Board of Aldermen — 3/21/17 Page 8
You guys haven’t started approving the budget. | fully understand the pinch that we’re in as far as the city
goes. But | think subsidizing the city budget with the user fee fund is really not fair. Again, | am very
concerned over the amount of increases we will see. | did take notes of the Mayor’s comments that we have
had user fee funds that we do have outside the budget. To my knowledge, none are these shared city
employees like the wastewater does. The other thing is that really stuck in my craw during a hiring freeze we
approved a public relations person for the division and actually 20 percent of that person’s salary is going to
come from wastewater. What’s going to happen next year? Is it going to be 50 percent of that person’s salary
that comes from that? As far as the veteran’s tax credit, | understand it costs the city money but if | were a
veteran sitting here, | would say why don’t | matter? If certain items really needed to be added to the budget
and we’ve added a public relations person to the Division of Public Works, why aren’t you considering my tax
credit? | understand why not. | understand we’re in a very tight budget situation. | have a feeling this is
something that we’re going to look back at and say we were being pennywise and pound foolish. | think it
might get us out of a sticky situation this year, maybe next year. What are we going to do the years after that?
Like | said, | really am very concerned that this is going to do permanent damage to that department and to
that facility at wastewater. Thank you.
Fred Teeboom, 24 Cheyenne Drive, Nashua
I'd first like to congratulate the city on achieving a AAA bond rating with Standard and Poor’s, which now
means you’ve got both Fitch and Standard and Poor’s giving you AAA. It’s outstanding. And, | should note
that the ratings agencies consistently mentions in their ratings documents that Nashua’s Spending Cap
contributes to Nashua’s high bond ratings by imposing a discipline on spending. For if spending is controlled,
the need for taxes and debt are reduced and reserves build up. To quote on this point from the ratings report
from S&P, and this is a direct quote, it appears in numbers of the reports: “From a spending perspective, we
believe the city has traditionally been disciplined as it strongly adheres to a budget control charter amendment
passed by voters limiting year-over-year budget increases.” That’s a direct quote from the ratings report.
Now concerning O-17-31, which | am here to speak about, sewer fund by any name continues to operate the
same as the current wastewater fund, which is supported by user fees and debt repaid with user fees. The
real purpose for O-17-31 is not change the name. The real purpose of 0-17-31 is to exempt a limit on
spending without the required 10 votes.
Let me review and remind you of the structure of the Spending Cap. The Spending Cap, as described in
Paragraph 56-c of the Nashua Charter is a limit on spending. It is not a limit on tax. It is not a limit on tax
rates. Itis a limit on spending. It is very clear in the Charter. The Nashua Spending Cap does not differentiate
between taxes and fees. The Nashua Charter prescribes that all budget proposals for the annual budget
prepared by city departments and adopted by the Board of Aldermen come under the Cap. Mandated
spending come under the Cap, and take priority over discretionary spending. Budget proposals not prepared
by city departments for the annual budget fall outside the Cap, such as grants and trusts and county taxes.
Those are not prepared to city departments.
When comparing two annual budgets for the purpose of calculating a cap, both budgets must contain the same
accounts and the same funds. You cannot compare one budget to one set of accounts and another budget
with a different set of accounts. The Charter does not allow that.
There are no, and | emphasis no, exceptions stated in Paragraph 56-c. None. There is an exception to the
Cap. It clearly stated in Paragraph 56-d, and that is ten votes. It used to be two-thirds votes and that was
another Charter amendment brought before citizens through a referendum. It is now ten votes. That’s how
you override the Cap to get an exemption. This budget crisis, | always hear. There’s always a budget crisis.
I’ve been tracking this for 23 years. There’s always a budget crisis. But if there’s truly a budget crisis, they
take ten votes. It’s not impossible to get. It has happened about three or four times in the past. But only ten
votes can exempt the Cap.
Now there’s a city ordinance, 5-145, that’s quoted on page two of this ordinance O-17-31, that was drafted
originally, and | helped draft it. | worked with city accounting, Cindy Bielawski at that time. Rose Evans’
