Strafford County NH Makes List of Entities at Risk for Bankruptcy - Granite Grok

Strafford County NH Makes List of Entities at Risk for Bankruptcy

Newsmax, in an online article titled “20 cities that may face bankruptcy after Detroit,” lists twenty county or city governing bodies whose finances are historically shaky.  The biggest factor appears to be over-promised and underfunded public pension liabilities, and good-old fashioned over-spending.  And look! Strafford County New Hampshire made their list.

16. Strafford County, N.H.
Strafford County regularly borrows money to cover its short-term cash needs after it spent two-fifths of its budget on a nursing home, which lost $36 million from 2004 to 2009.

Nursing homes and NH have a history that I am not fully familiar with, and I know it is dysfunctional, but that can’t be the only reason why they are on this list.

I also accept that this is Newsmax.  I think of it as  “People Magazine” for the political world.  But the list is not flawed.  Most of these places are being run into a brick wall for all the reasons they mention in the article, many they share with Detroit, but having not heard anything like this yet locally (about Strafford), I’m naturally suspicious.  I’d be interested in data or feedback from people who are familiar with Stafford Counties finances.   That’s a Hint.  Share what you know and if you have evidence share that as well.

I’m no fan of the liberal machine and I abhor the idea of public sector unions (and Strafford is the judicial home of our buddy John Lefty Lewis) but if Newsmax or their source is smearing Strafford for no good reason I will happily come to her defense.   If the county belongs on the list,  that is something we should also be talking about.

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