Weare News : voting

Weare residents look to save money

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:14:00 GMT

BY SARAH LEBRUN

Residents in Weare have spoken, and the general consensus is to keep the increase in taxes to a minimum for the coming year.

Out of the 19 monetary items on the town, school and John Stark School District ballots, residents only voted to accept five.

The biggest item voted down was a $1.25 million bond for a new Highway Garage and Transfer Station.

On the town ballot, residents voted yes to appropriate $400,000 for road reconstruction.

Of that amount, $247,752 would come from Highway Block Grant Funds from the state. The rest, $152,248 would come from taxes. The tax impact is 17 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, or $34 on a $200,000 home.

Residents also voted yes for $6,000 to cover the cost of one household hazardous waste day, and $20,000 for cemetery improvements.

The money for cemetery improvements will be withdrawn from the Cemetery Trust Fund, at no cost to taxpayers.

In the coming year, the town will run a default budget of $4,639,803.

On the school ballot, residents voted yes to adding 33 percent of any surplus at the end of the school year, up to $25,000, to the School Building Maintenance Expendable Trust Fund.

The school district, too, will operate on a default budget, which is $12,635,013.

On the John Stark Regional School District ballot, voters agreed to an expense of $1,000 for the School Board to continue investigating land leases, transfers of sales.

The John Stark district will also run on a default budget of $13,352,416.

$1.25 million requested for new highway garage

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:03:00 GMT

BY CHRISTINE HAGUE

A proposal to replace Weare’s Public Works garage will be on the ballot when voters go to the polls on March 10. The $1.25 million project would bring the town into compliance with safety requirements and facilitate annual reductions in operating and vehicle costs.

The proposed 22,400-square-foot insulated metal building would occupy the site of the present wooden structure. It would include recycling drop off points facing Merrill Road, truck bays, a wash bay, shower and lavatories, and two staff offices.

Waste oil furnaces and much of the new electrical system in the present building could be installed in the new facility.

Public Works director Carl Knapp emphasized the economies of a larger building. For each winter storm, 10 overtime hours are used to prep trucks before the fleet hits the road.

Electric and overtime costs would be reduced if trucks were parked in a heated facility. Presently, trucks must be kept outdoors, requiring block heaters in winter. Electrical service to the heaters cost $560 in January.

In spite of block heaters, trucks cannot be operated when hydraulic systems and fuel lines are cold, so drivers experience a half-hour warm-up time before loading trucks with sand and salt.

“Sand freezes up into a block, so we can’t load the trucks ahead,” Knapp said. “It’s like having a fire truck with no water in it. You can’t have water in it if the truck’s left outdoors in the winter.”

A wash bay in the new facility would prolong the life of a truck by two to three years, Knapp estimates.

“Plow trucks now go for $155,000 to $160,000. We have 10 trucks, so add three years to the life of each and that’s $450,000 saved.”

Trucks cannot be washed in the present facility, nor is there room inside to insert body props for safety when repairing dump trucks.

Transfer station recycling equipment is now outdoors, exposing personnel and machinery to extremes of heat and cold. An indoor recycling station would eliminate metal fatigue caused by weather and improve staff efficiency.

The town’s Joint Loss Management Committee, responsible for reporting safety issues, has given the present building failing grades on electrical wiring, ventilation and floor drainage for the past three years. Although electrical improvements are being made, lack of air circulation and floor drains remain substantial hazards.

There is no sprinkler system in the present building and limited safe storage for flammable materials.

Without the means to address serious safety issues, the town faces the threat of an unplanned closing of the building.

If voters approve a new building, construction could begin when the ground thaws.

Voting in Weare takes place Tuesday, March 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Weare Middle School.

Weare residents unhappy about 2.75 percent increase

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:04:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

Weare residents will decide whether to approve a $13 million school operating budget on the warrant March 10. Two proposed amendments to decrease the proposed bottom line were both rejected at the deliberative session of Weare School District Meeting on Feb. 2 at Weare Middle School.

About 40 residents attended that meeting for the Weare School District, which includes both Weare Middle and Center Woods Elementary schools.

Several residents spoke out against the 2.75 percent budget increase that would fund proposals to add a foreign language teacher and a health teacher at Weare Middle School.

Resident Melissa Caswell, conceding the economy is in dire straits, urged fellow attendees to consider that Weare children deserve these extra teaching positions.

“Last year, we voted down a budget and our children lost very important things,” Caswell said. “I don’t want to see that happen again. We need to be their advocates.”

Other articles that will appear on the warrant include proposals to contribute up to $25,000 in surplus funds to three separate accounts that would reserve money for building and grounds upkeep as well as unforeseen special education costs.

The deliberative session for the John Stark Regional High School district, which includes students from both Weare and Henniker, took place Feb. 3.

About 30 voters from both towns turned out to endorse John Stark Regional High School’s proposed $13.5 million operating budget for the 2009-10 school year.

Voters from both towns will decide March 10 whether or not to accept the budget as proposed or opt for a default of $13.3 million.

The bottom line of the proposed budget represents about an 8.2 percent increase over the current year’s operating budget.

An amendment by state represenative Neal Kurk to reduce the proposed budget by more that $1 million was rejected.

“People in this state, people in this country and people in these two towns are very nervous,” said Kurk, a Weare resident and a member of the House finance committee.

“I recognize you have a responsibility to the students in this district, but you also have a responsibility to the taxpayers,” Kurk told School Board members before his amendment was voted down. “It requires a balance. I think you’ve forgotten that balance.”

New Public Works facility needed in Weare

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:20:00 GMT

BY SARAH LEBRUN

A big-ticket item Weare voters can expect to see on the town ballot this year is a bond proposal for a new 22,400-squarefoot Public Works and transfer station/ recycling facility.

This proposal is Article 9 on the town warrant. It currently requests $1 million for a new facility, however, that number has increased since the town now has a quote from the architect.

“That $1 million number was a place holder,” said selectmen Chairman Tom Clow at a Jan. 19 bond hearing. “We knew the figure would change.”

According to Public Works director Carl Knapp, the proposal is similar to a plan on last year’s town warrant, which the town rejected.

The new facility would include a recycling center, 17 truck/equipment bays, one wash bay, one car repair bay, and a truck repair bay and welding area. There would also be offices, a lunch room, parts room and bathrooms.

“This is needed badly,” said Knapp. “The facility we’re in, the condition is poor, at best. In the winter, it’s tough on the men and the equipment.”

According to Joint Loss Management Committee member Christine Hague, hazards have been identified in the building, such as poor ventilation in the highway barn and replacement and upgrades needed to the electrical wiring.

“This is not a frivolous request,” said Hague. “One overall expenditure is a lot better than a bunch of little teeny ones.” Knapp said a new facility would also increase the length of time in which the town would be able to keep a vehicle by two or three years.

“A new plow truck costs $150,000 to $155,000,” said Knapp. “Over time, this would save some money.”

Knapp said he plans to again meet with the architect on Friday, Jan. 23, to whittle down a quote on the new facility even more.

A final amount will be set at the deliberative session of Town Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Weare Middle School. The meeting will begins at 9 a.m.

“For people who are unsure about the whole thing, the answer I give this is, ‘Come see the current facility,’” said Knapp. “It speaks for itself.”

Weare School Board wants public input on budget

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:13:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Weare School Board will take its new 2008- 09 operating budget to task at the upcoming meeting on Tuesday, June 17, and members want the public’s input on how they should spend the money.

The decision now is not how much money to restore, but what to do with a budget that is half-way between what was initially proposed and the default budget.

About 23 percent of registered Weare voters cast their vote in a special election for a revised proposed budget on Tuesday, June 3.

The Weare School District’s operating budget for 2008-09 will now be $12,703,776, representing a tax rate increase of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year. For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $130.

In a 806-731 vote, the initial $12.9 million budget the School Board proposed for 2008-09 was voted down at the polls in March.

School officials said remaining on the $12,463,776 default budget would have imposed several cuts in staff, including the sole world languages teacher at the middle school and the art teacher at Center Woods.

Both of those positions will likely still be considered in cuts for the coming year, even with the passage of the $12.7 million budget.

The default would also have forced cuts in maintenance night and weekend coverage and eliminated two buses.

The School Board added $240,000 to the default to bring it to $12,703,776 million in the new proposal, which restores the equivalent in funds of two teaching positions, night and weekend custodian coverage and one bus to the budget.

School Board member Paul Levandowski said the board welcomes the public’s input on what, specifically, should be restored to the budget.

“We’ll be able to get back half of what we wanted,” said Levandowski immediately following the vote. “I was very impressed with the voter turnout.”

Levandowski said most of the community input that has come through to the board indicates that Weare residents would like to see the world language and art programs restored to the budget, something the board is taking very seriously, he said.

“We’ll continue to move forward. We have to talk now on how to build the budget,” he said.

School Board Chairman Matt Thomas said the School Board will do whatever it takes to maximize the new funds the voters approved, and thanked the 1,343 Weare residents who cast their vote for a second time on the school budget.

“We now have half a budget, and we will do everything we can,” said Thomas.

The Tuesday, June 17, meeting will take place at Center Woods Elementary School in the music room.

Weare school has June 3 revote

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:15:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Weare School District is asking voters to go back to the polls Tuesday, June 3, to vote on a second version of a proposed school budget.

The polls will be open at Center Woods Elementary from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

After a group of concerned Weare parents started a grassroots campaign in support of the new budget that helped bring about 100 people to the deliberative session for the revised budget, Superintendent Christine Tyrie said she sees a big difference in the community’s reception of the budget vote this time around.

“It was really gratifying and I can say that sincerely,” Tyrie said. “I think when people see how badly this is going to hurt Weare schools, they know they’re going to have to step to the plate and support what we’re doing.”

By a 806-731 margin, the initial $12.9 million budget the School Board proposed for 2008- 09 was voted down in March, and the town is now under a $12.4 million default budget.

School officials say remaining on the $12,463,776 default budget would impose several cuts in staff, including the elimination of the only world languages teacher at the middle school and the art teacher at Center Woods.

It would also force cuts in night and weekend maitenance coverage, eliminating one custodial position completely and possibly requiring community organizations to pay to use the school facilities after hours, according to school officials.

It would also eliminate two buses. The bus routes would be reconfigured and students who live less than 2 miles from school would not be picked up.

The School Board added $240,000 to the default to bring it to $12,703,776 million in the new proposal, which would restore two teaching positions, night and weekend custodian coverage and one bus.

Tricia Ober, one of the organizers of the parent advocacy group campaigning for the passage of the revised budget, said the group has been handing out brochures at community events and placing fliers at bus stops, as well as standing roadside with signs.

An anonymous donor allowed the group to print the campaign signs, and members of the campaign group have been asking to run off fliers at work to save money.

“It’s been very positive. You go to different community events and school events and it’s being talked about,” Ober said. “That was the goal of this group, to get the people to talk about it and understand what they’re voting on.”

Ober added the group would be out at the schools with signs again on Monday, June 2, and Tuesday, June 3, to remind people to vote.

The $12.4 million default currently in place will result in an increase of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on the tax rate over last year. If the new $12.7 million proposed budget passes, the tax rate would increase by 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year.

For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $62.50 for the default budget or $130 for the second proposed budget over last year’s rate.

Weare Middle School’s operating costs were a new addition to the budget this year, affecting spending by teachers to accommodate the new school and maintaining the facilities.

Currently, Weare spends the least amount per pupil in the state. The state average is around $10,000 per pupil, and Weare spends $7,345 per pupil according to Tyrie.

Goffstown spends $8,425 per pupil and Henniker, which shares a school administrative unit with Weare, spends $11,441, Tyrie said.

Weare sues state over districting

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:50:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The town of Weare has joined five other towns in the state and members of the New Hampshire Legal Rights Foundation in a lawsuit against the state declaring the current districts of the House of Representatives unconstitutional.

The suit also asks for a judge to compel the state to redistrict prior to the filing period for the November elections. The filing period for legislative seats is currently set to start on Wednesday, June 4, and end Friday, June 13.

In 2006, a ballot question asking voters to amend the state’s constitution to allow a redistricting of the House so that each town or ward large enough to be its own district and elect its own representative passed with about 70 percent of New Hampshire voters in a 240,767- to-100,688 vote. The question needed a two-thirds majority to pass.

“Reapportionment of the current House of Representatives districts is constitutionally mandated to achieve districts that comply with Part II, Article 11 of the Constitution as it has been amended in the last general election in November 2006. That constitutional requirement per force overrides any concerns relating to convenience, familiarity or simplicity,” the court petition reads.

It goes on, “The Legislature has had ample and repeated opportunities to meet its constitutional obligation to conduct redistricting prior to the upcoming primary and general election in compliance with the 2006 amendment to the Constitution, but has failed to do so.”

The suit further argues that the explanation in the voter’s guide pertaining to that question was clear about using the 2000 census data to redistrict the House prior to the next election.

“Prompt judicial review is warranted due to the important constitutional issue presented and the proximity of the upcoming election,” reads the suit, which names Secretary of State William Gardner as the respondent.

The six towns and nine NHLRF members petitioning the court contend that conducting an election without adhering to the constitutional amendment would violate the law.

“A flawed election based on unconstitutional House districts must not be allowed to occur,” the suit states.

Weare, Wilton, Litchfield, Loudon, Enfield and Wilton, all towns who do not have their own elected state representatives but are grouped in districts that share several representatives, are listed as parties in the suit filed in Merrimack Superior Court.

District 7, which includes Goffstown and Weare, has a total of eight representatives who together represent both towns.

Two of them are from Weare: representatives Gary Hopper and Neal Kurk, both of whom are listed as petitioning parties in the suit.

Hopper spearheaded a bill in 2007 aimed at redistricting the House, which failed in a 283-72 roll call vote with opposition reluctant to use census data from 2000 and arguing instead it wait until the next census in 2010.

It’s unlikely that anything would be done before the filing period begins, Hopper said, adding he plans on filing for his District 7 seat as a representative for both Weare and Goffstown.

“Neal (Kurk) and I represent Weare, but to a great degree, we more represent Goffstown,” Hopper said, because of Goffstown’s population advantage over Weare.

Hopper said he’s in a difficult position because if he votes for something against Goffstown’s interest during a House session, he faces not being re-elected because of Goffstown’s larger population.

If he votes for something against Weare’s interests, he would not necessarily lose his seat.

“In effect, for all intents and purposes, Weare has really lost its voice in the New Hampshire House,” said Hopper, a Republican.

A Senate Bill aimed at redistricting was downed earlier this year in a consensus voice vote. As it stands, there are 106 New Hampshire towns that are not guaranteed representation within their towns, the petition says.

“It’s really not a party thing, it’s more of a small town standing up to make sure they are represented by people from their town,” Hopper said.

Many big items denied in Weare

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:34:00 GMT

BY STEVEN ANDREWS

Voters appeared to have the volatile economy on their mind as they voted on town warrant articles on Tuesday, March 11.

The operating budget, a new public works facility, improvements to Bolton Field and many fire and police department staffing requests were denied.

About 27 percent of voters showed up at the polls to shoot down the requests.

The town’s proposed budget of $4,658,578 failed with voters, even though it was just $128,708 higher than the default figure, by 803-734.

Town officials hoped to get a proposed budget passed to cover increased fuelrelated expenses.

The tax rate with the default budget will be $2.12 per $1,000 of assessed property value. There is a difference of about $45 between the projected tax bills the proposed and default budgets would result in for a $300,000 home.

The passing of all warrant articles would have added another $1.52 to the rate already determined by the budget.

The $975,000 bond to construct a new public works garage in town failed 779-759 vote.

A warrant item asking voters to authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter into a bond for $435,000 to fund the first phase of necessary improvements to the Bolton Field Memorial Complex failed by a wide margin of 1,293 to 246, even after the original bond for $1.25 million was reduced by voters at the deliberative session.

Warrant articles asking voters to fund two new full-time police officers and two firefighter/ EMTs also failed.

An article proposing $57,028 to implement a new pay scale for town employees failed 779-790.

Republican Gary Hopper won the state representative vote over Democrat Stephen Brzozowski 851-599.

Keith LaCasse and Richard Butt were elected to the Board of Selectmen; Joshua Solomon and David Bougher were also running.

Gas prices fuel town increases

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:59:00 GMT

BY JENN MCDOWELL

Corrected 3:30pm 3/8/08

After being on a default budget, Weare town officials hope voters will pass the proposed $4.6 million operating budget for the coming year, particularly for department budget increases related to fuel costs.

“They’re almost entirely fuel related,” said Fred Ventresco, Weare town administrator, about the highway, police and fire department budgets.

A line-by-line comparison of the town’s proposed budget and default budget show a $39,081 spread for the Highway Department, a $54,955 difference for the Police Department and a $14,451 difference for the Fire Department.

Should the $4,658,578 proposed budget fail with voters, a default budget of $4,529,870 will take effect.

Ventresco said the town’s Board of Selectmen has not yet contemplated what they would cut from the budget to account for the $128,708 difference between the proposed and default budgets.

The proposed budget would result in a projected tax rate of $2.29 for the town portion. For Weare residents owning a $300,000 home, this amounts to a $45 increase over last year’s budget, with a total tax bill of $687 from the town.

The passing of all monetary warrant articles would add another $1.52 to the town’s tax rate on top of the operating budget, whether it be passed or defaulted, or another $456 to the tax bill of a $300,000 home.

Ventresco said the town would want all the articles to pass, but particularly a $900,000 bond for a new public works garage.

“That building is in really bad shape,” he said.

There are also a couple of articles related to building maintenance, passed without debate to the ballot at the town’s deliberative session on Saturday, Feb. 2. Ventresco said the town municipal building and several others in town are in poor repair due to putting improvements off in prior years of default budgets.

“We’re hoping that’s a good indication that people can see the real necessity in those items,” Ventresco said, adding the town hall in particular has a leaky roof and is in violation of numerous fire and safety codes.

Also at the deliberative session, voters shaved $815,000 off an article that would authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter into a bond to improve the Bolton Field Memorial Complex. The proposed bond amount, originally set at $1.25 million, was cut down to just $435,000, the cost of the first phase of necessary improvements, after lengthy debate at the deliberative session.

This article has no effect on the tax rate as it only gives selectmen the go-ahead to negotiate and sell the bond.

Several articles involve increases in payroll funding, including $57,000 in raises for town employees; $92,000 to hire, train, equip and pay two full-time police officers for nine months; $80,085 for two new firefighter/EMTs for six months; and $23,023 in pay for the ambulance department to have weekend and holiday coverage. Several more ask to put land into conservation, one of those asking the town to raise $200,000 to purchase 175 acres-worth of easements in Melvin Valley.

Board: Voters force cuts in service

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 01:18:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

Residents should face cuts in services after rejecting the proposed operating budget at Town Meeting, said some town officials at the board of selectmen’s meeting on April 2.

“The public voted for the default budget. We need to show people out there that services will be cut if you go with the default,” said Selectman Donna Osborne. “If we don’t cut our services and go with the default, (voters will) go with the default next year and say, ‘Well, they made it work last year.’”

Osborne’s comments came during a discussion of how selectmen could grant 3.5 percent pay increases to town employees while operating on a default budget.

Selectmen did vote for the pay increases, but only after each department submitted other line items that could be sacrificed to make way for the raises.

Town Administrator Fred Ventresco supplied selectmen with a spreadsheet detailing potential cuts.

Some of the adjustments came fairly easily. The department of public works, for example, could take $13,000 out of its sand and salt budget following an unusually mild winter, Director of Public Works Carl Knapp said.

Other town departments faced tougher choices. Though the library required $4,121 to meet the pay increase, the money would have to come out of the library’s book budget, said library board of trustees Chairman Raymond Kelly.

The Weare Public Library is already 30,000 volumes short of the number expected of a town of comparable size, said library director Christine Hague.

The parks and recreation department would need to shift $740 within its budget to accommodate raises, Ventresco said. The department could achieve the difference by cutting some services, said parks and recreation Vice Chairman Chuck Metcalf.

“I don’t think it’s any secret, it will just mean a reduction in services, in the number of hours the park is open or in how we treat the ballfields,” Metcalf said.

Town Clerk Evelyn Connor said she could compensate for raises by taking $4,000 out of the election line in her budget, while Ventresco said the $2,900 needed for raises in the selectmen’s office could come from a maintenance capital reserve fund.

Police Chief Greg Begin agreed town employees should receive their expected raises, and that the money should come from service cuts in the departments.

“People have to realize that when we’re at default we’re going to miss out on services,” said Begin.

Begin said he had already shifted money within his budget to furnish the pay increases. He said most of the money was to pay for a part-time prosecutor, along with other adjustments in the department budget including potential cuts to the D.A.R.E. program.

Voters rejected the town’s $4.3 million operating budget 564-709 at the town voting of March 13. The move forces Weare to operate on a default budget of $4.2 million.

Selectmen had already cut the budget prior to the deliberative session of Town Meeting by $44,000, the amount needed for a 3.5 percent pay raise for town employees.

The town had also received advice from its legal council that a default budget couldn’t include raises not obliged by contract, Ventresco said. That advice had not been solicited, Ventresco said.

Recounts don’t change any Election Day results

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:43:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

Recounts of two town ballot items in Goffstown and a school budget vote in Weare produced different numbers, but identical results.

Goffstown’s Article 13, which would have paid for a water distribution system in Lynchville/Danis Park through a $1.6 million bond and additional grant money, remained defeated 1,491 to 1,037 after the recount.

Because it was a bonded article, the item required a 60 percent majority, or 1,517 votes, to pass.

Resident John Paradis delivered a petitioned request for recount on Monday, March 19. Paradis, a longtime resident of the area affected by the article, acknowledged that he submitted the petition because he was unhappy with the vote and hoped a recount could produce different results.

Ultimately, the recount produced one more positive vote and one more negative vote than the original tally, Town Clerk Donna Bergeron said.

The article’s margin of defeat remained 26 votes following the recount.

A second article, which would have given the town authority to establish a tax increment financing district, was also subject to a petitioned recount request. The item, appearing as Article 22 on the ballot, passed by a total of three votes in the March 13 election.

The recount produced a tally of 1,169 to 1,166, exactly three more negative and three more positive votes than the original count.

The additional votes likely came from cases in which voters placed an “X” inside the oval on the ballot rather than filling it in, Bergeron said.

The recount took place on Sunday, March 25, in the Mildred Stark Room of town hall. Votes were recounted by Bergeron, Town Moderator Rod Stark and members of the board of selectmen, with about a dozen community volunteers helping to sort the ballots.

Weare

A recount of Weare’s razor-thin school district operating budget defeat also produced no change in outcome.

The original machine count handed the $11.9 million operating budget a defeat of 646-643, while the recount put the number at 648-645 with the addition of two negative and two positive votes. The recount took place at the Weare town offices Friday, March 23, beginning at 6 p.m.

The recount took one hour and 20 minutes, according to School District Clerk Tina Pelletier.