North Haverhill
The commissioners are proposing an overall budget of about $41.2 million, roughly $861,000 or 2 percent more than the current year. The amount to be raised in taxes will go up by $1.7 million.
Julie Libby, Grafton County’s executive director, said the county needs to collect more taxes to make up for a lack of surplus funds. Over the last five years, she said, the county used about $3 million in surplus money to reduce taxes.
“We don’t have a fund balance of $3 million,” Libby said, meaning that a little more than $1 million is left to draw down the tax rate in 2017.
The county tax rate is often the smallest part of the overall municipal property tax Granite Staters pay. Out of Lebanon’s overall tax rate of $27.61 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value, only $1.73, or about 6 percent, was directed to the county in 2015.
Libby said some of the blame for the tax increase lies with how the county paid for a recent nursing home renovation project. County officials decided in 2014 to use surplus funds to complete the work, rather than bond the project. The county delegation then voted a year later to make that decision final, by moving about $900,000 from the fund balance into the project.
Spending also outpaced revenue over the past two years, Libby said, significantly decreasing the surplus funds.
By increasing the tax rate, the county can begin to rebuild that surplus fund, she said.
The commissioners are also proposing a small spending increase for 2017, Libby said. Although the proposed budget calls for a 2 percent increase in expenses, much of that comes from the county “bed tax,” a tax that charges a percentage of nursing home revenue based on the number of beds. The increase will be covered through an annual payment from the Medicaid Quality Incentive Program.
She said the bed tax isn’t usually included in the county expense list because it’s paid for through the Medicaid program, but the commissioners decided to make the bookkeeping change for the coming year.
Without the tax, Libby said, the county’s budget is up by $257,384, or 0.64 percent, in 2017. The only staffing changes proposed are at the County Attorney’s Office, where the commissioners are hoping to add a part-time, grant funded victim witness position and increase the hours of an investigator.
Revenue will also increase by almost $1 million. Although much of that comes from the proposed tax increase, the nursing home is also projected to see a 5 percent increase partially through an agreement with the federal Veteran’s Administration that allows the county to begin receiving referrals this month.
County officials are also planning on switching health care providers in an attempt to save money. Employees are currently covered by Anthem, which will increase in price by 11 percent over the next year, Libby said. Since that would add about $230,000 to the budget, county officials chose Harvard Pilgrim as a new provider.
The switch will only increase county spending by about $5,000, she said, and the benefits, co-pays and deductibles through Harvard Pilgrim are identical. Employees will also have the opportunity to sign onto a high-deductible plan that could save the county money.
A hearing on the commissioners’ proposed budget is scheduled for 6 p.m. next Monday at the Grafton County Administration Building in North Haverhill. County officials will meet on the budget over the next month and are expected to vote on a final budget in late June.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.