January 20, 2010

Budget Committee makes further reductions to school budget
Members heard angry taxpayers at Jan. 6 hearing

GOFFSTOWN - At last night's meeting of the Goffstown Budget Committee, discussions were held on appropriation warrant articles on both the town and school warrants, and the committee voted on whether or not to recommend those articles.  Items discussed included:

SCHOOL WARRANT:

• $215,000 for engineering and architectural plans for elementary school facilities (carries no tax impact) (Recommended by the Budget Committee)

• $300,000 to be added to the Bartlett School capital reserve fund (NOT recommended by the Budget Committee)

School Operating Budget

When discussion turned to the school district's proposed operating budget, committee members were quick to cite the reaction by residents at the committee's January 6th public hearing, when the committee's adjusted school budget was presented.

At that hearing, nearly every resident who spoke in public blasted the school board for having proposed an unacceptably high budget, and a few also chastised the budget committee itself, saying their original reduction of $691,539 was not early enough.

Last night, the budget committee responded with additional reductions, for a total of $999,050.  That reduction now brings a school budget of $35,627,932.  Should that budget number survive the school deliberative session on February 1, 2010, at the Craig Hieber Auditorium, Goffstown High School, beginning at 7:00 PM, it will result in an increase in the school tax rate of $2.62 per $1,000 in assessed property value (see chart below for details on how this will affect you).

TOWN WARRANT:

• $948,000 for a recycling truck, a fire engine and a 10-wheel dump truck (Recommended by the Budget Committee)

• $114,514 for completion of the South Mast Road "green" drainage project (Recommended by the Budget Committee)

• $360,000 for purchasing 25.46 acres (a portion of Barnard property) (Recommended by the Budget Committee)

• $15,000 for the Goffstown Main Street Program (Recommended by the Budget Committee)

• $23,000 for treatment of milfoil on the lower Piscataquog River (Namaske Lake) (Recommended by the Budget Committee)

• $390,000 for purchase of land/conservation easements off Addision Road (Recommended by the Budget Committee)

• $600,000 for purchase of land behind Goffstown High School (Monte property) (NOT recommended by the Budget Committee)

Town Operating Budget

When discussion turned to the town operating budget, the committee voted to affirm its original decision on December 15th to reduced that budget from $20,181,604 to $19,208,477.  Voters will now have the opportunity to amend that budget at the Town Deliberative Session on February 3, 2010, at the Craig Hieber Auditorium, Goffstown High School, beginning at 7:00 PM. 

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