Manchester's Mayoral Candidates Battle Over Taxes

listen:

(FADE IN DRUM BEAT)

WITH A WEEK TO GOT UNTIL MANCHESTER’S PRIMARY ELECTION FOR MAYOR…THE PRINCIPAL CHALLENGER IS DRUMMING FOR LOWER TAXES AND LESS SPENDING.

CITY ALDERMAN FRANK GUINTA.

Guinta “….. As you know, we’ve had six consecutive tax hikes in the city of Manchester, twenty-percent in the past four years alone. People need relief, that’s what I’m hearing when I go door-to-door. That’s the first I’m gonna do is provide tax cuts for the people in Manchester.”

GUINTA WAS CAMPAIGNING AT THE MILL CITY FESTIVAL AT AMES PARK OVER THE WEEKEND.

INCUMBENT MAYOR BOB BAINES…SEEKING A FOURTH 2-YEAR TERM…WAS ALSO PRESSING THE FLESH AT THE DOWNTOWN EVENT.

BAINES DISPUTES GUINTA'S CHARGES THAT HE'S “THE SPENDING MAYOR.”

Baines “…… Before I became, the previous mayor put in a spending increase of 16.5-percent. My last for 4 budgets have been within the rate of inflation.”

THE SEPTEMBER 20 PRIMARY WILL NARROW THE FIELD OF 3 CANDIDATES TO TWO.

TAX AND SPENDING ACTIVIST JEFF KASSEL IS THE LONG SHOT ENTRY.

Kassel “I am promoting a citizen initiative in this town that is going to control spending and control taxes. we got over 5-thousand people to sign on to the spending cap when we were circulating the petitions. ….And the people who signed on to that spending cap petition…to control spending… were Democrats, were Republicans, and Independents. ”

KASSEL'S SPENDING CAP INITIATIVE WOULD CHANGE THE CITY CHARTER.

IT WOULD PREVENT TAXES AND SPENDING FROM RISING FASTER THAN THE COST OF LIVING.

KASSEL CLAIMS THAT HOMEOWNERS ARE BEING TAXED OUT OF THE CITY.

Kassel “….My property taxes are approaching 5-thousand dollars. And they have grown 600-percent since I have lived in Manchester.
And this is an unacceptable number.
People cannot afford that.”

MAYOR BAINES DENIES THAT RISING PROPERTY TAX RATES HAVE PROMPTED AN EXODUS.

HE SAYS THE CITY HAS A LIBERAL TAX EXEMPTION STATUS FOR ANYONE WHO FALLS UNDER A CERTAIN INCOME LEVEL.

BAINES BELIEVES THE FINANCIAL SQUEEZE IS COMING FROM ELSEWHERE.

Baines “…What people are seeing is that we have a lot of federal funding issues that strangling a lot of people. Gas prices, health insurance…which is a national crisis we face every year. 20-percent increases in providing health insurance. So we have tremendous issues there. We also look at what’s happened with the state. The state took away 3-and-a-half million dollars last year in educational funding.”

AND THAT SAYS BAINES MADE THE CITY'S BUDGET EVEN TIGHTER.

BUT GUINTA CLAIMS THE PROBLEM LIES NOT IN THE AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL AND STATE MONEY.

BUT HOW IT'S SPENT.

Guinta “Well, the City of Manchester received both in Homeland Security funds in excess of a million dollars and in state adequacy money over 100-million dollars since the mayor has been in office. In my opinion, if you can’t have tax cuts with the tax base expansion that we’re seeing and those grants coming to the City of Manchester, I think you’re misunderstanding how to put budgets together.”

INSTEAD OF TAX CUTS, BAINES IS LOOKING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

AND HE SAYS THAT TAX BASE EXPANSION THAT GIUNTA MENTIONS IS DUE TO HIS PROGRAMS TO BROADEN THE TAX BASE.

AND HE PROMISES THAT RELIEF IS ON THE WAY FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAXPAYERS.

Baines “The state requires you to re-evaluate property every five years. We’ve had some great sales of commercial properties in the city. That’s what they base the evaluations on, what’s happening with comparable sales for comparable pieces of property. We’re starting to see that change now.”

BUT WHILE BAINES AND GUINTA DEBATE TAX POLICY, OUTSIDER KASSEL SEES LITTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO WHEN IT COMES TO SPENDING.

Kassel “I tried to get Frank Guinta to sign on to the spending cap. He claims he’s a tax fighter. But the truth is Frank Guinta was Bob Baines’
poodle. Frank Guinta voted for every one of Bob Baines’ big spending projects, including a 28-million dollar baseball stadium.”

BUT EVEN IF CHALLENGER JEFF KASSEL DOESN'T MAKE IT TO THE FINALS IN NOVEMBER, HIS SPENDING CAP CHARTER AMENDMENT MAY.

THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SECRETARY OF STATE HAVE REJECTED THE INITIATIVE.

BUT KASSEL’S GROUP…CONCERNED TAXPAYERS OF MANCHESTER…IS FIGHTING IN SUPERIOR COURT TO PUT THE CHARTER AMENDMENT TO THE VOTERS.

FOR NHPR NEWS , THIS IS JOE COX.