Bristol finally sets tax rate, delayed by cyber attack

BRISTOL — The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration has set Bristol’s 2024 property tax rate at $23.62 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of $0.87, or 4%, from last year.

The selectboard voted on Dec. 19 to apply $500,000 of its overlay — an amount set aside to cover abatements, exemptions and uncollected taxes — to limit the rise in this year’s municipal tax rate. That resulted in a rate of $9.75 per $1,000, an increase of $0.22, or 2%, from 2023.

The revenue department recommends setting aside between 5% and 17% of the operating budget in the overlay as a buffer against unexpected costs such as court settlements. The withdrawal puts Bristol’s overlay at 10%. Members of the selectboard considered applying more of the overlay against expenditures to hold the tax rate steady, counting on the anticipated sale of the Lake Street fire station and a property on Merrimack Street to replenish the overlay account in the coming year. Town Administrator Christina Goodwin cautioned against doing so, because of a likely boost in school taxes next year when four towns will be responsible for paying costs currently covered by seven towns in the Newfound Area School District. Three towns will begin operating their own school district as of July 1, 2025.

The local school tax rate for 2024 is $10, an increase of $0.57, or 6% from 2023.

A cyber attack in November 2023 destroyed the school district’s financial records and the business office has spent the last year rebuilding the database. That resulted in a delay in filing the financial reports necessary to establish the school tax rate which, in turn, prevented the revenue department from setting property tax rates for the seven towns until now. Towns normally get their tax rates in late October or early November, allowing them to send out tax bills and collect the money prior to year-end. This year, Bristol did not get final confirmation of its rate until Dec. 20, so tax bills will not be due until late January.

Bristol is urging people to prepay their property taxes earlier than the due date to preserve the town’s cash flow, so it can avoid borrowing more money to meet expenses.

In addition to school and municipal taxes, the 2024 tax bill includes a statewide education property tax of $2.05 per $1,000, an increase of $0.05, or 3%, from 2023.

The county portion of the tax rate increased from $1.79 to $1.82 per $1,000, or 2%.

Tax rates for the other Newfound Area towns were not immediately available.