...town by town

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by This'nThat

... Or perhaps this is the beginning of an effort to force equal outcomes across the state by taking money from one community and giving it to the next? ....

NH already tried that with "donor towns".

[beagle]

I don't usually get involved in these discussions, but I think AW has overlooked the fact that we snowbirds generally pay a lot more taxes than the average homeowner, but we are not sending our kids to your schools. Have you been in Wolfeboro recently and seen the huge renovation at Kingswood? There is no way that could have been accomplished without snowbird tax money. Sure we snowbirds as well as full time residents all enjoy fireworks on the fourth of July and I am sure people come into town and spend a lot of money at the local businesses on the fourth, so it benefits everyone. But the school budget in most towns is a huge part of the budget that we snowbirds contribute to, but gain no benefit from. Heck, my kids don't even have a turf field to play on in my hometown, but I am sure a lot of your kids do!

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by beagle

I don't usually get involved in these discussions, but ..... my kids don't even have a turf field to play on in my hometown, but I am sure a lot of your kids do!

As I recall, the $1,050,000 Interlakes football field and running track in Meredith got voted "yes" at the annual SAU#3 school meeting back sometime around 2004. Maybe 125 people showed up and voted for it at 11-pm, or something like that?

Hey, say what, it's a terrific field with a huge mountain view and the football program is a hugely popular Center Harbor, Sandwich & Meredith program! Definately worth the $1,050,000 and besides most all that money probably came from you-know-where!

Here's a ten dollar spaghetti dinner opportunity to help the football team on this Sunday night, Sept 26, down at the Lago Ristorante inside the Inn at Bay Point, which is right at the big Meredith intersection stop-lights, in case you did not know!!! What a location! What a terrific view looking down the bay! What a terrific crowd! And, what a happening event! Sounds like a great dinner, and for a terrific football team! LET's GO LAKER's! And, when was the last time you got to eat at Lago's for just ten dollars and ssssmmmooozzzz with the local football people, and there is no tip and no tax, what-so-ever, just spaghetti & football! Wow! Sounds like FUN.....don't it!

www.interlakesfootball.com/notices.htm

[Argie's Wife]

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....

[beagle]

Yes, my rate is the same as yours, but our house just was re-evaluated for a lot more than we could sell it for today. I think we both agree that without the non-resident money, each town would have a good deal less income to balance their budget with. True, there are things in your budget that are not in a normal budget, but much of the lakeshore towns' employment and businesses are geared toward tourism. Take that away, as well as the non-resident vacation homeowner taxes and what do you have left? It also would be interesting to see how much the town spends to support the summer visitors vs how much is spent in the school budget. In our town the school budget is over 70% of the total budget, and our per student expenditure (2008 data) is more than $17,000. So what I am trying to say is that because the lakeshore towns have a fairly large contribution in taxes from the non-resident population who do not add students to the education budget, you may be more ahead than you think.

[summersux]

There are also a lot of full time residents who do not use the public school system but have to pay for it so you are not alone. Same with MA, every time I make a purchase I pay taxes in that state but do not use the schools.

[SteveA]

Some will argue with some of this, (including me) but it is an interesting list. Having moved here many years ago from Mass. I think these are some of the "NH Advantage"

This is not meant to fire up debate. It's just an interesting list.

30 Reasons to Celebrate to living in NH


1) New Hampshire has the second-fastest job growth in the nation.

(U.S. Department of Labor, reported in the Union Leader 7.27.2010)

2) New Hampshire currently has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation - 5.7%, in August, which is 40 percent below the national average, fourth-lowest in the nation and lowest east of the Mississippi.

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - www.bls.gov)

3) NH passed the three-part "New Hampshire Working" plan, which is helping citizens who need jobs find them, helping workers with jobs keep them, and ensuring that Granite Staters are trained for the jobs of the future.

(SB 501 in 2010)

Pro-Business

4) New Hampshire is the 7th most business friendly state in the nation, and the second most business-friendly state east of the Mississippi.

(The Tax Foundation - www.taxfoundation.org)

5) New Hampshire's 'Green Launching Pad' is helping Granite State businesses create new jobs in clean technologies.

(www.greenlaunchingpad.org)

6) The "Return to Work" program under New Hampshire Working benefits businesses by allowing people to continue collecting unemployment while receiving up to 24 hours per week of training by a potential employer.

(www.nh.gov/nhes/nhworking/ReturntoWork.htm)

7) The "Stay at Work: Workshare" program under New Hampshire Working allows businesses to reduce work hours of their employees to avert layoff, while the employee receives partial unemployment compensation.

(SB 501 in 2010 and www.nh.gov/nhes/nhworking/StayatWork.htm)

8) NH re-instituted the job training fund (suspended since 2003) that allows companies to partner with the state to train new workers or retrain longtime employees.

(SB 97 in 2007 and www.nhjobtrainingfund.org)

9) Over the last four years, NH has implemented a number of job-creation tax credits to help businesses grow during difficult times.

(Research and Development tax credit - SB 134 in 2007, Coos county tax credit - HB 1644 in 2008,Economic Revitalization Zone tax credit - SB 383 in 2010)



Low Taxes and Low Government Spending

10) New Hampshire has the 2nd lowest per capita taxes in the nation.

(Federation of Tax Administrators - www.taxadmin.org)

11) New Hampshire has the 5th lowest government state spending in the country.

(Kaiser State Health Facts - www.statehealthfacts.org)



Quality of Life

12) New Hampshire is the best place in America to raise a family.

(Annie E. Casey Foundation, National KIDS COUNT Program)

13) New Hampshire has the lowest crime rate in the country.

(Federal Bureau of Investigation and CQ Press)

14) New Hampshire has been named the safest state in the nation for the third year in a row.

(Federal Bureau of Investigation and CQ Press

15) New Hampshire has the highest standard of living and the lowest poverty rate in the country.

(U.S. Census Bureau)

16) New Hampshire became one of the first states to legally recognize full marriage equality.

(HB 436 in 2009)

17) NH passed the Granite State's first minimum wage increase in 10 years and a new law was passed to protect workers from being laid off without notice.

(Minimum wage - HB 514 in 2007. W.A.R.N. Act - SB 40 in 2009)

18) NH passed one of the nation's toughest laws to protect children from sexual predators and online abuse.

(SB 495 in 2008)

19) NH strengthened New Hampshire's anti-bullying statute, becoming one of the first states to address the act of cyber-bullying.

(HB 1523 in 2010)

20) In NH, every child in every New Hampshire community can now attend public kindergarten - ending our dubious status as the only state not to offer kindergarten to every child.

(HB 927 in 2007 - kindergarten included in the definition of an "adequate education")

21) NH created an innovative education plan that reduced New Hampshire's high school dropout rate by 30 percent in the past year.

(SB 18 in 2007)

22) In 2009, New Hampshire was one of only four states in the nation that saw fourth and eighth grade math test scores improve.

(National Center for Education Statistics - The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2009 -www.nces.ed.gov)



23) The NH legislature has made a commitment to fund services for people on the developmental disabilities wait-list.

(HB 2 in 2007 and HB 2 in 2009)

24) New Hampshire's infrastructure has improved through the capital budget and efficient use of federal highway stimulus funds.

(HB 25 in 2007, HB 25 in 2009, www.nh.gov/dot/recovery)

25) The housing market - a key indicator of economic growth - is growing faster in New Hampshire than in most other states.

(www.housingpredictor.com/newhampshire)



Government Efficiency and Transparency

26) New Hampshire became the first state government in the country to get 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources, and New Hampshire has developed a plan to reduce energy consumption in state-owned buildings by 25% by year 2025.

(www.lynch10.com/issues/quality-of-life, SB 73 in 2010 and www.25x25.org)

27) New Hampshire state government has become more transparent - with monthly state spending reports online for the first time.

(HB 1651 in 2010)

28) New Hampshire is putting more services - such as drivers' license renewals - online.

(http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/d...lic/index.html)

29) NH has made government more efficient by eliminating outdated boards and commissions.

(HB 1690 in 2010)

30) All three credit-rating agencies have recently reconfirmed New Hampshire's excellent bond rating, citing our "timely" budget management and our "economic strength and resiliency."

(http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fitch-...94538.html?x=0)

[fatlazyless]

Hi, here are some NH local area labor statistics for August 2010 with seperate numbers for local towns like Moultonborough, Wolfeboro, and Laconia.

www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/laushighlight.htm
............

And, here's a recent back page news item short from the Concord Monitor.


Concord Monitor, Sept 23, 2010, page B1, by Daniel Barrick

Housing market remains stagnant

The state's housing market remained stagnant last month according to figures released yesterday by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors. The median sale price for a home fell 3 percent in August compared with the same month last year: from $222,000 to 216,000.

Total sales fell sharply last month compared with last year, from 1,110 homes sold in August 2009 to 981 sales last month. That was a 12 percent decline.

The declines were not as steep as July's, when statewide residential sales fell 32 percent compared with July 2009. But the figures indicate that New Hampshire's housing market has yet to recover from the real estate slump. The July sales figures were the first to reflect the expiration of homebuyer tax credits.

"Naturally, we're not thrilled to see the decreases over the last two months, but we're not completely surprised either," said Moniker McGillicuddy, president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.

Locally, Merrimack County saw the median sales price drop 7 percent last month compared with a year earlier, from $207,000 to $192,500. Home sales also declined nearly 12 percent in the county, with 98 homes sold last month.

......

So, you can always depend on Moniker McGillicuddy, the president of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors to be telling it like it is, good news or bad news, when she says what she says!
......

Here's a Wal-Mart item of interest with regard to the assessed value of a large number of the different Wal-Mart stores throughout New Hampshire. Never before has the New Hampshire state property tax board of appeal, a state agency located in Concord, had to devote an entire month of its' schedule to one individual applicant. The entire month of September, 2010, has been set aside for the state board of property tax appeals to hear Wal-Mart's attorneys and assessors appeals for lowering store assessed values across the state. These cases include a large number of different Wal-Mart stores and go back 3-4-& 5 years, including different calender years, in different towns.

Just as Wal-Mart will work with its' merchandise and food suppliers to have them lower their prices, Wal-Mart is similarly going through the individual town appeals process by taking it up to the state level of appeal in Concord.

There was a very good article on this about one month ago in a magazine like NH Business Journal or something, where I read about this, but I'm still trying to find it so's I can make a link.

Now, if Wal-Mart with their attorney & assessor teams can get their values lowered, what will that do for the other property tax payers within the same towns?

[MAXUM]

It all comes down to the spending. At some point towns, the state and for that matter the Feds have to stop, and not only stop but start reducing as in really cutting spending, not today's definition of cutting by merely reducing the amount of increases. In turn people need to understand that the government is not there to just "give" them "free" money every time they "need" it. That money the government has came from somewhere and that is the tax payers. Finally the whole notion of hitting up the "rich" every time they need money only lasts for so long, the "rich" only have so much too. What then whey they are taxed out of thier "richness"?

[Argie's Wife]

I agree with your post 100%.

As utilities and good increase in cost it becomes more challenging to present a budget to the voters that they will accept. The town presented a level-funded budget last year and the school presented a budget -6% below the previous years' budget. The school returned over $150,000 in unused funds to the town to offset this years' tax rate.

By presenting a cut budget or even a level-funded one, it means that projects, repairs, and upgrades have to wait. The longer those items wait, the more expensive they can become.

An upgrade to plumbing in a bathroom or replacing a roof will cost more two, three, or four years later down the road; not taking into account if those items (roof or plumbing) should fail at some point, causing for emergency repairs.

My point is that you can only run on a level-funded budget or cut budget for so long, when at some point you may have to ask for more money to take care of what the tax-payers have already paid for and trust you to manage.

[MAXUM]

See what I have a problem with is that even though the towns are doing thier best to level fund things, the state and feds in turn haven't stopped and the towns are taking a beating for it. Even worse the towns are responsible for funding critical services (no not curb side trash pickup) but fire, police and to some degree the school system are forced to cut back or not do as you say repairs that should be done. This poses a public saftey problem, yet notice that the entitlement programs continue to not only get funded, but increase in funding year after year. They are sucking the life out of everyone as more and more end up on the dole, some making a freaking career out of it as it passes from generation to generation. The days of free handouts on the backs of the working stiffs has got to stop. Instead of deamonizing those who have attained real success, those folks should be looked at as models for others to follow... excluding 99% of the music and entertainment industries.

The problems you see now are the direct result of having put into office a bunch of people who have no idea what they are doing, other than pushing an agenda for socal experimentation and idealism. Like I said in my last post, you can only tax the rich for so long before they aren't rich anymore... then where do you go? In the end everyone pays for it, either directly or indirectly.