I thought it would be interesting to compare Derry with our closest border town of Londonderry. Many times we hear people say that Derry will do these things but Londonderry does that and many times we try to compare ourselves to each other so that we can find out which town does things better in different areas.
Now, the first thing that comes to mind is the football rivalry between our two high schools. The fever is so high sometimes, that we have heard of the unpleasantries that sometimes happens at these events. ( it reminds me of the Bruins vs Canadians of the 70's & 80's)
You have heard about this one. Londonderry has a great mix of businesses and that they are lucky enough to have the airport close-by, which helps off-set thier taxes
Derry has a traditional Downtown that has great potential.
Derry wants to grow its town commercially to off-set taxes
Londonderry wants to maintain that quaint New England town feel.
Derry has a unique form of government, a hybrid of a city and town form of government which no other town or city has.
Londonderry has the traditional town official ballot-council form of government.
Now when it comes to outsiders looking at our area we hear Derry getting negative rumblings and Londonderry we hear is the place to move to. Why do you think this is...One reason, I believe is that outsiders have been doing this for years.. you know ...like the Peter and the Wolf story.. it said so much it must be true right????
We need to start talking positively about our town a little bit more.
Let me tell you something folks, If you think the tax cap was the greatest thing since slice bread for the town of Derry you may be right... But I want to tell you a little known secret and give credit to the people who created it, our GMO ( Growth Management Ordinance ) these planners, had the wisdom and foresight and have done a great service for our town in which we owe a large amount of praise. Together the tax cap and GMO have done wonders for Derry.
Now having said that, Its been an uphill battle from the late 80's and early 90's to get where we are today and it's moving in the right direction. Please follow along on this exercise:
Derry's tax rate is $22.15 and Londonderry's is $18.55. Now lets see a tax bill comparison on a $300K home. Derry would be $6645/yr and Londonderry would be..........Don't tell me you said $5565!!!! You did! Well you are wrong it is $6307. I know, your saying, what math is he doing, right!
If, I owned a 300K home in Derry and picked it up and moved it over the line, the same home is $340K. As a matter of fact, depending on what town you moved it to, the value would change. This is not a secret and every professional appraiser knows this.
Are you surprised that there is only a $338/year difference! OK, Lets be fair Londonderry has Kindergarten and trash pick-up for its residents and we don't... but $338 is all that separates us. I have to start to wonder if we had the taxable business values Londonderry has, how much lower taxes we would have compared to them. ( I'll try and get those figures and put them in so we can see that comparison.) and I'm figuring it would cost us about .60 cents on the tax rate to get the kindergarten and trash pick-up service they have. ( I'm trying to compare apples to apples as best I can here for the sake of this exercise)
Folks, we really need to thank our GMO for " closing the gap". The GMO is very interesting ( perhaps boring to some ) and we will go over it in another post- By the way, it is my opinion, that if the charter changes are passed- Say goodbye to our GMO as we know it.. More later on this important topic.
( Londonderry does have a GMO but nothing compared to ours )
I found it interesting that some in Londonderry want to revive an old "taxpayers group"and in the article it states that they are tired of seeing "no voter participation" and want to do something about it. Nobody showed up to their school deliberative session.. nobody!
In Derry, We have had our taxpayers group for at least 16 years as I remember, I mean the names have changed but some of its core people have been there from the beginning. Interestly enough... They want us to change our current form of government to yes you guessed it, increase voter participation....
If we look just over to our neighbors.... we see it's not happening. In fact, It is a true fact that we are not unique in this situation. It is really to bad especially when we live in a democracy and many men in women sacrificed for what we have and our right to vote.
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Brian, a technical correction...
The DTA 'died" after the 2000 election cycle and ADT did not start until 2004! While there are SOME of the same people involved, they were different groups in many ways. I know because when I ran and won re-election in 2002, there was no tax group to help me, it was a one-man show, I did all of it practically by myself (a little help from the EDFP folks), but the vast majority a one-man show.
Just a technical correction
-Paul H
Paul, I can remember back in 93 when May Casten got the group going. I can also remember you, Sandy, & Frank Sapareto back then as well.
Back then I can remember a lot of people in that group that have since moved on.( left Derry )
I think alot of the older group were more concerned that they were "upside down" on their mortgages meaning that they owed the bank more than what the house was worth and frustrated that they could not sell without losing money.
Paul H. and Brian C. , I believe that you two guys are the only two people in politics than have any idea how to move this town in the right direction.I am not a politician, and dont want to be.Some Folks in town would like to speak at a council meeting ,But get shut down pretty quick when majority of council does not agree with the topic for discusion .So i thank you Brian for the immediate results, using this blog avenue to save the tax payers of Derry thousands of dollars.For the last 4 weeks the abuse of the Derry fire truck taxi service has come to a screeching halt.Now instead of huge fire / ladder trucks picking up groceries and other misuses,they are being kept ready to go in the fire house where they belong.Now you see the smaller SUV "S being used.Its a step in saving taxpayers money.Hell, taxpayers tell me they saw some of these previous abusers getting out of there own vehicles and doing the shopping thing .This blog had an immediate result,(COST SAVINGS).It did not have to be voted on,special closed door sessions,a meetting after the meeting,executive session,or March or May voting. Somebody with superduper education said ,hey guys knock off the crap ,im getting alot of heat!!
WH3,
Where to begin? Thanks for the kudos but you do realize that Paul H & I are pretty close to being North & South Pole in many areas politically speaking.
At town council meetings, I can understand some people may be nervous coming up to speak but I have always listened and have made it a priorty to let people have a say- I don't recall ever shutting anyone down even if i disagreed.
I am curious though, are there people monitoring every move the firefighters make? I mean, I live and work here in Derry and I don't see all this abuse you claim.I do see it is a common theme in your posts.
Lastly, my style is to not micro-manage but to let the dept heads do there jobs-( my philosophy is that if you don't trust them to run their own depts- than why keep them here.) So if it is your opinion about these changes you are seeing, it not because of me- then it comes from Chief K.
brian...surely you are not suggesting in your hypothetical that the $40,000 premium commanded for a home located in londonderry is materially offset by a paltry $338 spread in taxes...are you?
i for one view the $40,000 (or 13.33%) spread you cite as the real problem. it is a logical outcome of derry's long-term proclivity to sacrfice long-term planning for short-term gain (i am prepared to qualify this statement with examples if you'd like). however, i am thrilled to see that for the first time "critical" (read: considered and insightful)
questions are being raised by some members of the derry council and community which has "raised the substance and content bar" in the discussion. as a result, problem and opportunity identification, plan implementation and solutions offered will be of a higher quality than those provided in the past that created this $40,000 price spread in the first place. status quo thinking has cost us plenty as a community and those responsible and their ideas must be replaced so we can recapture that unfortunate spread that has developed. respectfully submitted, CVA
Brian C. I will begin here.Two years ago in Derry,the place to be,my wife needed some items at Shaws Market.I parked next to a wheel chair parking space and sat waiting for my better half to return.Meanwhile a fire truck pulled up ,three guys get out and go inside.Now mind you not knowing why they parked right out front in the firelane,i thought maybe there is something wrong,but did not see them hurrying in.Well here comes an elderly lady with handycap plates,pulls in next to me and gets out of the car slowly, because of the icey black top, its winter.Now she starts to cross and starts wacking the firetruck with her 4 posted cane.I got out and asked her if she needed any help.Well this lady lashed out at me about doing something to stop these big red trucks from parking every day in her way,LIKE IT WAS MY FAULT.WELL Brian ,it has not stopped for two years.They block passage ways everywhere in town.When these guys came out of the store two years ago they where carrying bags,only now its every place that does business.And yes Brian people tell me this is common place in Derry and only Derry.I have seen a dramatic change from four weeks ago.Now lets talk about letting dept heads do there jobs.One is going to the big house for doing her job to the tune of 365,380.00. and the other dept head for 19 yrs. of cleptomania, number will never be known.How much taxpayers money does it take.Im really not happy sending a portion of my taxes to the lakes region to support this clown while i have to put what little is left into a 401 k.I realy dont care who watches the hen house,either the north or the south.
Wh3,
First dept head you talk about did not work for the town( never did)Second one did work for the town but has not been around here for three years. Was he being dishonest-Yes, he got caught and is doing his time.
CVA,
I would more attribute the difference in values more of a market driven reason and not from any lack of long range planning. People tend to pay more if they are closer to the Mass border ( lots of people working in Mass) and driving to Boston only 30 min vs 45 min. Schools would also be a contributing factor and then of course the fact that Derry has many opportunity for low and moderate income homes also plays a big part.
Brian, i guess i can be wrong.Im not perfect.Just reading the Derry News dated Friday the 7th 2007 and the person involed at DEDC ,only worked for the town.SHE was not a dept head.My mistake.Can you tell the taxpayers that may read this blog if any of those funds came from the town thru taxation or can anybody tell us.Derry News did not go into too much detail as usual.
Wh3,
She-worked for DEDC and not the town- The town never gave her a W2 or a 1099. Her employment was with the DEDC.
Next is the debate of many people.
All I will say is this:
Town gives DEDC $30K Yr.
30K covers part of salary for the director, when directors works on behalf of the town.
Lets say the town needs a brownsfield grant from the state- The DEDC applies for the grant, and if awarded it goes to clean-up sites on behalf of the town.
A clean site may bring a business which in turn pays taxes and so on..
The DEDC also runs its LLC arm on its own-Not part of the town.
I would think that if she took this money and it belong to the town-the town would of brought her to court to recoup its money.
So, I'm not sure she took money from the town but I am sure she took from the LLC.
Brian,
I was reading an article in Union Leader about LONDONDERRY voters feeling intimidated at town meetings.I guess taxpayers there are up againt the wall too.
Raymond NH.just cut a big chunk out of their spending,Chester also. One would ask why. Well here we go again. TAXPAYERS that live in town are tring to get by and now we have The Fire CHIEF wanting his own radio station , as stated in Union Leader Sunday edition Feb 11th 07. One statement in article says, and I quote "tring to get as many tools as we can afford and that are reasonable".
The cost 25000.00 for trailer and radio frequency of only 5 miles. Then news paper states he wants to purchase more electric sign boards. I guess we are going to get those for free. Hello folks, Uncle George here on WDFD!!
Then the taxpayers will be footing the bill for more watts, bigger tower and Bing Crosby crooning lessons.
Brian, people know how to prepare for ice, heat, cold and water. We have been doing it for thousands of years without flashing bill boards and AM radio fire stations.
Officials had how many decades to do something to prepare for Hurricane Katrina that wiped out those poor people. A radio station at a fire station would not have stopped it.
This is one job the Weather Guy in Derry does just fine and at no cost to Derry. THANKS AL .
Wh3,
I like your latest post and think you raise some very good points.
Chief K spoke about a AM frequency channel in cases of emergency only after the Town was chastised by a select few. They found an opportunity to bad mouth the town and lack of services it provided in an ice storm.
It is true, when we lose electricity, we can't use reverse 911 we can't broadcast a message on C17 or we can't send e-mail messages to residents. This way we have 1 way we can get to our residents and its AM radio.
I'm willing to look at it, especially if we can get grants that cover the costs.( not on backs of taxpayers)
However I think the same way that people must prepare for these things after all we do live in New England don't we.
Let's becareful about what is free now (state or federally funded) may not always be free and eventually the tax payer foots the bill. Don't we now have a Health Office Person on staff now that used to be federally funded contractor position that now (somehow) on the town payroll?
Let's just make sure AM radio long term costs are zero as well. Maybe Pinkerton wants a radio station for thier communications department that the town can use in case of an emergency.
brian...firstly, londonderry residents on average have a further commute to 93 given it's generally higher lattitude, just look at the map...secondly, the education and educational resources offered derry vs londonderry students is far and away superior in derry on many levels. i know this to be true because this is something we carefully evaluated before settling in derry. finally...your observation about the socio-economic diversity is precisely the point i am making about a lack of long-range planning! derry has a long storied history of awful real estate projects that served only a few real estate interests for their short-term personal gain only. the number of these ill advised projects and the additional disporportionate demands they have contrbuted, to our school budget in particular, have now mushroomed (and continue to do so) to the point that our student population simply has escalated over the community's ability to comfortably and eqitably pay for it. this circumstance occurred and continues to this day due to the combination of poor town zoning, planning and council definition of and implementation of long range community development plans. if defined and adopted earlier by our "leaders" derry could have kept "things" on a more even keel. it is this collective failure to realize that eventually "the chickens will come home to roost" that has caused the $40.000 price disparity between the two community's. nothing more and nothing less. to argue otherwise is to bury one's head in the sand in denial. this at a time when we need more than ever fresh eyes trainned on the "problem(s)" that have been permitted to go unchecked, business as usual, for to long in this community.
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