HAMPTON, N.H. — Many Hampton residents angry over what they deemed a dramatic tax hike told officials Monday night that they cannot afford the new tax bills.
Out of 8,000 assessments, the Hampton Board of Selectmen said 200 people filed formal complaints. But many more spoke out for the first time during a meeting Monday night, WMUR News 9’s Josh Davis reported.
John and Linda Gebhart are fighting for their small cottage on Hampton Harbor, where their family has lived for 53 years. This year, taxes increased by 35 percent, and the family may be forced out.
“We want to just keep the roof over our head here and a lot of other people do, too,” said Linda Gebhart, of Hampton.
Many people crammed into Hampton Town Hall to tell selectmen they can’t afford their most recent tax bill, Davis reported.
“In one year, our taxes went up 38.5 percent. We’re forced out. We’re talking to Realtors. We can’t even get what it’s assessed at,” said Steve Nelson, of Hampton.
According to town officials, homes were last assessed five years ago, and many were drastically undervalued, especially on the beach.
The new assessments are based on home sales for the past two years — before the real estate market tumbled.
Homeowners at the meeting said that if they tried to sell their house, they can’t get what the town said their homes are now worth. Additionally, some said the new assessments are inconsistent.
“The people on the ocean next to me, (their assessments) went up 8 percent. Two houses down from me, people away from the ocean, their assessment went up 78 percent. It just seems to be all over the place,” said Helena Barthell, of Hampton.
“I think assessments need to be accurate and, obviously, the comments here tonight are cause for concern and issues we need to understand and investigate,” Hampton Town Selectman Richard Nichols said.
Hampton Town Selectman Rick Griffin said they’re living on valuable property and taxes should reflect that.
“If some people, if the values of their property have gone up and they’ve gotten older, it’s not the town’s responsibility. If their situation changes, different things need to be done in some cases,” Griffin said.
The Gebharts hope those different things don’t mean they’ll have to sell the place they love, if they can.
“I look out at these empty buildings, which have dropped in price, and they’re still not selling,” Gebhart said.
The selectmen told homeowners to file for a reassessment by the March 1 deadline.