Concord’s municipal tax rate would jump an estimated 2.92 percent under City Manager Tom Aspell’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2017.
That increase is less than the 4.2 percent approved for fiscal 2016 by the Concord City Council. Although Aspell balanced the budget for the eighth consecutive year, his proposal shows a loss in the city’s plunging parking fund and calls for a spike in the price for purple trash bags.
“We were targeting a lower tax rate increase right from the beginning,” Aspell said Friday.
Fiscal 2017 begins July 1. The council will finalize its schedule for public hearings on the budget next week, and a final vote is tentatively set for June 2.
The proposed budget includes $59.8 million in general fund spending – a 3.1 percent increase over the current levels. Including special funds and capital projects, total spending would come to $100.46 million.
More than 60 percent of the tax rate increase would pay for employee benefits and pay raises. It would also fund three new positions: $159,000 for two police officers and $135,400 for an economic development director. Growing the police department and attracting more businesses are both goals of the council.
The city would continue on a ramped-up plan for neighborhood paving, which was a priority last year and accounts for a half percent increase in the tax rate.
“The difficulty of doing this budget was knowing the city council’s priorities. I knew there were going to be some expenses associated with that,” Aspell said.
A large cost driver in the 2016 budget was a $665,600 increase in spending on employee health insurance. In response to those rising costs, the city has implemented cost-sharing measures with all employees for the first time. That change is paying out, as the 2017 budget includes a $57,800 savings on that line item.
Slightly down from the current budget, capital spending would come to $17.4 million. Major initiatives would include renovating the former Dame School for a community center on the Heights and building a new multipurpose buiding at White Park to replace the dilapidated skatehouse.
Aspell’s budget reflects an estimated $14 million added to the city’s $3.9 billion tax base. That figure is down from last year, which saw $16 million in real growth. But other revenues from motor vehicle registrations, building permits and the rooms-and-meals tax are up.
“Those have been very strong, which bodes well for the community and helps the overall tax rate,” said Brian LeBrun, deputy city manager for finance.
Aspell gave special attention to public safety in his budget proposal.
He would again fully fund the problem-oriented policing unit, a preventative program that focuses on connecting officers with community members. He would also add two additional officers at a cost of $159,000, as well as money for a vehicle lease and an extra $10,000 in drug buy-back money.
Those dollars typically come from asset forfeiture, but Aspell said Concord has received less and less over the years. In 2014, that figure was more than $22,000; next year, the expected revenue is $11,000.
“It used to be more dollars that would come down from forfeiture,” Aspell said. “They still come down, but nowhere near as often as they have. And there’s been, at the federal level, attempts to try to eliminate the forfeiture level, which we think is a very bad idea.”
Aspell would also reorganize the Concord Fire Department. The goal, he said, is to increase training and advancement opportunities throughout the department. For example, one of the new positions would be an officer dedicated to training programs, especially in emergency management.
“That’s where the real growth is, the EMS portion of it,” Aspell said.
That shift would eliminate two employees from the department through attrition; the eventual cost savings is $50,000. No layoffs are planned. Aspell said the department’s two unions – fire officers and firefighters – both support the proposed changes.
“The community has spoken pretty clearly to . . . how important public safety is and how we need to continue investing in that,” he said.
Among the campaign promises of the new councilors was a pledge to draw new businesses and jobs to Concord. To do so, Aspell has proposed a $135,400 budget to hire an economic development director.
While the money is earmarked for a new staff person, Aspell said the council could decide to spend it in several ways. For example, those dollars could also go to a contract with an outside firm for marketing and outreach.
For nearly $50,000, the downtown maintenance team for the new Main Street would gain a full-time employee. That addition would bring the group up to two full-time staff members, with seasonal part-time help.
The budget would also add staff or hours in other departments. In parks and recreation, $17,800 would keep the city pools open for an extra week. In the library, another $17,567 would pay a part-time person to focus on circulation and the reference desk. With that help, Aspell said other staff would be able to spend more time on outreach, like social media and print brochures.
The next year could bring long-awaited projects to fruition in Concord.
For years, the city has contemplated a replacement for the shuttered and aged skatehouse at White Park. H.L. Turner has completed a design for free, and the Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament has been raising money for improvements at that site. This budget proposal earmarks $900,000 to build a year-round facility at the park: $450,000 from the city and $450,000 from private donations.
“I see it more as a barn raising,” Aspell said.
Concord will also continue on the ambitious paving plan debuted last year. In the past several budgets, the city focused on rehabbing major arteries, like Route 3 North. But residents began to complain about their neglected and cracked roads. So over fiscal 2016 and 2017, Concord planned to beef up its spending on neighborhood streets by a total of $6.8 million. That figure is more than double the number that was previously planned.
Aspell has promised an annual half-percent tax rate increase dedicated to fixing local roads.
“The more money we can put in, the quicker we’ll get to your street,” Aspell said.
In addition, the city would put $400,000 toward design for the extension of Storrs Street. That project is slated for construction in fiscal year 2018 at an estimated cost of $4.4 million.
The capital budget also includes:
$3.2 million to make structural fixes to the School Street parking garage.
$1.7 million to replace vehicles across the police, fire and general services departments.
$1.5 million to replace the water mains on Walnut Street and Community Drive.
$400,000 for improvements to the Kimball Park pool. The city is renovating each of its seven neighborhood pools; this is the second in line.
$200,000 to replace the roof at the Major Fire Station.
$160,000 to pave and restripe a couple blocks at the south end of the Main Street project. The goal is to make for a seamless transition from the old lane configuration to the new one.
$40,000 for Concord’s portion of repairs to the red-listed North Pembroke Road Bridge. The town of Pembroke plans to kick in $330,950 for that project, and the state would pay $1.5 million.
$30,000 for the city’s portion of a new Concord Area Transit bus. The county and state would contribute the rest, for a total of $300,000.
In March, the city council finally agreed to a $6.5 million bond for a new Heights Community Center. Citing cost concerns, the council had delayed that project for years. The city will bid the job this fall, so the building won’t open until late 2017. While that project doesn’t have much impact in this spending proposal, Aspell warned future budgets will carry the debt service and some of the operating costs for that new community center. (Based on the 2015 tax rate, that building would add $33 per year to the city’s portion of the tax bill on a home valued at $200,000.)
Not included in the proposal is additional money for improvements on Loudon Road. A delay in state money and public outcry to a three-lane configuration has prompted the city to look for alternatives. Aspell said he is working with the state’s Department of Transportation on that project, and he expected to bring more information to the council this spring.
Both the parking and solid waste funds are in a nose dive.
Concord hired a consultant to review its parking system and make recommendations for sweeping changes. Those ideas are likely to include fee hikes, more options for leases and different hours of enforcement; however, they haven’t yet come to the city council. So in Aspell’s proposed budget, the fund would have a negative balance of nearly $130,000 by the end of fiscal 2017.
If the council wants to avoid burdening the general fund with that loss, Aspell said changes will be needed.
“For the most part, you want the people who are using the parking to help offset the majority of the costs associated with it,” Aspell said.
The solid waste fund is also losing money, but at a lesser rate. Aspell has proposed a 25 percent increase in the price of pay-as-you-throw trash bags. The cost of a 15-gallon bag would go from $1 to $1.25, while a 30-gallon bag would increase from $2 to $2.50.
Concord’s pay-as-you-throw program is in its seventh year, though bag prices have never increased. The city manager and the solid waste advisory committee recommended the same change last year. But the council decided to defer, and the fund has continued to dwindle.
The increase is needed to stave off another negative balance; if the council decides to hold off again, the solid waste fund would be in the red in fiscal year 2018. Like last year, Aspell pledged these prices would be sufficient for five years.
The city’s water rate would also increase 2.5 percent, and the sewer rate would increase 4.5 percent. Those hikes are in keeping with the increase for fiscal 2016; the driving factor has been capital improvements at the water and wastewater facilities.
The full budget is available online at concordnh.gov.
(Megan Doyle can be reached at 369-3321, mdoyle@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @megan_e_doyle.)