Green: Projects tax increases
Timberlane Regional School District Budget Committee Member Arthur Green has released tax rate increase projections for the budget approved by the budget committee last week. In a blog post published last night, Green projected the approved budget would increase taxes between one point eight and four point seven percent in Atkinson, three point one and six point nine percent in Danville, two point two to five point two percent in Plaistow, and one point three to five percent in Sandown. The range in projected increases is a function of how much of the district’s current surplus is carried over as a revenue in the new budget year.
The Budget Committee anticipated a one point nine million dollar surplus would carry over, which has the tax hikes on the lower side of the scale projected by Green. To obtain the higher side, Green set the surplus at half a million dollars. He notes there are several projects the administration has said it will undertake with those surplus funds before the next budget takes effect, so he’s setting the parameter of what he hopes is a worst case scenario.
Green also projected the tax impact of the default budget, which actually has higher tax increases than the one approved by the budget committee, and of the budget he proposed, which would lower taxes by half a percent to three point three percent in Atkinson, by up to three point eight percent in Danville, between three tenths of a percent to three point four percent in Plaistow, and between one point seven and five point four percent in Sandown. Green said that the only way his quote un quote “Responsible Budget” can be adopted at this point is at the school district’s deliberative session on February fifth. There’s a public hearing on the budget scheduled for January fifteenth. We’ve linked to Green’s article from this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Stearns: Given marching orders to cut taxes
The Derry Town Council is looking to find ways to reduce its tax rate by two bucks per thousand and has directed Town Administrator Galen Stearns to look at how that can be done. At a recent meeting, the Council took no action on a scenario Stearns had researched after they asked him to see what reducing the tax rate by two fifty per thousand would look like. Stearns told them to hit that goal, they’d have to cut two Finance Department employees, nine public works employees, sixteen cops and twenty two firefighters.
The two thousand fourteen tax rate set by the Department of Revenue Administration in October is twenty nine dollars and forty two cents per thousand, down from thirty one forty nine in two thousand thirteen. The breakdown is nine seventy two for the town’s portion, sixteen dollars and eleven cents for the local school tax, two forty four for the state school tax and a buck fifteen for the county. The Nutfield News has all the details and we’ve linked to their article from this news read at Girard at Large dot com.
Tucker: Project not viable without variances
The Londonderry Zoning Board of Adjustment has denied three variances that would enable construction of a massive two hundred eighty unit workforce housing project. The Londonderry Times is reporting the Z B A rejected variance requests from Windham developer Raja Khanna to allow construction of twenty four unit buildings where sixteen unit buildings are allowed, to complete the project over three years rather than six, and reduce the minimum workforce housing occupancy requirement from 75 percent to 50 percent. Khana’s attorney, Bill Tucker had argued the town needs the project to meet its fair share of workforce housing and that the project wouldn’t be financially viable without variances. Tucker cited a two thousand ten report from the Southern New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission that concluded Londonderry needed to construct three hundred seventy four more workforce housing units by the end of 2015 and said the project will help the town meet its obligation.
Residents weren’t buying it though and pushed back hard. Jim Butler of told the board there was an update to that two thousand ten report that indicates Londonderry only needs one hundred eighty seven units to meet the fair share of workforce housing. Quote “In the pipeline now, we have over 200 units. If that’s the case, I think, personally, we need to take a stand. I’m all in favor of helping out and having workforce housing, but I don’t want to be abused as a taxpayer,” Butler said. Londonderry State Representative Al Baldasaro also opposed the project, urging the board not to let the lawyers push them around. We’ve linked to the details of this fascinating community argument caused by a state law that only the developers seem to like from this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next.
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