Sensible Spending -State: November 2008 Archives
Estimates are that the state might have to find itself as much as $400 million more in the next two years than it spent in the current two-year budget.
By TOM FAHEY State House Bureau Chief
Union Leader Sunday November 30, 2008
While all the talk in Concord is about budget cuts, no one's talking about taxes. That will change -- soon. When the Legislature starts work in January, it will tackle bills to add or increase all sorts of taxes. Lawmakers have filed a dozen tax bills so far on gasoline, tobacco, bottles, beer, income (three of those), even fireworks. One resurrects the Legacy and Succession tax (better known as the death tax) that produced $25 million a year before it was repealed in 2002. Safety Commissioner John Barthelmes told lawmakers he'd like several bills to bump up a couple of fees his agency collects. Want to register your boat? Get ready to dig deeper to help the navigation safety fund that covers enforcement of boating speed limits…..
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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: At the 11/13/2008 Selectmen meeting, Ed Charest reported on a session he attended at the recent NH Local Government Center annual conference about the economy and how it impacts NH. Mr. Charest indicated that NH overall was one of four states that probably will weather the recession far better than the other 46 states. Hmmm... We respectfully disagree. There are many indicators in this state that point to very serious problems, such as 17% of NH single family homes having negative equity. As Betsey Patten state in the article "We all have to do some belt-tightening and take a deep breath." Read on below....
By DAN TUOHY
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008
Brian J. Gottlob, of the Dover-based PolEcon Research, said towns and cities may see greater property tax delinquencies and a choke-hold on many smaller revenue sources, such as new car registrations. Towns and cities can better cope with the downturn than state government, but Gottlob said local leaders may not think so come budget season and its prickly political decisions.
"You'll probably suffer more of the angst," he said at the
Gottlob discussed the housing market,
The conference, "Local Government: Challenging Times, Creative Solutions," continues today and tomorrow at the Radisson Hotel Manchester. More than 650 municipal, school and county officials from around the state are attending. Topics include finance, land use, pension reform, and healthy, safe and secure school environments.
Local government officials are keenly aware of the challenges, said state Rep. Betsey Patten, R-Moultonborough, after listening to Gottlob's presentation. She sits on the House Municipal and County Government Committee and serves on her town's board of selectmen.
One of the first priorities, she said, is working to ensure the state does not shift any financial burdens to counties.
"We all have to do some belt-tightening and take a deep breath," Patten said.
While Gottlob says local government should not expect any help from the state, he anticipates the state looking to the federal government for financial assistance. Such a stimulus package for the states, now under discussion on Capitol Hill, could give
Gottlob expects six more months of declining state revenues, with a turnaround starting possibly in late spring of 2009.
Though he expressed an optimism about
Business access to bank credit has been hampered in
New unemployment claims are approaching levels of the last two recessions, and there appears to be no slowing in terms of home mortgage foreclosures in
He said 17 percent of
Compared to other states, there is not an especially high concentration of high-risk loans in
On the bright side, Gottlob said
"We're really on a precipice now," he said.
