Saturday’s edition of the Valley News included a paid political advertisement that referred to a 17.8% increase in Lebanon’s total assessed property values between 2015 and 2020. This reference might be interpreted to suggest that an increase in the value of total real property in the city is related to increased property taxes. As a city councilor, I want to ensure that accurate information is being provided to residents.
It is important to understand that a general increase in property values over time is an indicator of a healthy and growing local economy. Higher property values reflect the desirability of a town or city to buyers. A trend toward decreasing property values over time would not be a good sign, and would be typical of a community with a declining economy.
It is also important for taxpayers to understand that an increase in property values does not directly correspond to an increase in property taxes.
The state of New Hampshire requires towns and cities to conduct a complete revaluation of all properties at least every five years. Our most recent revaluation was completed in 2020, with an average increase in individual property value of 17.8% over the period. Some properties increased by more than this, and some by less. Properties that increased in value by more than the average would pay a proportionately larger share of the overall tax burden than properties whose value increased by less than the average.
In addition to the periodic revaluations conducted by cities and towns, the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration uses a statistical model to equalize assessments on an annual basis, and the results of this analysis are used by the DRA to set local property tax rates for that year.
It is my hope that this brief discussion helps to clarify the distinction between property values and property taxes.
Residents are always encouraged to contact their councilors for additional information.
TIM McNAMARA
Lebanon
The writer is mayor of Lebanon and a city councilor at-large.
On Saturday, a paid political advertisement appeared in this newspaper that “quoted” me. Bracketed text was added to what I had said, which I believe could be misleading. Furthermore, the “quote” was an excerpt with no context, which might have led readers to misinterpret its meaning.
At the candidate night forum on March 2, hosted by the Upper Valley Business Alliance, I said that the proposal being circulated in our community to cut 20% from the city budget is “incredibly dangerous rhetoric” because it would have disastrous consequences for the city’s libraries, parks and recreation, public transit, road repair, human services and public safety. The recording of the candidate forum is available on the city website (lebanonnh.gov) for voters interested in the full context of my statement.
The same political advertisement cited a 2.4% increase in the city’s 2021 budget. Page 15 of the proposed 2021 budget shows an increase over the 2020 budget of 1.4% (https://lebanonnh.gov/1437/2021-Proposed-City-Budget). With the changes made by the City Council at the Dec. 16, 2020, public hearing, the final budget increase was 1.3%.
KAREN LIOT HILL
Lebanon
The writer is seeking reelection as an at-large Lebanon city councilor.
Dartmouth College’s shortsighted decision to close the Paddock Music Library (“Dartmouth puts its music library on the chopping block,” Feb. 24) makes one wonder if the college is even remotely serious about the arts.
For more than 40 years I have conducted symphony orchestras throughout the United States and internationally. My career would have been unthinkable without the countless hours I have spent in music libraries large and small, including Paddock.
Dartmouth proudly touts its Ivy League credentials, but with this decision it has chosen to join the bush league. Harvard’s Loeb Music Library is among the very best anywhere, and the music libraries at Yale, Penn and Columbia all hold important research collections.
Although modest in size, Paddock’s collection is unusually comprehensive. Its wide array of materials concerning popular and world music of all sorts is surely relevant to the challenges facing the arts in our increasingly fractured world. One wonders how many of those holdings will also be hidden away among the non-“high-use” classical music books and scores.
Library lovers know the joy of browsing the shelves, serendipitously finding something they never knew existed. Scrolling through an impersonal online catalog is absolutely no substitute for that experience. This is particularly true for performing musicians, be they professionals or students; for us, a piece of music sitting in a storage facility might just as well not exist.
Dartmouth will surely shout from the rooftops that its beautifully renovated Hopkins Center epitomizes its commitment to the arts.
But bragging about a shiny new building while at the same time denigrating the very resources that make art possible is — pun intended — tone deaf.
DAVID LOEBEL
Lebanon
Over the past several months, the media has reported on our deteriorating mail service and the financial crises afflicting the U.S. Postal Service.
At a recent Congressional Oversight and Reform Committee meeting, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stated he will soon be issuing a new strategic plan.
As a part of the plan, he envisions removing a significant amount of mail from air transportation.
I wonder if he’s considered reinstating the Pony Express.
PETE BLEYLER
West Lebanon