Mayor James Donchess spoke to Ward 1 residents on Feb. 12 during the first of nine ward town halls. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

NASHUA – Mayor James Donchess recently met with Ward 1 residents, discussing the city’s finances and education costs during the first of what will be nine ward town halls.

During the Feb. 12 meeting, Donchess said Nashua’s tax rate has been driven up by state-mandated revaluations and currently sits at $15.90 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

He said a number of the state’s large businesses, like Manchester’s Mall of New Hampshire, never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused their assessment values to plummet.

Donchess also emphasized the consequences of making any substantial reductions to the city’s budget.

“You cannot make a material change without letting a lot of employees go,” he said, adding that the Nashua School District as well as the police and fire departments continue to be of the utmost importance.

Donchess said the Performing Arts Center continues to do well, attracting 80,000 patrons per year.

He said the Performing Arts Center is what compelled Peter Flotz, developer The Flats on High Street, to build in Nashua. Other businesses such as the Union Public House and Shaheen & Gordon chose their Main Street locations for the same reason.

In addition, Donchess said he is looking forward to the opening of The Nash Casino. Although the casino can only be taxed at its fair market value, the establishment will donate 35 percent of its weekly gross profits to a nonprofit organization.

“The numbers that come out of that are astounding,” said Donchess, adding that the donations could reach $100,000.

Regarding education, Donchess said New Hampshire’s cost per student is now $21,000. Yet, the state only contributes $4,100. Therefore, 80 percent of education funding must come from the local level.

“There is a battle in the courts over the fact that state aid is so low,” he said, adding that the state faced a $400 million deficit when former Gov. Chris Sununu left office last month.

Donchess also spoke about House Bill 283, sponsored by State Rep. Daniel McGuire (R-Epsom), which was unanimously voted down earlier in the day by the Education Policy and Administration Committee.

The bill proposed removing a myriad of subjects including world languages, financial literacy, computer science and arts education. The bill also proposed to reduce the number of core requirements for a high school diploma from 13 to eight.

The Ward 2 town hall meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Feb. 26 at Charlotte Avenue Elementary School, 48 Charlotte Ave.