Shall the Town of Hampton vote to 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 as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $30, 206, 241. Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $30,184,194, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the Town of Hampton 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)
Fiscal Impact Note (Finance Dept.). The proposed operating budget figure of $30,206,241 is an increase of $1,081,047 more than the budget amount adopted in 2021 of $29,125,194. The net estimated 2022 tax impact of the proposed operating budget is $0.281 per$1,000 valuation (twenty-eight point one cents per thousand dollars of valuation). The default budget figure of $30,184,194 is an increase of$1,059,000 more than the budget amount adopted in 2021. The net estimated 2022 tax impact of the default budget is $0.275 per $1,000 valuation (twenty-seven point five cents per thousand dollars of valuation).
What it means: The voters are presented with two possible budgets.
The Default Budget is regulated by RSA 40:13, and starts with the prior year’s approved budget, and is increased by obligations mandated by law, debt service, and contracts lawfully entered into, and is reduced by one-time expenditures contained within the operating budget, salaries and benefits of positions that have been eliminated in the proposed budget. The Default Budget will be the Operating Budget for the Town in the event the Proposed Operating Budget does not pass.
The Proposed Budget as presented by the Budget Committee includes items not allowed by the RSA to be included in the Default Budget, such as not-yet-voted contractual costs and anticipated needs determined by the various Town Departments. For 2022, the Proposed Budget is summarized as follows:
Those in favor say: Budget Committee is satisfied that the Proposed Budget is a thoughtful conclusion from discussions with all Town Departments. The Proposed Budget keeps costs as low as possible while maintaining services for the residents.
Those opposed say: Some suggested that wage increases for non-union Town employees, which are built into the budget, should be passed as a warrant article same as union employees. The Proposed Budget does not allow for anticipated increase in utility/fuel costs. It was also noted that there was a surplus of $763,000 from 2021 which indicates that the Default Budget would be sufficient for 2022.
Fiscal impact: Proposed Budget impact is $0.28 per $1,000 valuation. Default Budget impact is $0.275 per $1,000 valuation.
To calculate the effect on your property tax (for your specific property):
Divide the Tax Assessor’s valuation of your property by 1,000 (Example: for an assessment of $400,000, the number to use would be 400.) Use your latest ta bill or go to:
http://gis.vgsi.com/HamptonNH/Search.aspx and enter your street address to get your valuation.
Multiply the result by .281 for the tax impact of the Proposed Budget and by .275 for the Default Budget.