randalnh, increasing the the Timber tax and Gravel tax to offset current property taxes would require the complete destruction of this state in order to fund. It would require a vast amount of timber and gravel to be harvested from the area to generate the revenue or it would require such a high tax that these industries would go away from this state completly, then where do we go to get the money.
I have said it before, but simply building a structure within a state should not afford you the ability to have the same rights as the resident citizens of the state. If you want the ability to take advantage of the lower costs of recreating in the state or would like to be able to stand up and vote, then you need to change your residency. It is a matter of what is more important to you, having a say in the town you live in and your children go to school in or a vote on how the taxes on your vacation property are spent.
As far as the argument of what if the tourist pull up and leave, is a funny one. Where are they going to go? Think our taxes are bad, go to Vermont or Maine and see how that works out for you. Folks could also go the border states to the south to vacation, but we all know why that is off the table.
Anyway, you should have the ability to stand up and voice your concerns to the town. I know New London does this and they typically have a packed house for this meeting, which takes place the week prior to town meeting. Granted the lakeside community on Sunapee is a very different crowd than that of Winni (not slighting anyone, but it is true, as all communities around water bodies are), so it really comes down to how important these issues really are to you as a property owner, if you are not willing to voice your opinion than you have no right to complain, if you are than keep at it and know that you are trying.
Any smart community is not going to allow a small group of people to completely change the way of life in a town, if they do, than it is their own fault and I am not going to feel bad for them.
But remember folks, most were privy to the information of property taxes prior to purchasing or building a home in the area, the time to consider the ramifications of this has long passed. For those that are being taxed out of a property that has been held in the family for generations have only the people in the forementioned group to blame, your neighbors. I have already talked on this point, which is considerably deeper than the discussion at hand.