Tax cap vote in Warner fails, operating budget passes in town meeting

James Gaffney doesn’t think Warner should spend more money than it has. He was behind three of the five citizens petitions to reduce spending and made several motions at the annual town meeting to cut costs.

The municipal tax rate is projected to increase by 14% this year due to an increase in the operating budget. Gaffney petitioned for a tax cap that would prohibit any increase over 4%. He proposed a similar measure last year.

“There are a lot of people in this town that are on fixed incomes, and the way we’re spending money is not sustainable. This gives people an option,” he said Wednesday night.

Several cities have some form of a tax cap, such as Franklin and Nashua, and only six towns have adopted one. Margaret Kennedy, a former state representative, said she supported the tax cap.

“This is a top-down type of situation,” she said. “The state built this RSA to keep towns safe and to make sure that people are held accountable. So therefore, I think it is a good
decision.”

Others felt differently. Diane Richter said going against the budget committee’s recommendations and limiting their options could be “catastrophic.”

“Every year I get up and I say the same thing: we have had a budget committee made up of seven members who go through every single line item in every department after the selectmen have reviewed it, after the department has reviewed it and gone back and forth,” she said. “I don’t think that we should disrespect our elected officials.”

Residents filed in a line toward a wooden ballot box to slip in a lavender sheet of paper that either read “yes” or “no.” In the end, 127 residents voted against a tax cap and 71 residents voted for it, killing the petition. It was the only measure voted down that night.

The operating budget was another point of contention. A lot of unexpected costs came the town’s way: leasing ambulance services from Hopkinton went up $200,000, the money owed to the Pillsbury Free Library doubled and the transfer station required major renovations.

In his presentation, budget committee chair Michael Cutting said a lot of these unanticipated expenses were steep, and many cuts came from other areas in an attempt to offset them.

“We have to budget to be responsible, to provide the services that the residents in town have expected,” he said. “If we want to reduce the budget, it can be done, but by doing so, you’re going to reduce services.”

Gaffney put an amendment on the table to reduce the operating budget from a little over $5 million to $4.8 million. He calculated that the reduction would lead to a tax rate increase of about 7%.

Martha Bodnarik said town officials should treat the operating budget the same as they would their personal budgets, and “if we don’t have the revenue in our own households, we don’t spend it.”

James Sherman, who is a member of the budget committee, said he knows the tedious work put into cutting up the budget to account for the surprise costs.

“Before we go too far … let’s be careful, because what it could do to services you may not like or none of us would like,” he said.

The amendment failed and the operating budget passed as presented.

Every other article was passed. In a majority vote, residents said they’d like to chime in on the Mount Kearsarge mountain bike proposal, which currently has not come up for public comment. Residents voted to outsource payroll to an outside company, with a Sept. 30 deadline. Voters also took a stance on Education Freedom Accounts, calling for transparency and sustainable funding for the program.

Chairman Harry Seidel did not seek reelection and will be replaced by Richard Bixby Jr. Two selectmen resigned in July 2023, leaving Seidel as the sole board member. He petitioned for resident Faith Minton to temporarily fill one seat and interviewed several candidates for the third, which selectman Michael Smith now fills.

A town administrator on leave, a delayed audit and rising tensions have also plagued the board in recent years, but Seidel was thanked for his service by having a tree planted in his name.

“The things that are important are that you care for the town of Warner, that you want the best for the town of Warner, that you put the time into the job, learn as you go, listen, treat your town employees respectfully and treat the residents of the town respectfully,” said Finance Director Clyde Carson. “I’d like to point out that the last three years, Harry’s checked all those boxes.”

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