School Budget: November 2008 Archives
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By NORMA LOVE Associated Press Writer |
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) _ New Hampshire is cutting its budget by nearly another $60 million — reducing spending on everything from school aid construction to overtime.
Gov. John Lynch presented the areas to be cut Friday to the joint legislative Fiscal Committee, which approved them after a brief discussion. Lynch also recommended another $20 million in steps that will require legislative action when lawmakers convene next year.
Even with those steps, Lynch said another $75 million must be found to balance this year's budget.
"We are in the midst of an unprecedented global economic crisis," Lynch told the committee. "When we crafted the state budget 18 months ago, no one could have predicted the depths to which our nation's economy would sink."
Since February, Lynch and lawmakers have used a variety of spending cuts and revenue measures to deal with declining revenue. The latest cuts bring the total amount trimmed to about $150 million, roughly 5 percent of the $3.2 billion in spending from general tax sources in the two-year budget. The total budget is $10.3 billion when spending from federal and other sources is included.
Lynch characterized Friday's actions as another step and reiterated his pledge to balance the budget....
Note from the MCA: Why is it a good thing to have a watchdog group like the MCA in your town? Attendance at meetings, questions to our elected officials, letters to the editor, video taping and posting on this website many public meetings goes a long way to avoid surprises like a 20% tax hike.
By Amy Augustine Concord Monitor Staff
Boscawen is giving taxpayers more time to pay up after a big spike in the tax rate appeared in their November bills.
The overall tax rate is $23.58 per $1,000 of assessed property, up from $19.04 in 2007. The town portion of the rate jumped from $4.63 to $6.99. Tax bills were mailed this month, along with a letter explaining the increase from Town Administrator Michael Wright.
In the letter, Wright cited a 2007 "miscalculation" between the town and Department of Revenue, as well as a decrease in town revenue as reasons for the sharp increase. Wright said the town accounted for about $125,000 in state funds for a water and sewer project in its 2007 budget submission, which inflated the amount in the town's general fund.
That made last year's taxes lower than they should have been, he said. That money must be recouped this year.
This week selectmen agreed to give taxpayers a 90-day interest-free grace period if they pay 80 percent of their bill by the Dec. 5 due date. Wright said people should contact the town offices if they want to take advantage of the grace period. ..
The Meredith News November 14, 2008
SARAH SCHMIDT
MOULTONBORO — Driven by an increase in the county portion, the projected tax rate for Moultonboro residents is on the rise, from $6.99 per $1,000 in 2007, to $7.65 in the current year. Town Administrator Carter Terenzini presented the tax rate to selectmen and told them that the rate had been approved by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue. The total amount raised is decided by the town’s local assessed valuation - down 2 percent from last year, from about $2,878,000,000 in 2007, to $2,827,646,039 this year. Though all portions of the tax rate are up this year, the most dramatic rise was a 22.78 percent increase in the county portion, from 79 cents to 99 cents.Terenzini said the county portion accounted for about a third of the increase. The town portion came in next, increasing from $2.07 to $2.32, a 12 percent increase. The local school portion increased from $2.01 to $2.16, a 7.46 percent increase, while the state portion of the school tax increased 4.25 percent, from $2.12 to $2.21. Despite these increases, Terenzini warned against people concluding that their taxes would automatically “go up 10 percent,” and said that taxes would vary depending on value and rate. He gave several examples of housing situations in Moultonboro, and how each would be affected by the tax rate. One house in the tenth percentile, assessed at $211,900 in 2007, with taxes of $1,481, had decreased in its assessment in 2008, bumping the taxes up to $1,593, Terenzini said, giving a local example. A house in a median percentile, at $477,000 in 2007, had its taxes rise from $3,335 to $3,481 in 2008, a rise of about 4.4 percent. Properties with a decrease in value of 8.6 percent tend to stay flat in relative dollars, Terenzini said. He also noted that the selectmen had chosen to use of the unreserved fund balance to help out the tax rate, leaving the amount at 7.5 percent. Selectman Chair Karel Crawford noted that the town was searching for ways to increase their efficiencies in order to bring down the budget. “We’ve looked at joining with the school to buy our supplies and oil,” said Crawford. “The department heads are working on their budgets right now.We’re going to look at conservation, and we want to keep the tax rate down.” Crawford also noted that, oddly, her own property’s assessed valuation had inexplicably gone up. Resident Al Hume spoke up about the budget, asking about capital expenditures, and whether the selectmen thought that they could bring the budget for capital expense items “as close to zero as possible.” Selectman Ed
Charest said that selectmen were also looking at the economic situation as an opportunity to “save us money in the long run,” noting that prices for equipment and supplies aren’t going down yet.
