|
Probably, Laconia passed a tax cap for some of the same reasons that Wolfeboro, Alton & Gilford passed SB-2. As a city and not a town, SB-2 is not an option for Laconia. It looks like SB-2 may be spreading and moving around the lake to Meredith and Moultonboro.
For a town with no school system,, no school administration unit, no town hall, no town roads, no library, no police dept, no fire dept, no community center, no public works dept, no budget, and no people; suggest you move to the very large and not too far away NH town of Livermore, and live happily ever after...........lol. :D ......... Here's a letter to the editor in today's February 27, 2008, Laconia Daily Sun, from Meredith. ......... SB-2 would allow people to vote their wallets. And that's bad? To the editor: Its time to take back Meredith, not to an earlier time, but from the special interest and the tax and spenders. Many of the taxpayers of Meredith - both natives and others - who have migrated here from the south seeking lower taxes and freedom are profoundly disappointed in the tax and spenders who have taken over the town and school system. It's time to rise up and empower the people and pass SB-2. The founders of this great republic would be ecstatic that more voters would be participating in the voting in any form of government. The people in control ignore the falling property values, bad economy, high cost of fuels and other goods. Not everyone has unlimited income. The town of Meredith is used as an example of out of control spending by people from other towns. One selectman made the statement that with SB-2, people would vote their wallets - not a good thing, well, ya! If all you can afford is a Ford you don't buy a Lincoln. What's next, maybe an olympic swimming pool for the Inter-Lakes High School county club or the community center? People of Meredith and Meredith Center, rise up like our forefathers did with the British and take back Meredith. We can always go back to town meeting where 10-percent run the town. Hats off to Ms. Worsman and Mr. Lovett on the Selectboard but they need help. Elect Jim Waldron to the Selectboard. George Horne Meredith ......... ......... |
"If the taxes keep going up..."
Letter to the Meredith News from Moultonboro, Thursday, February 28, 2008
..... Be not afraid, vote for SB2 To the editor, Can't believe the selectman votes 4 - 1 on the petition warrant article that would give $375,000 to the Recreation Strategic Planning Team. I thought this was put on the back burner for two years. These are bad economic times. We do not need the senior center. Stop making people think it is a good thing for them. No, it is not. If the taxes keep going up the seniors will lose their homes, and that is what the townspeople do not want. They said they got 300 signatures from the people in town that want the Senior Center. What about the rest? I guess we need to get 301 signatures that say no we don't. NOW WHAT! We should be watching how we spend our tax dollars. The selectmen are not in our best interest, only the special interest. So, people of the town of Moultonboro, listen up and make sure you vote for SB2. Be not afraid. Be afraid if you do not vote and let the selectmen vote for you. We as taxpayers should have a say in where our hard-earned money goes. Anna de Rosa Moultonboro ..... .... As you know, SB-2 needs 60% to get passed! fll |
and today there is an article in the local papers that mention a new bill in the legislature that would restart the donor town tax that is Moultonboro would rasie its property tax rate to give money to other towns. Bill put in by a number of democrats
|
from former Meredith selectboard chairman
From letters to the editor, Laconia Daily Sun, Thursday, February 28,
2008 Peter Miller has served the town of Meredith as selectman and was chairman as recently as December 2006, when he chose not to run for re-election. Whether you agree or disagree with him on SB-2, you can tell from this letter that he very much cares about the Town of Meredith and about town government. fll ..................... Town officials need annual meetings to get their message out to the voters To the editor, The events leading up to Meredith's vote on Senate Bill 2 illustrate what is wrong with the SB-2 decision making process. Because this challenge to our current form of government will be decided on election Tuesday rather than town meeting Wednesday, there is no provision for voters to formally gather to discuss the pros and cons of SB-2 or to put some hard questions to the lead petitioners. Instead, information is transmitted in a haphazard way - letters to the editor, remarks made at Board of Selectmen meetings, and suchlike. That's poor preparation for a decision of this magntude. Compare that to the way voters will decide whether to approve the fire station bond issue at the upcoming town meeting. A power point presentation of the proposed stations's plans and projected costs will be shown to all those who have assembled to vote. The discussion that follows will allow voters to ask tough, probing questions of selectmen, and to voice their sentiments pro and con. After the last person who wishes to speak has been heard, and only then, voters will decide the issue by secret ballot. If Senate Bill 2 is enacted, this thorough and time-tested way of conducting business will be no more. All warrant articles will be decided the way Senate BIll 2 is being acted on this year. Yes, Senate Bill 2 does provide for a deliberative session, but these are very poorly attended in SB-2 towns because there is no vote to bring people out. Typically, only a tiny fraction of those who cast ballots on election Tuesday attend the deliberative session beforehand. In contrast, nearly 100-percent of those voting at Town Meeting listen to and/or participate in the deliberation that precedes each vote. "But it's hard for our senior citizens to sit through a long evening meeting," say the SB-2 advocates. Well, let me tell you something. I'm one of Meredith's senior citizens. I have many physical infirmities, including hearing loss and a medical condition that causes my leg muscles to cramp if I sit too long in a chair. Yet I am so opposed to Senate Bill 2 that I would donate one of my Social Security checks to help finance the effort to dump SB-2 in the compost heap. If I can make it through a long town meeting, so can my fellow seniors. It may not be fun, but it is a vital civic duty, and it is participatory democracy at its finest. One evening a year is not an excessive sacrifice. Town meeting insures thoughtful deliberation prior to voting. Year after year, I have been very impressed with the questions and concerns voiced by Meredith residents at town meeeting. We learn from each other at this annual gathering, and the various perspectives people express at the microphone act as a system of checks and balances. The thing that scares me the most about SB-2 is that there are no checks and balances. Voters reach a decision somehow - because of what they read in the press, or because a friend of a friend of a friend said such-and-such, or because of what they overheard while eating breakfast at George's Diner, or because they hold a grudge against a town employee or official. With Senate Bill 2, it is much more likely that reaction, not reflection, will prevail. That is dangerous, because it leads to bad decisions. Senate Bill 2 is favored by reactionaries who want no capital spending and no budget increase. If Senate Bill 2 had been enacted in Meredith six years ago, the police department would still be in that decrepit facility near the bowling alley, there would be no Community Center, and the fire station renovation would be headed for defeat. Why do I say that? Because town leaders would have had no effective means of explaining to voters why these capital projects were necessary, timely, and cost-effective, and because emotion would have prevailed over reason far too often in the voting booth. Town meeting is the only official event that generates a large turnout. Most Board of Selectmen meetings are attended by a predictable few - the press, department heads, former selectmen and selectman wannabes, and people who have a vested interest in that night's agenda items. During the years I was selectman, the Board's annual budget and warrant hearings attracted almost no one. When town officials can't get their message to the voters, it allows the critics to have an open field of play. Every town has a few self-appointed wisenheimers who bash elected and appointed officials as frequently as the rooster crows. You've published their diatribes, so you know what I mean. In time, the sheer repetition of these slams has an effect. They play on voters' emotions, and people assume that where there's smoke, there must be fire. The intent is to whip the public into a frenzy. There are voters who signed the SB-2 petition because they think Carol Granfield's gas allowance is too generous, or because they think the new police station should have a cell block facade, or because they are just plain mad at all the growth happening in town. If the fire station bond issue was being decided by SB-2 rules, they would take that negative attitude right into the voting booth, and it would be payback time, to hell with the consequences. We need the checks and balances that town meetng provides. I ask every voter who shares my concerns to vote on election Tuesday and simply say NO to SB-2. Thankyou for publishing this letter. There is still at least one more yet to come. Peter Miller Meredith .................. .................... |
Quote:
|
Good letter from Mr. Miller. Thanks for posting it Less.
I too have problems with bills like SB2. I think we've turned into a society of sound bites. Everybody wants everything presented to them in neat little packages that don't take more than 15 to 30 seconds to digest. Then they want to act. Unfortunately, not much in life is that simple. The instant gratification we seek, be it in speed limits to solve a crowding, noise, large wake problem, that stock that will turn our $500 investment into $1,000,000, that pill that will allow us to eat like pigs and still lose weight, these things seldom work. The people claiming that they are too busy to go to town meeting will still be too busy to attend informational meetings and probably too busy to vote. The problem I have with SB2 is it gives too much power to the proponents and opponents who try to turn complex issues into 15 second sound bites. It gives too much power to voters who make up their mind based on these sound bites or worse use the einey meeney miney moe method. Voting is a responsibility, it's not supposed to be easy all the time. Tough decisions require information and thought, not quick decisions at voting time. I think the people who think this will slow down spending are in for a shock. |
Quote:
________ Nevada marijuana dispensary |
Quote:
If a particular line 'budget' item needs approval, why can't the voter study it and let the town officials or special interest groups convince the voter there is a need? Why is there fear the voter gets to vote in private ? I have been to many town meetings and seen them stuffed by special agendas and stare downs. |
Quote:
|
"Not everyone is able to be present..."
Here's a letter to the editor, Laconia Daily Sun, February 28, 2008, from Rick Heath of Moultonboro. As many readers know, Mr Heath is on the team that runs the totally terrific E. M. Heath supermarket and hardware stores in Center Harbor, that shopping mecca for the area! (Looking for a freebie cup of coffee from six choices of exotic Green Mt coffee including hawaian kona.......head for Heath's Super!)
...... Not everyone is able to be present at the town and school district meetings To the editor, In a most amazing statement by Moderator Borrin at the recent School District Public Hearing on SB-2, he indicated that those who would rather vote by ballot either within the privacy of a voting booth "hiding behind a curtain" (his words, not mine) or by absentee ballot had less courage than those dedicated souls that are able to make it to the town and school district meetings. Can we assume that as the chief election official in the town (Town Moderator as defined by RSA) he meant that hundreds of disenfranchised voters mean less to him than having the courage to stand before a stacked audience of prujudiced voters to muster up a vote against them? I can tell you as a busines owner, parent having had kids in school and as a member of the community, it is easier to stay home. I will also tell you courage or cowardice has nothing to do with it. Because under the present forum, any one voter innocently going to "the purest form of democracy" to express their opinion is like leading the lamb to slaughter. I have seen the intimidation, the bullying, the impatience with the inexperienced participant, the arrogance of decades at the helm, and the cavalier behavior that is common from the podium all too often. No, setting yourself up for this kind of treatment in order to express one's opinion is not courage; it is stupidity. Setting this allegation aside, SB-2 is not about "cutting taxes with large groups of absentee ballots"(his contention not mine) nor is it about having to run for office to demonstrate one's dedication to his community, nor is it "how we are going to 'getcha' by undermining the present process." SB-2 simply is a voting initiative that allows all registered voters to vote on the warrant articles. I know this is a simple concept for some of our town fathers to wrap their minds around, but not everyone is able to be present at the town and school district meetings. Should this simple fact deny those taxpaying, registered resident voters the right to have a saying how their tax dollar is spent?Their reply is that you have the opportunity to be there, discuss, and vote along with the rest of them; if that does not fit your schedule or your needs, then tough beans. Besides it is dangerous to allow uneducated voters to vote; only those insiders that have stuck with the process all throughout the year and fully understand all concepts of every article should be allowed the vote. By this standard we ought not to be voting on people for the office of selectmen unless we know ahead of time how they will represent us on all issues all the time. But they (all but one) just did a 180-degeree flip-flop on their supporting the multi-million dollar recreation center. We all have priorities in life. Family, job or business, church, recreation, community obligations, etc. are some that come to mind. This writer would suggest a blend of some or all of these, and others I have missed, would be a healthy and natural prescription or blueprint with which to live life. That is not to say that if I put business higher on the list than recreation, or if my neighbor puts recreation higher than family, one of us is right and the other is wrong. There are no laws governing how we make our priority list or even that we need to have the list at all. I vote. I vote at primaries, local elections, state and national elections. I enjoy the process of taking my ballot and filling it out and either mailing it in by absentee or going behind the striped curtains and handing my ballot to the moderator. If you are not physically there at the town meeting, your right to vote is being denied. Why are we allowed to mail in our vote on all other aspects of government but not for town meetings? How is this called democracy at all, let alone domocracy in the purest form? Please vote yes on SB-2 whether you live in Moultonboro, Meredith, Center Harbor, or Sandwich. Vote for the true purest form of democracy. Rick Heath Moultonboro .......... Laconia Daily Sun, letter to the editor, Feb 28, 2008 |
Voting rights
As a citizen of Gilford who is absent during the winter months, I am proud of our town and grateful that it extended to all registered voters the right to participate. I take my privilege and my responsibility seriously, study the issues, and have voted each and every time since our town so generously displayed its wisdom. Thank you, Gilford. :)
|
...in today's March 4 LaDaSun!
Top of the front page, spanning the center of today's March 4, 2008 Laconia Daily Sun, in large bold letters:
Shaker board accused of trying to suppress SB-2 vote Proponents wonder why polls will only be open for 1 hour and why Official Ballot vote is mixed in with articles that will be voted on at the annual meeting itself; the board says state law dictates the order(sub headline) By Ray Carbone, The Laconia Daily Sun Belmont - Two Planning Board members are criticizing the way the Shaker Regional School Board has set up the warrant for the annual district meeting set for Friday night, saying it's rigged to mislead voters about how they can vote on the official ballot (or, "SB-2") article. Ward Peterson and Claude Patten have both written letters to The Daily Sun and taken out advertisements in the newspaper this week to let voters know they won't have to sit through the entire annual district meeting before they can vote on whether or not to adopt SB-2 for the Belmont-Canterbury school district. "I took my ad because I wanted to make sure people know it's a ballot vote and the polls are open from 7 to 8 p.m.," Peterson said last night. Peterson said the school board has taken the unusual measure of placing the SB-2 article on the warrant after a $500,000 bond issue article aimed at addressing several safety-related issues at the district's four schools, including installing a bus loop at Canterbury Elementary School, putting a sprinkler system into Belmont Elementary School and improving security at all four buildings. The bond-issue vote will take place durng the meeting itself. ...& 15 more paragraphs....can be read at www.laconiadailysun.com by Ray Carbone, Laconia Daily Sun oopsie doopsie...posted this in the wrong thread....meant to post in the SB-2 thread.....SB-2 fatigue is setting in here |
letter to LaDaSun; Moultonboro
letter to the editor, Laconia Daily Sun, March 4, 008
How nice the town can close offices during Town Meeting To the editor, I find it very ironic that at the same Moultonborough selectmen's meeting where the selectmen were stating the reasons why the town should NOT Vote for SB-2, they were planning to close the town dump and library so that the employees could attend the Town Meeting. If Moultonborough were an SB-2 town this would not be necessary. They could vote at any time from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. How convenient that the town can close facilities for Town Meeting. What other businesses can afford to close so that their employees can attend the meeting? The non-resident taxpayer may want to use these facilities on the morning of March 15. What service does his tax dollar get him? In closing let me mention that I am a year round resident of Moultonborough. Otherwise, according to the town officials, my opinion wouldn't matter. Jim Morrison Moultonborough Laconia Daily Sun ............... .............. |
letter to LaDaSun; Meredith
Laconia Daily Sun, March 4, 2008
SB-2 is way for voters to seize power from 'we know what's best for you' crowd To the editor, This great news paper has been fair enough to print my letters in the past so I will be courteous and make this short and to the point and not take up half the news paper so others may voice their opinions, that's the New Hampshire way. The voting on SB-2 will be a secret ballot tuesday March 11 at the Community Center, not at the Town Meeting, so be sure to vote "yes" on article seven for the town and queston one for the school. If you vote "no" or do not vote at all, don't complain about out of control spending and unkept promises (old police station sale). This is your shot at controlling spending at the local level. The cost of everything is going ever higher, this is your chance at controlling some of it. Laconia has a tax cap, Gilford has SB-2, Meredith needs SB-2. It is time to seize power from the 'we know what's best for you" crowd. The special interests are going to do their best to defeat this, so every vote counts. George Horne, Meredith Laconia Daily Sun ...... ..... |
Quote:
Makes me wonder if the town employees are against SB-2, otherwise the town officials would not want their votes. :) |
wifi.....I'm sure all town employees are against SB2.......where else can you go to a meeting,wait until others have gone home and then vote yourself a nice raise,more benefits and maybe a little extra vacation time?
|
.....$18,399,208., budget hearing tonight
"Voters wll decide on the $18,399,208 budget during the school district hearing on March 5." Erin Plummer, Laconia Daily Citizen, Feb 8, 2008
............. So, it is highly likely to be approved, as probably the people who chose to show up to Inter-Lakes High School tonight at 7pm and vote have a strong interest in their schools, which is certainly understandable. ............. The vote on SB2 for the Interlakes School District that includes Meredith, Center Harbor, and Sandwich, as well as SB2 for the Town of Meredith is to be held on Tuesday, March 11, all day, 7am-7pm, at the Community Center, as far as I can tell. As I understand it, if either of the SB2 warrants, for the town, or the school, passes with a 60% vote, super-majority, on Tuesday, March 11, it would change the voting format in the future so that the town and school vote would be held at an all-day vote at the Community Center as opposed to an evening or late night hearing with the actual time for voting determined by the hearing moderator. So, the number one main change that SB-2 creates is that it increases the number of voters who show up and vote. It makes voting more accessable to town & school district residents by having a 12 hour polling place, absentee voting, a secret paper ballot, and daytime hours. Regardless to whether SB-2 gets approved or not, your Meredith property tax bill for June 2008 is said to be increasing by four to eight percent over what you paid in December, 2007. And, how do you like them apples? .................... from Laconia Daily Sun, Wednesday, March 5, 2008 Inter-Lakes board staying out of SB-2 fight; meeting tonight By Adam Drapcho MEREDITH - Charting a very different course than other Lakes Region school boards, the Inter-Lakes School Board has declined to take a formal position on the SB-2, official ballot, issue. Board Chair Jack Carty said the board understands its responsibility to be confined to issues of education, be it educational budget, philosophy, or facilities. Because the SB-2 proposition - brought forward by a citizens' petition - does not directly affect education, Carty said that ball is in the court of the legislative body: the voters. "How the voters go about the manner in which they chose to vote is the responsibility of the voters." He said individual board members are free to discuss their personal views in a private setting, and he declined to offer his view for publication. The SB-2 issue will be discussed, but not voted on, at the annual school district meeting tonight at 7 at Inter-Lakes High School. The question will be decided on by voters at town voting March 11. A 60-percent majority will be required for passage. '''''''' Adam Drapcho, Laconia Daily Sun, 3/5/08 ......... ......... |
...LaDaSun, letter; Meredith
letter to the editor, Wednesday, March 5, 2008, Laconia Daily Sun
....... Yes to new buildings, but they're worried about $15,000? To the editor, I was amused by Selectman Bob Flanders response in Tuesday's article regarding Meredith's milfoil proble. $15,000 would be exhausted and he expected a "greater commitment from the people most affected". "They're not participating at a sufficient level," he said, adding that he anticipated the town and residents would share the costs evenly." Just wondering what the difference is between the milfoil issue and Town of Meredith Water/Sewer? All residents are now paying for town water/sewer when only a small percentage of town residents use this service. $15,000 is a small amount considering what the town has paid for consultants to the water department. The fact is the head of the department should have that knowledge for the salary he is being paid. I want my taxes lowered but let's use some common sense here. Nothing is thought of building new buildings, spending millions of dollars, and they're worried about $15,000? Please get out and vote next week! Vote YES to SB-2! Let's give it a try. Pam Bliss, Meredith ........ ....... |
...letter, The Meredith News: Moultonboro
The Meredith News, Thursday, March 6, 2008
Vote no on SB2 To the Editor, Please consider the character of Moultonboro when you vote on March 11. Has anything changed so drastically in our town that would make you want to stop Town Meeting? This historical form of government has served our town well since its inception and continues to work. This current wave of government paranoia has to stop. If this miniscule group of individuals truly wants to effect positive change, why don't they run for office, this is the traditional way, not change your form of government. You elect the selectmen to represent you, please trust them to do just that. SB2 is not for Moultonboro, please vote no on article 2 on March 11. Karel A. Crawford Moultonboro ..... ..... |
First there is the battering ram approach, where if SB-2 was approved, you would be voting by "hiding behind a curtain", now the emotional pleading rolls out.
There might be hope for SB-2 yet, where logical arguments have been made. |
Quote:
Guess we'll find out what it is when the vote is held, on Tuesday, March 11, from 7am to 7pm. And, as you know, 60% is needed for it, SB2 town and/or SB2 school, to get passed. ps What do you think about that post #101 about the POW/MIA memorial? Is that something, or what? |
Why we need SB2
In case you couldn't make the meeting,Inter-Lakes School District only took 1 1/2 hours to spend over 18 Mil of taxpayers money.As you might expect,the meeting was attended mostly by teachers and employees of the district.The vote to pass was 150 to 20......my,what a surprise.
My problem is not that we need money for schools...of course we do and most citizens support that.My concern is the town meeting system that disenfranchises so many and allows special interestsi to stack the meetings and vote in their own best interest. Just imagine how nice it would be to gather all of your family and friends,attend town meeting and vote for a nice addition to your home,a nice pay raise for yourself and family....and maybe a nice retirement fund.And then hand the bill over to the taxpayers. Of course ,it might help if you ridicule and insult those few who dare oppose you.....you have children to raise...how could they be so cheap...and yes,uninformed. |
SB-2 fails at Shaker Regional School District
At the Shaker Regional School District annual meeting yesterday the SB-2 proposal failed on a narrow margin.
More details can be read HERE at this morning's Citizen on-line. |
As I understand it, the Shaker Regional School District vote was held for one hour, from 7-8pm last night (see post #92). In Meredith, the polls will be open for 12 hours, from 7am-7pm at the Community Center, on Tuesday, which in my opinion, will be helpfull to SB-2 supporters. Still, topping 60% is definately a high hurdle.
.......... Read the other 10 paragraphs in this article in the March 8, www.laconiadailysun.com |
Vote Tuesday
If I can't be there is there anything I can do Monday morning to get an absentee vote?
|
Sorry, but don't think there's any absentee voting, as the system is now set up, but maybe I am incorrect? That is something that SB-2 would change.
As the system now is set up, Meredith has three different polls, held at seperate times and different venues. Meredith has about 4700 people who are eligible to vote out of a total population of about 6000, as the minimum age to vote is 21. The vote at the school district meeting which was last Wednesday night, March 5, at the High School, where the vote was 150 YES, verses 20 NO , to approve the 18.4 million dollar, School Administrative Unit budget. An all-day, 7am-7pm,, paper ballot vote, will be held on this Tuesday, March 11, that includes a number of warrants and ballots including the two SB-2 warrant questions for the town and the school district, a selectman's ballot with Chuck Palm vs. Jim Waldron, and other ballots such as the town clerk. And, another vote is held at Town Meeting, on Wednesday night, March 12, that includes the rebuild-expansion of the fire station and a new fire truck. What voting YES on the two SB-2 questions for town and school would do, is to change this scheme so there would just be one voting time and place for everything as opposed to three. It would be a private paper ballot in a voting booth, held on the second Tuesday in March, open from 7am to 7pm, and with absentee voters welcome. Please vote yes to the two SB-2 questions, for town & school, at this Tuesday's, March 11, Community Center which will be open from 7am-7pm. It will mean that in the future, a whole lot more Meredith residents will show up and vote. After all, it's your money, or at least, it was your money! So, we can all say good-bye to our money together and hope for a little brighter future in Meredith with SB-2. ~thanks~ |
...from WMUR website
It says that Meredith has approved SB-2 with a vote of 616-yes, and 456-no. That is all it says, and considering the source, NH's largest tv station, I am cautiously pessimistic and am waiting to see some more news on Meredith SB-2.
Is that the 60% that is needed? No, it is not! hmmmm:( Could be WMUR got the numbers and just did not know about the 60% requirement? Also, there were two SB-2 warrants, question #1 for the school district, and #7 for the town. ........... (later on at 10:40) The Concord Monitor is reporting some slightly different numbers with 606-yes and 456-no, which would be 57.1% yes, and 42.9% no. Pretty decent numbers for a first try effort, but still not good enough to top the high hurdle of a 60%, super majority, that is required. Meredith has about 4700 voters out of a total population of 6000. Will SB-2 be back next year? Time will tell, it always does. On next presidential election day, Tuesday November 4, at the Community Center voting place, will I be there in my olde rocking chair with another SB-2 petition for anyone who choses to sign? Most likely! And, the numbers for the school distict SB-2 are still pending, as it includes the three towns of Sandwich, Center Harbor and Meredith. I want to thank this website, winnipesaukee.com, and Don the Webmaster for doing whatever it takes to keep this forum up & running. It always runs along very smoothly so there's got to be plenty work to make it what it is. Thanks again, Mr. Webmaster! |
Bad night for SB-2
Quote:
According to the Concord Monitor SB-2 did not fare well in Meredith or across the State yesterday. From the Monitor.... "...Ten local communities contemplated ditching their traditional annual meetings in favor of SB2, where voters meet to debate the warrant articles but wait until election day to vote on them. Belmont made the switch - by just 11 votes - but most communities did not. The measure had the support of more than a majority of voters in Northwood, Deering and Meredith but not the required super-majority. In Pittsfield, Hopkinton and Gilmanton, it didn't even garner a majority of the vote. The town of Bristol and the Inter-Lakes and Winnisquam school districts also voted on SB2 last night, but those results were not available by deadline..." |
50% articles vs. 60% articles
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems the difference is that 50% articles are generated by the selectboard, while 60% articles are generated by a resident's petition along with at least 25 resident's signatures.
Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 (mostly zoning issues) were all 50%-ers as they were generated by the selectboard. Articles 1 & 7 were 60%-ers because they were generated by petition. ...... Article 1 - "Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA40:13 (known as SB2) to allow official ballot voting on all issues before the Interlakes School District?" Meredith school results - 599-yes (57.1%) vs 450-no (42.9%) Here are the results for the other two towns in the Inter Lakes School District from today's LaDaSun Sandwich results - 160-yes (34.6%) vs 302-no (65.4%) Center Harbor - unknown for now With Sandwich and Center Harbor's totals added to the Meredith numbers it dramatically lowers the level of support for SB-2 from a Meredith only level of 57.1% to an overall level of 49.4%. Isn't that interesting. I have to wonder about Sandwich and why its' numbers are really so very different and opposite than the Meredith numbers? Like, what's up with the Sandwich voters? Are they supporters of higher funding for teaching and the school system, or what? Except for the Sandwich Notch Road, I am personally very unfamiliar with the Town of Sandwich. Article 7 - "Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA40:13 (known as SB2) to allow official ballot voting on all issues before the Town of Meredith?" results - 616-yes (57.5%) vs 456-no (42.5%) ....... Considering these numbers, I wonder if the 5-person, selectboard would be willing to put these two articles on the next ballot at the 50% level? One of the reason that these articles get so much more participation than the town meeting is because the residents of Meredith prefer the SB-2 style of voting. It allows them to participate, and keeps them engaged in the process. By reading about it in the press or internet forum during the one month between deliberative session and the ballot, they can learn all about the issues and then make a more educated vote. The town meeting is more exclusionary as is shown by the numbers of residents who participate. A whole lot more residents will show up to an all-day, 7am - 7pm, voting booth ballot, with absentee voting allowed, than go to town meeting. This makes the SB-2 style of voting a more representative and more informed electorate for Meredith. Last night's annual Town Meeting had a vote of 285-yes vs 73-no for the 2.3mil fire station expansion, and 304-yes vs 54-no for the 400k-567 acre Page Pond conservation area. So, that says the town meeting had a total of 358 voters, while the all-day vote for candidates and articles had a total of about 1060 voters. This lets us know that almost exactly three times the number of Meredith voters participated in the daytime ballot then did at the night time, town meeting. Yes, almost exactly THREE TIMES as many Meredith voters. Meredith has about 6000 residents and about 4700 who are old enough to vote. With the results from Tuesday's election now known, will the 5-member selectboard please consider putting it on the next ballot at the 50% level ? |
Quote:
Less, I think it has more to do with what the article does versus what the selectman want. SB-2 involves changing the form of government which typically requires a super majority. It depends on the town's charter and sometimes state rules, not somebody's whim. I'm sure Skip will provide a better explanation. |
Former Meredith Selectboard Chair Peter Miller
Say ITD, yes, thanks for that...certainly makes sense that the NH legislature would have a much higher ceiling of approval for a law that changes the form of voting than for a zoning ordinance.
|
RSA 40:14 Method of Adopting....
Quote:
The pertinent RSA is rather lengthy, so in order to save Don some bandwidth I'll just provide a link to RSA 40:14 for anyone to review at their own leisure. Skip |
As one voter out of the 616 Meredith voters who said yes to SB-2 town on Tuesday, here's what I think.
I was indeed very surprised that it got 57.5% support, and had been thinking that anything above 50% would be doing extremely well for the first try. Apparently, getting it passed for the schools will be much more difficult, as the overall level of support for Inter Lakes was lowered down to 49.4% with Sandwich and Center Harbor added to the mix. Why do I even care? For me, it is all about the money, or lack of money, as I watch helplessly as my property tax grows and grows. In the last four years, it has gone from $2800. to 8500./year. That is $708.33/month for me, and as an unemployed cdl-a truck driver, or unemployed painter & ceramic tile guy, I have too much time on my hands, no job, and am basically pissed, and SB-2 gives me something to do. In New Hampshire, with our wacky tax system, one can pay off their mortgage, then lose their job, and then watch as their property tax goes up every year until it is just too much. A decent paying job is the answer. Having a NH tax system based on one's ability to pay, such as an income tax is also a very good thing. Each and every one of the individual 616 Meredith voters who went to the polls on Tuesday did it for themself. It was their personal choice. Most times, I believe that people will vote their wallets first & last. They vote what they think is in their best economic interest. So for me, SB-2 is basically an expression of anger over the Meredith property tax. Getting 200 residents to sign on to the two SB-2 petitions on presidential primary day was not all that difficult. Getting a job has been impossible! :( I think I will just leave it at that and not go into the 7am-7pm, private voting ballot, absentee votes, greater number of voters, and 30 days of thinking about the ballots between deliberative session and election Tuesday.....everyone knows all about the nuts & bolts of the difference in the style of voting between SB-2 and Town Meeting....ad infinitum. So, will you see me on Tuesday, November 4, on presidential election day, set up outside the community center collecting signatures, again? Hopefully no, because I will be working. :) |
We all need to form "charitable organizations"
NH Supreme court has ruled that the Macdowell Art Colony in Peterboro is a charitable organization and can retain it's property-tax "exempt" status. Peterboro selectman tried to change this status after 100 or so years, but the Macdowell Colony prevailed in court. I think we should all look into forming charitable organizations at our lake homes and apply for tax exempt status. FLL, are you an artist?? That might be your out! :D
http://www.macdowellcolony.org/PR-31408.pdf |
How about the Appalachian Mountain Club's Three Mile Island on Lake Winnipesaukee, in Meredith, where you can rent a rustic cabin for a week long stay and get community meals in the dining hall? Canoes, rowboats, a waterski boat, a waterfront area, and a performing arts group is part of the Three Mile Island attraction. Is that exempt of Meredith property taxes? How is their use all that different from a homeowner on Pine, Bear or Jolly Island?
|
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:25 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.