[Long Island Baba]

Let’s do some out loud thinking on the Community Center issue yet again before us in Moultonborough.

The “petition” Article 23 to move Town Meeting next year to March instead of May is just icing on the cake to the nonsense in front of us. Do ya think it may have something to do with pushing through a Community Center while the snowbirds are out of town?

Problem is we have too much money and it keeps flowing in. Moultonboro has an over-funded unrestricted fund balance. What is this but a holding account full of monies unspent from prior years. This means it is taxpayer money where we were over-taxed! Multiple years in a row. On occasion money is drawn from this fund to reduce taxation but mostly it sits and grows and sits and grows. Do ya think it is a tempting pile of dough?

Of course, reserves are standard business practice and an important element of budgeting, but….

The Town 2021 Annual Report Page 63 the independent auditors state: “As defined by the Town’s Fund Balance Policy, based upon our best estimates of the fiscal 2021 budgets for other entities, the unassigned fund balance will be approximately 18.1% of total appropriations….in comparison to the target of 12.5%.” Note to self: this translates to nearly 50% more than target policy.

And, while your head is spinning, the Town’s Capital Reserve Funds are sitting at $5.3Million as of 12/31/21. The Capital Improvements Committee final report January 2022 computes Department Head dreams and needs average $1.6Million annually for the next six years. No funding challenge here either as we fund those regularly as part of the budget ritual.

No, now is not the time to mention it but the School/Sau 45 has their own bushels of reserves and fund balances too. A budget of $15.5Million for 500 kids, including pre-k starting at age 3. A March 2022 rubber stamp vote adjusted the retained unrestricted fund balance from 2.5% of net assessment to 5%. Wonder where this is going?

At tax rate setting time a few months ago Selectman McGee made a motion to move $2Million from that unassigned fund balance and offset the tax rate returning that money to the taxpayer. His initiative didn’t pass but he was successful to move less than half that amount with a vote of 4-0-1. Selectman Beadle abstained from voting but during open discussion she didn’t support any reduction at all and wanted to keep the previous tax rate while assessments went up a town-wide average of 10.3% thus grabbing 10.3% more in tax revenue.

The rate now set, the very next week the Board of Selectmen put forth Article 8 on the 2022 Town Meeting Warrant which asks the voters to put $750,000 of that same unrestricted fund balance money into a capital reserve for a future Community Center (CC). Selectman Beadle made the motion. Hmmmmm. Is this why she didn’t support the tax rate reduction a week earlier to return those same over-taxation funds as her peers had agreed?

A nice architectural rendition is available of the new CC spearheaded by the resident petitioners. Nothing else but a “we need it” even though the taxpayers have voted smaller-sized, less expensive versions down four times since 2008.

This group of resident petitioners for this newest version CC portray it as 34,000 sq ft, two swimming pools with one a heated therapy pool, a gym, locker rooms, meeting rooms and office spaces, and commercial kitchen. It has been designed around their newest interpretation of needs. Want a wedding? Come here and the taxpayers will subsidize it, no worries. Live in an adjacent town? All good. The petitioners want you to use it too.

Here’s a thought. While many of us support non-profits independently how is it that the petitioners move to burden all taxpayers so non-profits have a place to meet in cozy new quarters we pay for? Is that the role of Government? What happens when one after another non-profit or any group arrives and demands space for their events? Do we then have to build or make space available for them? Is it discrimination if we say no? Are we sued for not equally supporting the group? Should this potential burden and liability be placed on the taxpayers? This could get really ugly as this nonsense around us continues to expand.

Let’s do some math. At 34,000 sq ft (larger than Meredith CC of course) and about $450/sq ft would make the price tag of $15Million. With inflation and Brandon in charge plus interest would put it at $20 Million a few years out when it could be built. Adding management staff, lifeguards for 2 pools, plus maintenance and other ongoing costs is likely to add $750,000 easily to the budget each year. Plus then add pro-rated capital improvement costs for out years. Think an average of $75,000/year per staff member for payroll, federal and state payroll taxes, benefits (did you know town employees pay only 10% of healthcare costs unless they were hired in the last two years when it jumped to 15%), pensions and uniforms. Then utilities, pool and both indoor and outdoor upkeep and maintenance.

The other elephant in the room is if built how will the fees be developed? What amount is likely to be asked to be subsidized by the taxpayer not using the facility at all? Will folks from adjacent towns have the same fee structure? Sure. No problem. I want a town-subsidized golf course. Can we get that too? The old mantra, it will only add $100/year to the property tax of an average home will be dusted off, plus, of course, it’s for the children… and now with the heated therapy pool, it’s for the elderly. A win-win. Cough up the dough!

Fees will be charged for users. Great! According to the 2022 Town Report Page 53 the town has raked in a whopping $1,075 in 2021 collected revenue at the current facility. Many of the same user groups dictating the “need” for the new CC facility. Sweet!

The folks that pay I am told 75% of the taxes in town are the waterfront property owners. Guessing a small small percentage of those are resident voters. Also guessing a single digit percentage of any of the waterfront property owners will step foot into the CC, if at all. So like is going on nationally, this is an “other people’s money” grab by a small few that are attempting to jam it down our throats yet again. Without all the facts up front.

No worries. Just put some money aside. Your over taxed money. Details will come later. Pricing. Fee structure. All the small details that don’t matter. Donations will come in. Ah. How is that coming? I hear a few thousand dollars has been raised. Good work. Keep going. Call us when you get $10 Million. Don’t fall for the “Trust me, we will do the right thing with your money”. Sounds like Washington DC: approve the bill and find out what’s in it later. No thanks. Been there and still there. Doesn’t work so well for the folks paying for it.

Saturday will be a fun.