Town of Litchfield
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Tax Cap Amendment
The Litchfield Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 6 p.m. at the Town Office Meeting Room, located at 2 Liberty Way, Litchfield, NH to discuss the provisions of RSA 32:5-b, and an amendment to the tax cap whereby the budget committee shall not submit a recommended budget that increases the amount to be raised by local taxes, based on the prior fiscal year's actual amount of local taxes raised, by no more than 5% rather than the existing $175,000. Residents wishing to speak on this matter are invited to attend. Residents who are not able to attend may send comments to: kkleiner@litchfieldnh.gov or Town of Litchfield, Kim Kleiner, Town Administrator, 2 Liberty Way, Litchfield, NH 03052.
ARTICLE 4 - AMENDING THE TAX CAP
Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:5-b, and amend the tax cap whereby the budget committee shall not submit a recommended budget that increases the amount to be raised by local taxes, based on the prior fiscal year's actual amount of local taxes raised, by no more than 5% rather than the existing $175,000. Estimated 2023 tax rate impact $0.00
Recommended by Board of Selectmen (5-0-0)
Recommended by Budget Committee (5-4-0)
Article Explanation: In 2016 a Tax cap was proposed under the provisions of RSA 32:5b whereby the Budget Committee could not submit a budget that increases the amount to be raised by taxes by more than 5.5% over the prior year’s tax levy. The article was amended by the Board of Selectmen at the 2016 Deliberative session to a flat amount of $175,000 which was 4.9% of the prior year's tax levy of $3,570,207. Today, the same $175,000 allows an increase of spending of only 3.39% The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is a monthly measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. The CPI-U from 2017 until 2022 has risen from 2.1 to 8.0. By adjusting the tax cap to a percentage above the prior year's tax levy, it will account for the change in inflationary costs while also controlling the property tax increases. The Board of Selectmen and Budget committee would still review and have the control over the budget as they do today.
Public Comment in Favor
Public Comment in Opposition
MOTION: I make a motion to record the testimony received here this evening and move forward with recommending that the Town amends the tax cap whereby the budget committee shall not submit a recommended budget that increases the amount to be raised by local taxes, based on the prior fiscal year's actual amount of local taxes raised, by no more than 5% rather than the existing $175,000.
Voting will occur at :
CAMPBELL HIGH SCHOOL
MARCH 14, 2023
Polls open at 7:00 AM and close at 7:00 PM
Next meeting of the Board of Selectmen - Monday, February 27th at 6:30 pm