Town Budget: November 2008 Archives
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By NORMA LOVE Associated Press Writer |
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) _ New Hampshire is cutting its budget by nearly another $60 million — reducing spending on everything from school aid construction to overtime.
Gov. John Lynch presented the areas to be cut Friday to the joint legislative Fiscal Committee, which approved them after a brief discussion. Lynch also recommended another $20 million in steps that will require legislative action when lawmakers convene next year.
Even with those steps, Lynch said another $75 million must be found to balance this year's budget.
"We are in the midst of an unprecedented global economic crisis," Lynch told the committee. "When we crafted the state budget 18 months ago, no one could have predicted the depths to which our nation's economy would sink."
Since February, Lynch and lawmakers have used a variety of spending cuts and revenue measures to deal with declining revenue. The latest cuts bring the total amount trimmed to about $150 million, roughly 5 percent of the $3.2 billion in spending from general tax sources in the two-year budget. The total budget is $10.3 billion when spending from federal and other sources is included.
Lynch characterized Friday's actions as another step and reiterated his pledge to balance the budget....
Note from the MCA: Why is it a good thing to have a watchdog group like the MCA in your town? Attendance at meetings, questions to our elected officials, letters to the editor, video taping and posting on this website many public meetings goes a long way to avoid surprises like a 20% tax hike.
By Amy Augustine Concord Monitor Staff
Boscawen is giving taxpayers more time to pay up after a big spike in the tax rate appeared in their November bills.
The overall tax rate is $23.58 per $1,000 of assessed property, up from $19.04 in 2007. The town portion of the rate jumped from $4.63 to $6.99. Tax bills were mailed this month, along with a letter explaining the increase from Town Administrator Michael Wright.
In the letter, Wright cited a 2007 "miscalculation" between the town and Department of Revenue, as well as a decrease in town revenue as reasons for the sharp increase. Wright said the town accounted for about $125,000 in state funds for a water and sewer project in its 2007 budget submission, which inflated the amount in the town's general fund.
That made last year's taxes lower than they should have been, he said. That money must be recouped this year.
This week selectmen agreed to give taxpayers a 90-day interest-free grace period if they pay 80 percent of their bill by the Dec. 5 due date. Wright said people should contact the town offices if they want to take advantage of the grace period. ..
The Meredith News November 14, 2008
SARAH SCHMIDT
MOULTONBORO — Driven by an increase in the county portion, the projected tax rate for Moultonboro residents is on the rise, from $6.99 per $1,000 in 2007, to $7.65 in the current year. Town Administrator Carter Terenzini presented the tax rate to selectmen and told them that the rate had been approved by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue. The total amount raised is decided by the town’s local assessed valuation - down 2 percent from last year, from about $2,878,000,000 in 2007, to $2,827,646,039 this year. Though all portions of the tax rate are up this year, the most dramatic rise was a 22.78 percent increase in the county portion, from 79 cents to 99 cents.Terenzini said the county portion accounted for about a third of the increase. The town portion came in next, increasing from $2.07 to $2.32, a 12 percent increase. The local school portion increased from $2.01 to $2.16, a 7.46 percent increase, while the state portion of the school tax increased 4.25 percent, from $2.12 to $2.21. Despite these increases, Terenzini warned against people concluding that their taxes would automatically “go up 10 percent,” and said that taxes would vary depending on value and rate. He gave several examples of housing situations in Moultonboro, and how each would be affected by the tax rate. One house in the tenth percentile, assessed at $211,900 in 2007, with taxes of $1,481, had decreased in its assessment in 2008, bumping the taxes up to $1,593, Terenzini said, giving a local example. A house in a median percentile, at $477,000 in 2007, had its taxes rise from $3,335 to $3,481 in 2008, a rise of about 4.4 percent. Properties with a decrease in value of 8.6 percent tend to stay flat in relative dollars, Terenzini said. He also noted that the selectmen had chosen to use of the unreserved fund balance to help out the tax rate, leaving the amount at 7.5 percent. Selectman Chair Karel Crawford noted that the town was searching for ways to increase their efficiencies in order to bring down the budget. “We’ve looked at joining with the school to buy our supplies and oil,” said Crawford. “The department heads are working on their budgets right now.We’re going to look at conservation, and we want to keep the tax rate down.” Crawford also noted that, oddly, her own property’s assessed valuation had inexplicably gone up. Resident Al Hume spoke up about the budget, asking about capital expenditures, and whether the selectmen thought that they could bring the budget for capital expense items “as close to zero as possible.” Selectman Ed
Charest said that selectmen were also looking at the economic situation as an opportunity to “save us money in the long run,” noting that prices for equipment and supplies aren’t going down yet.
By
eplummer@citizen.com
November 8, 2008
MOULTONBOROUGH - Possible state funding to repair a troublesome Moultonborough intersection is being seen as an ideal opportunity by some residents and officials. Other officials, however, say other intersections are of greater priority and the state money is not necessarily guaranteed.
Town Administrator Carter Terenzini presented the findings of a design matrix for intersections on Route 25 during Thursday's selectmen's meeting.
Terenzini was a facilitator of a scoring team that included other town residents and officials along with engineer Robert Saunders and planner Mike Izard of the Lakes Region Planning Commission, analyzing intersections in the corridor and assigning scores for priority based on a series of criteria.
The factors included project cost, number of recorded accidents at each intersection, traffic volume, technical issues, and bonus considerations. Each intersection received a score based on each factor which were tallied up to determine priority.
Analysis of intersections went from the intersection of Route 109 to the
According to the report,
Residents of
Fox Hollow resident George Proctor said members of the steering committee were not aware of the matrix scoring.
"I'm astonished at the rating of Fox Hollow at the bottom of the list," Proctor said, citing accidents that have occurred at the intersection, including a double fatality.
Steering committee member Stewart Lamprey noted studies by the Lakes Region Planning Commission, the N.H. Department of Transportation, and the
Members of the steering committee have met with the selectmen, engineers, and DOT officials to discuss possible improvements, which have included approaching the state about getting an alternate right of way through an old salt shed owned by the Department of Transportation.
Lamprey said he, other members of the committee, and some members of the planning board had a meeting with DOT Commissioner George Campbell regarding the salt shed property. According to Lamprey,
Lamprey calculated that the town would have to provide around $94,500 in the next budget for the project to be taken care of in the spring.
"We went to
Terenzini, however, said Fox Hollow's score and ranking will remain the same, saying there have been more accidents and greater traffic volume at other intersections on the list.
"We're not saying that Fox Hollow in and of itself is not a dangerous intersection," Terenzini said. "We are putting it in terms of priority."
Terenzini said he and the selectmen had received a letter from
Board Chair Karel Crawford said the letter "didn't say when as far as when we would see the money."
"Commissioner Campbell said he would find the money somewhere if the town was willing," said Planning Board Chair Judy Ryerson. "If the town puts in $80,000 or $90,000 and the state doesn't come through, you don't do the project. If you don't put the money in, it definitely won't get done."
Selectman Ed Charest said it would be "good savings" if the town puts in the third while the state might put forward the rest. Charest and Selectman Joel Mudgett said the final result of putting up the money might be scratching one project off the list.
"As a selectperson, I have to look at the town as a whole, not just Fox Hollow," Crawford said. "All of these other roads have a serious problem, too."
Crawford did say the option sounded better than trying to get a right-of-way at the salt shed. The board decided by consensus to table the issue for consideration at next week's meeting.
The Meredith News October 30, 2008
BY ERIK ZYGMONT
MOULTONBORO — The town has undergone a lighting audit and could save about $10,000 annually in electricity costs, if it first purchases lighting upgrades. According to buildings and grounds head Andy Daigneau, the cost savings would pay for the initial upgrades in a little less than three years. An estimate from LighTec Inc., the company that conducted the audit, proposes a $57,263 for the upgrades. A $28,000 rebate is available from the town’s energy provider, New Hampshire Electric Co-op, if Moultonboro qualifies. According to the audit,the town currently pays $19,233 in lighting costs, and would pay an estimated $9,140 if the upgrades were done. On Thursday, Oct. 9, the Board of Selectmen voted to submit the LighTec proposal to NH Electric Co-op to seek the rebate. The town is still waiting to hear back, Daigneau said. He added that even with the rebate, the upgrades, at close to $30,000, would require voter approval at 2009 Town Meeting.
“At this point, I don’t have $30,000 available to me in my budget to do the retrofit,” he said. According to Daigneau, LighTec analyzed lighting systems in Town Hall, public safety building, recreation building, library, Moultonboro Neck Fire Station, and highway garage. The proposed upgrades would include changing out older light fixtures with new ones, in some cases, that accommodate highly-efficient fluorescent bulbs, Daigneau said. Some light fixtures,he added, use more bulbs than are needed for sufficient lighting. Additionally, Daigneau said, LighTec brought in a specialist to analyze the town’s HVAC systems. “At this time, they determined that the HVAC retrofits pushed the payback period too far out,” Daigneau said, noting that a three-year payback for the cost of improvements is an “acceptable period.” He said that LighTec technician Jim Grady made other recommendations, such as shutting off certain computers when not in use, to save energy costs.
