NASHUA, NH – The Board of Aldermen passed a resolution supporting a limited five-year bonding plan.
According to Aldermen Ernest Jette, the plan is an attempt by the mayor to get a handle on bonding, as he is worried that bonding expenses and interest may end up putting too heavy of a burden on Nashua taxpayers.
While he feels this is a step in the right direction, Jette said a lot more needs to be done to achieve tax equity.
“I have to say that the tax rate in Nashua is not unreasonable,” he said. “The budget was not the problem; the problem was the burden of that budget being how it is shared among commercial and residential taxpayers. The real problem with the tax burden on our homeowners has to do with the State, because the State continually passes down to the cities and towns the burden of government.”
He explained how the State continues to cut business profit tax, business enterprise tax, and has plans to eliminate interest and dividends tax, all of which he says generally puts the biggest burden on those who are better able to afford it than homeowners.
“They’re getting rid of the interest and dividends tax. We all know who that helps,” Alderman At-Large Melbourne Moran said.
“They’re giving multimillionaires [and] billionaires breaks and they’re getting rid of this extra revenue and that 80 million-plus is going to be shifted down to us at some point, so we really have to get ahead of the ball and how much money we’re going to be spending because it’s just going to come back to us anyways. We’re going to get less and less because some very well-off people convinced some folks up at the state house they didn’t want to pay their share,” he added.
“We have to be the grown-ups in the room and we have to make decisions about tightening our belts and making sure that we don’t overspend and find projects that are the best value for the residents of the city,” he said.