The Merrimack County Democrats have filed a complaint with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office accusing Concord Republicans of illegally distributing signs and fliers around the city decrying a bill about car registration fees put forward by Democratic state Sen. Dan Feltes.
The Democrats filed their complaint March 27 against the Concord City Republican Committee, its treasurer Andrew Georgevits and all members. In the complaint, The Democrats say the Republican committee illegally put signs up on public property and failed to register as a political committee for 2018.
“Dishonest, underhanded, incompetent, that’s what strikes me when I see those signs,” said Kris Mueller, chairwoman of the Merrimack County Democrats.
Georgevits said he hadn’t seen the complaint but said the committee was in fact registered with the secretary of state’s office.
“Why is it that people are just so up in arms trying to protect Dan, when he was trying to raise a fee on them?” he said.
The fliers included Feltes’s cellphone number and urged people to send a text to “Stop Feltes’ Car Tax.”
The Concord City Republican Committee distributed the fliers days ahead of a public hearing at the State House in early February.
The Democrats note in their complaint that the bill in question – Senate Bill 587 – was killed by the Senate weeks ago on March 8, but some signs still remain.
“It is clear that state law allows for political expenditures promoting the success or defeat of a measure. However, what is less clear is whether political expenditures are allowed for the promotion of the success or defeat of a measure that does not even exist,” they wrote in their complaint.
The bill would have lowered the population threshold for municipalities allowed to tack a fee onto motor vehicle registrations to pay for the maintenance and operation of the city’s parking facilities. The minimum population would have dropped from 50,000 to 40,000 under RSA 261:154, allowing Concord to join Manchester and Nashua as eligible cities.
The flier says Concord has mismanaged its parking garages and is “scrambling for any and all means to raise new money.” It also states that “Democrat State Senator Dan Feltes wants to allow the city to jack-up Concord car registrations another $150.”
If the bill had passed, the Concord City Council would have had the option of adopting the state law to set a fee rate depending on the age and value of the vehicle. The maximum millage rate under state law is $5 per $1,000 in value for a current-year model.
The AG’s office has confirmed they’ve received the complaint, Mueller said, and are “reviewing it to determine whether or not a full investigation is warranted.”
(Lola Duffort can be reached at 369-3321 or lduffort@cmonitor.com.)