Allenstown News : Allenstown

Welfare services strained this year in Allenstown

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:41:00 GMT

Recent statewide budget cuts to welfare-related services could affect Allenstown hard.

The cuts include funding for funeral expenses for those supported by the Aid to the Totally and Permanently Disabled program; a 50 percent cut in an emergency assistance program that typically pays for emergency rent or utility bills for people supported by the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program; and the elimination of reimbursement funds to municipalities for supporting people while they wait for state assistance.

There is also a new waiting list for child care financial assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The cuts couldn’t have come at a worse time for Allenstown, where the number of people seeking welfare assistance from Town Hall has risen dramatically since last year. Most are first-time applicants, the town welfare director said.

“We’ve had three times as many applicants in October 2009 than we did in October 2008,” said Diane O’Callaghan, the welfare director.

Residents can seek welfare from the town on a monthly basis to help with basic needs, such as food, utilities and medicine.

Two years ago, when O’Callaghan began working as the welfare director, she said most of the applicants were young single mothers. That has changed in a big way. She said 72 percent of people who applied for welfare in 2009 were first-time applicants.

“The change in clientele is dramatic,” O’Callaghan said. “Most of them are families and what is commonly referred to as the working poor.” Home foreclosures, job lay-offs and cuts in work hours have forced families to seek welfare.

“A lot of times one or both parents have lost their job or have had their hours cut to the point that it’s like a job loss,” she said. “They can’t apply for unemployment and they’re caught in the middle.”

O’Callaghan said many of the applicants have no idea what programs are available and she often walks them through the process.

There are currently no demographics on the people who apply for welfare, but O’Callaghan said the New Hampshire Welfare Association is compiling a computer database to start keeping track in the near future.

Allenstown Selectmen won’t pay electric bill at building

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:29:00 GMT

By Dan O’Brien

The lights are going out at the Old Allenstown Meeting House inside Bear Brook State Park after selectmen decided to flip the switch.

Public Service of New Hampshire sent a bill to Allenstown Town Hall saying it would cut electricity service to the meeting house Oct. 29 because the town hasn’t paid its bill since April.

According to minutes of the April 20 selectmen’s meeting, the board voted 2-1 not to pay that month’s bill, which was $10.76. However, no one bothered to call PSNH to cut service to the building.

A copy of this month’s bill is for $46.51, which includes late fees.

Selectmen Tom Gilligan and Roger LaFleur voted against paying the electricity bill.

Gilligan said the town Steering Committee, a volunteer group that maintains the building, was told through e-mails and memos to come up with the money themselves, whether it is through fundraising, grants or other means.

“The town of Allenstown is in a default budget for the third year in a row,” Gilligan said. “This was an unbudgeted expense … Therefore, the board decided we weren’t going to pay for it on a default budget.”

After the April vote, Roland Martel of the Steering Committee sent several e-mail messages to Town Hall requesting selectmen take up the electricity issue at a future meeting. According to those e-mails, Gilligan denied the request.

“The BOS (Board of Selectmen) is not interested in discussing this matter any further at this time,” Gilligan wrote June 3. “If the OAMH (Old Allenstown Meeting House) is looking for future funding for this bill, we suggest that you provide a budget request as part of the FY 2010 budgeting process.”

The refusal to pay the bill marks another blow in the fight to preserve the meeting house, which advocates say is needed to keep part of the town’s history alive and for educational purposes.

Steering Committee members are already angry with selectmen for refusing to sign off on a Land and Community Heritage Investment Program grant application twice since last month.

The grant would have brought $23,700 to the meeting house, which was built in 1817.

The deadline for the grant has passed. Selectman Jason Tardiff was the only one who voted in favor of signing the grant application and for paying the electric bill.

Gilligan said he voted against the grant because he had too many open questions about the town’s financial obligation tied to it. LaFleur did not return calls for comment.

During a heated debate about the building in a Sept. 28 selectmen meeting, LaFleur said, “Ninety-nine point nine percent of people in town said they have no use for it.”

“I’d like to see those letters against it,” Steering Committee Chairman Carol Martel said in response. LaFleur later admitted he had none.

Martel has since said publicly she thinks LaFleur and Gilligan are trying to rid the town of the meeting house, which used to belong to the state. In 2004, Town Meeting voted 496-130 in favor of the town purchase and to maintain the building.

Allenstown Highway Dept. accused of misuse

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:03:00 GMT

By Dan O’Brien

The Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department has opened an investigation into the Allenstown Highway Department.

On Oct. 8, Sheriff Scott Hilliard said detectives are examining an allegation of “misuse of town property,” including property owned by the Highway Department, but would not say what the property in question was.

However, “I don’t think we’re talking about thousands of dollars,” Hilliard said.

Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland confirmed his department began the investigation but turned it over to the sheriff’s department.

“We took it on for obvious reasons,” Hilliard said. “It involves town workers.”

Hilliard said detectives questioned highway workers the week of Oct. 8. No charges have been filed.

A call to the Highway Department for comment was not returned.

Allenstown Town Hall staff shuffles

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:50:00 GMT

BY DAN O'BRIEN

Allenstsown selectmen say they’re moving forward with plans to reclassify prominent Town Hall positions.

On Sept. 18, town employee Clifford Jones, who served as the building inspector, code enforcement officer, animal control officer and health officer, resigned from three of those positions, giving less than one day’s notice, town officials said.

Jones plans to stay on as the town’s part-time animal control officer, according to town officials. The animal control officer works between 12 and 16 hours per week.

Selectmen voted to terminate Jones’ contract as building inspector and code enforcement officer on Sept. 15 due to financial issues, but did not terminate his employment, according to minutes of the meeting. Jones said at the time he did not believe the selectmen could legally terminate his contract without terminating his employment, according to the minutes.

Jones said he did not step down from being animal control officer because that job falls under the leadership of Police Chief Shaun Mulholland, not the selectmen.

“I have the utmost respect for Chief Mulholland,” Jones said. “I don’t feel comfortable bailing on him. That’s the only reason I didn’t terminate being animal control officer.”

Tom Gilligan, chairman of the selectmen, said Deputy Fire Chief Rob Martin will serve as the town’s health officer for now, but the remaining two open positions have not been filled.

In the meantime, Gilligan and Selectman Jason Tardiff said the board is moving ahead with plans to hire a town administrator. Currently the position most similar is classified as the administrative assistant, which is held by Kelley Collins.

The selectmen also want to reclassify the position of administrative secretary, currently held by Cindy Baird, to accounting and administrative clerk.

Municipal services to continue – for now – on Riverside Drive

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:22:00 GMT

By Dan O’Brien

Residents of Riverside Drive, the pothole-plagued dirt road near the Suncook River where town officials discussed ceasing trash pickup and other municipal services, can temporarily breathe a sigh of relief.

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Aug. 24 to continue to grade the dirt road until the end of 2009. The same motion also requires selectmen to establish whether Riverside Drive is a public or a private road – a question no town official can answer with certainty.

The board members implied it would take up the snowplowing and trash pickup issue once the town can determine whether Riverside Drive is a public or private road.

The Suncook postmaster, Kathleen Hayes, spoke at the meeting and told residents she would not discontinue mail service on Riverside.

The town’s administrative assistant received a letter from Hayes in late July questioning whether she could continue service due to the road’s poor condition.

At the July 27 selectmen’s meeting, selectmen discussed terminating trash pickup, snowplowing and grading of the dirt road because they considered it a private road that the town is not required to care for.

In a previous interview, resident Paul Bernard, 66, called the idea “a slap in the face” because the town had maintained the services on Riverside Drive for more than 15 years.

It’s also the same road where most of the 38 homes on it were severely damaged in the massive flooding of 2006 and 2007. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with the town to purchase many of the damaged homes for demolition, but many residents whose homes were less severely damaged are stuck living in a flood zone because it’s next to impossible to sell their houses.

The meeting had to be moved from its usual Town Hall location to St. John’s Parish Hall on School Street to accommodate a crowd of about 200 people.

Among the several speakers during the public hearing was Hiedi Sevigny, 36, a mother of a 3-year-old son. She became a quadriplegic about the time he was born.

“I have a handicapped van that is low to the ground,” Sevigny said. “If my van can’t get out how can a fire truck, ambulance or police car get down there? … Is it more cost-effective to take care of the road or is it more cost-effective to pay for a new police or fire vehicle that gets damaged?”

Selectman Roger Lefleur said at one point during the July 27 meeting a discussion centered on bids for contractors to grade the dirt road. The quotes were for $2,300, $2,500 and $2,800.

The selectmen decided on Aug. 24 to use a contractor whose bid did not exceed $2,500.

The public hearing portion of the meeting became heated at times, with several members of the audience speaking out of turn.

A central issue of discussion was whether Riverside Drive is a public or private road. Numerous residents obtained public documents before the meeting showing that in 1980, selectmen voted to make Riverside Drive a public way. For reasons unclear, the town treated it as a private way until another vote in 1995, when selectmen again voted in favor of making the road a public way. The current selectmen voted as part of their motion to seek the town counsel’s opinion on the issue before moving forward with trash pickup and snowplowing.

Chairman Tom Gilligan said, “Whether or not the town owns it, I don’t care. I think we should do what we’ve been doing all these years … and maintain the same level of service.”

Riverside Drive homes could lose mail service, road maintenance

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:53:00 GMT

By Dan O’Brien

At least one Allenstown selectman is in favor of continuing trash pickup and other municipal services on private roads, including one along the Suncook River that was ravaged by flooding in 2006 and 2007.

“For me it’s not a question of whether the town is legally responsible to continue providing trash pickup, snow removal and minor repairs to these roads,” Gilligan said. “I feel that the town is morally obligated to. The residents that live on these roads have come to expect these services through the years, and to stop providing them now would be a major disservice.”

At their July 27 meeting, selectmen discussed the idea of terminating trash pickup, snowplowing, road maintenance and postal service on private roads, including Riverside Drive, where 20 homes are slated for demolition after severe flooding. However, according to several residents, it may be years before all the homes are gone. And, at least two new homes have been constructed there since the flooding, which only adds to residents’ frustrations.

“It’s a slap in the face,” Riverside Drive resident Paul Bernard, 66, said of the selectmen’s proposal.

Town Administrative Assistant Kelley Collins said the issue came up when selectmen discussed the cost of grading Riverside Drive, which is a dirt road off Route 28 that is notorious for growing enormous potholes every six months.

“That started a whole discussion as to why we are grading a road that is not a town road,” Collins said. “Then it opened up the issue that we are also picking up rubbish on Riverside Drive and we plow it … There are a couple of other private roads in town where we do the same, yet we don’t do it for the private roads in the mobile home parks.”

Selectmen chose to set up a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 24, so residents can provide feedback on the issue. Officials are expecting a large number of people to attend and have moved the selectmen’s meeting from Town Hall next door to St. John’s Parish Hall on School Street at 7 p.m.

Since the previous selectmen’s meeting, Collins said the local postmaster informed her that the U.S. Postal Service would like to discontinue mail delivery to homes on Riverside Drive as well.

Hiedi Sevigny, 36, whose home suffered less severe flooding than her neighbors, is a quadriplegic who requires a wheelchair. She also has a 3-year-old son and is concerned about emergency vehicles not being able to access her neighborhood.

“The town has to look at how their actions are going to affect the taxpayers,” Sevigny said. “We’re not trying to complain, we’re trying to come up with alternative ideas.”

Sevigny says her handicapped- accessible van is low to the ground and often gets caught in large potholes.

“If a police car had to rush down here, it could ruin their vehicle,” she said.

Longtime Riverside resident Susan Graveline, who had 8 feet of water in her basement in 2006 and lost many personal items, said she’s suspicious about the proposals in the tough economic times. The town has been providing municipal services for the past 15 years.

“I think it’s an odd time to start doing stuff like this,” Graveline said.

Bernard’s wife, Evelyn, 61, who was arrested when she refused to leave her dog behind in the flooding of 2007, said the residents’ latest battle is one in a series with the town that stretches back 30 years.

“We fought for what we have down here,” she said.

Man’s body found in Merrimack River

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:45:00 GMT

By Dan O’Brien

A body found floating in the Merrimack River over the weekend was identified Monday, Aug. 3, as an Allenstown man.

Jason Upton, 35, of 98 Main St., was found by kayakers Sunday, Aug. 4, according to a statement released by the state Attorney General’s Office.

Authorities have not said whether Upton’s death was accidental or suspicious.

“A conclusion regarding the cause and manner of Jason Upton’s death is pending further testing… At this point, the police are treating his death as untimely,” the official statement read. “Because the police are in the process of interviewing witnesses who had contact with him before his death, more details about the circumstances are unavailable.”

State police said an autopsy was performed but the investigation is ongoing.

News photographer Brian Blackden of Pembroke, who was present when firefighters removed Upton’s body from the river, said three kayakers found the dead man floating along the shoreline in a grove of trees shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday.

Man flooded two years ago gets donated house

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:46:00 GMT

By KAREN DANDURANT

Sometime in mid-July, Stan Watson will return to the property he has lived at for more than 10 years, to a brand-new home that was donated to him.

Watson’s previous home was destroyed in April 2007. Flood waters sent 3 feet of water through his property.

“I got out with a couple of bags of clothes and my dog,” Watson said. “I carried my dog out of the road. I can’t wait to close the door and know I am home again.”

On June 17, a miracle happened for Watson when a group called “No Place Like Home,” an offshoot of Grace Community Church in Rochester, delivered a modular home to his property at 60 Clement Road.

The home was delivered and finished by members of the church and students from Dover High School. The organization works with area students to give them the chance to help people in need.

Jan Fowler, a member of Grace Community Church said No Place Like Home started after the devastating hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana.

“We helped by sending water and other supplies,” Fowler said. “Our pastor, Bernie Quinn, stayed for two weeks in a shelter counseling people. When he came back, he said we need to think out of the box. We need to help people affected by situations like this.”

The church community recruited help from area businesses for labor and supplies and sent two houses to Cut Off Louisiana, delivered by the National Guard. Their path was set. Since then, the church group has donated a house in Goffstown, one in Barrington, another in Bennington and now the house in Allenstown.

Dover High School junior Nick Lytle said he likes helping even if it is a lot of work.

“A lot of my family are in this kind of business and I have the experience to help,” Lytle said.” It’s a good feeling.”

Nick Tweedie, a senior at Dover High School has been involved in some of the other projects.

“It’s hard work.” He said. “But you meet new people all the time and you know what you are doing is helping people. I worked on a barn. We basically gutted it and added new stalls for animals.

Watson couldn’t be more grateful.

“I have spent over 26 months at my parents’ house in Merrimack,” he said. “I don’t even know what I would have done if they were not around. People keep calling me to ask about the house. I am so grateful and cannot wait to be home.”

If you would like to make a donation to “There’s No Place Like Home” or would like more information on how to get involved, call 332-9689 or visit www.placelikehome.org.

Burglary bust in Allenstown

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:20:00 GMT

By Lauren Sausser

Two Allenstown men, William Ellis, 30, of 9 Albin Ave., and Daniel Leblanc, 28, of 5D Swiftwater Drive, were both arrested on May 23 in connection with a larger burglary ring that police believe is based in Allenstown.

Both were arraigned in Hooksett District Court on May 25 on multiple felony counts of burglary.

Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mullholland said more than $10,000 worth of goods were retrieved from both residences including drugs, computers, televisions, Rolex watches, an AK-47 assault rifle and other firearms. The stolen property is believed to have been taken from other towns including Henniker, Mason, Lyndeborough, Hillsborough, and Meredith.

“There is a lot of property where we haven’t determined who the victims are yet,” Mulholland said. “We’re getting calls from other police departments now that the word is out.”

Ellis has been charged with three felony counts of stolen property and one misdemeanor count of drug possession. Leblanc has been charged with four counts of stolen property and one misdemeanor count of drug possession.

Hooksett District Court Judge Robert LaPointe set Ellis’ bail at $40,000. Leblanc’s bail was set at a total of $55,000. Portions of both of those bails stem from burglary charges in Hillsborough. Both men were being held at the Merrimack County House of Corrections.

The investigation into the burglary ring is ongoing, Mullholland said. Other suspects, who police believe are connected with the thefts, have not been apprehended yet.

If you have any information that may aid police in this investigation, contact the Allenstown Police Department, 485-9500.

Stimulus funds available for Allenstown sewer expansion

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:58:00 GMT

By Kathleen D. Bailey

Allenstown will hold a special Town Meeting on Saturday, June 13, to see if residents will approve a bond issue for $1,625,000 to upgrade the town’s aging wastewater treatment facility, with half the money to be reimbursed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the other half to be paid from the Suncook Wastewater Treatment Facility (SWTF) construction and improvement fund.

In back-to-back meetings Monday, May 18, selectmen and the Budget Committee gave their support to a proposed warrant article for the bond. The article needs a two-thirds majority to pass.

About 50 people attended the public hearings Monday, May 18, in Allenstown Elementary School. After a brief introduction by selectmen Chairman Tom Gilligan, Michael Trainque, an engineer with Hoyle, Tanner and Associates, presented the need for an upgrade of the facillity, followed by his company’s design for the upgrade.

The facility, built in the 1970s, is at capacity, Trainque said. It currently processes 1,050,000 gallons a day. While the Department of Environmental Services has placed a moratorium on new sewer construction in Allenstown, the upgrade would allow the facility to process an additional 300,000 gallons per day.

“For the time being, it would give us additional capacity,” Trainque said.

Representing the Sewer Commission, Dana Clement said the town had had an article on the warrant for “the past few years” asking voters to pay for a full upgrade. Those plans amounted to $15 million, and were defeated, Clement said.

“This is our Plan B -- it’s more modest,” he said.

How it works
“How many of you have ever used an Etch-A-Sketch?” Trainque asked the audience. The main ingredient for the drawing toy, magnetite, is also what makes BioMag, the process used in the proposed sewer upgrade, work.

The magnetite provides ballast, Trainque said. The wastewater materials stored in the feed tank are compressed, allowing the system to handle more waste.

“This allows us to have additional expansion without adding big concrete tanks,” Trainque said. The magnetite is cycled through the system and eventually recovered out of the “sludge,” he said.

The BioMag system is state of the art, Trainque said. It was piloted in Sturbridge, Mass., and was found to provide an increased flow of waste products, better treatment performance, better removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, and a smaller footprint for the entire system. It was eventually made part of Sturbridge’s full-scale upgrade, Trainque said.

The system would be housed in a 20-foot-by-20-foot building, he said.

Trainque also showed a video of two beakers filled with waste material, euphemistically called “mixed liquor.” The beaker on the left was filled to the brim, while in the one on the right, with the magnetite, the waste compacted to about a quarter of the other beaker’s. The crowd did not ask to see the video twice.

Stimulus funds
Clement pointed to the urgent need for this project. In 2002, DES told the town it was at 80 percent of its capacity, and in 2005 DES declared the moratorium.

Since the article was defeated this past March, the ARRA funds have become available, Clement said. Allenstown was approved, and its sewer project is 18th in priority on a DES statewide list of approved projects.

But it’s a number-one priority in Allenstown, and Clement, Sewer Commission Chairman James Rodger, and selectmen urged voters to take advantage of this money while it’s available.

“If we don’t take it, the money will go to someone else,” Clement said. “The taxpayer is not at risk for having to pay the bill.”

But community member Sandy McKenney wanted it in writing.

“I was at the last two meetings where you discussed this,” she told selectmen. “The residents can’t afford to spend the money, and I’m glad the Sewer Commssion found the money in the budget. But I’m still looking for the word ‘guarantee.’”

The wording is there, Rodger told her.

“The warrant article says it will be paid out of currently available sewer funds,” he said. “If the Sewer Commission double-crosses you, this deal will not go through.”

Eric Ranfos asked why the town even needed a bond, if half was paid for by stimulus and half by sewer funds. Clement told him the money is reimbursed through a system called “principal forgiveness,” and the town has to incur the entire debt first.

Barbara Bilodeau asked when the project would be completed, and Clement told her late spring or early summer of 2010. The commission first has to do a water quality study of both the town’s water and the Merrimack River, and they have to wait till the river is low enough and then take samples at least two weeks apart.

“We’ll be OK,” he quipped, “if the creek don’t rise.”

The selectmen’s public hearing was followed by the Budget Committee public hearing and approval of the warrant article. The special Town Meeting will take place Saturday, June 13, beginning at 9 a.m. at Allenstown Elementary School. For more information, call the Sewer Department at 485-5600.

Few changes made to town, school ballots

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:07:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

Allenstown voters will consider accepting a proposed $5.3 million town operating budget on the warrant March 10. Exactly 100 registered voters who attended the Jan. 31 deliberative session of Town Meeting rejected a proposed amendment that would have cut the bottom line of that budget by $250,000.

This budget represents an approximate 4 percent increase over the current year’s budget. Board of Selectmen Chairman Thomas Gilligan reminded the group that although times are tough, the departments still need adequate funding to function properly.

“What some people forget at these meetings is that we are all taxpayers, too,” Gilligan said. “We know it hurts.”

The town warrant this year will include 21 other articles as well as the proposed operating budget, including a proposal to finance $1.55 million in improvements for the wastewater treatment facility over a 10-year period. The cost of this project, if approved, would be equally shared with the town of Pembroke.

School
Later that afternoon, about twice as many residents participated in the school district’s deliberative session, several of whom praised school administrators for proposing a 2009-10 operating budget only $14,488 more than the default budget.

A proposed amendment to cut the bottom line of that proposed operating budget by another $150,000 failed.

The proposed budget, as it will appear on the ballot, represents a 1.5 percent increase over the current year’s approved budget.

“We’ve tried to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers,” said Tom Irzyk, chairman of the School Board.

Only one article on the proposed warrant was amended during the session. Attendees voted in favor of increasing a deposit to the district’s building maintenance fund from $10,000 to $25,000 from any operating budget surplus that may exist at the end of the current school year.

$1.5 M bond will let towns gain capacity without overhaul of plant

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:52:00 GMT

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI

It’s a tough year to ask anyone to spend money, but Allenstown sewer commissioners are hoping voters will find investing some money in a new process at the wastewater treatment plant will benefit them all in the long run.

Commissioners Dana Clement and James Rodger are proposing a $1,550,000 bond to finance a new process at the plant which will increase capacity by about 1,200 hookups, allowing both Pembroke and Allenstown to move ahead with commercial development. Such development said Rodger, would help hold down the tax rate in the long run.

While Allenstown voters must approve and be responsible for the $1.5 million bond, Pembroke would share half that cost and be allowed half the hookups.

The new process While Rodger and Clement both say a new plant needs to be built, they realize the cost is beyond Allenstown’s reach. Instead, they are proposing to install equipment that would allow a “Biomag” process to be used. This process uses iron ore powder, which attaches to solids in the wastewater and makes them sink fast.

“It’s nowhere near the upgrade we do need, but it will give us a few more years, maybe 10 or 15 years,” said Rodger. “For us, the most cost effective way is to do the whole plant.”

Rodger said there are other bottlenecks, such as the capacity of the headworks, the room where all the wasterwater from both towns first comes in. “We’re almost at capacity in that headworks area,” he said. “In fact, this process could give us more capacity if we could expand the headworks.”

The cost Just what this proposal will cost taxpayers depends on a few things. With no help at all, the $1.5 million bond would add an estimated 42 cents to the tax rate, said Clement. Each year of the 10-year bond, the rate would decrease, to 29 cents on the rate by year 10.

With a possible 20 percent grant, that cost is reduced to 34 cents in the first year and 23 cents in the last year.

For the owner of a $200,000 home, that translates to $84 extra in the tax bill in the first year on the bond.

Rodger also pointed out that the federal government’s stimulus bill could reduce the cost by as much as 80 or 90 percent, but the town would have to approve the bond in the first place to be eligible for such help.

What’s in it for me?

Rodger said voters need to look at the long-term benefit to the town as a whole to understand the need for the bond. Those already hooked up to the system may feel no one else needs to be hooked up, and those on septic systems may say they don’t want to pay for a system they don’t use.

“The question is whether the citizens would like to see further development occur in Allenstown,” said Rodger.

He points out that Pembroke has a lower tax rate than Allenstown due to more commercial development.

“They have brand new fire department, police department, library.. They’re ahed of the curve. They developed that whole (Route) 106. So they’ve got a lot of things going for them,” he said. “It seems like Allenstown is a little bit behind the curve. We’re stuck with the plant, and tha’s why we have to pay the bond. But we don’t have commercial development.”

Rodger said the sewer system benefits everyone in town. “As it is now, we do have system that’s benefiting all citizens in town,” he said. “The school is hooked up to sewer, Town Hall, Bi-Wise, Irving gas.”

The vote The vote on the bond will take place on Election Day, Tuesday, March 10. The bond is Warrant Article 4, and it will require a three-fifths majority to pass.

Allenstown sewer fix is back up for a vote

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:36:00 GMT

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI

Allenstown residents will only have to spend one day approving the ballots for both town and school votes, as the deliberative sessions for both Town Meeting and School District Meeting will take place one after the other on Saturday, Jan. 31.

The deliberative session of Town Meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Allenstown Elementary School. While the deliberative session of School District Meeting has been set for various times over the past two weeks, it would be safest to say it will simply take place once the Town Meeting finishes.

Voting on warrant articles and candidates will take place March 10.

Town
There are 22 articles on the town warrant. The first two are zoning questions, which will not be discussed at the Jan. 31 session. The third refers to those up for election.

Article 4 asks the town for $1,550,000 to finance an increase in the town’s wastewater treatment facility. Half this cost, $775,000 is to be paid by the town of Pembroke, which shares use of the facility. The article states $50,000 would come from fund balance. A three-fifths majority is required for this article to pass, which is recommended by the selectmen and Budget Committee.

Article 5 addresses the town operating budget. The proposed budget comes to $5,338,981. If defeated, a default budget of $5,125,931 would go into effect.

Articles 6 through 19 ask for various amounts to fund capital reserve funds and purchases for police, fire and highway equipment, as well as landfill closure costs and repairs to the Town Hall roof.

Article 20 asks that the road agent become an appointed position, rather than elected.

The final two articles were petitioned. Article 21 asks the town to enact a spending cap for the town and school budgets, setting a maximum annual increase of 2 percent from the previous year’s tax assessment.

Article 22 asks that voters approve a resolution stating that the property tax is unjust and unfair, calls on elected officials to reject the “Pledge,” which promises not to enact sales or income taxes, and to adopt a revenue system that is just and fair.

School
There are five warrant articles to be considered by voters at the deliberative session of School District Meeting.

Article 1 asks for an operating budget of $9,993,048.

Should the article be defeated, the default budget would be set at $9,978,048, a figure that is $144,89 lower than the proposed budget.

Article 2 asks for $41,026 to pay for salary increases agreed to in the collective bargaining agreement between the Allenstown School Board and the Allenstown Paraprofessional Association for the 2009-10 school year.

Article 3 asks for up to $10,000 to be taken from surplus and put in the Building Maintenance Trust Fund. This would not affect the tax rate.

Article 4 askes for up to $10,000 to be taken from surplus and added to the Facilities Acquisition Capital Reserve Fund. This would not affect the tax rate either.

18 percent increase prompts petition in Allenstown

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:06:00 GMT

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI

When Ryan D. Provost of Allenstown received his tax bill, he knew he couldn’t stand idly by any longer. His property had lost value, but his tax bill went up anyway. That’s when he decided a tax cap was the only answer.

The tax rate
The Allenstown tax rate has increased 18 percent, despite a virtual sweep of “no” votes on the school and town ballots last spring.

The current tax rate is $27.19, up $4.19 from last year’s rate of $23.00. At least part of that hike came from greatly decreased property values.

“We lost $3 million in assessed value,” said town clerk Diane Demers.

The town portion of the tax rate went from $5.59 to $6.38; the school portion from $12.70 to $15.89; and the county portion from $2.33 to $2.56. The state school tax actually decreased from $2.38 to $2.36.

The tax cap petition Provost, 31, lives with his wife and three young children in a home he recently remodeled to add a second floor.

“The taxes in Allenstown have become out of control,” he said. “The taxpayers can’t afford it. You can’t bankrupt the residents of a town by taxing them.”

His home, which was previously assessed at $184,000 was reduced to $180,000, but his tax bill rose from $4,200 for the year to $5,600.

“I don’t understand how you can reduce the assessment value on my property and increase my taxes,” he said.

Provost decided a tax cap is the answer, and he has circulated petitions at the Bi-Wise Market and GE in Hooksett, where he works as a welder and where many other Allenstown residents work.

His petition does not specifically ask for a percentage or dollar amount limit, but does ask for a tax cap. It also asks for help in moving the project forward.

To that end, Provost has formed the Allenstown Concerned Taxpayers Organization.

Those wishing to help or get more information can contact Provoat at 485-7497 or rdprovost@verizon.net.

Provost said his job prevents him from attending budget committee meetings and deliberative sessions, but he does vote. “It all has to do with them meeting their budget,” he said, “They need to amend their budget.”

Franklin capped taxes
Franklin was the first place in New Hampshire to enact a spending and tax cap, in 1989.

Mayor Kenneth Merrifield claims great success with the cap, resulting in stable, predictable growth in taxes each year.

In a statement posted on The New Hampshire Advantage Coalition’s Web site, Merrifield notes there are provisions for emergency or exceptional costs, but the cap has forced Franklin to reorder its prorities. Franklin has renovated its high school, paid off a middle school bond and expanded its elementary schools under the cap.

“We have never had a layoff of personnel associated with the tax cap,” said Merrifield. “In recent years, we have increased salaries to market median and added some positions.” Merrifield reports no disastrous results due to the cap. “Why must local government increase its cost to taxpayers at a faster rate than everything else in the general economy?” he said. “The simple answer is: because we allow it to happen. The tax cap is a sensible and moderate means to change that.”

Is it realistic?
Having a default budget does not necessarily mean the amount spent by a town stays the same or decreases. Often the default budget does increase because there are legal obligations that force more spending, such a union salary increases and insurance increases.

“We have to increase the budget for those items which we have a contracted service for, and those contracted services go up,” said Allenstown Board of Selectmen Chairman Tom Gilligan. “One of the items which is protected are health insurance costs.”

Gilligan listed a few of the items that went up in cost that had to be accommodated:
• Elections increase of $7,000 (the town went from two elections to four).
• Financial administration increase of $16,679 (the town’s assessing contract moved from $40,000 to $56,000).
• Legal fees up $10,000.
• Personnel administration increase of $79,236 (this included an increase in health and dental insurances, an increase in the New Hampshire retirement employer contribution, and an increase in Worker’s Compensation insurance).
• Property insurance up $8,500.
• Library budget up $5,355 due to health insurance costs.

Worsening the problem, the town’s overall property value decreased by more than $2 million. “Using 2007’s assessed valuation, our 2008 tax rate would have been $6.335 per $1,000 of assessed value,” said Gilligan “The loss of $2,187,138 resulted in an increase in the 2008 town tax rate of 4.5 cents.”

Selectmen did try to cushion the blow by using money from the unreserved fund balance.

“If the Selectmen had not used any unreserved fund balance to reduce taxes, the town’s portion of the tax rate would have been $7.248 per $1,000,” said Gilligan. “By choosing to use $250,000, the board lowered this to $6.38. Therefore, it is factual to say that $250,000 of fund balance decreased the tax rate by 86.8 cents.”

Tiny library gets huge display of American art

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:30:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

The brick one-story Allenstown Public Library may bear little resemblance to any major art museum, but when it comes to showcasing world-class art, this small New Hampshire library is competing with the best of them.

With the help of head librarian Cathy Vincevic, the Allenstown Public Library was awarded a National Endowment of the Humanities initiative that brings 40 large, life-size reproductions of American art to the small, 1,000-square-foot facility.

There is art on the walls, art on the tables and art on the ground. There’s so much art, Vincevic said, that it’s challenging trying to figure out where to display it.

“I just think it’s fantastic,” she said. “It’s like bringing a museum to the library. I’m so excited we got chosen, and I’m so excited about people coming in here and taking advantage of it.”

In addition to the glossy prints, which came laminated to encourage tactile interaction, the endowment provided a curriculum that can be adapted to all age groups that will tie the evolution of American history with the country’s art movements.

The series of reproductions, which depicts everything from early examples of Native American pottery to a Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window, spans American history from the time before the European settlers arrived to the present day.

Rose Bergeron, assistant librarian at the Allenstown Library, said she is eager for students to come in and learn from the art. “It’s beautiful,” Bergeron said of the collection. “I’m hoping that the schools take advantage of it.”

The series of prints is called “Picturing America,” and the Allenstown Library was one of 26,000 across the country to receive the collection.

The purpose of such a massive initiative is to encourage critical thinking and cultural studies.

“There are so many conversations that could take place once you take a look at one of these prints,” Vincevic said. “This is a way to reintroduce art and for people to understand the depth of our culture and how many facets of it there are.”

To look at the full collection and to learn more about the National Endowment of the Humanities initiative, visit Picturing America’s Web site, http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/