Kevin Poitras: Moultonborough voters should pay attention to tax increases

To The Daily Sun,

Tired of Moultonborough tax increases. Prior to 2020 the town spending was about $24 million per year and our taxes were stable for about a decade. Last year (2024-25) the spending was $34 million — about a 30% increase very similar to our tax increases. The town selectboard over the past five years decided to authorize yearly property reassessments, which compared yearly property sale prices to current assessed values and then applied that difference to all town properties. So only a few sales affected everyone’s assessments and has resulted in almost doubling them in just four years and increasing the overall town’s value from $3.6 billion to over $6 billion. The state’s requirement for assessments is they be done at least every five years. The overall town value is used to calculate the town’s yearly obligation to state and county warrants.

The school district — the town’s largest obligation in the overall budget — has grown from about $14 million in 2020 to over $18 million in the current budget. The average cost per student in New Hampshire is about $18,000 per student and our cost is about $33,000, with our students scoring about average on standardized testing. The 2024 $8 million gross budget warrant for energy efficient facility upgrades mainly to the central school, approved in May, required funding be provided through the sale of bonds. These bonds were executed last summer and carry a total obligation to the taxpayer of $10.3 million, with interest, over the 15-year repayment period. The school has decided to sole source this work to a management company using a lump-sum guaranteed maximum price-type contract, which means the board doesn’t review any of the subcontractor bids and does not require the contractor to share any of its cost data. Basically, let them know when it's done and any under runs they keep. Not bad for the contractor and not good for the bill payer.

The town and school board are currently developing their 2025-26 budgets, and each will hold meetings in January and February, that are open to the public, to review and then approve the budgets that will be voted on at Town Meeting in March. All indications are there will be more increases.

If readers don’t like the current spending trends they need to get active in the budget process. First: attend the town selectboard meetings on the draft and final budget and vote no on any increases. Email the selectboard at cterenzini@moultonboroughnh.gov and state a desire that there are no increases in next year’s budget and that the yearly home reassessments stop until required by law. Second: Attend the school board meetings on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and Tuesday, Feb. 11, and vote no on any increases to the budget. Readers can email the school board at phart@sau45.org and state a desire for no budget increases and well as an independent third party audit of the $8 million facility upgrade contracting and construction oversight process.

Kevin Poitras

Moultonborough