Monday, December 29, 2008

Take back the money

This post will make some people very upset and I can fully appreciate that fact because of all their hard work and great effort into getting the Town of Derry a bike path that would connect with the town of Windham's'.
However we are in an economy like no other and with the last couple of town council meetings discussions talking about possible lay-offs, hiring freezes and freezes in overtime as well as a demand of our town administrator to come in with a 0% increase, how can we in good conscience spend $225,000 on a bike path at this time?
It just does not make sense does it???
I would not want the efforts of the bike path committee and the hard work in raising the other money go unnoticed either, however it can wait until the economy is much better don't you agree.

The right thing to do here is for the council to rescind the vote that gave them the $225,000 and use this money to lower the taxpayers tax rate for next year. Could you just imagine that the town administrator comes in at 0% tax increase for next year and then we use the $225,000 to actually LOWER THE TAX RATE.
What are your thoughts on this! agree? disagree? and tell us why!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Derry's major ice storm

Another unforgettable major storm has made it's impression on all of us here in Derry. This one ranks right up there with the "blizzard of 78".

I would like to thank our Emergency Operations Center for performing an outstanding job and they are still at it as this blog is being written. This storm was devastating with knocking down trees and power lines snapping. Frigid temps and lack of electricity made for rough days and nights as people were scrambling to stay warm and get to the basic necessities such as food and water.

In some spots, it looked like a war zone. Warner Hill, English Range road and Windham road. In this blog, I would like to hear from you how this storm effected your life. How did you cope, and what you will do to prepare yourself for future storms.

If you have picture you would like to share, please send them along as well.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Is becoming a city the answer?

Is becoming a city the answer in Derry? Will property taxes finally start to come down in doing so? Some say "Yes" and others are saying they are not so sure.
For years the discussions around the water bubblier was that maybe if we could become a city, taxes would be kept in line because the schools portion of the tax bill would have to fall under the "tax cap" that the town presently has.

For those of you who may not know how the Town works presently, here is the scoop.

Only the town side of your tax bill has a tax cap, which ties into the national CPI and which has averaged about 3% a year over the last 10 years. Never has a council spent up to the maximum allowed in any year. Last year, We were allowed to add an additional .22 cents/1000 of home value and we spent .18 cents.

The rest of your tax bill includes the following: School, State and County. These four categories make up your total bill. Only the town side portion has the tax cap.

The idea in becoming a city would allow you to include the school portion under the cap. The school portion is the largest of the four in taxes.

Another reason to become a city is that cities have different grant monies from the feds than a town would. We may have more opportunities to get more grant money.

At the last council meeting, Councilor Coyle introduced a motion for the establishment of a charter commission so that the elected commission members could look into the possibilities of becoming a city and to study the idea in more detail.

The council will have a public hearing in Jan to get the public reaction to establishing the committee. What are your thoughts? Is it time to become a City?