To the editor: Rep.-elect Morrow on projected property tax hike
The Chester Telegraph | Dec 04, 2024 | Comments 2
The letter projects a 5.9% property tax increase. While it could have been worse, this is still too much on top of recent increases.
As school boards build their budgets, all the fundamentals that drove high spending last year are still in place. These increases include cost pressures boards cannot fix on their own, including:
- Double-digit increases in healthcare premiums (Last year, increases in teacher healthcare and mental health costs drove total spending up about $100 million, or 10 cents on the tax rate.)
- Our extraordinary shortage of housing paired with our aging population means we have fewer school-aged children. Fewer kids means higher costs per kid to maintain our same basic programs.
- School districts are responsible for more social services, including for an unprecedented number of unhoused children this year.
- Our personnel-to-student ratio is very high as our student population declines.
We need to both reduce spending and to create a new funding formula that appropriately directs resources. This increase in property tax rates is unacceptable. This concerns me, as I know it concerns you. Between high housing costs, high healthcare costs and high costs of living, far too many families are very concerned about paying their bills.
I will be working to make sure every child has the opportunities they need at a price taxpayers can afford. That will mean we have to do a few things differently. I believe all options should be on the table. I am open to some hard tradeoffs to protect what we care about most for our children, while protecting people from cost increases they cannot afford.
I appreciate those of you who shared your concerns and priorities over the last couple of months. I will bring your hopes and concerns to our conversations in the legislature. I have great faith in Vermonters’ ability to work together and compromise to solve hard problems, once we put our minds to it.
Representative-elect Chris Morrow
Windham-Windsor-Bennington District of
Andover, Londonderry, Weston, Winhall
Cmorrow@leg.state.vt.us
Filed Under: Commentary • Letters to the Editor
I moved to Andover from New Jersey almost 25 years ago. The tax rates on my home are now comparable to New Jersey tax rates. But New Jersey residents get far more in municipal services for their taxes than Andover residents, especially retirees. In New Jersey, taxes fund education, rescue squads, road maintenance, local police. In Andover, we have no local police, no local fire department or rescue squad. The town contracts with Chester for fire and rescue squad, but those services are so far away they are useless in many parts of Andover. And seniors have no school children to educate. The only service that I get is road maintenance and snow plowing of public roads.
We had an enormous hike in property tax last year. Personally, I had to scramble to come up with the money for the increase, and I have budgeted differently all year to meet the mandated rise in taxes.
I am incredulous. I am floored by yet another massive hike at 5.9% this year. I have never experienced two enormous tax hikes in as many years during my lifetime. It borders on surreal, or it is actually surreal. I can’t help but wonder if government budgeting has been grossly mismanaged, and we residents serve the state’s life preservers.
I wish I knew more about the state’s fiscal responsibilities and allocations, but sadly I don’t!
I can only imagine the gigantic fallout when the tax bills arrive in mailboxes. it will not be a positive response, and I fear chaos will ensue. Everyone will suffer, and those Vermonters who don’t keep up to date on tax matters will be caught unaware, resulting in troubled, angry, alarmed and flabbergasted reactions. Seriously, I envision panic across the State. There has to be an alternative strategy to meet the State’s needs.