Epsom voters were emphatic about keeping the official ballot vote but allowed both town and school budgets to pass as recommended.

Everything passed in Hooksett for the school vote, but nearly everything failed in Allenstown.

Candia passed a school budget and kept its Budget Committee, but put the town on a default operating budget. Auburn said yes to almost every question, including passing the town and school budgets.

SB-2 stays
Epsom will finally have a year where it is not on a default budget. Selectman Joanne Randall had blamed four years of default budgets on the ability of the general voting public to have a say on the town’s budget under the official ballot law.

Randall, as a private citizen, petitioned to rescind the official ballot law, commonly referred to as SB-2, and return Epsom to the traditional style of Town Meeting where warrant articles are discussed, sometimes amended, and then voted upon all in one meeting.

In a letter to the editor which came too late for publication for the vote, Randall said SB- 2 allows uninformed voters to make poor decisions.

“The problem is that, once SB-2 is in place, people generally become apathetic about the budget, since they know their vote at Deliberative Session is not a vote on the budget, but just to change it,” said Randall. “They’ll just vote in March. They show up at the polls and look at the bottom line, decide they don’t want to vote for higher taxes, and the budget doesn’t pass. They don’t even know what they have voted against! It might be something they really need.”

True or not, Epsom voters chose to stay with SB-2 with a vote of 171 yes to 606 no. This question required a two-thirds majority to pass, which would have required 512 of the 777 votes cast to be “yes” votes.

Lots of ‘no’ votes Overall, many towns are going to be facing what to do with defeated operating budgets and warrant articles.

Allenstown, in particular, voted “no” on virtually all questions, but did approve Article 21, a petitioned question asking for a tax/spending cap regulating the annual town and school budgets.

Allenstown voters also approved Article 22, another petitioned article, resolving that the property tax is unfair and the state should adopt a revenue system that is just and fair. Also in Allenstown, a $1.5 million bond to improve sewage capacity was nixed, 289 to 337.

Contested races
In the few contested races, here’s who won: Candia selectman: Carleton Robie and Richard H. “Dick” Snow.

Auburn School Board: Kathleen Porter and Christina Tarness. Auburn Police Commission: John McCaughterty. Allenstown Selectman: Jason Tardiff. Allenstown treasurer: Carol B. Anderson