North Haverhill — Grafton County’s budget will increase by $1.2 million after state representatives voted along party lines earlier last week to approve $44.2 million in spending for the 2019 fiscal year.

Increases in health care costs and employee benefits make up much of the roughly 2.8 percent increase, county officials said. As a result, tough choices were made to forgo additional hires and infrastructure improvements, they said.

The county delegation worked over the past month to present a “fairly low” budget that maintained funding for social service groups and provided employees with a 1.2 percent cost of living increase, delegation Chairman George Sykes, D-Lebanon, said on Thursday.

“Good things happened, I guess, is the best way I can put it,” Sykes said of the 13-7 vote on June 25 to approve the budget.

About $26 million of the budget will be raised through taxes, amounting to a 3.6 percent increase, according to County Administrator Julie Libby.

It’s not yet known how that will impact the tax rate of Grafton County communities. But county taxes traditionally are the smallest portion of New Hampshire property tax bills.

In 2017, Lebanon residents paid $1.94 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value to fund county operations. That amounts to a $485 bill on a $250,000 home.

Meanwhile, the school proportion of city taxes that year would cost the same homeowner about $3,500.

Regardless, Republicans felt the county needs to do a better job keeping costs down, said state Rep. Stephen Darrow, R-Grafton, the delegation’s vice chairman.

“I think that the caucus of Republicans felt that they were looking for a zero percent increase in taxes,” Darrow said. “I think the Republican issue is (the tax increase) is putting another straw on the camel’s back.”

The county budget affects towns differently, as costs are allocated through a state formula. Some communities likely will see a decrease in county taxes next year, Darrow said, while others will be hit with increases as high as seven percent.

Of the representatives in attendance last Monday, all Democrats voted in support of the spending plan while Republicans opposed the measure.

Upper Valley Democrats Patricia Higgins, of Hanover; Sharon Nordgren, of Hanover; Susan Almy, of Lebanon; Roger Dontonvile, of Enfield; Richard Abel, of Lebanon; Andy White of Lebanon; Mary Jane Mulligan, of Hanover; Kevin Maes, of Rumney; and Sykes voted in favor of the budget, according to draft meeting minutes.

Meanwhile, Republicans Vicki Schwaegler, of Orford; David Binford, of Bath; Duane Brown, of Wentworth; Rick Ladd, of Haverhill; and Darrow were among those in opposition.

Upper Valley legislators not present for the vote were Polly Kent Campion, D-Hanover; Vincent Paul Migliore, R-Bridgewater; Robert Hull, R-Grafton; and Timothy Josephson, D-Canaan.

The $44.1 million budget is pretty much the same spending proposal drafted by the three-member County Commission. It largely was left untouched by representatives, according to County Commission Chairwoman Linda Lauer, D-Bath.

“The delegation budget is essentially the commissioners’ budget, so I’m happy,” she said.

The delegation adjusted revenue figures upward to reflect increased state funding for the nursing home, Lauer said. Lawmakers also opted to restore $24,260 of funding for the nursing home’s hair stylist.

The stylist was paid directly by nursing home residents until 2013, when it was made a taxpayer-funded position, Lauer said.

In crafting their budget proposal, the commissioners had decided to defund the position, saying its services should once again be footed by residents, which is the norm in other counties. The change, officials argued, would also provide the stylist with more pay because the stylist could set the price for haircuts.

The delegation disagreed, though, and voted last week to restore the funds.

“I’m pleased that the beautician is back,” said Lauer, who initially opposed the budget cut. “I think it’s important that the residents at the nursing home have the opportunity to look good. I think it helps their morale.”

Drafting a budget was made difficult this year, as the county’s health insurance premiums are projected to increase by $524,000, or 13.7 percent, Lauer said. Officials averted a potentially larger increase by switching coverage to Anthem from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

The budget also includes about $300,000 in cuts to Grafton County’s drug court, which soon will be administered by the New Hampshire judicial system through an outside treatment provider.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.