More property tax hikes for Nashua?
The Telegraph’s Jan. 23 headline announced more possible property tax hikes for Nashua to cover health care costs for city employees. Unwelcome news certainly, particularly for those of us on fixed Social Security incomes and Medicare. The article reported that Mayor Jim Donchess stated Nashua faces the choice of higher property taxes or a reduction in city services. This is a false choice! There’s another, better option: Cut spending on things we don’t actually need.
The Telegraph’s Jan. 14 headline concerned developments (or lack thereof) regarding the planned Performing Arts Center. In Feb. 2018, the Nashua Board of Aldermen approved (unwisely, in my opinion) selling $15.5 million in bonds to build the PAC on the condition that the approval would expire if, two years hence, $4 million in private funding had not been raised. Well, it’s two years hence and the private funds aren’t there. The fundraising didn’t commence until almost a year and a half had passed. An official was quoted in the article as saying, “I was naïve and did not realize we could not start the fundraising the moment it was signed.” Also, it’s now being stated that we don’t really need that $4 million anyway. The options apparently being considered to address missing the deadline for private funds are eliminate the funding requirement, extend the Feb. 2020 deadline so the funds can eventually be used “to cover additional costs associated with the project,” or stop the project altogether and sell the building that was acquired by the city for the PAC.
May I be forgiven for wondering what else they’ve been naïve about? If the $4 million is no longer needed, what are these “additional costs” that need to be covered by extending the funding deadline? If the city proceeds with the project, will it actually come in at or below $15.5 million?
And, why spend it at all when we’re allegedly facing the choice of higher property taxes or reductions in city services? It would only benefit a subset of Nashua taxpayers who likely don’t really need taxpayer dollars to subsidize their luxury PAC anyway. The BOA should not be looking for excuses to back away from the funding deadline that was set two years ago, naiveté or no. Let’s stop the project, save the $15.5 million, and sell the building. Use the savings and the proceeds from the building sale to reduce property taxes and avoid reductions in city services. And, let’s look for other non-essential budget items to cut to keep taxes down.