These are the times that try men’s souls.
We are living through what appears to have been a man-made pandemic that has cost our country many thousands of jobs and businesses, small and large, that have simply disappeared.
And our economy has been severely damaged as most households have had to tighten their belts to survive.
But the Gunstock Area, which likes to bill itself as the Gunstock Ski Resort, or the Gunstock Mountain Resort, supposedly “managed” by an appointed commission, seems to believe that it is or should be immune from the economic laws that have governed almost everyone else in the country.
The Gunstock Area encompasses over 1,800 acres of relatively pristine mountainous land in the Town of Gilford. It contains the main lodge and several other buildings as well as ski lifts and snow-making equipment. The Gilford Tax Assessor thinks that the value of the Gunstock Area property is about $15 Million, which is probably on the low side of reality. But under the legislation by the NH General Court establishing the Gunstock Area, owned by Belknap County as a government-owned property, the Gunstock Area is only required to pay real estate taxes of $6,586.65 per year.
For its fiscal year ended April 30 of this year, Gunstock reported annual gross revenues of over $14 Million and that it was holding cash and short-term investments on hand of slightly less than $6 Million.
It has been reported that Gunstock had a very financially successful ski season this past year, and that is evidenced by its growth in revenues and cash on hand.
So, what did the Gunstock Area Commissioners do with all that money, which actually belongs to the taxpayers of Belknap County, who actually own the property? They paid bonuses to select members of its staff, and not just small ones and not to everyone on staff at that.
Thus, the general manager of Gunstock, who is already believed to be the highest-paid employee in Belknap County government, with a base salary of $180,250 per year + benefits, received a cash bonus of an additional $40,000.
With a base salary of $123,600 + benefits, the Gunstock Chief Financial Officer received a cash bonus of $23,484.
And 3 other employees , with base salaries of $95,004; $96,096; and 71,774 (all plus benefits) received cash bonuses of $18,069; 17,370 and $10,000, respectively.
Total bonuses paid to all employees added up to $151,873, but most of those bonus monies went only to the “top” people.
And keep in mind that all of this money is taxpayer money.
So, now, please answer the question: How big of a bonus did you receive this year?