Andrew Hosmer: City council, city manager balance the budget for city of Laconia

To The Daily Sun,

Rep. Gregg Hough’s “victory lap” letter to the editor of Dec. 29, 2021 is not only premature, but also somewhat misleading.

As pointed out in the Laconia city manager’s letter to the editor, the current state budget eliminated $396,000 in shared revenue sent to the city in the previous budget. Rep. Hough wants credit for Laconia getting less of its money returned, even though state spending has increased $300 million (now up to $13.6 billion) and current revenues are trending significantly higher than anticipated. Contrary to Rep. Hough’s pledge, it appears this state budget has resulted in our friendly state government digging a little deeper into our wallets.

The downshifting of state expenses and suspending revenue sharing are not exclusive tactics of one political party. They’re gimmicks used to create a balanced budget, all the while sticking property taxpayers with higher bills and destabilizing public education and essential services. I’d be first in line to offer my appreciation to any legislator who voted to restore statutorily required local aid to municipalities and the full 40% of rooms and meals tax revenue promised to Laconia.

Laconia taxpayers should know that our city council and city manager have responsibly balanced the needs of our city and taxpayers. Our nonpartisan form of city government serves our citizens well because it focuses on people not politics. I hope Rep. Hough appreciates that getting real results for Laconia is more important than which party deserves credit or criticism. I also remain hopeful that our legislators will one day accept our open invitation to speak at a council meeting and discuss their legislative and budget priorities. Until then, I’ll continue to try and bring some balance to this discussion with letters to the editor, editorials, or please feel free to contact me at LaconiaMayor@gmail.com.

Andrew Hosmer

Laconia