The town of Greenfield’s tax rate of $30.42 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for 2022 is higher than neighboring towns with similar populations.
Greenfield Select Board member Tom Bascom explained that the higher tax rate in comparison with other towns comes down to the fact the town has less taxable property, and when this is combined with obligations to pay for education and other needs such as new equipment at the fire station and roadwork, the result is a larger burden on the town.
While towns such as Hancock, Francestown and Dublin – with tax rates of $21.81, $25.84 and $24.97 per $1,000, respectively – all have similar populations, share the same school system and have similar town spending levels, Greenfield’s tax rate remains higher because of property valuation, Bascom said. The property valuation for Greenfield is $181,948,678, which is nearly $116 million less than Hancock’s, which is $297,289,681. Francestown’s property valuation is $222,871,345 and Dublin’s is $280,427,310.
“In the grand scheme of things, there is less value on taxable property,” said Bascom, adding that the town’s requirement to cover the ConVal School District’s cost per-pupil after state funding has been applied “makes it much harder to pay our portion and it hurts to do everything.”
The Department of Education reports the average total per-pupil cost for New Hampshire students was $18,434 in the 2020-2021 school year. The state provides about $3,800 per pupil in base adequacy aid, according to the New Hampshire School Funding Fairness Project, which means local taxes account for more than 70 percent of education spending.
While paying for schools isn’t the only factor leading to Greenfield’s tax rate, the reliance on property taxes creates an unfair burden, Bascom said. This year, one of the largest drivers of the tax rate in Greenfield was the conversion of Crotched Mountain from a nonprofit entity making a PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Tax) payment to the for-profit Legacy By Gersh. The payments from Crotched Mountain represented more than $200,000 in direct revenue to the town’s general fund, and in addition to the PILOT they were also renting the old town office building. This source of revenue is not tax revenue so it is not split with the schools.
As a for-profit entity under Gersh, the property was reappraised and taxed, Bascom continued. Ultimately, the Gersh tax bill also came to nearly $200,000, but an imbalance remained because two-thirds of collected tax dollars are paid to the school and county.
In order to offset the loss of a PILOT, Greenfield would need an appraised value high enough to generate about three times the PILOT amount in taxes, according to an article authored by Bascom and others in the Greenfield Spirit.
“In the case of Crotched Mountain transitioning to Legacy By Gersh, that would have required an appraised value of about $20 million. The actual appraised value turned out to be a bit less than $7 million,” the article stated.
Bascom said that with Legacy by Gersh transitioning to Seven Hills Foundation, which is a nonprofit, “We hope to be able to return to a strong PILOT program in 2023.”
Another source of increases in Greenfield comes from the warrant articles approved in March 2022. The town voted for a number of warrant articles that will cost the town money, including a CHIP sealing of roads and equipment for the Fire Department and DPW. Taken together, Bascom said, the Crotched Mountain change and the warrant articles represent about $2 in tax increase and the ConVal School district increased $2.20.
Returning to the state’s school funding scheme, Bascom said that paying for schools with only property taxes is “ludicrous.”
“In a town like Greenfield, there is no significant nonresidential tax base,” he said, adding that large sections of the town have not-for-profit status. “A large percentage are untaxable.”
The town has been putting money into its capital reserve funds to be able to pay cash for major expenses, and Bascom said this will further reduce borrowing costs. He also said the town is looking for ways to save money, referring to the CHIP road-sealing project as an example of prudent spending because it will reduce future paving costs.
“It’s really expensive to be poor,” he said. “You make the necessary decisions to spend less, and in the short term this is good, but in the long term you spend more.”
The town budget process is underway and budget hearings will begin in late January or February, according to Bascom, who encourages residents to attend. Select Board meetings are held most Thursday nights, are open to the public and include an unscheduled public comment session from 5:30 to 5:45 p.m. at the Town Office building.