Proposed Safety Complex – The True Cost
–Brought to You By The Concerned Taxpayers of Bow
This year, we are being asked to vote on a warrant article to approve a $6.8 million bond to construct a 25,000 square foot safety complex for a new fire department and police station. There is also a bond for $200,000 geothermal heating/cooling system for the new building. The total cost before interest will be $7 million.
We are now being told that we can delay the construction of the safety complex until 2016-2017, which is when the bonds for the high school will be paid off. We are also being told that if voters approve the fire safety building warrant, the total amount of bond indebtedness for all outstanding bonds will only be $1.84 per $1,000 assessed property value in 2017-18.
At first, a tax amount of $1.84 may not sound like a lot of money. But when that rate is multiplied by the value of your home, the impact on your family’s budget is substantial. Let’s look at four examples:
• Assessed value of $150,000 – $276 additional/year.
• Assessed value of $250,000 – $460 additional/year.
• Assessed value of $350,000 – $644 additional/year.
• Assessed value of $500,000 – $920 additional/year.
Over the last six years, from 2008 until 2013, the total tax rate in Bow has already increased an astounding 34% from $22.53 to $30.19. Bow’s tax rate of $30.19 is one of the highest in the State. Many of us were expecting some tax relief after the high school bond was paid, but instead the safety complex will prolong the high tax rates we are paying.
For example, our neighbor, the City of Concord, has a tax rate of $25.58 for 2013. Here’s a comparison of what we are paying for taxes in 2013:
We will likely be facing additional tax increases due to the decline in the assessed value of PSNH’s Merrimack Station power plant ($1.017 million decline in tax revenue collected in 2013), as well as for other forecasted capital projects/operational needs. These tax increases will continue as far as the eye can see, making Bow less and less affordable, until the voters draw the line on town spending.
Please come to the Town Meeting on March 12, 2014, and let your voice be heard.