Little-noticed Senate Bill SB383 somehow managed to become law without much fanfare, but one of the bill’s provisions could be the key to controlling property tax hikes in your New Hampshire town.
First, from Grokster Rep. Judy Aron, what does it do?
In summary, this bill provides an additional practical method for a local tax cap and establishes a new school district budget cap, each which can be optionally adopted, and both of which automatically adjusts with inflation and population changes within the town or school district. This bill provides Granite State taxpayers the ability to adopt optional budgetary tools at the local level in order to more effectively manage town and school district budgets in fiscally responsible manner. Of course House Democrats were opposed to this.
The town spenders – including Democrats who pretend to be concerned about rising property taxes – will not jump up and volunteer to put a tax cap on the ballot. You will need to submit a warrant article, and you probably only have (about) three weeks to get the 25 signatures to make that happen this year.
First Things First
Towns have been able to put caps on their budgets for many years, and this bill is supposed to assist that process, but never before – to my knowledge – could you cap your school budget. SB383 did that. You will need to file a petition warrant article. The law requires 25 signatures and the following language.
From the bill (emphasis, mine).
The wording of the question shall be: “Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:5-d, and implement a budget cap whereby the school board (or budget committee) shall not submit a recommended budget that is higher than _____ dollars per pupil cost times the average daily membership in residence of the school district as of October 1 of the year immediately preceding the proposed budget year plus a ____ percent annual increase for inflation. Requires a 3/5ths majority of the school district.” Alternatively, if an annual inflation index is used, the wording of the question shall be: “Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:5-d, and implement a budget cap whereby the school board (or budget committee) shall not submit a recommended budget that is higher than ______ dollars per pupil cost times the average daily membership in residence of the school district as of October 1 of the year immediately preceding the proposed budget year plus an annual increase for inflation using (the index) published by (the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or American City and County) as of January 1. Requires a 3/5ths majority of the school district.”
Also,
School districts that have adopted the school administrative unit (SAU) alternative budget procedure under RSA 194-C:9-b shall place the warrant article for the SAU budget at the beginning of school district warrant, immediately after any warrant articles proposing bonds or notes.
For school districts using a traditional meeting and when the outcome of the SAU budget vote is pending on balloting from the other school districts, the higher of the school district’s assigned portion of the proposed SAU budget or the school district’s assigned portion of the adjusted SAU budget shall be assumed as raised and appropriated for the purpose of determining when the override provisions under paragraph III apply.
You need a three-fifths majority of voters to support the school budget tax cap to get it into place. This means the warrant and 25 signatures are just the beginning. You and your like-minded tax fighters must mobilize a significant get-out-the-vote effort with support. The SAU, Unions, and very likely the Education Industrial Complex as a whole will do anything to stop it.
School spending is out of control, and most of it is lost in non-productive positions and activities that have nothing to do with education. ‘Grok will help where it can, but understand that very few turn out for local elections. You have a huge opportunity to swing this if you can get disgruntled taxpayers to show up to take a local ballot like they do for federal elections.
Do not be discouraged if you need to try this in successive years to get it passed, but if you do, fight like hell to defend it and get them to follow it.
For now, consider getting it on your local ballot in 2025. You need twenty-five people in town who are sick and tired of the local public school and community center spending obscene amounts of your money to teach one-third of the kids to do math or reading at grade level.
It shouldn’t be too difficult to get things moving. The educators will hate this, which is another good reason to do it.
This is a developing topic, so more to follow.
