Emblematic of struggles across the state, Epsom residents question spending and rising taxes

Epsom resident Keith Cota spoke frequently at Saturday's town deliberative session to question spending and rising taxes but thanked town officials for trying to be frugal.

Epsom resident Keith Cota spoke frequently at Saturday's town deliberative session to question spending and rising taxes but thanked town officials for trying to be frugal. Jonathan Van Fleet—Monitor staff

Epsom residents raised their cards to reject an amendment to cut $10,000 from a request to add $25,000 into an account for future bridge repairs.

Epsom residents raised their cards to reject an amendment to cut $10,000 from a request to add $25,000 into an account for future bridge repairs. Jonathan Van Fleet—Monitor staff

State Representative Dan McGuire addresses fellow Epsom residents at the town deliberative session held Saturday morning at the elementary school.

State Representative Dan McGuire addresses fellow Epsom residents at the town deliberative session held Saturday morning at the elementary school. Jonathan Van Fleet—Monitor staff

By JONATHAN VAN FLEET

Monitor staff

Published: 02-01-2025 5:01 PM

Keith Cota wanted to say thank you, but he still had concerns.

Epsom’s $4.2 million proposed budget, which is an increase of 4.6% over this year, will actually lower the tax rate by 11 cents.

“I want to congratulate both the budget committee and the board for being as frugal as possible,” Cota said Saturday to dozens of fellow residents who attended the first session of the town’s annual meeting. “If you look at other towns and what they’re dealing with, we do it on the cheap and I appreciate that.”

Despite the praise for town officials, Cota and other speakers voiced concerns about rising taxes throughout Saturday’s deliberative session, especially on the school side, echoing similar comments heard in towns and cities around the state.

Cota called out the two state representatives in town, Dan and Carol McGuire, who were present at the meeting, urging them and their colleagues in Concord to stop pushing costs onto local taxpayers.

His comments drew applause.

Throughout the three-and-a-half-hour meeting, Cota walked the short distance to the microphone to question the need for spending items that increased the tax rate, even one to add $10,000 to a reserve fund to purchase vehicles for the highway department.

“Each increase, even $10,000, is a burden to the taxpayers who are struggling right now,” Cota said.

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If all the warrant articles – including $150,000 for additional road repair, $69,000 to hire a new highway employee, and $10,000 for library maintenance – are approved on the town side, it will add another $278,000 in spending on top of the budget. That adds up, Cota said.

“That’s a substantial impact to the taxpayer,” said Cota, a semi-retired engineer.

Cota eventually addressed the elephant in the room, namely the Epsom school budget, which carries a $2.98 increase to the tax rate that would add about $900 a year to the tax bill for a home worth $300,000.

“I’m moving to the point of retirement, which is basically a fixed income,” he said. “People who retired 20 years ago on a fixed income, I don’t know how they can survive.”

As others rose to speak on the same topic, Moderator Gary Matteson reminded the crowd that school spending would be discussed Tuesday night and comments should be reserved for that meeting.

Still, residents couldn’t help but do the math. If all spending items on both the school and town side are passed this year, the tax rate would increase by nearly $4, which totals about a $1,200 annual increase for a house worth $300,000.

Cota wondered if his tax bill would price him out of town in 10 years.

“How can people pay $1,000 a year tax increase year after year,” he said.

In an attempt to cut spending, resident Deborah Sargent proposed an amendment to decrease by $10,000 a request to add $25,000 to a bridge replacement fund.  

“This seems to be one of the warrant articles we could eliminate and save the taxpayers some money,” Sargent said.

Every $5,000 spent amounts to about a one-cent increase in the town’s tax rate.

Bridges aren’t sexy and people don’t even think about them, resident Mark Hodgdon said, until they fail.

“I understand the concerns, but in this case, I feel it’s penny-wise and pound-foolish,” he said.

Sargent’s amendment failed and voters will consider approving all $25,000 or none at all.

Even items that carried no tax impact, like transfers from the $1.8 million unassigned fund balance, were questioned.

The balance amounts to 11.8% of the town’s annual revenue and towns are urged by the state to keep between 5% and 17% on hand in case of unforeseen expenses and emergencies. Epsom likes to keep the unspent balance at about 10%, outgoing selectwoman Meadow Wysocki said.

Voters at the March 11 elections will decide eight zoning amendments and 18 warrant articles on the town side and eight articles on the school side, including one that would cap per pupil expenses in the school district, plus annual increases for  inflation. Next year costs per student are expected to rise to about $27,500, which means enacting the cap would be like a 10% cut to the school budget.

The McGuires sponsored the bill last year that created the spending cap law in the legislature.

The school deliberative session will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Epsom Central School.