...town by town

Argie's Wife · 09-24-2010, 08:39 AM

beagle - Your tax rate is the same as a resident's tax rate, correct? My point about the amenities is that *if* Alton or Center Harbor or Gilford, etc. were in a different location in the state and not a tourist community we'd most certainly have a different budget. Certainly, we all benefit from the amenities here in our town; it's a terrific place to raise a family. But there's things that have to be budgeted for that you wouldn't see in a "normal" budget. Your point about money raised by non-voting property tax payers is not lost on me. Quite frankly, I was surprised when the warrant for the school renovations passed.

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fll - you are correct that it can take just a few registered voters to convene at a town meeting to make decisions for an entire budget, warrant article, etc.

Recent example...

Barnstead had a special meeting last Saturday to discuss and vote on the teachers' contract for PMHS. The cost of the contract was about $16,500 for a one year contract. A total of 93 votes were cast; 26 votes were in favor, and 67 votes were against the contract.

There are 2,928 registered voters in Barnstead, according to the town's website. So, that decision was made by about 3% of the registered voters in town.

This is one of the arguments use for having a town go to SB-2 style voting, which is what Alton has now. I'm no fan of SB-2, and that has already been fodder for another thread....

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09-24-2010, 08:39 AM	#11
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	beagle - Your tax rate is the same as a resident's tax rate, correct? My point about the amenities is that if Alton or Center Harbor or Gilford, etc. were in a different location in the state and not a tourist community we'd most certainly have a different budget. Certainly, we all benefit from the amenities here in our town; it's a terrific place to raise a family. But there's things that have to be budgeted for that you wouldn't see in a "normal" budget. Your point about money raised by non-voting property tax payers is not lost on me. Quite frankly, I was surprised when the warrant for the school renovations passed. --------- fll - you are correct that it can take just a few registered voters to convene at a town meeting to make decisions for an entire budget, warrant article, etc. Recent example... Barnstead had a special meeting last Saturday to discuss and vote on the teachers' contract for PMHS. The cost of the contract was about $16,500 for a one year contract. A total of 93 votes were cast; 26 votes were in favor, and 67 votes were against the contract. There are 2,928 registered voters in Barnstead, according to the town's website. So, that decision was made by about 3% of the registered voters in town. This is one of the arguments use for having a town go to SB-2 style voting, which is what Alton has now. I'm no fan of SB-2, and that has already been fodder for another thread....