Twice a year, Hillsborough county property owners view their municipal tax bill and notice that they are paying a tax for county government. As a Hillsborough County Commissioner, I am often asked to describe just what the county does and the benefits taxpayers receive for their county tax dollar. It makes little difference that I describe that Hillsborough County is the most cost effective of the ten counties and that our cost is generally 5 to 6 percent of the local tax bill. In municipalities in other nine counties the real estate tax bill ranges from 14 to 34%. The highest being the communities in rural northern areas of New Hampshire. No matter what the cost, the question is always: What does the county government do for the tax dollar.
In New Hampshire, counties have five major functions. In their order of cost, they are: Nursing Home, House of Corrections, County Attorney, Registry of Deeds and Sheriff. Of the five departments, the commissioners have no management authority over the High Sherriff, Registrar of Deeds or County Attorney. The head of each office is elected by the county voters. The sole authority of the commissioners and delegation is to approve the department’s annual budget, with budgetary oversite by the Board of commissioners. The three departments function based on the duties provided by state statute. The last two, House of Corrections and Nursing Home, are positions appointed by the commissioners and have management authority over.
The Sheriff Department is the smallest with a budget of 0.5 million, offset with revenue of 0.3 million. Next the registry of deeds with a budget of 1.4 million and revenue of 3.8 million. This income is from property transfer taxes. Next is the County Attorney with a budget of 5.9 million without a revenue offset. The second largest, is the House of Corrections, with a budget of 17.6 million with only a small revenue off-set. Lastly, the largest function, the County Nursing Home. The budget is 92.5 million before reflecting revenue of 37.9 million.
The duties of each department are established by state statute. The Sherriff is primarily responsible for the transportation of arrested individuals to and from the jail to police departments, jail and hospital as well as well as writs of service and some criminal investigations. The Registry of Deeds records all real estate transactions. The County Attorney is responsible for the prosecution of felony cases and misdemeanor appeals in the Superior Court. The attorneys in the office receive between 100 to 290 cases a month. The House of Corrections, located on Valley Street in Manchester, is sized to accommodate 700 inmates. Currently there are 250 in residence. Of these, 30% have been sentenced by the court with the average commitment being 45 days. 70% are inmates that have been arrested and denied bail and awaiting trial in the District or Superior Court. While detained they receive aid in the form of medical, drug, and other assistance designed to aid their rehabilitation. The Nursing Home is approved by the state to have 300 residents. The facility is always up to capacity, with a current waiting list of 98. The Hillsborough County Nursing Home is one of the highest rated facilities in the state.
As a commissioner and property owner I believe that the county property owners receive excellent value for their tax dollars.
Robert H. Rowe is Hillsborough County Commissioner.