Sanbornton tax rate up 3.1%, despite selectboard buying it down

SANBORNTON — The selectboard voted to buy down the town’s 2026 tax rate by using $485,800 from the fund balance, making it $13.21 per $1,000 in assessed value, or a 3.1% increase over last year. This means a home valued at $100,000 will see an increase of $40 on their bill.

The preliminary tax rate the state Department of Revenue Administration received from the town was $13.71, before using the fund balance to reduce it.

The fund balance acts as a reserve account a town can use for unanticipated expenses.

The selectboard approved using the fund balance during their Dec. 8 meeting. Town Administrator Trish Stafford said the use of the fund balance brings the amount to 12.62% of the total budget, which keeps it within the range recommended by DRA staff of between 5% and 17%. The town’s existing fund balance is about $2.4 million. If the fund balance wasn’t used to offset the preliminary tax rate, 15.81% of the fund balance would have been retained.

“The selectboard likes it to be no lower than 10%, so we are good there,” Stafford said.

During the meeting, Selectboard member Brandon Deacon reminded the board that $100,000 should be retained in the fund balance for the Winnisquam Watershed Preservation Capital Reserve Fund. By offsetting the tax rate by $0.50, going from the preliminary municipal rate of $5.78 to $5.28, and putting aside the $100,000, it kept the fund balance in good standing. The selectboard approved using the fund balance with a 3-0 vote.

The municipal portion of the tax rate came to $5.28, down from $5.51, which is a reduction 4.18% from 2024. The state education portion decreased by $0.01 to $1.15, which is less than 1%.

The town saw a $0.03 increase in the county portion of the tax rate to $0.95, or 3.26%, but a key driver to the increase in the total rate was the local education tax. Sanbornton is in the Winnisquam Region School District, and the local rate increased $0.61, or 11.69%, to $5.83 per thousand.

Stafford said since the town is part of a regional school district, the numbers depend on their apportionment.

“We are in a new five-year period for apportionment with education, so that is what we are seeing here,” Stafford said. “It is incrementally instituted.”

The school portion of the tax rate increased for all towns in the school district, including 20% in Tilton, and 15.8% in Northfield.

Winnisquam Superintendent Shannon Bartlett and Business Administrator Rebecca Weldon did not respond to requests for information about the school district tax rate.

Stafford said there has been a combined effort in town departments to do the best they can for the community, while keeping the rate as low as possible. The municipal portion is the only part controlled by the town.

“We have a very active budget committee that likes to get in there and make sure we are spending our money appropriately,” Stafford said. “We want to be able to do the projects we need, and they understand the balance. I think we were able to make that balance happen this year.”

The tax rate was announced on Dec. 3, and bills are due on Wednesday, Jan. 14. They can be paid online at sanborntonnh.org.