From the Concord Monitor…
The Concord City Council has scheduled a public hearing on a proposed tax cap that would limit the city’s budget.
The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, at the city council chambers, 37 Green St. This is the last day possible for the hearing, in order to get the measure on the November ballot and avoid holding a special election.
The tax cap would limit the city’s budget to a property tax rate increase no larger than the increase in inflation, measured by the national consumer price index. This would limit the city’s ability to spend, and the measure has been opposed by many of Concord’s political leaders. The cap could be overridden only with a two-thirds vote of city council members.
The cap is proposed by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition, which is chaired by Mike Biundo. The group has also submitted petitions for tax caps in Manchester, Somersworth, Rochester, Merrimack, Portsmouth, Bedford and Londonderry.
According to City Manager Tom Aspell, anyone can testify at the public hearing, but the city council will not make any decision. By law, since the petitioners gathered enough signatures, the petition will go on the November ballot, as long as the language is deemed to be constitutional by the Department of Revenue Administration, the attorney general’s office and the secretary of state’s office.