Budget committee rejects voluntary cap in Gilford
The Citizen
May 9, 2008
Budget committee member Doug Lambert has challenged the elected officials in Gilford with imposing a voluntary tax cap on governmental spending.
The idea for a voluntary tax cap came out of an initiative started by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition. The reason the coalition began the challenge is two-fold: first to lower the burden on New Hampshire families and secondly to encourage government to maximize the value of every dollar.
Lambert took the pledge and modified it slightly, though the principle is the same.
The Gilford Pledge to Defend the New Hampshire Advantage reads, "I believe that low taxes are the result of low spending. I believe that a government can only be fair to its taxpayers when it is actively looking for ways to run more efficiently. I hereby pledge: Not to vote for — or lend my support to — any budget raising government spending that causes taxes to be raised more than the rate of inflation, as it is defined by the Consumer Price Index-Urban, plus new construction growth."
The structure of the proposed cap is modeled after Laconia's tax cap (which, in turn, was modeled after Franklin's), which Lambert was quick to point out he did not think would work when it came about three years ago but he said it has.
Because Gilford does not have a charter, it cannot make an amendment to adopt a tax cap. However, as Lambert said, "We can have a tax cap if we choose to have a tax cap."
At the Thursday night organizational meeting of the 2008 Gilford Budget Committee, Lambert debuted the idea and asked his fellow committee members to join him in the pledge.
While he may have been firm in his resolve, handing Chair Dick Hickok a signed pledge sheet, others were leery of making the commitment.
Fellow budget committee member Dale Dormody commented that it seemed to be something the elected base should decide on and not any one person or body.
"I see this committee as the tax cap," said newly-elected Selectman Kevin Hayes, drawing on the same line as Dormody.
However, Lambert argued that, with limits to spending, officials are forced to do some outside-the-box thinking in order to come up with economic funding solutions. That, in turn, makes for a more efficient government — at least from a spending standpoint.
"I printed it; I signed it; I will adhere to it. That will be my actions on the committee," promised Lambert.
Skip Murphy, a budget committee member and chair of the Gilford Republican Town Committee, also signed and promised to follow the voluntary tax cap pledge. Sue Green and Terry Stewart also gave indications that they would be following suit.
However, when it was put to the committee to see if the body as a whole would conform to the tax cap as outlined by the pledge, the majority voted against the measure. Lambert, Murphy, Green and Stewart voted in favor of accepting the pledge while Dormody, Kevin Roy, John O'Brien, Dick Hickok, Margo Weeks, Bill Philips and Kevin Hayes voted against the motion.
"I don't know what that [pledge] statement really means," said Weeks, noting that budgets include items with fixed costs and other expenditures that need to be made.
"Why should government get more than families can afford?" asked Lambert, saying he has heard from many in town looking for such a cap to help keep their taxes under control.
Murphy added that, while such a cap may affect some things thought to be needed and cause some tough decisions to be made, those are the kinds of choices families and private industries are forced to make all the time.
Prior to discussions of a tax cap or the pledge, the committee heard from Interim Town Administrator Debra Shackett on how tight the current 2008 budget is, resulting from several unanticipated expenses. Previous estimates she gave to the selectmen placed the ending balance for the year just under $40,000.
Moving forward, Lambert plans to make the pledge available to all elected officials in Gilford, the Board of Selectmen and School Board included.
The Citizen
May 9, 2008
Budget committee member Doug Lambert has challenged the elected officials in Gilford with imposing a voluntary tax cap on governmental spending.
The idea for a voluntary tax cap came out of an initiative started by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition. The reason the coalition began the challenge is two-fold: first to lower the burden on New Hampshire families and secondly to encourage government to maximize the value of every dollar.
Lambert took the pledge and modified it slightly, though the principle is the same.
The Gilford Pledge to Defend the New Hampshire Advantage reads, "I believe that low taxes are the result of low spending. I believe that a government can only be fair to its taxpayers when it is actively looking for ways to run more efficiently. I hereby pledge: Not to vote for — or lend my support to — any budget raising government spending that causes taxes to be raised more than the rate of inflation, as it is defined by the Consumer Price Index-Urban, plus new construction growth."
The structure of the proposed cap is modeled after Laconia's tax cap (which, in turn, was modeled after Franklin's), which Lambert was quick to point out he did not think would work when it came about three years ago but he said it has.
Because Gilford does not have a charter, it cannot make an amendment to adopt a tax cap. However, as Lambert said, "We can have a tax cap if we choose to have a tax cap."
At the Thursday night organizational meeting of the 2008 Gilford Budget Committee, Lambert debuted the idea and asked his fellow committee members to join him in the pledge.
While he may have been firm in his resolve, handing Chair Dick Hickok a signed pledge sheet, others were leery of making the commitment.
Fellow budget committee member Dale Dormody commented that it seemed to be something the elected base should decide on and not any one person or body.
"I see this committee as the tax cap," said newly-elected Selectman Kevin Hayes, drawing on the same line as Dormody.
However, Lambert argued that, with limits to spending, officials are forced to do some outside-the-box thinking in order to come up with economic funding solutions. That, in turn, makes for a more efficient government — at least from a spending standpoint.
"I printed it; I signed it; I will adhere to it. That will be my actions on the committee," promised Lambert.
Skip Murphy, a budget committee member and chair of the Gilford Republican Town Committee, also signed and promised to follow the voluntary tax cap pledge. Sue Green and Terry Stewart also gave indications that they would be following suit.
However, when it was put to the committee to see if the body as a whole would conform to the tax cap as outlined by the pledge, the majority voted against the measure. Lambert, Murphy, Green and Stewart voted in favor of accepting the pledge while Dormody, Kevin Roy, John O'Brien, Dick Hickok, Margo Weeks, Bill Philips and Kevin Hayes voted against the motion.
"I don't know what that [pledge] statement really means," said Weeks, noting that budgets include items with fixed costs and other expenditures that need to be made.
"Why should government get more than families can afford?" asked Lambert, saying he has heard from many in town looking for such a cap to help keep their taxes under control.
Murphy added that, while such a cap may affect some things thought to be needed and cause some tough decisions to be made, those are the kinds of choices families and private industries are forced to make all the time.
Prior to discussions of a tax cap or the pledge, the committee heard from Interim Town Administrator Debra Shackett on how tight the current 2008 budget is, resulting from several unanticipated expenses. Previous estimates she gave to the selectmen placed the ending balance for the year just under $40,000.
Moving forward, Lambert plans to make the pledge available to all elected officials in Gilford, the Board of Selectmen and School Board included.