Fred S. Teeboom
24 Cheyenne Drive
Nashua, NH 03063
June 6, 2022 (corrected)
Nashua Board of Aldermen
P. O. Box 2019
Nashua, NH 03061
Copy: Mayor Jim Donchess, CFO John Griffin, City Attorney Steve Bolton
Subiect: The Tax Rate and the Spending Cap
The Budget Review Committee (BRC) was told by Chairman Dowd that the Spending Cap is
prepared by the administration, not under its review, and will therefore not be discussed in
committee. Furthermore, predictions of the tax rate for this year cannot be prepared by the
administration and will not be presented to the aldermen.
NOTHING IS A FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
1. Tax Rate
The residential taxpayers in Nashua will be doubly hit next November with:
(1) An increase in property taxes due to a proposed annual budget that exceeds last year’s
adopted annual budget by 6% (excluding grants).
(2) The city’s tax burden is expected to shift by 10% or more from commercial to residential
properties, following the current city-wide revaluation.
The BRC routinely received predictions of the tax rate under the Bernie Streeter administration
presented by then-Administrative Affairs Director Maureen Lemieux. Her predictions proved
accurate within 5% of the tax rates set by the NH DRA."?
There is an absolute obligation for the aldermen to assess the anticipated tax rate before it
approves the FY2023 annual budget; especially when the tax burden will see a significant shift.
2, The Spending Cap
The spending cap was renewed with passage of SB52 effective August 2021. SB52 grandfathers
the original 1993 cap, meaning all expenditures budgeted by the administration and adopted by
the aldermen under its control (Nashua Charter par 56-b and par 56-c) must fall within the cap,
unless appropriations for municipal bonds and CIC-recommended capital improvements are
exempted by a vote of 10 aldermen (Nashua Chapter 56-d).
"RC Chairman David Deane, Aldermen Richard Flynn, Mark Cookson, Daniel Richardson and Fred Teeboom
routinely questioned the administration on fiscal issues related to the tax rate and the spending cap.
