The Strafford County delegation voted to set the amount to be raised by taxes for the county’s 2025 budget at $41,995,908 and approved a 3.4% increase to sheriff civil paperwork fees, officials said during the delegation meeting.

Representative Smith moved to accept “the amount to be raised by taxes in the amount of $41,995,908 for the Strafford County 2025 budget,” and spoke in favor of the measure. “This budget provides essential services to the citizens of Strafford County at a reasonable cost, and it deserves a yes vote,” Representative Smith said.

The motion on the budget was announced as passing with 23 yes votes in the meeting’s roll call. The transcript records later clarifications from representatives about vote counts showing some inconsistent tallies for earlier votes: one exchange references a 22-to-9 vote total and another references different totals for subsequent votes. The delegation did not resolve the differing tallies on the record in the portions of the transcript tied directly to the budget motion; the budget motion is recorded as passing in the meeting minutes.

Delegates noted last year’s levy was reported in the meeting at $40,718,000. At one point during the discussion a different figure for the 2025 levy—$41,983,178—was read aloud; the delegation’s motion itself and the primary vote record name $41,995,908 as the amount to be raised by taxes.

Separately, under RSA 104:31, the delegation considered and approved an increase in fees charged by the sheriff for civil paperwork. Representative Bob Monte moved the fee increase; Representative Miller seconded. The motion would raise the fee by 3.4%, increasing the charge from $32.42 to $33.52, an increase of $1.10, with the new fee effective July 1, 2025.

Representative Harrington asked when the fee was last raised; a delegate replied that it had been raised in the previous cycle. The fee motion passed by roll call with a 29-2-1 result recorded in the transcript.

The delegation also approved minutes from a Jan. 29 public hearing and handled routine attendance and procedural items before adjourning.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to set the amount to be raised by taxes for the Strafford County 2025 budget at $41,995,908 — Moved by Representative Smith; outcome: approved (recorded as passing; roll-call announcement recorded 23 yes votes; transcript contains later, conflicting clarifications of counts).

- Motion to raise sheriff civil paperwork fees by 3.4% from $32.42 to $33.52, effective July 1, 2025 — Moved by Representative Bob Monte; seconded by Representative Miller; outcome: approved, roll-call recorded 29 yes, 2 no, 1 abstain.

The delegation adjourned after the votes and routine business.