New Boston News : budget

New Boston residents reject library bond article

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:29:00 GMT

BY SARAH LEBRUN

New Boston will not be seeing a new library in its future anytime soon, as residents voted against an article requesting a $499,000 bond for the project.

Though the vote was 790-612, it needed a three-fifths majority, or 60 percent, to pass and only received 56 percent.

“The majority of voters voted for the new library and recognized the many ways the library supports the community,” said Whipple Free library assistant director Pat Fickett. “We want to thank everyone in New Boston who supported the New Library Campaign.”

Fickett said the New Library Campagin Committe will need to get together to discuss plans for the future.

Residents also voted to change the selectman position from a three-year elected position with no limit on the number of terms in office to a three-year elected position with a limit of two consecutive terms.

The town will also not run on a default budget this year, as the proposed operating budget of $3,888,9897 was also passed.

On the town ballot, the library bond was the only warrant article that did not pass.

On the school ballot, the Support Staff Association bargaining agreement was approved by an 884-467 vote. The cost will be $37,575 in the first year, $39,245 in the second year and $41,715 in the third year.

Residents also approved the proposed school operating budget of $10,337,147, which is actually less than the default budget by $119,195.

$119,195 cut from New Boston school default budget

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:04:00 GMT

BY PATRICK O’NEILL

An amendment to the operating budget for this year was made to the New Boston School District warrant at the deliberative session of School District Meeting at New Boston Central School on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Article 3 in the warrant, which originally called for an increase from the default budget of $10,456,342 to $10,497,147 was amended at the session to $10,337,147.

Board members indicated that the decrease originated from the decrease of the Goffstown School District’s budget. “Our budget was proposed before their recalculation,” said Marti Wolf, School Board chairman.

Because the New Boston School Board contributes tuition to Goffstown to allow New Boston students to go to Goffstown schools, when Goffstown decreased their budget, New Boston’s tuition payments were decreased, leading to a lower budget.

Residents also discussed the other warrant article, increases in salaries and benefits for support staff at New Boston schools. The new three-year collective bargaining agreement made between the New Boston School Board and the New Boston Support Staff Association would allow for the following increases over the next three academic years:
• $37,575 in 2009-10
• $39,245 in 2010-11
• $41,715 in 2011-12

The motion to place the article on the ballot passed. Voting on the articles will be March 10 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at New Boston Central School. Voters will also choose one member for the School Board for a three-year term.

Voters approve all in New Boston

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:41:00 GMT

BY STEPHEN BEALE

Turnout was low but voter satisfaction was high in the school and town elections earlier this week.

All the warrant articles on the town and school ballots passed on Tuesday. Most were by comfortable margins, including a $3.7 million operating budget for the town and a $10.2 million operating budget for the school district.

In the election for local offices, Christine Quirk edged out Peter Kucmas for a single seat on the Board of Selectmen and Monika Wright won an uncontested race for the School Board.

No candidate filed for a second open seat on the board. Joe Constance won that second seat with 70 write-in votes.

Other winning candidates were the following: Gregg Peirce for cemetery trustee, Candace Woodbury for library trustee, Lee Nyquist for town moderator, Cathleen Strausbaugh for supervisor of the checklist, Karen Johnson for town treasurer and Thomas Manson for trustee of the trust funds. Also, Wayne Blassberg beat George St. John for fire ward by one vote, 731 to 730.

Out of a total of 3,750 registered voters, 959, or 25 percent, showed up at the polling place, according to Town Clerk Irene Baudreau.

“It’s disappointing, the small turnout we had,” Baudreau said. In all, not counting the article for election of officers, there were 32 articles on the town ballot that got the nod from voters.

Nearly a dozen of them dealt with spending. The largest was $3,720,780 for the town operating budget.

The rest involved smaller expenses, such as $60,000 for the refurbishment of the town main water attack vehicle, $85,000 for improvements to Bedford Road, $55,000 installment for the future purchase of Highway Department trucks, and $65,000 to replace the bridge on Lyndeboro Road.

The items on the ballot were generally run-of-the-mill, according to selectman Gordon Carlstrom. “This year, there really isn’t anything that is a huge controversy out there,” Carlstrom said.

Most of the articles passed by wide margins. But a $150,000 proposal for a footbridge over the Piscataquog River squeaked through by only 15 votes, with 480 voting yes. The bridge will connect the Mill Pond Conservation area with land owned by the New Boston Tavern.

Of the total cost, $120,000 will be funded by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, $19,000 will be raised in taxes and the rest will come from the New Boston Foot Traffic Road Safety Committee.

Voters also took a stand on taxes Tuesday. They signed off on a statement, authored by the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition, declaring that the property tax has become unjust and unfair and calling upon state officials to have an open discussion on all revenue options.

The election further affected taxes on the local level. New Boston voters granted exemptions for solar and wind power systems and boosted the exemption limits on income and assets for elderly and disabled taxpayers.

Solar power tax exemption among ballot items

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:40:00 GMT

By Michelle Kim

NEW BOSTON – Along with the operating budget, voters can expect warrant articles expanding tax exemptions for elderly and disabled and updates to the solid waste ordinances at the Feb. 4 deliberative session of Town Meeting.

The proposed operating budget of approximately $3.7 million is about 8.7 percent higher than last year’s proposed operating budget and about 6.4 percent higher than the default level.

There are also 10 appropriating special warrant articles and three individual warrant articles, totaling about $650,000.

The estimated tax impact of the proposed operating budget together with the appropriating individual and special warrant articles would be an increase of 18 cents per $1,000 of property valuation, according to Town Administrator Burton Reynolds.

The proposed operating budget increased by about $20,000 from the amount presented in the public budget hearing, mostly due to additions for upgrading the Fire Department’s breathing apparatus over the next three years, according to Reynolds.

Two articles to expand tax exemptions for the elderly and disabled would increase the exemption limit from $21,000 to $35,000 for a single person and from $30,000 to $45,000 for a married couple. Reynolds said he was unsure about the number of people the exemptions would affect or the amount of tax dollars.

“I’m thinking it’s not anywhere near the effect raising the veterans’ exemption had,” he said.

An article on the solid waste ordinances would mostly update language. The ordinances have not been updated since they were written in 1991, according to the article’s explanation.

Four articles regarding zoning ordinance changes address issues ranging from heat detectors in garage stalls to sign regulations to sprinkler system design standards.

Residents will also see four petitioned articles at the deliberative session. Two petitioned articles request tax exemptions for solar powered and wind powered energy systems. Another article calling for state lawmakers to reject the “pledge” against new taxes was also introduced in multiple New Hampshire town warrants by a group called the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition. The other petitioned article requests the town to maintain and repair a private drainage system.

Another article would allow the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee to state their recommendations on all warrant articles instead of just a few types of warrant articles.

Modest increases for school budget

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:11:00 GMT

By Michelle Kim

Voters will see a proposed operating budget of approximately $10 million on the school district warrant at the February deliberative session.

The Finance Committee unanimously approved the School Board’s 2008-09 $10,164,341 proposed operating budget at their Jan. 5 meeting.

The proposed operating budget represents about a 6 percent increase over the 2007-08 budget and is only 0.2 percent over the default level of $10,141,612.

A public budget hearing on Jan. 9 saw no public comment and wrapped after 10 minutes. No other warrant articles, besides the operating budget and the election of new school district positions, were presented at the hearing.

“I’d say it’s an adequate budget and meets the needs of the kids,” said New Boston Central School Principal Rick Matthews.

More than 60 percent of new increases represent fixed costs, pointed out Matthews.

The other 30 percent of new expenditures include the addition of special education teacher and two special eduction paraprofessionals, as well as a $30,000 “mobile laboratory,” a cart of laptops with programs that teachers can use to supplement their classes. Matthews said the school has one mobile laboratory that is in constant demand.

The New Boston Central School, which currently has 551 students, anticipates an enrollment of 571 for the new school year.

Though the district had considered the idea of expanding NBCS and adding on grades 7 and 8, an architectural survey concluded that would not be feasible.

Matthews also pointed out the budget was built around an assumption of receiving the same level of adequacy funding as the 2007-08 year.

Finance Committee approves two full-time police positions

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:43:00 GMT

By Michelle Kim

NEW BOSTON – The departure of yet another New Boston police officer may have opened the door for the Police Department to eventually meet its basic scheduling needs.

And that news has Chief Chris Krajenka elated.

At the Jan. 5 meeting, the Finance Committee decided to approve Krajenka’s request for a new full-time officer and also to turn a 32-hour part-time position into a full-time position as well.

“I’m extremely enthused,” said Krajenka. “I was absolutely floored. I was expecting to have to go in there and really fight for that one position.”

Krajenka said the departure of part-time officer Joe Fussell, whose last day with the department was Jan. 6, helped convince the committee of the difficulty of finding and holding onto qualified part-time officers.

“The Finance Committee and selectmen have worked to bring the pay up, but I don’t think we’ll ever be able to compete with other towns,” said Krajenka.

Fussell was sworn into the Weare Police Department during the Weare Board of Selectmen’s meeting Monday, Jan. 7.

“We had gotten very lucky,” said committee member Brandy Mitroff. “The probability of finding another part-time person that could work those hours is slim to none.” She said the Finance Committee wanted to give Krajenka more flexibility in his hiring choices.

Since it would take some time to find another qualified candidate, the position could be made full-time using the same amount of salary already budgeted for the year’s part-time position, Town Administrator Burton Reynolds explained. The only additional cost would be the benefits offered. Reynolds said he is still working on the final figures for the Police Department’s operating budget.

Krajenka estimated, with the newly requested officer and the additional eight hours from having a full-time instead of part-time position, that his department would be able to cover calls from 5 a.m. until 2 a.m. during the busy weekends on Thursday, Friday and Saturday instead of just until 11 p.m. The department currently covers 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. during the week and weekend, but has large gaps because of the lack of available officers.

“(The committee) realized the importance of needing that additional body. It’s going to take a lot of stress off the individual officer and myself and the sergeant,” said Krajenka.

The overall operating budget will go on the warrant before voters for this year’s deliberative session on Feb. 4 and at the March election.

Woodbury keeps seat, town budget approved

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 20:18:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

The town said yes to a $3.4 million operating budget, and voters kept Dave Woodbury in his seat on the board of selectmen in town voting March 13.

Nearly all town and school district warrant articles passed, with the sole exception of one article requesting money to build a footbridge connecting the two main sections of town.

Woodbury, a six-year member and current chairman of the board of selectmen, faced a challenge this year from finance committee member Kim DiPietro. Voters turned in the incumbent’s favor this year, with Woodbury keeping the seat by a margin of 476-350.

Voters showed approval for the proposed operating budget, with the $3.4 million outlay passing 566-304.

This year’s town budget has seen an increase of $297,000, or 9 percent, from last year. Some of the increases have been attributed to $57,000 in new police department spending, including the hiring and equipping of a new officer and increased spending due to rising asphalt costs, selectman Gordon Carlstrom said at the deliberative sessions of Town Meeting.

One article to spark discussion in the season leading up to voting was Article 14, which requested $8,000 for a Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission study on the fiscal impact of subdivisions on local services, and the usefulness of developing future impact fees. Voters supported the article by 501-366.

Several articles asked for tax dollars in support of local equipment and maintenance. Article 20 asked for $30,000 in partial funding for a one-ton highway truck. Voters accepted that article by a margin of 486-388.

Voters also accepted an article requesting $55,000 to be placed in a highway heavy equipment capital reserve fund, this time by a measure of 575-289.

In similar ballot measures, voters approved an item asking for $50,000 for the town highway truck capital reserve fund by a vote of 535-328, and $90,000 to replace the town’s ambulance earned a vote of 581-288.

Despite a heated promotional campaign to begin the process of constructing a footbridge along the Piscataquog River connnecting the central village to the south commercial district, voters rejected that measure by a margin of 388-502.

The article sought $4,800 in taxation to be raised for design, engineering and right-of-way costs.

In total, the project was set to cost $150,000, with $120,000 to be funded through state grants and $30,000 to be raised through taxation.

A second warrant article was expected for 2009 to cover the remainder of the project, but hinged on passage of this year’s article.

School district voting

On the school district ballot, voters approved an operating budget of $9.4 million by a margin of 590-283.

In a more controversial vote, voters agreed with an article seeking $33,000 to conduct a survey of New Boston School District property and to carry out an architectural feasibility study of adding seventh- and eighth -grades to New Boston Central School. Money for that article will come from unreserved fund balances. That article passed by a margin of 566-308.

Currently, New Boston sends students in seventh and eighth grades to Mountain View Middle School in Goffstown.

Another article on the school district ballot sought approval of a new teachers contract, which required $119,039 in new spending during the first of its four years. This article gained voter approval by 579-300.

Town Meeting warrants left as is

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:20:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

With a $3.4 million operating budget and more than $580,000 in warrant articles to consider, about 50 voters raised little concern over the items at the deliberative session of New Boston Town Meeting on Feb. 9.

Board of Selectmen Chairman David Woodbury said maintaining a stable tax rate stood as a primary goal among town officials. A state list of towns and their tax rates places New Boston at 85 from the lowest among a total of 216, Woodbury said.

“We want to assure you that this budget has been looked at by a number of people with a number of different agendas...I’m confident in saying this town is very well served by the budget process,” Woodbury said.

Although factors such as the school and county tax rates and state education aid remain in question, Woodbury said the overall tax rate could rise 50 cents from its current rate of $15.30 per $1,000 in assessed property if all warrant articles pass.

The town budget has increased by $297,000, or 9 percent from last year, said Selectman Gordon Carlstrom.

Increases in the town budget can be attributed to higher salary and benefits for town employees, a $5,000 hike in cemetery costs due to maintenance of a new section, and a $57,000 increase in the police department, Carlstrom said. Of that, $55,000 will go toward hiring and equipping a new police officer, according to town budget information.

A $90,000 jump in the highway budget can mostly be attributed to higher asphalt costs, Carlstrom said.

Aside from the operating budget, several special warrant articles also seek tax dollars for various projects.

One item requests $4,800 in tax dollars to be raised for design and engineering costs for a footbridge connecting the center of the village to the south commercial district. An additional $19,200 in design costs will be covered by grants, which mirrors the 80/20 percent split between tax and grant funding for the project as a while.

Overall, the project will cost $150,000, with $30,000 to be funded through taxes and $120,000 through grants, said Dona Fairbairn, a member of the committee leading the efforts for the bridge. A warrant article in 2009 will seek the remainder of the money needed, Fairbairn said.

Other articles request money to be placed in reserve funds, including $60,000 for town hall renovations; $40,000 to help pay for a revaluation and $40,000 for the eventual replacement of Gregg Mill Road Bridge.

Voters will also decide whether to raise $8,000 for a Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission study on the feasibility of charging impact fees for large residential developments. Such a study is necessary as more large developments add to the town’s growth, Carlstrom said.

“It would be a very important $8,000,” he said.

Voting on all ballot items is set for Tuesday, March 13, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the New Boston Central School Gymnasium.