Article 1: Operating Budget of $23,585,440 versus Default Budget of $23,387,188
Shall the School District raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant, or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $23,585,440? Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $23,387,188, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the District or by law; or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only. (Majority vote required.)
What it means:The SAU 90 proposed operating budget for 2019 is 2.6% higher than last year’s budget, and the less than 1% higher than the mandated default budget. Should the operating budget be defeated, the default budget of $23,387,188 would be in effect. The default budget adds .12 per $1000 valuation or $48.96 for the average-value home in Hampton. The proposed operating budget adds another $24.48 such that the total tax impact if the proposed SAU90 operating budget passes is $73.44
To calculate the effect on your property tax (for your specific property):
- Divide the Tax Assessor’s Valuation of your home by 1,000. (Example: for the average assessment of $405,000, the number to use would be 405.) Use your latest tax bill, or go to: http://gis.vgsi.com/hamptonnh/Search.aspxand enter your street address to get your valuation.
- Multiply the result in #1 by .18 to get the tax impact of the proposed Operating Budget. Multiply the result in #1 by .12 to determine the tax impact if the Operating Budget fails.
Those in favor say: The approximately $198,000 rise over the default budget was comprised of salaries, increases for non-union workers, a family interventionist, a custodian, and transportation.
The family interventionist is a counselor focused on supporting youngsters who have suffered significant trauma. The full-time position covering all three buildings is requested because more students have mental trauma impacting their learning process, primarily due to the drug crisis. Regarding the addition of a custodian, Hampton Academy is now 40,000 square feet larger and cleaning of hallways, locker rooms and bathrooms still needs to be done, as well as upkeep of landscaping and outside space. There also needs to be some room in the budget to absorb unfunded mandates which come from the state with some degree of frequency.
Those opposed say: Those opposed questioned whether adding a full-time custodian and another special education person were needed. The issue is the affordability of the tax burden for homeowners.
Fiscal Impact: The difference between the proposed operating budget and the default budget is $198,252, which will create an additional tax cost for the average Hampton home valued at $405,000 of $24.48. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .06 to get the difference for your tax bill between voting “yes” to the proposed SAU 90 operating budget or voting “no” and operating under the default budget for 2019.