 who were frustrated with their local government eliminated the executive portion of the town budget, which included the town administrator’s salary. Tempers flared during the contentious six-hour meeting that left a major question about how the town would continue to function and pay its employees in the future.

While Chichester has had its ups and downs, Noel said, “right now, it seems to be in a little bit more of a turmoil.”

Some recent Board of Selectmen meetings, the school budget meeting, and town meeting have all seen record turnout by residents, who have expressed concerns over rising taxes, selectmen transparency, and communication between the town and its citizens.

One bone of contention was with Town Administrator Jodi Pinard, who resigned in December and then was rehired two months later with a $31,000 raise. Residents bristled at the size of the raise and the way the Board of Selectmen decided upon it in a non-public session. Selectman Michael Williams abruptly stepped down from his role ahead of town meeting in mid-March.

Other long-time residents have similarly felt the weight of these tensions. For Sally Kelly, who moderated the school budget meeting, Saturday’s meeting provides an opportunity for people to come together and listen to each other. She would like to see residents vote to restore at least $1 to each of the budget lines they chose to zero out at the previous meeting.

“What I hope is that we can come to an agreement on Saturday where we can speak calmly with each other and figure out the best solution for the town,” said Kelly, a resident of 46 years. “In any negotiation, you’ve got to give a little and you get a little.”

Kelly loves living in Chichester and says the town has “a true caring by the people of our community.” She wants that care to continue to shine through, even in times of tension.

For Tammy Jameson, who grew up in Chichester and moved back to raise her family 33 years ago, zeroing out the executive section of the budget felt like “taking a chainsaw where you need a scalpel.”

She described feeling “frustrated” following the school and town meetings.

“Having more attendance, it’s a double-edged sword, because it’s great, I mean, that’s how democracy works,” Jameson said. “It’s great to have more people involved, but also there is a learning curve, and we had a lot of people there, I think, who had never participated in that kind of direct democracy that we have at town and school meeting and and maybe weren’t as informed. So it took longer.”

Both meetings saw heated arguments and some raised voices. Treasurer and the vice-chair of the planning board Andrea Deachman hopes Saturday’s meeting will be calmer.

“I would like to see more camaraderie, less anxiety, less finger pointing, more communication and transparency,” said Deachman, a 32-year resident of Chichester. “Let’s talk about these things together instead of yelling at each other. Let’s turn around and let’s agree to disagree and figure out where we can come to an agreement in the middle.”

In the event that the town administrator cut goes through, Deachman she could be someone approved to write checks to help keep payroll running. Selectman-elect Matthew Stolnis similarly said that he would step up as a selectman to do the work.

Reflecting on all that’s been happening in town, Kelly wants to see people return to getting along and supporting each other.

“It’s social media that has perverted our world, along with other pieces of a national conversation, that has made an ‘us against them’ environment. And I hate it. I absolutely hate it,” said Kelly.

Jameson agrees with Kelly about social media. However, she thinks it’s important to consider how Chichester fits into the larger picture.

“Nothing has changed here in Chichester that isn’t changing everywhere,” Jameson said. “Towns change. Towns grow. We have growing pains. I think so much of the angst is over taxes.”

Town meeting will continue on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Chichester Central School. For more information, visit chichesternh.org.

Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com