Greenfield Town Treasurer Katherine Heck discussed the ways in which grants and federal funds can bridge the gap between town’s operating budget and long-term capital plan, and hopefully stabilize tax rates amid high levels of inflation, during a meeting with Select Board members June 16.
According to Heck, the increase in gas prices, coupled with the recent announcement from Eversource that electricity prices may be dramatically increasing in New Hampshire starting Aug. 1, are cause for the board to try and keep taxes as stable as possible through grants and federal funding.
Since 2020, Congress has passed three pieces of legislation that authorize federal funding for grants. These pieces of legislation are the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Grants may also come from the state, with departments such as the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Services and Department of Homeland Security potentially providing grants in their respective policy areas. Additionally, funding could come from private donations.
All of these sources would provide dollars for the town’s policy priorities that don’t have to be raised through taxation, Heck said, which is how tax rates could be stabilized.
The board hopes grant funding can be directed at some of the town’s larger expenses such as purchase and repair of police cruisers and fire trucks, as well as town building renovations. The board is aiming to put together a list of policy priorities at which to target grant money, which will take input from residents into consideration.
In another matter, Select Board members approved putting out the dock on Sunset Lake, subject to having a director for summer programs at the waterfront.
Additionally, the board voted unanimously to subsidize the cost of the Greenfield summer series, Music on the Common, for one more year. Music on the Common is a concert series that takes place on the meetinghouse lawn in Greenfield every summer. Local musicians play live concerts that are free and open to the public every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The board members noted that, in the future, all donations collected through Music on the Common should be added to a specific budget in order to fund the event in the future.
According to Selectman Thomas Bascom, Music on the Common is an important event to fund.
“It’s already going, it’s pretty popular in town, and it’s one of those things that’s nice about Greenfield,” he said.