Herschlag: Is Concord's Mayor Being Honest?

How many times have those in the Merrimack Valley School District heard Mayor Jim Bouley say that if you are concerned about paying higher property taxes than those in the Concord School District, don’t blame the city?

But didn’t the city council just recently vote to capture (confiscate) the entire portion of all new school taxes from the Exit 17 project for the next 20 years? And didn’t the city council just recently vote to use the school’s portion of the expanded Penacook TIF (tax increment financing) district’s property taxes for a roundabout and other infrastructure improvements for the Exit 17 project?

And didn’t the city council approve a TIF district finance plan that will redirect all school taxes to help pay for a $1.3 million city park and a $4.5 million capital working fund, instead of funding our schools? In fact, if you reside in the MVSD, 54% of your property taxes are supposed to go to pay for student education. But the mayor and city council voted to take those new taxes from the Exit 17 project, including the 54% that should be supporting the school district.

And didn’t the city just expand the Penacook Village TIF district from 47 acres to 243 acres? And who doesn’t believe that future development costs will be funded by additional tif district revenues? And who doesn’t believe that new taxes that should be used to fund the MVSD will continue to be diverted to pay for TIF expenses and bonds?

So is the mayor being honest when he tells you that it is the school district's fault your property taxes are higher than CSD’s? Is the mayor providing you with all the facts when he neglects to tell you that cost per pupil is less for the MVSD than for CSD?

And when was the last time a market-rate residential project came to Penacook? Ten, twenty years? How many millions of dollars of abated assessments has Penacook lost in commercial property taxes over the last five to ten years? How much have these abatements impacted residential property owners' tax bills? Not only downshifting from the state — millions of dollars more for each of the last ten years — but a continuing shift in balance from commercial to residential properties.

And it’s not just the MVSD. The city still captures taxes from the Concord Lumber Yard TIF district, approximately $600,000 per year. About 50% ($300,000) slated for the CSD goes into city coffers for future projects, not for educating CSD students. And let’s not forget the downtown TIF district and how CSD tax dollars are being used to pay for Main Street improvements.

And now the city will continue to take MVSD tax dollars.

Even after members of the MVSD board and superintendent wrote to the city council concerning the hardships the actions of the mayor and city council would have on the district.

Even after I testified and wrote that the Exit 17 project could go forward with minimal financial assistance using the school and county portions of your property taxes. E

Even after writing that it would only be necessary to use that small portion (of your school taxes) for the first five years of the anticipated 20 year bond for the Exit 17 project.

And even after explaining the impact of capturing all new MVSD taxes will have and an understanding it isn’t necessary for the Exit 17 project to move forward, the mayor and the city council voted unanimously to take away school funding to pay for a city park, a working capital reserve fund and potential future projects.

So when the mayor states that the city is not responsible for the school district portion of your property tax bill, is that being honest?