Barrington residents will be voting for electing Town officials on Tuesday, March 10th, 2020, including two Select Board members, a Trustee of Trust Funds, a Cemetery Trustee, three Library Trustees, a Town Moderator, and a Supervisors of the Checklist. There are only two candidates running for the Select Board, and the ballot asks for you to vote for not more than two, so it’s pretty much guaranteed that George Bailey and Jim Saccoccia will become Select Board Members for the next three years. Patricia Gingrich is the only candidate running for Trustee of Trust Funds, so it is most likely that she will win, as well as Rick Walker, our Fire Chief, for Cemetery Trustee.
For the Library Trustees, there are two separate sections to vote for the three open positions. One section asks to vote for not more than two between the following three candidates: George Bailey, Karolina Bodner, and Lindsey Maziarz. The remaining category for Library Trustee only has one candidate, Karen Lee Towne, who will likely win since there is no one running against her.
There is also only one candidate running for Town Moderator – Ronald St. Jean, who will likely win the two-year term. There is also only one candidate running for the Supervisors of the Checklist – Nilda T. Janelle, who will likely also win her six-year term.
There are 21 articles up for a vote tomorrow, including the heated debate about the New Library, which will be decided based on the outcome of Article 03, which reads:
“To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $4,239,877 (gross budget) for the construction of a library and community center, including but not limited to building construction, site work, architectural fees, engineering, permitting, inspection, furniture, commissioning and other expenses to occupy the building, and to authorize the issuance of not more than $3,998,877 of bonds or notes in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Finance Act (RSA 33) and to authorize the Select Board to issue and negotiate such bonds or notes and to determine the rate of interest thereon. The remaining $241,000 required for the project will come from the Barrington Library Foundation. [3/5th (60%) Majority Required]. Note: This appropriation is in addition to Warrant Article #5, the operating budget article. This article is recommended by the Select Board 3-0. This article is recommended by the Advisory Budget Committee 3-2. This article will have no impact on 2020 property taxes but there is a commitment to make payments in future years which will increase property taxes in those years approximately $0.31 per $1,000 of assessed value or $93 per year on a $300,000 property.”
Article 15 is also a very important issue, which would allow the city to discount the taxes of a home with a solar installation at its full value, rather than the $5,000 limit under State law. It reads:
To see if the Town will vote to modify the provisions of RSA 72:61-64 inclusively, which provide for an optional property tax exemption from the property’s assessed value, for property tax purposes, for persons owning real property, which is equipped with solar energy systems intended for use at the immediate site. Such property tax exemption shall be in the amount equal to 100% of the assessed value of qualifying solar energy system equipment under these statutes. This article would replace the existing $5,000 solar exemption. [Majority Vote Required]. This article is recommended by the Select Board 3-0. This article is recommended by the Advisory Budget Committee 4-1.
Article 22, which was submitted by Rep. Matt Towne, would urge the New Hampshire General Court to appoint an independent redistricting commission that draws the new district maps in a way that does not rely on partisan data such as election results or party registration or favor particular political parties or candidates. This would avoid gerrymandering in New Hampshire, so that when districts are drawn after the 2020 Census, they don’t favor a specific political party simply by their boundaries.
Article 20 is a petition to prevent nuclear war, by calling on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons as a first-strike capability, ending the sole, unchecked authority of the President of the United States to launch a nuclear strike, by taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, canceling the plan to replace the entire U.S. arsenal with more advanced nuclear weapons, and actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
There are 11 appropriations articles that would have no impact on 2020 property taxes. Article 05 would set the default budget to $7,300,847. If defeated, the default budget will remain at $7,167,887. Article 06 would appropriate $2,000,000 for the purpose of replacing the bridge on Greenhill Road over Isinglass River, and to accept $1,600,000 from the State of New Hampshire. The remaining $400,000 would come from the unassigned fund balance and would not raise taxes.
Article 18 would allow keno games (gambling) in Barrington if passed. Article 12 would raise and appropriate the sum of $5,000 towards the Tricentennial Celebration Expendable Trust, which would have no impact on taxes. There are also two similar articles regarding Service-Connected Disability Credits, in both Article 17 and Article 19, as follows:
Article 17
To see if the Town will vote to modify the provisions of RSA 72:35 for an optional tax credit of $2,550 for a Service-Connected Total Disability on residential property, with a plan for future incremental increase. [Majority Vote Required]. This article is recommended by the Select Board 4-0. This article is recommended by the Advisory Budget Committee 4-0. (BY PETITION)
Article 19
To see if the Town will vote to modify the provisions of RSA 72:35 for an optional tax credit of $2,550 for a Service-Connected Total Disability on residential property, with a plan for future incremental increase. This article, if passed, only takes effect if Article 17 fails to pass. [Majority Vote Required]. This article is recommended by the Select Board 4-0. This article is recommended by the Advisory Budget Committee 4-0.
Conner MacIver, in response to a question about the two similar articles, said this:
"One was a petitioned article; one was brought forward from the Select Board. They were amended at Deliberative Session to reflect the same amount."
To see the entire ballot, click here. To see additional voting information from the Town of Barrington, click here.
The Town Administrator did cite that the polling location will be following these guidelines to ensure safety in light of the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States.