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County Government in New Hampshire
By Laura Knoy on Thursday, April 3, 2008.
The increasingly burdened budgets of New Hampshire's county governments is causing some to rethink the role of counties. As they face rising Medicaid expenses, inflation, and the increasing costs of running prisons, county officials across the state are warning that a property tax increase might be the only way forward. We’ll review the state of our county governments and how they tie in to the state and local levels.
Guests
- Toni Pappas, president of the New Hampshire Association of Counties, and Counties Chair of the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners
- Brian Gottlob, principal researcher at Policon Research
- Peter Burling, Democratic State Senator from Cornish and proponent of reducing county government
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The principal weakness of NH local gov't is 200+ tiny municipalities.
Tiny, uneconomical school districts, police/fire/housing/welfare departments.
Tiny, parochial land use and zoning authorities.
We should subdivide some of the counties, make some of the urban areas counties or home rule cities, and use these larger units for these functions.
I don't have a problem with what the counties need to function and I don't have a problem with my property taxes going towards their budget. I do have a problem with them not spreading the cost at a reasonable rate. Why are so many things being done at the same time? For example, in Merrimack County, why have the Nursing Home and County Jail projects at the same time? There doesn't seem to be any fiscal responsibility or consideration to the communities that have to bear these increased property increases. If I need to replace my roof and replace my furnace but can only afford one, I do one at a time so I can continue to pay my mortgage, food, etc. and do the other when I can afford it. I spread out the cost in a reasonable time frame. It doesn't appear that the counties, specifically Merrimack County, take in to consideration how their increases negatively effect the smaller communities of the county. Each town and/or city should have an equal vote, perhaps 2 votes each, so there is a more level playing field. Maybe larger communities such as Concord may be allowed to have one or two more votes because of their larger population, but now they pretty much dictate what the rest of the county communities must accept just based of the current voting numbers. Currently there is no one, with any power, to complain to, there is no one to 'vote out', there is no one to listen to citizens concerns, when it relates to county taxes. There is no accountability. I know I can speak to my local Representative but that is not to a specific "County" entity.