Register with the State-money stays on the water

[Breakwater]

I know some of you prefer to register your boat at Town Hall or at your local marina. I will be registering through the mail or at a state facility so I know my money stays on the lake.

I know some towns use their boat reg revenues for their waterfront...but not all. So before you register, know where your money goes!

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Breakwater

I know some of you prefer to register your boat at Town Hall or at your local marina. I will be registering through the mail or at a state facility so I know my money stays on the lake.

I know some towns use their boat reg revenues for their waterfront...but not all. So before you register, know where your money goes!

Agents (including marinas and some towns ie; Laconia, Chichester) can collect $5 for processing the registration. All other monies go to the State.

[Slickcraft]

Gilford has always been good in their support of the Glendale docks and us island residents. We always register our boats at the Gilford town hall.

[Breakwater]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

Agents (including marinas and some towns ie; Laconia, Chichester) can collect $5 for processing the registration. All other monies go to the State.

The towns not only get the $5. they also get the boat fees. The state only gets the registration fee as listed below unless they are the agent.

270-E:5 Registration Fees. –
I. The registration fees for commercial, private, and pleasure vessels, including rentals and airboats shall be as follows: (a) Up to and including 16 feet $24
(b) 16.1 feet to 21 feet $34
(c) 21.1 feet to 30 feet $52
(d) 30.1 feet to 45 feet $72
(e) 45.1 feet and over $92


Section 72-A:5
72-A:5 Town Treasurer. –
I. Every clerk, tax collector, and authorized agent shall each week send all boat fees collected to his town or city treasurer. Except as provided in paragraph II, boat fees shall be for the general use of the town or city.
II. When the boat fee is collected by the department of safety, the fee shall be deposited in the navigation safety fund established under RSA 270-E:6-a.


Additional boat fees can be found at this link... http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/...2-A/72-A-3.htm

Slickcraft-if you use Glendale registering with the Town of Gilford makes sense!

[Kamper]

Strictly speaking, it doesn't 'stay on the lake' but supports boating activities throughout the state.

The real threat to these funds though is the General Court. They can and have transferred money from dedicated funds to the general funds. Anyone who feels strongly about this can write the state Rep.s and Senators to remind them that dedicated funds were created so the general fund isn't tapped for what is viewed (right or wrong) for programs used by a limited segment of the population. If they keep raiding these accounts needed programs will suffer.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Kamper

Strictly speaking, it doesn't 'stay on the lake' but supports boating activities throughout the state.

The real threat to these funds though is the General Court. They can and have transferred money from dedicated funds to the general funds. Anyone who feels strongly about this can write the state Rep.s and Senators to remind them that dedicated funds were created so the general fund isn't tapped for what is viewed (right or wrong) for programs used by a limited segment of the population. If they keep raiding these accounts needed programs will suffer.

From the Concord Monitor today: http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/1...edicated-funds

Two legislators are among several who oppose raiding dedicated funds, and watching legislative news for examples of this happening to balance the budget is worth letters to our elected representatives opposing such raiding. Regardless of where you register your boat, the money needs to stay in that dedicated fund to the benefit of our state's waterways.

[BroadHopper]

Last year or the year before, the state transferred the boating fund to the general fund. It was not the first time. I approached Rep. Huot of Laconia and he agreed to pass a bill not allowing transfers. He had full support of SBONH and the BASS federation, but no support from WINNFABS. The bill went ITL. Perhaps if there is enough interest, I can ask the representative to resubmit. It takes a village.

[robmac]

I think it is worth another go at it. If legislators can't stay within a budget like we have to with our income we the voters need new one. It's rather simple, you have 20 dollars you can't spend a hundred and look for someone to come up with 80.

[tis]

It's no different than the gas/diesel fuel taxes. How much of THAT do you suppose has gone to roads? Not much considering how much has gone in year after year, after year. And now we have another state increase and the federal gov. is also talking about another increase. Do you think they will "fix" the roads this time? Sorry, don't mean to take this off topic, just to make a comparison.

[Descant]

This isn't a matter of spending money we don't have. The problem is changing priorities. You're saving 5% of your income for a new boat that you plan to buy in five years. Your youngest child needs braces, the oldest wants help paying for college, and ice destroyed your dock (no insurance). So you raid the boat fund.

Even legislators can only plan so far into the future. We're lucky they can make it work for two years at a time.

[jeffk]

Originally Posted by Descant

This isn't a matter of spending money we don't have. The problem is changing priorities. You're saving 5% of your income for a new boat that you plan to buy in five years. Your youngest child needs braces, the oldest wants help paying for college, and ice destroyed your dock (no insurance). So you raid the boat fund.

Even legislators can only plan so far into the future. We're lucky they can make it work for two years at a time.

The problem is this is that legislatures run a bait and switch operation. They justify higher fees in programs the public supports. Most boaters want reasonable safety measures in place so they may grumble but do pay higher fees. Same with roads. The public wants safe and maintained roads. A raised gas tax may be OK to support that.

But then the legislators raid road or boat fees to pay for other things that the public doesn't care about or support. Then a few years later they are telling us they need even more money for roads or boating because the money got raided. It's low road politics and it's all too common.

Notice also it never works in the reverse. Other programs are never raided to pay for roads, even when the roads are said to be in horrible condition.

[fatlazyless]

Beside the issue of registering at a town hall or a marina or through the state .....if you have a problem registering an old boat.....such as no hull numbers....no state reg numbers on the hull......no old registration.....first time registration.....or no title.....then the MP-HQ at the Glendale docks is the place to go....plus you save the five dollar service fee when you go to the Marine Patrol service window.

A 12' sailboat (the minimum length requiring a registration) without a motor costs about $40/year to register, so saving the extra five dollars that you would pay the town or a marina is a lot of money! That five dollars could buy you two big boxes of cheerios look-a-likes at walmart and eat good for a week!

[Descant]

Jeffk is right up to a point. There are about 135 new members of the legislature every session. Those who passed the bill in year one are not the ones who changed it in year 1++.