The town of Hooksett may be forced to borrow $6 million to pay off its pending financial obligations if its taxpayers choose to wait until the last minute to pay property taxes this year.

The Town Council voted Nov. 19 to authorize the administration to seek a tax anticipatory note in case the bills it owes are due before sufficient property tax revenues stream in. Depending on how quickly the tax revenues are collected after bills are sent to property owners – ideally by the first week in December – the town may have to borrow money to pay the debts. It will owe $4.2 million to Merrimack County by Dec. 5 and $1.5 million to the school district by Dec. 10.

“This is a safety blanket, if you will, to make sure we have enough money there,” said Town Administrator David Jodoin, who explained the short-term loan would be paid off in a matter of months and would cost the town approximately $8,500, depending on interest rates and bank fees.

Hooksett property tax bills have taken longer than usual to be sent this year because the town recently completed its state-mandated property revaluation. It was the first revaluation conducted in Hooksett since 2003 and it reassessed homes, businesses and other properties at the fair market value as of April 1 – the beginning of the state’s tax year. The process took longer than originally anticipated and bills cannot be sent until the state formally sets the town’s new tax rate.

Jodoin told the Town Council that he expects the state to set the rate the soon. The time it will take to print the bills will run longer, though, he said, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. If this tentative schedule holds, home owners should receive their property tax bills by the first week of December.