In the 2011-2012 New Hampshire legislature, the Republican Super-Majority in both chambers was something unprecedented in politics. They passed a budget lower than the one they inherited. It is a rare thing.
No Republican majority legislature in New Hampshire has done it since then. Most legislatures don’t even attempt it. Reducing new spending, maybe. Lowering taxes, sure, but passing a budget that is hundreds of millions less than the one before it is rare. I’m not even sure it’s ever been done but that one time.
It is also unusual for elected officials to give up whatever passes for their pay. Congress is famous for giving itself raises no matter what the economy is doing. Donald Trump, on the other hand, donated all of his paychecks as President, but he’s mean. Sure he is.
The Selectboard in Pelham, New Hampshire, isn’t exactly a big-ticket spend, but they get stipends, and in the interests of their constituents, and likely becasue of the current economic conditions, they change the sum in the Seletmans budget to 1.00. It’s not a done deal, but that’s what they’ve decided for now.
By a vote of four-to-one, they reduced their annual stipend from 6,500.00 a year to one dollar. (at 1′ 48″ if you are so inclined).
According to the town website, those individuals are Kevin Cote, Jaie Bergeron, Heather Corbett, Charlene Takesian, and Jason Croteau, and by a vote of 4-1 the move was approved. Who was the dissenting vote? If you knew her, you’d be able to guess. Charlene Takesian. She used to be in the NH State House, where she pretended to be a Republican. Her last NHHRA score showed her voting with Republicans only 50% of the time.
It looks like not much has changed.
And while we could cheer the rest of the select board saving the town’s taxpayers a few bucks, my contact in town says that in the same meeting, they debated what to do with an $800,000.00 dollar surplus.
They are holding $800,000 in a slush fund that belongs to the people of Pelham. Time to hold them accountable by exposing this scam. The average property tax hike for Pelham was $1,000 per household. How much financial tax abuse can we endure?
Giving some of it back to taxpayers did not appear to be a priority. (at 2′ 18″, again, if so inclined) and this throws a lot of cold water on the earlier vote, but the people of Pelham get to decide what, if any of that means when these offices are up for re-election.
