The Andover town budgets for 2013 have been finalized by the several annual meetings. The School appropriation is up $264,927, or 6.1% over last year. The Town appropriation (net of pass-throughs) is up $101,089, or 6.6% over last year. The Fire Department appropriations show a slight decrease of $3,445. As a result, the total net appropriations for 2013 are up by $360,461, up 6.2% over the total appropriations for last year.
Based on current estimates of offsetting revenues and available unused surplus funds, it is estimated that these appropriations will result in a tax rate for Andover of $20.58 for the Andover Fire District and $20.29 for the East Andover Fire District, each up $1.91 or 10.2% over last year’s rates. This increase equates to an increase in the tax bill for a property appraised at $200,000 of $382.
Andover School District Meeting
The Andover School District Meeting was attended by approximately 150 voters, only 9% of the 1,669 total registered voters. This meeting rejected the Budget Committee’s proposed total budget of $4,484,528. It voted to accept and appropriate funds for the School Board’s recommended total budget of $4,615,296. This budget includes funding for a new three-year teacher contract, adding an additional fourth grade teacher, and increasing the kindergarten from half-time to full-time.
As mentioned above, this appropriation is an increase of $264,927 or 6.1% over last year’s appropriation of $4,351,029. State and Federal aid is expected to be down by about $10,000. Estimates of current year expenditures suggest that little or no fund surplus will be available to reduce taxes for the coming year. As a result, the estimated school tax rate for 2013 is $13.67. This is an increase of $1.65 or 13.7% over last year’s rate of $12.02. This will increase the tax bill for a property assessed at $200,000 by $330.
Andover Town Meeting
The budget recommended by the Budget Committee and the Selectmen as printed in the Town Report had a misprint. The Police Benefits line, printed as $51,309, should have been $36,406. An amendment to correct that error was accepted.
The Andover Town Meeting then voted to accept the amended recommended budget. Then on reconsideration, the meeting voted to amend the Budget Committee’s and Selectmen’s recommended budget by increasing the Parks and Recreation budget by $8,000 to allow completion of the Blackwater Park building facility in 2013. The total appropriation (net of pass-throughs that do not affect the tax rate) was $1,502,583. This represents an increase over last year’s appropriation of $1,401,494 by $101,089, or 7.2%.
The Board of Selectmen estimates that revenues available to offset taxes in 2013 will be up by approximately $31,000 over last year. The resulting Town tax rate for 2013 is estimated to be $3.61, up $0.26 or 7.8% over last year’s tax rate of $3.35. The Selectmen do not anticipate that any surplus will be available from 2012 to reduce this tax rate.
Andover Fire Districts
The Andover Fire Department voted a net appropriation of $67,382, and the East Andover Fire Department voted a net appropriation of $53,312, both slightly reduced from the previous year.
Tax Rate Estimates
The total net appropriation voted for 2013 at the various annual meetings is $6,210,773. This is up $360,461 from $5,850,312 appropriated for 2012.
Assuming that the Merrimack County charge to Andover this year remains the same as last year, and estimating the amounts of expected offsetting revenues, the total tax rates for this year are estimated to be $20.58 for the Andover Fire District and $20.29 for the East Andover Fire District, both up about $1.91 or 10.2% from last year.
The increase in the tax bill for a property valued at $200,000 is estimated to be $382. Of this amount, $330 will go to increased School taxes, and $52 will go to increased Town taxes.