By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Snowmobiles, lawsuits, and taxpayer money are at the heart of an internal investigation taking shape inside the Sullivan County administrative offices in Newport.
Rep. Judy Aron, R-Acworth, recused herself last month from her position as chair of the county’s Executive Finance Committee amid questions about more than $250,000 in taxpayer money going to a non-profit where she is one of the directors. She didn’t respond to InDepthNH.org.
Delegation Chair Rep. Steven Smith, R-Charlestown, told InDepthNH.org the county is hiring an outside law firm to look at Aron’s relationship with Discover the Sugar River Region, though he does not believe there is anything wrong.
“We are getting outside counsel to look at it. We’re doing our due diligence,” Smith said. “I absolutely don’t believe anybody’s done anything wrong. But I’m not a lawyer.”
The decision on hiring the outside law firm to investigate is being handled by the County Commissioners, Smith said. Joe Osgood, chair of the County Commission, said a law firm has been hired and will be starting work soon.
“I don’t think we or [Aron] have done anything wrong, but we are going to get it checked by an attorney,” Osgood said.
Discover the Sugar River Region, or DSSR, was formed in 2023 as a nonprofit dedicated to bringing tourists and visitors to the region. Sullivan County sent $254,000 to DSSR as seed money to get the non-profit off the ground.
Elected Representatives like Aron and Smith serve as part of the county’s delegation, the legislative branch of local government that has the legal authority to raise and appropriate county taxes. The delegation plays a large role in the county’s budgeting process, and it sets salaries for county employees. While delegates have a large role in creating the County budget, Osgood said commissioners are the ones who decide how that budget is deployed.
“[Delegates] have a big role in setting the budget, but they don’t have a role in what we spend,” Osgood said.
Aron is not alone serving the county and the non-profit. County Manager Derek Ferland is one of the original board members from the 2023 formation, and he is currently one of DSSR’s officers. Ferland did not respond to InDepthNH.org’s request for comment.
Osgood said spending money on the DSSR startup is an investment in the County’s economic development.
The $254,000 seed donation is not the only taxpayer money being used for an outside recreation organization. The Claremont Beagle Club, a local snowmobile club, is involved in a lawsuit with a Unity property owner over the location of a snowmobile trail. Sullivan County taxpayers are footing the legal bill for the Beagle Club’s lawsuit.
Taxpayers are on the hook for $29,000 in legal costs in the 2026 County budget, even though the county is not a party to the lawsuit between a private landowner and a non-profit. Smith said the County does have a legitimate interest in the outcome of the lawsuit, as it could impact a right of way necessary for a public snowmobile trial.
Winter sports like snowmobile riding are part of the DSSR’s promotion for the area. Ferland himself was interviewed in the DSSR’s 2026/2027 promotional destination guide, a glossy magazine type publication paid for by taxpayers, to talk up snowmobiling in the region.
The Beagle Club’s been in existence sine 1995, though it was administratively dissolved by the Secretary of State’s Office this year when it failed to file its five-year report.