PORTSMOUTH TAXPAYER ALLIANCE MINUTES

JANUARY 10, 2009

The January meeting of the Portsmouth Taxpayer Alliance was called to order at 9 a.m. by President Steve Carroll at the Olde Towne Bakery. Everyone was encouraged to sign the sign-in sheet.

President Carroll thanked Troy _______for hosting our meeting. Steve announced that the bakery opens at 7 a.m. for breakfast.

President Carroll opened the meeting with a prayer. Next, he led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag.

Mr. Carroll stated the purpose of the Portsmouth Taxpayer Alliance: a non-profit/non-partisan organization formed exclusively for, but not limited to, the following purposes: (1) provide voters with the knowledge they need to improve their standard of living by reducing the growth rate of government spending so families can keep more of what they earn and (2) become the most objective local source of knowledge on the City’s taxing and spending decisions and their impact on the financial health of families and businesses.

Mr. Carroll stated that we do not have any council members here today due to a City Council work session being held this morning.

A brief summary of the November meeting minutes was given by the secretary. There were no corrections.

Treasurer’s report: 4 people paid dues totaling $60.00. Our balance as of 1/10/09 is $860.30.

President Carroll brought to our attention the following items:

(1) $38 million bond issue scheduled for vote at 1/13/09 City Council meeting

(2) Two lawsuits currently pending against our city

(3) City of Portsmouth under a motion for show cause for a new courthouse

(4) SPSA has a tremendous debt with a $16 million shortfall in this budget. Their contract expires in 2018. Who is liable for this debt if their contract is not renewed?

Mr. Carroll told the group that it is very important for us to let our city council members to know our opinions on these and other important issues.

President Carroll asked the members for other important issues that might be considered. The following were mentioned:

1. Why doesn’t our city require everyone to recycle? (Portsmouth continued to collect fees for recycling—even though recycling has stopped.) Why can you save $10 in Hampton when Portsmouth has added fees for recycling?
2. Should our city consider more guaranteed funds for Lucas properties?
3. Where do we want real estate tax rate to go? What services are we willing to cut to lower the tax rate?
4. We need to know what services are provided and at what cost. Then, we can begin to make recommendations for budget cuts.
5. Why has our Social Servces budget has risen 20% in 2 years?
6. Portsmouth is facing a $13 million shortfall.
7. Portsmouth housing might be cheaper, but tax rate is higher.
8. Waste needs to be identified in our city’s budget and then eliminated.
9. We need to identify the illegitimate businesses in Portsmouth and notify our City Manager. All businesses need to obtain a business license and pay taxes. We need to report those businesses/persons that are making money in our city without the proper license to do so. (Example given was that of persons routinely washing cars at various locations for profit with no overhead vs. a long-time carwash business having to pay real estate and business taxes before any profit could be determined



Mr. Carroll reminded us that one person’s opinion doesn’t make a

difference. We need everyone to become involved and let our council members know our concerns. We need to let council members know what we think about the lawsuit by our judges, the Lucas issues, and also our concerns about SPSA. We need to record illegal business operations and document your findings. Example: On (date) at (time), I saw an illegal (business) being operated at (address).

The following comments were made prior to the close of our meeting:

1. SPSA: Learn more. What happens if they sell their plant?
2. Lucas: If too many bonds are given to one person, will there be enough to attract other businesses to our city?
3. City Council: Plan to attend the meetings. If you do not want to speak, you might want to stand up in support of someone who is speaking.
4. If a renter with a $30,000/yr income is denied a rental because he/she makes too much, what type of renters are we looking for in our subsidized properties?
5. Good schools are as good as the good families and good students that are sent to them.



We were reminded that there is a discussion section on our web site.

All are invited to visit the site at www.portsmouthtax.org and join in the discussion.

President Carroll again thanked Troy _______ for his hospitality. He reminded us that our next meeting is Feb. 14, 2009 at 9 a.m. at the Olde Towne Bakery.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Stewart, Secretary