Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $172,624 for the cost of Hampton’s contribution to 20 human service agencies in the Seacoast in the amounts corresponding to the agency’s requests in the right hand columns as follows:
2017 Funding 2018 Funding Request
Aids Response Seacoast $2,700 $2,700
American Red Cross 2,000 2,000
Area Home Care & Family Services 12,000 12,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters 8,000 8,000
Child Advocacy Center 1,250 1,250
Child and Family Services 6,000 6,000
Crossroads House 15,000 15,000
Families First Health & Support Center 10,000 10,000
Haven Violence Protection & Support Svcs 7,500 7,500
Lamprey Health Sr. Trans. Program 4,200 4,200
New Generation Shelter 2,000 2,000
Retired & Senior Volunteer Program 1,800 1,800
Richie McFarland Children’s Center 7,800 7,800
Rockingham Community Action 25,000 25,000
Rockingham Meals on Wheels 6,625 7,174
Seacoast Family Promise 2,500 2,500
Seacoast Mental Health Center 8,000 8,000
Seacoast Visiting Nurse 40,000 40,000
Seacoast Youth Services 2,500 2,500
Transportation Assistance for Seniors (TASC) 9,600 9,600
Total $ 174,475 $ 172,624
These twenty (20) human service agencies shall each be required to give a written report at the end of the calendar year or fiscal year 2018 to the Board of Selectmen highlighting what the funds were used for and what impact the funds had in assisting to achieve their goals and objectives.
What it means: Each of the listed agencies will receive a donation from the town in the noted amount. The funds raised and donated last year are provided for comparison. This is an “all or none” Warrant Article. If the Article passes, all the listed agencies receive the specified donations. If it fails, none do.
Those in favor say: This is something our town does every year. These agencies handle social issues that the town would be dealing with if the agencies were not, so it saves the town money. Most of the agencies have some kind of formula that takes into account the number of people from Hampton who are served.
Those against say: This sort of funding should be voluntary, not mandated via property taxes. A person should not be required to support all of these agencies if he or she has a philosophical disagreement with any of them.
Fiscal Impact: The average Hampton home valued at $408,000 would bear an increased tax cost of $21.22 if this Article passes. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .052 to get your specific tax impact.)