In response to Ron Willoughby, who is concerned about school spending in Haverhill, NH (“Haverhill Taxpayers-Are you happy?”, Caledonian-Record), he and every Grafton County resident/taxpayer should be deeply concerned about spending at the Grafton County Complex.
While there is a minority of Republicans who make up the County Delegation and the Executive Committee, with every elected department head in the Grafton County government in Democrat’s hands (except for the Registrar of Deeds), the Democrats own every county tax increase over the next 2 years.
Despite meetings that are “open to the public” transparency at the County level is missing. Questioning of department heads by members of the public is strictly forbidden. Invited department heads do not use their “public-speaking voices” when addressing those present, leading the public to question, “What’s happening?” Some Commissioners “mumble,” making their comments and votes incomprehensible.
Similarly, some Executive Committee members and some County Delegation members do not speak loudly enough, enunciate their words enough, nor use their “public-speaking voices” to make clear to the public the items on which they’re voting, approving/rejecting, when spending of Grafton County taxpayers’ monies.
Some speak too quickly.
The “Top-Down government” model seems to be pervasive at the county level, reminding this observer of Great Britain’s implementation of taxes prior to the American Revolution, leading to the phrase “taxation without representation!” Funds to the tune of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions of dollars are being spent by three people for a county 500 square miles bigger than Rhode Island! The Executive Committee seems to “rubber-stamp” the Commissioners’ recommendations, followed by additional “rubber-stamping” by the County Delegation.
The Grafton County Commissioners/County Delegation recently approved the spending of $26,190.39.00 for a 30-gallon “crock pot” for the Nursing Home! There was a similar one online at a “Scratch ‘N Dent” sale for $21,000.00, a savings of $5,190.39.00. Perhaps more rigorous research is needed by department heads before requesting items to be replaced/installed and paid for by the taxpayers.
The Plant Maintenance Supervisor just reported that Nursing Home flooring needs replacement, and is exploring replacing the nursing home’s present vinyl tiles with floor planking to the tune of $100,000.00 per unit!
The Grafton County Courthouse Building Committee is holding ongoing meetings where plans call for replacing the current 52-year-young courthouse with a new one, which, I was told, would cost (in 2025-2026 dollars!) between $50 – 60 million dollars. The architect and the Building Committee hope to have these plans solidified by June 2025. Federal ARPA dollars were used as “seed money” to hire the architect and engineer ($214,645.00 plus a 15% contingency fee and additional fees for a geotechnical site survey). The Grafton County taxpayers will bear the bulk of funding for a new courthouse through a bond issue financed with local bank funding and interest over 30 years.
There is no federal money for this portion; it is just local tax money paid in our local annual tax bill so that we can have another “monument to bureaucracy and bad planning.”
Questionnaires have been sent to the various departments as well as the Grafton Bar Association for their input as to the design of the building based on their needs and wants. These forms are due back by February 2025.
The most egregious part of this scenario is that we, the taxpayers of Grafton County, get no direct vote as in a private, paper ballot (a referendum vote). I understand that the voting process comprises the 3 Commissioners, the Executive Committee (9 members), and the County Delegation (24 NH State Representatives of Grafton County). From what I have observed (since June 2024), no in-depth, probing questions are being asked of the Delegation on behalf of the taxpayers. There doesn’t seem to be any challenging opposition to quoted prices. Who’s watching out for the taxpayer? With a $36 Trillion federal debt, we need austerity and “number-crunching,” don’t you think?
Representatives, sharpen your pencils!
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We’d like to thank Nick De Mayo for the Op-Ed. As a reminder, authors’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers. Submit Op-Eds to steve@granitegrok.com
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