The School District will hold Deliberative Session Saturday morning, Feb. 6 at 9 a.m. in the Londonderry High School cafeteria to act on the fiscal year 2017 Warrant.
If the entire FY17 Warrant were to pass as proposed, the tax rate impact would be $5.04 per thousand, which includes veterans’ exemptions, according to Finance Director Doug Smith.
That’s because all the warrant articles, with the exception of the operating budget and Article 14, are to be funded with Fund Balance, Smith said.
Residents who attend deliberative session may vote to amend a warrant article, including the dollar amount, as long as the amendment doesn’t change the intent of the article.
Warrant articles follow:
Article 1: To choose Town Officers. This will be voted on by secret ballot at the March 8 election.
Article 2: To raise and appropriate $210,000 to be placed in the Town’s Expendable Maintenance Trust Fund, with funds to come from the June 30 Fund Balance. The article has no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 3: To raise and appropriate $29,591,028 as the Town’s operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately. If the article is defeated, the default budget is $29,594,363. If passed, the article will require the Town to raise $17,924,670 in property taxes, resulting in a tax rate impact of $4.87 per thousand based upon projected assessed values. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 4: To raise and appropriate $494,678 to fund Police Outside Details, to come from the Police Outside Detail Special Revenue Fund. This is funded through user fees and the Article would have no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 5: To raise and appropriate $6,307,524 to defray the cost of construction, payment of the interest on any debt incurred, management, maintenance, operation and repair of constructed sewer systems. The fund will not accumulate from year to year and will not be commingled with town tax revenues, and the fund will be deemed part of the municipality’s general fund accumulated surplus. The services are funded through user fees and have no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 6: To raise and appropriate $38,000 to resurface the Town’s basketball and tennis courts on Nelson Road, with funds to come from the June 30 unassigned fund balance. The Article would have no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 7: To raise and appropriate $650,000 to be placed in the Roadway Maintenance Expendable Trust Fund, with funds to come from the June 30 Unassigned Fund Balance. The Article would have no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 8: To raise and appropriate $350,000 for improvements to the Londonderry Senior Center, with funds to come from the June 30 Unassigned Fund Balance. The Article has no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 9: To raise and appropriate $724,000 to be placed in the following capital reserve funds: Highway Trucks, $50,000; Highway Heavy Equipment, $30,000; Fire Equipment, $149,000; Fire Trucks, $380,000; Pillsbury Cemetery Expansion, $75,000; and GIS, $40,000. The funds are to come from the June 30 Undesignated Fund Balance and the Article would have no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 10: To raise and appropriate $350,000 to expand the Route 102 sewer system from Home Depot to the intersection of Mammoth Road, with those funds to come from the June 30 Unassigned Fund Balance. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 11: To, pursuant to the provisions of RSA 79-A:25 IV, place annually not more than $100,000 from the Land Use Change Tax in the Conservation Fund, with the balance to be placed in the General Fund; where, currently, the first $100,000 from the Land Use Change Tax and 40 percent of the remainder of the revenues received from the Land Use Change Tax are placed in the Conservation Fund. The change would be effective April 1, 2016. The Article has no tax rate impact. The Council voted 5-0 to recommend the Article. The Budget Committee voted 2-3 and does not support the Article (Chairman Ted Combes and Tim Siekmann voted in favor of the change). See related article page 5.
Article 12: To authorize the transfer of all supervision, management duties and responsibilities of the land surrounding the Town Common and fronting on Mammoth Road and Pillsbury Road, which is sometimes referred to as the Town Forest, from the Conservation Commission to the Town Manager, with the advice and recommendations from the Historic District/Heritage Commission, Conservation Commission and Town Council. The Article has no tax rate impact. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article (see related article page 5).
Article 13: To raise and appropriate $50,000 to establish an addiction and counseling program for families in need, with the funds to come from the June 30 Fund Balance and to be placed in the general fund. The petition, which the Town Council drafted and moved to Deliberative Session, is intended to replace on the ballot a warrant article petition School Board member John Laferriere proposed to address at the community level the heroin and opioid crisis in Londonderry and throughout the State. The Council and Laferriere agreed a counseling program has the potential to serve residents suffering from substance abuse more effectively than the Family Mediation Program, as Laferriere’s warrant article petition proposes reestablishing. Both the Council and the Budget Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Article.
Article 14 (Citizen’s Petition): To raise and appropriate $50,000 to reestablish the Family Mediation Program for Londonderry families in need. The article would result in a tax rate impact of $.01.
Proposed by School Board member John Laferriere (see above, Article 13), he later told the Council he plans to propose defunding the Article with an amendment at Deliberative Session. The Town Council voted 5-0 to move Article 15 to Deliberative Session, but voted against the Article with a 0-5 vote. The Budget Committee voted against the Article 0-5.
Article 15 (Citizen’s Petition): To recommend the Town Council propose an amendment to the Town Charter to set term limits on all non-land use boards, non binding on the Town Council. The Article has no tax rate impact. Londonderry Times Publisher Deb Paul proposed the petition article. If passed, Paul’s warrant article would serve only as the taxpayers’ recommendation that the Council propose an amendment establishing term limits. The Council voted against the Article 1-4 vote, with Joe Green the sole vote in favor.
Articles 16-21: To authorize the Town Council to call one special meeting, at its option, to address cost items included in a collective bargaining agreement between the Town of Londonderry and Londonderry Administrative Executive Association-Public Safety, should a collective bargaining agreement be reached between the Town and Londonderry Administrative Executive Association-Public Safety.
The Town Council voted to recommend the Articles. The Budget Committee also voted 5-0 to recommend the Articles.