News alert: Budget, warrant articles approval at Meredith Town Meeting could lead to 21% tax hike

MEREDITH — If the proposed budget and warrant articles pass at Town Meeting, the municipal tax rate is likely to increase by almost 21%. Members of the selectboard could make recommendations on Wednesday night to cut that down to 13%.

Voters at Town Meeting will be able to vote on the budget in Article 10, including to amend it higher or lower. Articles 11 through 17 are capital expendable trust fund requests amounting to $2.4 million, up from $1.1 million last year. Each of those can also be approved, rejected, or amended.

Selectboard member Jeanie Forrester said during Monday’s selectboard meeting she will be bringing up ideas during Town Meeting to cut the budget, and thus, the tax rate.

“There are a couple other things in the budget that I would propose be eliminated, to get us another $100,000 here,” Forrester said. “I think Mike’s got an idea to get another $200,000,” she continued, referring to selectboard Chair Mike Pelczar.

Forrester said when the budget hearing was held on Feb. 9, there wasn’t enough time for changes to be made by the selectboard.

“So, this is where we’re at, and the hand we’re dealt with, and we’ll figure it out at Town Meeting, I believe,” Forrester said.

Town Manager Judie Milner showed a comparison between the proposed 2026 budget — $24.4 million, a 9.8% increase — with last year’s budget. The largest increases are from capital costs and personnel items like raises, health insurance and hiring.

Total town taxes for 2025 were $13.6 million, and this year are expected to be $16.4 million, or a 20.9% increase. Much of this is due to drawing only $960,000 from the fund balance, about half of what was used last year.

The estimated municipal tax rate is $4.16, compared with $3.44 for 2025, a 20.9% increase, which would a tax bill of $359.65 for a $500,000 single-family home. The total tax bill would be an increase of 11.4%, or $605.30 for a tax bill for a $500,000 single-family home.

With budgets already set, the county rate is expected to increase 4.37%, local education increases 10.62%, and the state education has an expected decrease of 6.67%. If the estimated municipal tax rate becomes reality, it means the estimated total tax rate will be $11.83, or an 11.40% increase.

Taxes are estimated to be up 20.9%, because there are less prior-year savings to offset taxes than the previous budget. Non-tax revenues are also only up 2.8%, so taxes make up the difference.

Milner said the municipal tax rate is only estimated.

Over the past five years, the tax rate set in October is 20% less than what is estimated at budget time in March, according to Milner’s presentation. This is because assessed values tend to increase, at an average of 1%, or $30 million. Revenues also generally are higher than estimated, and high revenues reduce the amount needed to be collected from taxpayers. The selectboard also often uses the excess fund balance to reduce the tax rate when it is set.

The fund balance functions like a reserve account, which can be used by the town for unanticipated expenses.

Resident Brian Harris said Milner’s presentation shows the town ran on $20 million last year, and an amendment could be made to make a “reasonable” 5% increase, and come up with a number of about $21 million. This was in response to another resident asking if the amount could be changed to the previous year’s total.

Forrester expects plenty of discussion at Town Meeting, and said Article 17 could be a hot topic. It asks to appropriate $960,000 to be added to the Community Infrastructure Expendable Trust Fund, coming from the unassigned fund balance.

Robert Carpenter, director of finance and administrative services, said in a previous meeting that at the end of 2025, there was about $500,000 in unspent appropriations, and another $460,000 netted from the sale of deeded properties. Milner and Carpenter recommended using the funds for engineering costs for the proposed Town Hall and Main Street projects.

“The question comes before us that we think it is wise going forward, where we have so many big ticket items to build toward it, but that could be on the ballot to help reduce the tax burden,” Pelczar said Monday. “We’ve already gone through the budget so we can’t change it, and aren’t recommending to change it, but it is something that could come up Wednesday night.”

Harris is vice chair of the Capital Improvement Program Advisory Committee, and was surprised the selectboard voted 5-0 to recommend the budget. He felt some of this would be “throw-away” money, because there are unknowns about the Town Hall project. He said the space survey hasn’t been completed, and the proverbial cart is coming before the horse, to think about spending money on a design prematurely.

Harris said it is “a big ask,” as it leads to a major tax increase of 20.9%.

Forrester said Carpenter and Milner recommended the funds go toward those two projects, but as the article reflects, the funds are not earmarked specifically.

“I would anticipate there being a motion, or a few motions to say, ‘Instead of putting that $960,000 into the community infrastructure fund, let’s put that $960,000 into all those other ETFs that are currently being put on the backs of the taxpayer,’” Forrester said.

She said if used for other trust funds, it would bring the municipal tax rate down to about 13%. Forrester said the board asked Milner what could be done to bring the figure down even further, to 10%, and there are some ways to bring the budget down $300,000.

“Jeanie, I think that is a very practical, pragmatic, reasonable, excellent proposal, to go from 21% down to 10 to 13%,” Harris said. “That makes a lot of sense, but that’s not what the package says. So, I don’t know how you get from what is in the warrant article to what is described.”

“I intend to put that forward, to put that suggestion forward,” Forrester replied. “I think there are other board members who agree, but don’t know for sure, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Selectboard member Steven Aiken said there are many items in the town’s future which will be on the backs of the taxpayers, and without using that money, it could start to be very expensive.

“It all boils down to wants versus needs,” Forrester said. “This board has to make that decision, what’s a need and what’s a want, and then hopefully the voters agree.

“Ultimately it’s the voters’ choice.”

Town Meeting takes place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at Inter-Lakes Middle High School. The budget presentation is available at meredithnh.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03092026-1349.

The warrant can be found at meredithnh.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1696/2026-Town-Meeting-Warrant_Signed.