2272017 * My Turn: For decades, state has played major role in high property taxes
_ Eliminated revenue sharing funds to the municipalities beginning in 2010. That was a loss
of $25 million annually to cities and towns.
Eliminated the state’s long-standing share of local costs for the state retirement system,
which had been provided since the 1940s when separate retirement programs were in
place, and continued in 1967 when the Legislature required the separate programs
become one with the state government. That was an annual loss of $51 million in 2010. If
the state continued to pay its 35 percent share, that would have been approximately $80
million in 2016 due to recent pension rate increases.
Since 1977, the Legislature has reduced the municipal portion of the revenue received
from the meals and rooms tax. The state is supposed to retain only 60 percent of the
revenue, with the 40 percent balance going to municipalities. However, municipalities have
never received close to 40 percent of the tax revenue, and lost $58 million from 2010 to
2017 because of legislative amendments to the distribution formula.
Funding for the state’s share of environmental grants for public wastewater and drinking
water facilities, and also assistance with the closure of landfills, has been declining since
2007, when $17 million was available annually and approximately $7 million is available at
present.
For the past 10 years, the state has ceased funding its share of disaster assistance for
various natural disaster events like floods, severe wind storms or snow emergencies,
where FEMA has assisted the state and local governments in covering the unanticipated
expenses of these circumstances. This is supposed to be a partnership with the federal
government covering 75 percent of the costs, and the state and the local governments
each covering 12.5 percent. But the state has not covered any of its 12.5 percent share,
leaving local governments to cover the full 25 percent.
| know it does not stop on the municipal side. School construction aid has been curtailed
for local school districts, making the approval of potential building projects less certain
with taxpayers.
And the county government has not been untouched either. Over the years, various
programs and/or costs for nursing home care and other service programs have been
shifted between the state and the counties, with the county government usually ending up
with a larger portion of the costs.
in his budget address to the Legislature earlier this month, Gov. Sununu recognized the
current lopsided nature of the state and local government partnership with his budget,
including funding for some specific education and infrastructure programs.
Also, the House Executive Department and Administration Committee, followed by the full
House of Representatives, acted favorably on HB 413, which would begin to restore part of
the state’s share of retirement system costs.
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