City Council to consider $25.14 million budget Monday

By RICK GREEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — The City Council is expected to vote Monday on a $25.14 million budget that calls for a 1.3 percent increase in property tax, which would result in a $56 yearly hike for a $200,000 home.

The spending plan to be considered Monday will be very close to what City Manager Scott Myers proposed in April, with a few exceptions.

Council members have requested an extra $40,000 be spent in the new fiscal year, which began July 1, to study erosion at city beaches.

City Councilor Brenda Baer said many local residents use Bond Beach, Bartlett Beach, Opechee Beach and Opechee Point, and all have erosion problems.

Other additional expenditures requested by council members include $35,000 for a fence at Opechee Park, as well as $25,000 for park basketball court improvements and $25,000 for paved park walkways.

The city operates under a tax cap approved by voters in 2005, which allows taxes to go up by factoring in the inflation rate and new assessed construction value.

The proposed budget calls for city, or non-school, spending to increase by $1.29 million, or 5.4 percent over the current year. Some of this increase is the result of one-time revenue from the sale of property.