1. Giving (a few) hours’ notice for a meeting as important as yesterday’s rain tax meeting is not only irresponsible, it’s downright sneaky. It was so obviously planned far in advance, and boom, the people don’t need to know. You obviously don’t want the public to know what ridiculousness you are up to or public input… You’re all really transparent!!
2. This tax, or as you call it, a utility, is a desperate attempt to undo your zest for overdevelopment while mismanagement of the general fund. 3m worth… There’s a story here we’ll never know, I’m sure. You already have a city water problem, now a sewer problem, a parking problem, good thing people are pulling their children out of public schools, or we’d have another problem. How many obscure “utilities” or taxes can you create?
3. There is NO INCREASED NITROGEN in great bay!!! SEE CHART from NHDES; the levels are lower than at the start of testing!
It’s a lie. The city has the burden of proof of why folks are charged and exactly how much impact their roof has. You know, science, not imagination. If roofs do not produce nitrogen, and I’ve had my property tested, and no increased nitrogen exists, those properties either should be exempt or given reparations from the worse offenders if any exists. The cost to test everyone’s roof is unknown and absolutely unreasonable. This lie will unravel because the stormwater is supposed to go into the wastewater treatment plant, which, per the EPA contract, is supposed to eliminate nitrates prior to discharge anyway. So just call it what it is, a tax, and stop messing with nature. It would be far better for homeowners if it were a “tax” because utilities are not deductible on our federal tax returns…Besides, the city and state are the worse offenders of chemicals, pollution, and nitrates into the earth. eco tyranny at its best
4 signing the EPA contract was a crime, period. The EPA cannot write laws or tax us. When this tax/utility is challenged in superior court, it will lose… It’s happening all over the country as the people are challenging the EPAs overreach. It’s truly amazing how many citizens have absolutely no clue about the contract or the rain tax… By design
5. This fee will impact the poor, fixed-income renters and the cost of doing business in this city. You can sugarcoat it all day long with excuses, but it will hurt people. This tax will only go up. You all have to live with that! Why should people with septic and well pay!? Oh, that’s right, the EPA says all septic systems have to be replaced!! Can’t wait for that bill… Yet septic/well have absolutely no impact on any of this agenda…
6. You are taxing us TWICE for square footage. And the impact list made by satellite imagery is also dumb. No testing, no real science, just Willy nilly taxing… Rain! I see CO2 tax on the horizon… Not one of you has a clue about the land and its resources. Just the mere fact UNH is involved in this is a contradiction! Because the UNH extension is telling farmers to put nitrogen back in the soil!?!? I’ll stick with thousands of years of tried and true than smoke and mirrors…
7. Rather than encourage open space and woods (btw, trees eat CO2), you are overdeveloping, period. You are in direct violation of everything the rain tax is supposedly about. Especially the nonsensical “waterfront” mess. No BMPs, no thought of responsible ecological impact directly on the river, just greed. Yet, us serfs have to pony up… Ok
8. It’s very difficult to find details on your rain tax within the city. The first committee is gone, replace with a shiny new one who is not listed anywhere to email or call!?!? Transparency, right
9. I’m formally requesting all fees associated with consultants, including the one last night.? How many staff estimated to police the list of exceptions? “Not use fertilizer.” Are you kidding me!? Are we going to pay to have everyone’s lawns tested!?!? This is the most unreasonable piece of drivel ever created and impossible to police, and it smells of communistic control… You can get a reduction, but we have to determine if you do. Since when does the government, the people who serve us, get to wield such powers…
10. The whole concept is BUNK. You believe that because you are elected or placed on some committee gives you superpower? Did any of you even stop for one millisecond to think if all this may actually hurt the environment? Vernal ponds eliminate nitrogen; at what level do you starve aquatic life? A delicate balance of nature. You don’t know; no one does. The absolute provable fact Great Bay healed itself after the 2006 floods is not enough for you. It’s all an excuse to tax and make yourselves feel good when you’re actually doing harm.
THIS IS AN IRRESPONSIBLE EFFORT TO ADD MORE TAX BURDEN TO THE PEOPLE. AND YOU ARE NOT TRANSPARENT FOR A REASON! TAXING RAIN IS A GATEWAY TO TAXING AIR… GOVERNMENT OVERREACH AT ITS BEST.
Email to the over city council
