Hopkinton voters will face road bond, higher school budget in March

By EILEEN O’GRADY

Monitor staff

Published: 02-09-2023 6:25 PM

Hopkinton town officials hope a bond that’s on the table for the March annual meeting will help make a dent in a vast to-do list of road rebuilds. Meanwhile, residents are torn between supporting the higher of two proposed school budgets and keeping Hopkinton affordable for taxpayers.

About 22 residents gathered in the Hopkinton Town Hall Wednesday night for a budget public hearing on the proposed 2023-2024 budgets for the town, the school district and the two village precincts. The conversation mainly centered around Hopkinton’s road maintenance backlog and whether to support the school budget.

The proposed school budget this year is $24.8 million, nearly an 8% increase over the current school budget of $23 million. It has a tax rate of $1.83 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is a 7.9% tax rate increase.

Last month, after receiving feedback from the Budget Committee and community members that the budget was too high, the Hopkinton School Board briefly proposed a smaller budget option of $24.7 million that would have involved cutting a fourth-grade teaching position at Maple Street School and a reading interventionist position at Harold Martin School. But after some debate, the Budget Committee ultimately decided Wednesday to recommend the original higher budget on the March school warrant.

Besides the school budget, there will also be a school warrant article to add $200,000 to a trust fund for school building maintenance and repairs, which will have a local tax impact of $0.26.

Residents who spoke during the public comment session were divided on whether to support the higher school budget. Many said it’s important to fund the schools as students need extra support after COVID-19.

“There is no ‘fat’ in the school budget,” said Hopkinton resident Devon Chaffee. “Any decision that is made to cut significantly at this budget is simply going to have an impact on students.”

But others said high tax rates are threatening residents’ ability to live in Hopkinton.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Pembroke School Board mulls major cuts to next year’s budget
Bow power plant to add solar and batteries; coal use to end by 2028
In Concord address, Sununu rules out future presidential run, calls for marijuana legalization
Will new legislative garage behind State House ease downtown parking?
On the trail: Kuster not seeking re-election this year
Despite tough market, New Hampshire housing optimistic about policy and production

“It’s not sustainable,” said Hopkinton resident Candie Garvin. “This town, it’s not just for the children, it’s not just for the parents, it’s not just for the educators, it’s all of us together.”

The discussion remained respectful despite the polarizing issue; most speakers said they understood the concerns of the other side and expressed regret about the difficulty of the situation.

Addressing the road rebuild backlog

On the warrant at Town Meeting in March, Hopkinton voters will be asked to approve a $2 million bond for road rebuilding. Although the town has increased road maintenance costs by about 5% annually over about six years to cover shimming and paving, the skyrocketing cost of road maintenance materials has led Hopkinton to be over $20 million behind in road rebuilding costs, according to Select Board member Ken Traum, with a backlog of roads that need to be rebuilt.

“For many, many years it was the practice of the Select Board to try to keep tax rates affordable, the first thing that was cut was roads,” Traum said. “We realized we were falling further and further behind, and this year we said ‘let’s bite the bullet and see if the town will support the increase on the shimming and paving as well as the road bond.’”

The $2 million bond would go toward rebuilding a large portion of Briar Hill Road, and would be paid over 10 years at a 5% interest rate.

“The road is not only in bad shape but also has substantial traffic,” Traum said. “There is concern about the liability to the town if roads are not kept safe, and increased maintenance costs for roads that are left deteriorating when they need to be rebuilt.”

Hopkinton’s proposed town operating budget is $9.17 million, a 10.8% increase over the current budget of $8.28 million. The result is a 6.46% tax rate increase to $7.53 per $1,000 of valuation.

The major drivers of the town budget increase include a $167,648 increase for a merit pool to support pay increases for town employees, a $150,000 increase for engineering costs to close the transfer station’s septic lagoon and a $94,000 increase in transfer station fees according to Traum.

Additionally, Traum said, the town budget is being impacted by the rising price of salt and gravel needed for road maintenance and the rising price of gas, diesel and heating oil for town vehicles and buildings.

At town meeting, residents will also be asked to approve adding $756,000 to the town’s capital reserve funds, to save up for items such as Public Works and Highway Department equipment, Fire Department vehicles and equipment, and ambulance replacement.

Light costs are up in the precincts

The Hopkinton Village Precinct’s proposed operating budget of $22,324 is a 23% increase over the current budget, which Budget Committee representative Victoria Bram says is mainly due to escalating electricity costs to run the village’s street lights. Hopkinton Village Precinct voters will be asked to approve a $50,000 bond at annual meeting for the water district’s emergency fund.

The tax rate for the precinct is $0.46, which will only apply to taxpayers in Hopkinton Village Precinct.

The main focus of the Contoocook Village Precinct this year is improving its water facility, including replacing a water filter device, according to Don Houston, the village’s Budget Committee representative. Contoocook Village has also been impacted by increased electricity costs, and is facing a $3,000 increase for its 124 street lights according to Houston. The precinct’s operating budget is about $266,000. The estimated tax rate is $1.71, an increase of $.04, which will only impact taxpayers in the Contoocook Village Precinct.

The Hopkinton School District’s annual meeting is scheduled for March 11 at 9 a.m. Ballot voting to elect town officials is scheduled for March 14 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Town Meeting is scheduled for March 18 at 9 a.m. All three events will take place at Hopkinton Middle High School, 297 Park Ave.

]]>