Letter: A note to taxpayers in Sanbornton

To Sanbornton taxpayers: Here’s some information for you about Sanbornton’s fund balance, which amounted to $2,087,281 prior to the board of selectmen developing our new budget.

To begin with the board used about $400,000 of that fund balance to offset the tax rate reflected on your Jan. 5 town tax bill. What’s also in the works is that the board is planning to also use $600,000 of the fund balance to offset the cost of the new building project, which will be voted on at the May 15 town meeting. Another item to be voted on at the town meeting will be an article proposed by selectmen to pay a promissory note on an ARRA loan of $52,000 from the Sanbornton fund balance.

So assuming this all happens, our town will have a remaining fund balance of only $1,035,281.

I would have liked to see that $600,000 proposed for the building project be used to reduce our town tax rate further. We should reconsider the building project, whose total cost it estimated to be $2,981,152, for some time in the future when the economy improves and people’s financial situations have hopefully improved.

Just something to think about before you vote on May 15 at the town meeting.

BILL WHALEN

Sanbornton