Voting on New London town and school officers, along with the Kearsarge Regional School District budget, will take place on Tuesday, March 14, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Whipple Memorial Town Hall. The floor portion of Town Meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 15, at 7 p.m., at the Kearsarge Learning Campus, 114 Cougar Court, in New London.
New London
New London officials are seeking an operating budget of $7.2 million, up 2 percent from last year, but several warrant articles include new spending, bonding and drawing from reserves.
Among the proposals are bonding for $875,000 for upgrades to the Pleasant Lake Dam, repairs to the Academy Building, a study of the municipal building, and other infrastructure improvements. Two-thirds approval at the ballot is required.
Other measures include drawing $550,000 from the fire vehicle capital reserve fund to purchase a new tanker truck; using $205,000 from the municipal transportation improvement fund to build sidewalks on parts of Parkside and Seamans roads; and extending a $500 property tax credit to all honorably discharged veterans who served at least 90 days of active service, and not just during certain enumerated conflicts.
If all spending is approved, municipal appropriations would total $9.99 million, up $1.3 million, or 14.9 percent, according to the annual report.
The amount to be raised in taxes is estimated to increase by $142,568, or 2.8 percent, to $5.2 million.
Among the zoning amendments are measures to permit accessory dwelling units, also known as in-law apartments, if they are attached to a home and obtain a conditional use permit; update zoning language to conform with a recent Supreme Court decision regarding “content-neutral” regulation of signs; and to change the zoning of several properties on the northerly end of Main Street, including Barton Insurance, from urban residential to the commercial district.
A lengthy petitioned article, if approved, would have New London call on the federal government to cancel its nuclear modernization program and reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal to 900 weapons.
As for town officers, Selectwoman Nancy Rollins is running unopposed for a three-year term.
There is a five-way race for three seats on the Budget Committee. Incumbents Joseph Cardillo, Suzanne Jesseman and Christopher Lorio are on the ballot, along with Gerald Coogan and Thea Lahti.
Voting on the $42.5 million Kearsarge Regional School District budget will take place by ballot on Tuesday. Bebe Hammond Casey is unopposed for a School Board seat from New London.
John Gregg can be reached at 603-727-3217 or jgregg@vnews.com.