Meredith Selectboard votes to pass most articles to Town Warrant

MEREDITH — The selectboard moved 22 articles to the Town Warrant during a public hearing on Monday. The board voted 3-2 to remove an article involving the land use change tax, as board members said the ask was too high.

The public hearing held Monday sought input on the town operating budget and all other warrant articles, with the exception of Article 21, which asks the town to prohibit the operation of Keno. A public hearing specifically about that article will be held on Monday, Feb. 23.

Articles 2 through 8 are zoning articles not discussed during the public hearing.

Director of Administrative Services Robert Carpenter started the hearing to discuss Article 9, about the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund. It asks voters to approve using $900,000 for water plant treatment filter upgrades town leaders say are long overdue.

Carpenter said this is a two-year project expected to end in 2027. The article requires a 60% card vote.

The operating budget of $22 million resides in Article 10, which doesn’t include appropriations in other articles.

The 2026 proposed total budget appropriation, including capital improvements, is $23.4 million, 5.5% higher than last year, or about $1.2 million more.

Town Manager Judie Milner said town spending is funded by taxes and other revenues, and sometimes by savings from the prior year. Property taxes make 68% of where the money comes from, water and sewer rates are about 10%, and other revenues make up 22%.

Milner said if all warrant articles are approved, total municipal taxes will increase about 20%.

“Ultimately, it’s your choice for what you approve for 2026, and the impact on your municipal taxes,” Milner said.

The increases are due to $300,000 for roads; $298,000 for other capital items; $220,617 for the cost of living increase of 3.2%; $101,273 for benefits; $81,858 for personnel changes; $81,145 for property liability and workers compensation insurance, which Milner said is a direct result of a fully-funded fire department; and $75,000 for an economic development consultant, part of the reorganization for the planning and development department the board approved in December.

The estimated municipal tax rate, which Milner stressed is subject to change due to valuation adjustments, is $4.17. This is up 21.2% from the previous rate of $3.44. It means there is an annual increase in taxes of $365 for someone with a house valued at $500,000, which is the average value of a single-family, year-round property in town. The annual increase is $73 per $100,000 in assessed value.

“You may want to look at this as your worst-case scenario number, but rarely have we ever been at that number that we estimated,” Milner said.

Articles 11 and 12 were approved for the ballot with 5-0 votes, and ask voters to approve $75,000 each to be added to the Main Street Rehabilitation and the Waterfront Infrastructure expendable trust funds.

Article 13 asks voters to approve adding $182,000 to the Fire Department Equipment Expendable Trust Fund, used to purchase turnout gear. Carpenter said turnout gear is what firefighters use when they put out fires, and Chair Mike Pelczar called it “very important.”

Voters are asked, in Article 14, to approve adding $535,000 to the Fire Department Vehicle Expendable Trust Fund. This brings the total in the account to $1.17 million, to be used toward a downpayment for a new engine. Carpenter said the total estimated cost for the engine is $1.3 million, and the remaining $130,000 will be due upon arrival.

Carpenter said by putting down a 90% deposit, there will be savings of about $180,000. Lead time is three to four years between ordering and receiving. Carpenter said they were “expensive vehicles,” and commended Chief Kevin Jones for handling the replacement in this manner.

Article 15 will ask voters to approve adding $200,000 to the Parks and Recreation Improvement trust, bringing the total to $245,977 in the account, for the Prescott Park revitalization.

Vice Chair Steve Aiken said the project has been in the works for about 18 months, and he's excited about what it will eventually bring to both youth and adults. He looks forward to seeing how the project will progress in the coming years.

Voters will be asked to approve adding $337,000 in the trust for Department of Public Works equipment, which will be put toward capital improvement plan items like a new excavator, dresser loader, pickup truck, and a sander.

In Article 17, voters will be asked to approve adding $960,000 to the Community Infrastructure fund. The sum is to come from the unassigned fund balance, and no amount will be raised by taxation.

Carpenter said in a previous meeting that at the end of 2025, there were about $500,000 in unspent appropriations, and another $460,000 netted from the sale of deeded properties. The funds are expected to be used for engineering costs for the Town Hall and Main Street projects, which could provide needed improvements and impact the selectboard’s list of goals.

The Town Hall project entails either renovating the original one, or building a brand new structure near the police station. The Main Street Project has been going for a number of years, and the town has engineers in place who are looking to address safety issues for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles.

“Main Street is important,” Selectboard member Jeanie Forrester said. “Town Hall is important. There are a lot of important issues going on here.”

She said the board identified issues and goals in a workshop in September, and it is important to prioritize spending.

Selectboard member Jim Gregoire acknowledged there are plenty of infrastructure expenses coming over the next five years, so setting aside nearly $1 million is prudent.

“I think this is a great move,” Gregoire said. “It’s really smart.”

Article 18 will ask voters to approve a veteran tax credit adjustment, bumping the credit up $500, to $4,500. Carpenter said this was due to recent legislation, and makes up for a loss of optional tax credits for disabled veterans.

The board voted 3-2 to remove Article 19, which would have authorized the first $100,000 of the Land Use Change tax to be deposited into a conservation fund, doubling the current amount of $50,000.

Forrester felt doubling it is “kind of a big jump,” and suggested reducing the amount. Both Pelczar and Aiken thought leaving the funds at $50,000 made more sense. Gregoire and Forrester both voted against removing the article, as Forrester said she would have been happy to split the difference, and wanted it on the warrant. Board member Lynn Leighton, who joined the meeting remotely, voted in favor of removing the article.

Also moving to the ballot is Article 20, to see if the town votes to designate a 37.7-acre parcel of land off Meredith Neck Road as town forest. There are three petitioned articles moving forward, one asks voters to replace the current town manager form of government with a town administrator. The change would abolish the town manager position and create a new administrator position, who would be appointed by the selectboard. The change would take effect on April 1, if approved.

Town Meeting takes place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at Inter-Lakes High School.