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Woodstock Select Board advances draft warrant and budget proposal, including proposed elderly exemption changes
Summary
At a workshop, the Woodstock Select Board approved a 2026 draft warrant that includes a $5.82 million operating budget recommendation, multiple capital reserve articles and proposed changes to the elderly property tax exemption; the board also submitted the draft MS-7/37 for DRA review and set estimated taxes to be raised at $3,787,645.
The Woodstock Select Board approved a draft warrant for the 2026 town meeting and forwarded a draft MS-7/37 estimating taxes to be raised at $3,787,645.
Chair opened the meeting at 5:01 p.m. and read key warrant articles, including Article 3, the operating budget, for the board to review. “The town will vote to raise and appropriate the budget committee recommended sum of $5,822,848,” the Chair said. Staff noted the draft is subject to final Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) adjustments before it is locked in for the meeting.
Staff said the overall increase across funds is roughly $358,006, about 10 percent in total, and explained tax impacts in practical terms: on a $400,000 house the combined number cited in the draft would be about $244 a year (about $122 a quarter), though when water and sewer are excluded the impact is much smaller. “If you looked at it, the average person would think it’s a 61¢ increase — on a $400,000 house that’s $244 a year,” the staff member said, illustrating how presentation of combined funds can be misleading for voters.
The board also advanced a series of capital reserve articles: $250,000 to the water capital reserve to address increased costs at Lower Woodstock; $25,000 for the community center capital reserve; funding for revaluation and paving; and standard reserves for library, Main Street revitalization, highway maintenance ($95,000), heavy equipment ($75,000), and sanitary system capital. Members explained recurring operating-line projects were moved into capital reserve accounts to avoid year-end encumbrance and to allow funds to accumulate for larger projects.
One substantive warrant item, Article 25, would amend RSA 72:39‑a elderly exemption thresholds by assessed value: $60,000 for ages 65–74, $80,000 for ages 75–79, and $100,000 for 80 and older. The article also sets income and net-asset limits and residency/ownership requirements; the select board recommended the article.
On administrative measures, the board discussed Article 24, which would establish a vehicle maintenance capital reserve fund under RSA 31.1 to fund major vehicle repairs and future replacement costs following cases where insurance did not cover the full replacement value of assets.
The board voted to accept the draft warrant for submission to DRA so the document can be finalized and posted in advance of town meeting. The draft MS-7/37 was also accepted as the town’s working estimate of taxes to be raised. Any DRA-required formatting or numeric tweaks will be made before the warrant is printed and posted.
Next steps: the warrant will be finalized with any DRA edits and the board will bring the warrant and the MS-7/37 forward at the next scheduled meeting and at town meeting for voter consideration.
