By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Last year the people of Hooksett voted against the town's proposed annual operating budget, and many town officials are concerned that another default budget would necessitate major cutbacks.

The passage of Warrant Article 8 on this year's ballot would give the town an operating budget of $13,479,879. If the article is defeated, the default budget would likely be $13,034,453, according to the "Town Council Report" in this year's Town Meeting Guide.

The report shows that the proposed budget would cost taxpayers $6.70 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Depending on the success of specific warrant articles, this figure could grow to as high as $7.12.

Under the current operating budget, Hooksett residents pay $5.84 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the town portion of their taxes. Thus approval of a new budget would cause municipal taxes to increase by anywhere from 86 cents to $1.28 per $1,000.

Many town officials see the increase as absolutely necessary, saying that their department's money lines are already stretched too thin, especially considering current and anticipated fuel prices.

"Everybody right now is suffering from the price of fuel," said Dale Hemeon, chairman of both the Hooksett Highway Department and the Parks and Recreation Department. "Everything is fuel-driven."

Hemeon said this year's default budget allotted 67 cents per gallon of gas. With gas prices as they are now, Hemeon said the current budget has required the highway department to cut back on many basic projects, including paving, street sweeping and cleaning catch basins.

Another raw material Hemeon cited as problematic is salt. He said the price of salt in the default budget was $30 a ton, but that the actual price of salt by year's end had jumped to $60 a ton.

The effect, said Hemeon, was that he often had to use sand, a cheaper alternative to salt. He said the problem with sand, however, is that it requires more street sweeping, an activity that the department already can't afford.

Hemeon added that the town's aging fleet is becoming a growing concern, especially since maintaining older vehicles isn't a good long-term investment.

"We're going to have to wait until the new budget in July before we can think about any major projects," Hemeon said. "But if we have another default budget, it's going to be a long, tough year."

Like Hemeon, Hooksett Chief of Police Stephen Agrafiotis said fuel prices are causing the most trouble.

"We don't have enough money in our gas line," Agrafiotis said. "The end result is that we can't get as many officers on the street as we would like."

Agrafiotis said four of the police department's 29 sworn officer positions, as already granted by Hooksett voters, would be in danger of going unfilled with another default budget.

"We can't fill the staff up and then not be able to put gas in the cars and run an office," Agrafiotis said.

Agrafiotis also cited the department's aging fleet as a cause for concern. He said another default budget would likely allow for only two new vehicles, despite the fact that six vehicles in the current fleet are either at or approaching 100,000 miles.

Not all town departments are as heavily hit by fuel prices, but many others still worry about the implications of another default budget.

"I don't think devastating is too strong a word to use," said Mary Farwell, chief of the Hooksett Public Library Board of Trustees.

Farwell said the library has already had to cut back hours and many of its programs, and that a default budget could only mean more cuts.

Farwell said library services that could potentially suffer include the children's story hour, adult programs, computer programs and the book budget. The library has also had to close on Thursdays, and Farwell said a default budget would likely mean even fewer operating hours.

"The library is a very good resource for this community," Farwell said. "If we're closed, there aren't going to be places for people to meet or for groups to get together."

Farwell stressed that the library is one of many of the town's departments that would suffer from another default budget.

"If people's streets are cleaned and their trash gets picked up, they don't realize there's a problem," Farwell said. "But it's going to hurt morale if town employees think that Hooksett's people don't care about living in a good town."

Voting will take place on Tuesday, May 10, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at David R. Cawley Middle School.