Over 140 New Hampshire Officials Slam State Budget as ‘Economic Sabotage’

Exclusive: Officials from across New Hampshire call on Ayotte not to pass this harmful budget

A coalition of more than 140 local elected officials across New Hampshire is blasting the state’s proposed 2026 budget, crafted by Republican lawmakers, calling it a “moral failure” and “economic sabotage” for working families.

In a sharply-worded open letter to Gov. Kelly Ayotte and other lawmakers ahead of the budget conference committee, the group warned that the proposal would raise property taxes, deepen inequality, and gut essential services in local communities.

“Me and the folks who signed on are pretty nervous that the governor and the Republicans in the State House are more concerned about, essentially, giving tax breaks to wealthy individuals and corporations here in New Hampshire rather than the folks on the ground,” said Somersworth Mayor Matt Gerding, a prominent signatory to the letter, in an interview.

“We’re not going to get the same amount of federal funding because the federal government’s looking to make some serious cuts. It’s one of the major sources at the state and local level for funding, and now we have a state budget that’s looking pretty slim as well.”

The letter, signed by a wide array of New Hampshire city councilors, school board members, select board officials, and mayors from communities large and small, calls on Ayotte and the New Hampshire General Court to reject the budget and instead work with local leaders to create a more equitable spending plan that counters Republican cuts to state revenue.

“It’s just wild that New Hampshire Republicans are unwilling to look at really reasonable sources of revenue to allow for us to maintain services that we know are critical,” Gerding added.

The cuts are the result of years of Republican policymaking aimed at lowering taxes for the state’s very top earners, especially those with passive-investment income. This year Ayotte oversaw the final removal of the state’s income and dividends tax, which accounted for nearly $200 million in state revenue annually when it was in place, and the majority of which was collected from individuals making $200,000 in passive interest and dividends income annually.

Claremont School Board member Loren Howard called the proposal “a moral failure” in a statement released alongside the letter.

“Local communities are being forced into impossible choices—cutting critical services or raising property taxes. We’re calling on the Governor and Senate to create a budget that invests in communities rather than corporations,” she wrote

The group argues the budget continues a years-long trend of cutting taxes for the wealthiest individuals and multinational corporations while pushing the financial burden onto towns and cities. They cite rising housing prices, underfunded public schools, unaffordable child care, and ballooning health care costs as issues the state should be addressing instead.

“Budgets are moral documents that reflect our shared values,” the letter reads. “Right now, New Hampshire’s budget prioritizes protecting privilege over expanding opportunity.”

The signers span every corner of the state—from Berlin to Claremont and Dover to Nashua—and include Democratic and nonpartisan officials united by a concern for the budget’s local impact. Many warn the state’s underinvestment has left towns scrambling to fund basics like road maintenance, fire and police services, and public education.

“We urge you—Governor Ayotte and state legislators—to demonstrate real leadership and genuine compassion,” the letter concludes. “Together, we have the opportunity and obligation to build an economy that works for all Granite Staters. It’s time to stop asking what must be cut and start asking what kind of state we want to build.”

Despite polling showing housing is the top concern of New Hampshire voters, the current budget omits funding for multiple bipartisan housing proposals.

“In poll after poll, New Hampshire voters have made clear that housing is the top issue facing the state,” said Housing Action NH Director Nick Taylor. “Simply put, this budget fails to reflect the sentiments of New Hampshire voters and businesses whose top concern is the housing crisis.”

The budget conference committee is expected to finalize a plan in the coming weeks. The full letter and list of signatories follows:

Dear Governor Ayotte and Members of the New Hampshire General Court,

As local elected leaders collectively representing hundreds of thousands of Granite Staters in communities across New Hampshire, we write to express our deep, sincere, and urgent opposition to the proposed state budget currently under consideration. From our unique vantage point in town halls and city council chambers across this state, we see firsthand the economic insecurity and inequality that our residents are experiencing.

New Hampshire families are facing a perfect storm of rising housing and rental costs, unaffordable and scarce child care, escalating health care expenses, and public schools that have been systematically underfunded. Our residents—working families, seniors, and young people—are not just feeling squeezed; they are being actively harmed by these intersecting economic crises. The proposed budget, instead of addressing these pressing challenges, worsens them by downshifting even greater financial burdens onto local property taxpayers.

Years of reckless tax cuts for the ultra-rich and multinational corporations have not spurred economic growth; they’ve deepened inequality and eroded the state’s ability to invest in essential public services. These tax giveaways have forced our municipalities to pick up the slack—compelling us, your local elected leaders, to raise property taxes to maintain basic community services like public safety, roads, and schools. The current state budget proposal continues this harmful trend, dangerously underfunding critical services and increasing property taxes at the local level.

This approach is unfair, economically irresponsible, and morally unjustifiable. Budgets are moral documents that reflect our shared values. Right now, New Hampshire’s budget prioritizes protecting privilege over expanding opportunity. The Granite Staters we serve deserve a state government that rewards work, not wealth, and one that invests in communities, not corporations.

We urge you—Governor Ayotte and state legislators—to demonstrate real leadership and genuine compassion. Instead of forcing the hard working people of our state to bear the consequences of misguided tax cuts, partner with local leaders and communities to create a budget grounded in fairness, shared prosperity, and long-term economic stability.

Together, we have the opportunity and obligation to build an economy that works for all Granite Staters. It’s time to stop asking what must be cut and start asking what kind of state we want to build.

Respectfully,

Mayor Matt Gerding, Somersworth

Mayor Bob Carrier, Dover

Peter Argeropoulos, Manchester School Board Committee At Large 

Heather Raymond, Nashua Board of Education 

Angela Brennan, Bow Selectwoman

Eleana Colby, Bow Selectwoman 

Manny Espitia, Nashua Board of Public Works

Bridget Jameson, Somersworth School Board

Michelle Mogé, Derry Councilor at Large

Micaela Demeter, Dover School Board

Wallace Andrew, Vice-Chair of Mascoma Valley Regional School District School District Budget Committee (Canaan)

Tim Josephson, Chair of Mascoma Valley Regional School Board Chair (Canaan)

Jennifer Bishop, President of Nashua Board of Education

Michelle Clancy, Dover School Board

Nathan Morin, Berlin School Board

Art Bobruff, Springfield Schoolboard

Jenn Alford-Teaster, Sutton Trustee, Sutton Library

Kendra Cohen, Deerfield School Board

Joyce Puleo, Marlborough School Board

Charles Smith Jr, Orford, Select Board

Amanda Leslie, Croydon School Board

Art Bobruff, Springfield School Board

Crystal Paradis-Catanzaro, Somersworth City Councilor

Jenn Alford-Teaster, Sutton Trustee, Sutton Library

Joyce Puleo, Marlborough School Board

Charles Smith Jr, Orford Select Board

Amanda Leslie, Croydon School Board

Peter Higbee, Berlin City Councilor

Matt Pappas, Rochester School Board Member

Hammond Brown, Strafford Citizen

Jenny Ramsey, Plainfield Chair of School Board

Charlotte Fyfe, Nottingham Select Board

Laura Barry, Somersworth City Council – At Large

Jeffrey Grip, Hampton Select Board

Shauni McGowan, Rochester School Board

Kathleen Starke, Sandwich Taxpayer

Mark Sherwood, Sandown School Board Vice Chair

Nick Bellows, Rochester School Board

Nancie Cameron, Somersworth City Council

Christine Fajardo, Manchester Alderman

Delaney Carrier, Franklin City Councilor

Scott Sanborn, Orange Chair, Mascoma Valley Regional School District Budget Committee

Arlene Hawkins, Claremont School Board

Bebe Casey, New London Selectwoman

Nancy Belanger, Exeter Select Board

Courtney Portillo, Henniker School Board

Molly Cowan, Exeter Vice Chair, Select Board

Eric Hoffman, Laconia City Councilor

Tracy Bricchi, Merrimack Valley School District School Board

Sonke Dornblut, Newmarket Town Councilor

John Zavgren, Wilton Lyndeborough School Board

Judith Clark-Zaino, Milford School Board

Elizabeth Goldman, Dover School Board

Melissa Mitchler. Newport School Board

Siena Kaplan-Thompson. Tamworth School Board

Ronald Brown, Wilton Library Trustee

Michelle Beaudin, Landaff School Board

Ron Eberhardt, Plainfield Select Board Chair

Karin Cevasco, Milford School Board

Jennifer Siegrist, Milford Wadleigh Library Trustee

John D’Entremont, Lebanon School Board

Amy Clark Canty, Milford School Board

Susan Smith, Milford School Board

Elizabeth Glenshaw, Lyme School Board Chair

Toby Summerfield, Lyme School Board

Kristin Roth, Lyme School Board Vice Chair

Lynn Powers, Brookline School Board Member

Lynn Coakley, Milford Library Board of Trustees

Ryan Freed, Milford School Board

Pamela Walsh, Concord School Board

Regan Lamphier, Nashua Board of Education

Lisa Davenport, Stoddard Chair, School District School Board

Robin Vogt, Durham Town Councilor

Edward “Ted” Combes, Londonderry Town Councilor

Paul Grenier, Berlin Ex-Mayor and Current City Councilor

Dennis M. Shanahan, Dover Deputy Mayor

Chris Ratcliffe, Rindge Jaffrey-Rindge School Board

Joseph Anderson, Stratham Select Board

Kari Clark, Somersworth Vice Chair, School Board

Don Woodworth, Timberlane School Board

Rob Nadeau, Hopkinton School Board

Ben Clemons, Nashua Alderman-at-Large

Michele Horne, Concord City Councilor

Kara LaMarche, Bedford School Board

Joseph Lamattina, Newmarket Town Council

Christopher Kozura, Chester School Board

Risa Ceskavich, Strafford Resident

Maggie Fogarty, Dover School Board

Olivia Zink, Franklin Ward 2 City Councilor

Liz Cote, Franklin School Board

Loren David Howard, Claremont School Board

LeAnne Fifield, Franklin School Board

James Manning, Brookfield Representative, Governor Wentworth Regional School District

Eliza Reiss Grant, Conway Planning Board

Jessica Jacques, Gilford School District School Board Chair

Alex de Geofroy, Rochester (Ward 5) City Councilor

Molly McCoy, Hampton School Board

Wendy Rega, Hampton School Board Chair

Kate Cook, Portsmouth City Councilor 

Candice O’Neil, Hampton School Board

Robert Loiacono, Whitefield Chairperson, White Mountain Regional School District

Karen Hegner, Manchester Selectperson

Aleksandra Ring, Hampton Budget Committee

Leigh Webb, Franklin City Councilor

Casper Bemis, Marlborough School Board

Leslie Want, Manchester Board of School Committee

Mike Normandin, Charlestown Retired Resident

Rob Johnson, Nashua Board of Education

Lesley Nesbitt, Grantham School Board Chair

Leigh Prince, Lyme School Board

Leslie Lafond, Winnacunnet School Board

Amy Hansen, Hampton Select Board

Jason Farias, Hampton Falls School Board

Julie Turner, Manchester School Board

Robin Trefethen, Dover School Board Chair

Molly McGee, Manchester Ward 3 Moderator

Carleigh Beriont, Hampton Select Board Vice Chair

Sean Harrison, Durham School Board 

Karen Soule, Manchester School Board

Jeffrey Kessler, Newport Select Board

Kamee Leshner, Nottingham School Board

Ryan Shepard, Conway Select Board