Gilford's tax rate is officially highest of town around the big lake

To the editor,

Well the data is in and Gilford wins by a landslide for the highest tax rate for the towns surrounding Lake Winnipesaukee. It seems that no matter what happens, our elected officials at the Gilford town and School District just can’t seem to control the spending in the face of falling assessments. The math is very simple. If the assessments are down and you keep the spending flat or INCREASE it the tax rate goes UP! Now people are forced to sell for LESS because no one wants to move to such a high tax town. Thus the assessments continue to go DOWN, Gilford continues to SPEND and the tax rate follows UP and the whole mess starts all over again.

Gilford’s tax rate is now a whopping $5.90 per $1,000 HIGHER than Meredith, a similarly sized town. It is now more than DOUBLE the waterfront towns of Moultonborough and Tuftonboro. Even Alton’s $13.07 and Center Harbor’s $10.96 is pale in comparison to Gilford at $18.55.

And how about 48-percent of the taxpayers in Gilford who can’t VOTE. They are being walked all over like a rug of money. They are selling cheap and heading to lower tax towns. Message to the Budget Committee, School Board and Selectmen: CUT THE SPENDING. Or your assessments will continue to drop and your tax rate will continue to skyrocket.

Barbara Aichinger

Governor’s Island

Gilford