Election Day is just about here, and residents in many towns will have some hard questions to answer.

Goffstown residents are facing a sizeable increase in their taxes due to the school budget. The estimated tax rate of the school operating budget is $14.93 per $1,000 of assessed property value, an increase of $3.03 per $1,000 over this year’s rate. On a $250,000 home, that is a $757.50 increase on the tax bill. If voters reject the school budget, the default budget is even higher and taxes will go up an additional 14 cents per $1,000.

We urge voters to pass the budget committee’s recommended school budget, as taxes are going up enough and we trust the Budget Committee’s decision that our schools can function on the proposed budget.

It would seem Goffstown voters only have so much choice this year about their tax bill increasing; however they do have a choice on spending money in other areas, such as adding $300,000 to the Bartlett School capital reserve fund; buying a new fire engine, dump truck and trash truck; and spending $390,000 on a land easement, among others. They need to make some careful, informed decisions this year.

In Hopkinton, residents will be asked to adopt the official ballot law, or SB2, for both the town and school. Adopting SB2 will give more residents a say in how tax money is spent, and not just the select few who are able to sit through a six-hour meeting. We urge them to pass SB2.

Weare residents, vote yes for the two full-time per diem firefighters in Article 11. This will be at no cost to taxpayers, as wages would be paid for with money insurance providers pay the town for a patient’s use of an ambulance. Weare currently relies heavily on mutual aid, and you don’t want to have to wait 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive when you really need it.

We applaud everyone who plans to vote this season. You help to make the difficult decisions in your towns. This is when you get your say. Vote March 9!

- Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board.

Have a comment on this editorial or on a recent article published in The Goffstown News? Visit the community news section of NewHampshire.com and comment now!
Comments posted in the community news section of NewHampshire.com may appear in any of the Union Leader Corporation publication's

View recent articles and comments

Prefer to send a letter directly to the editor? Please email editor@goffstownnews.com