By Kevin Shalvey
Staff Writer
With
additional town staff and first payment due on a road construction
bond, the 2007 proposed budget is about 11 percent higher than this
year.
Town Manager Keith Hickey submitted the 2007 town budget
proposal of $22,750,398 at the town council meeting on Sept. 27. If
accepted by the council, the general operating fund would be
$20,224,803 or 11.17 percent over the 2006 budget. This general
operating budget does not include $2.5 million for sewer, day camp,
BCTV and police detail costs, which are self-supporting and do not
affect the tax rate. The 2006 budget was $18,192,710.
The largest portion of the 2007 budget, about 84 percent of the
increase, is the first principal and interest payments on the
three-year $12 million road construction bond passed by voters in March
2005.
In 2007, the road bond payment will be about $1.7 million.
This, according to Hickey’s proposal, accounts for a 55 cent increase
per $1,000 assessed property value.
Other items accounting for the hike in the proposed budget were
approved by the town council in 2006, including an $356,400 increase
for veterans credits, which affects the tax rate by 11 cents per $1,000
property valuation; 5 cents for additional police staff a lieutenant,
dispatcher, a patrol officer and a school resource officer; and 4 cents
for five new firefighters. Police and fire department staff increases
are based on recommendations from independent consultant Municipal
Resources Inc. The school resource officer would be 75 percent funded
by the school district.
All these items equate to a total town property tax rate of
$3.68 per $1,000 of assessed value. The current tax rate is $2.85. The
homeowner of a property assessed at $400,000 would pay $1,472 in
estimated taxes on the town side for 2007, about $332 over 2006 taxes.
Property owners would see the full increase in their December 2007 tax
bills, said Hickey.
“Of course, the major driving factor behind the increase in
town services has been and continues to be growth,” Hickey said. “As
our population increases, the need and demand for services increases as
well.”
In the proposal, Hickey said with inflation and population increases, the cost per capita should remain constant.
“I am always cognizant of the ever increasing burden placed on
the town’s tax rate and ultimately the taxpayers,” Hickey said, “and
have assembled my recommendation to support those municipal services,
which sustain the quality of life that makes our community one of the
most desirable places to reside and conduct business in the state.”
Health and dental insurances are expected to increase, Hickey
said. Health insurance is estimated to increase 15 percent, while
dental insurance is up 12 percent.
A raise in the New Hampshire Retirement System rate will add
$49,077 to employer contribution rates. Total expenses will be
$626,275, Hickey said.
Voters will have the final say on the proposed budget at the 2007 Town Meeting in March.