Warner residents to vote on tax cap, bike trail and taking stance on EFAs at town meeting

Warner voters will consider adopting a tax cap at their upcoming town meeting.

The town proposed a $5.06 million budget for 2026, a nearly 10% increase from last year’s appropriation. Employee benefits and funding for the highway department and transfer station drove the biggest increases, as well as ambulance services and pest and animal control.

“I know that the Select Board […] have worked very hard at trying to contain a situation where costs are just going up and there’s a lot of challenges,” board chair Harry Seidel said during a Select Board meeting in February.

With a tumultuous revaluation and auditing process that has contributed to growing concern about affordability, on Election Day voters will evaluate a citizen petition to adopt a tax cap. The cap would prohibit any proposed budget from raising local taxes by more than 4%.

Only five towns in New Hampshire have a similar tax cap: Alstead, Litchfield, Middleton, Milton and Nottingham, according to the Department of Revenue Administration.

Deputy Tax Collector James Sherman said during a recent select board meeting that school funding has driven much of the increase in property taxes and that reduced funding from the state has played a part in that strain.

“We have to be very critical of the budget, but if we are limited by 4%, there would have to be some drastic changes in the town of Warner for services,” he said.

Other petitions on the ballot include the proposed mountain bike trail on Mount Kearsarge, publicizing the town’s audit results and rejecting Education Freedom Accounts.

Voters will cast their ballots on March 10 at Warner Town Hall, with town meeting occurring at 6 p.m the next day.

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