3-16-08
Walpole Passes Budget, Kills Energy Proposals
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
Walpole voters Saturday passed a $3,288,816 2008 budget but turned thumbs down on proposals to give real estate tax exemptions for energy saving home improvements using solar and wind technologies.
Outgoing selectman Charles E. (Chick) Miller explained the budget proposals saying that “we as selectmen are never eager to spend the town’s money, and we are glad to say that, apart from warrant article items, the proposed operating budget for 2008 is only 2.05% higher than 2007. Even if you count in all the proposed warrant items, total spending is only up 4.79% over last year.”
TriVillage Energy, the town’s active committee seeking ways of encouraging energy saving practices, failed to persuade the voters that exempting the value for solar or wind-powered home energy system improvements from real estate assessments was an idea worth plugging into. Presented by TriVillage member Jill Robinson, warrant articles proposing such valuation exemptions were designed to encourage and reward actions taken by homeowners to generate carbon neutral energy for themselves. Opponents of the exemptions questioned the soundness of the arguments for solar and wind energy collection and use, citing disposal problems with storage batteries and sound and wildlife issues with windmills. And, town resident Joe Dion argued that granting such selective real estate tax exemptions merely pushes tax burdens onto other residents cannot or choose not to take advantage of them.
Meeting attendees, numbering 153, voted to purchase a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe for $30,712, with $20,712 coming out of the Police Vehicle Capital Reserve fund and the balance coming from taxation. They also voted to purchase a new $200,000 John Deere 670-D road grader to replace the 1987 grader that Road Agent Jim Terrell said had structural cracks and is needing expensive maintenance to be kept going. The new grader will be funded by $35,000 in trade-in of the old grader, $45,000 from the Highway Equipment Heavy Equipment Reserve Fund, and $120,000 to be raised by new taxes.
In the most hotly debated issue of the afternoon, Walpole voters by 98 to 19 endorsed a petition article calling on “our State Representatives, our State Senator, and our Governor to reject the “Pledge”, [and to] have an open discussion covering all options, and adopt a revenue system that lowers property taxes.” Former Walpole state representative Paul McGuirk argued that New Hampshire’s heavy reliance on real estate taxes unfairly burdens lower income citizens of the state with a higher percentage of state taxes than it charges those with higher incomes. And, he argued, the “Pledge”—the traditional promise public opinion and the news media extract from politicians in many parts of the state not to consider any other “broad based taxes”—prevents even rational discussion of ways to make New Hampshire taxes more fair and equitable.
While McGuirk was supported several speakers, he was vehemently opposed by several who argued that any discussion of alternative or additional taxes would lead inevitably to even more taxes. Stan Hutchings argued “there has never been a fair tax. To open the door to discussing new taxes would mean higher and higher income and sales taxes, not some kind of fair and reasonable solution.” Even selectman Sheldon Sawyer, who agreed that an income tax is inherently more fair than a property tax, argued that income taxes lead to higher government spending.
In other matters, voters agreed to raise $15,000 to scrape, prime and paint the east side of Town Hall, to raise $5,918 to repair cemetery headstones, and to raise $6,700 for Walpole Old Home Days scheduled for June 25-29.
The Walpole Grange awarded Selectman Miller its Citizen of the Year Award for his many contributions over a long period, and state representatives Tara Sad and Lucy Weber read a commendation from Governor Lynch to Mr. Miller recognizing his years of service.
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