One-time state payment to town would offset hospital purchase
Jul. 11—HAMPSTEAD — State officials are seeking approval of a one-time, $139,131 check to offset the Town of Hampstead's loss in property taxes from the state's purchase of privately owned Hampstead Hospital.
Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said her office would ask the Legislature to create a permanent payment in lieu of taxes arrangement with Hampstead when lawmakers adopt the next two-year state budget next spring.
"The purpose of this one-time payment is to offset the impact to the town's property tax base during state Fiscal Year 2023 only," Shibinette said in her proposal that comes before the Executive Council Tuesday when it meets at the Hooksett Public Library.
Last fall, Chris Sununu announced the state would purchase the 111-bed psychiatric hospital in Hampstead to turn it into a state-of-the-art, mental health treatment center for at-risk youth.
State officials have said the sprawling, 95-acre parcel is big enough for the state to add buildings there in the future.
The privately owned hospital has been the town's biggest property taxpayer; state government property is exempt from all local taxes.
State Rep. Joe Guthrie, R-Hampstead, who also serves on the town's Board of Selectmen, said the loss of property taxes was the most significant issue local officials wanted resolved.
Federal money will provide a third of this payment to the town while health care provider tax payments to the state will cover two-thirds of the payment to Hampstead, Shibinette said.
State government provides payments in lieu of taxes to compensate some cities and towns that host significant state properties.
Last May, the council approved a two-year, $52 million contract for a private firm to manage this complex for the state.
The council picked Wellpath Recovery Solutions LLC even though numerous groups from the National Alliance for Mental Illness to New Hampshire Legal Assistance called for it to consider other contractors due to concerns over the chosen vendor's track record.
In a six-page letter, Attorney General John Formella said his staff reviewed Wellpath's past and said the company was capable of doing the job well.
This contract requires Wellpath to open 55 beds in Hampstead by October and another 10 beds by June 2023, which would include 12 beds for youth who no longer need intensive inpatient treatment.
Shibinette said much of the existing management team at Hampstead Hospital will stay on board after the state purchase becomes final.
Last year, Hampstead only had open about 40 beds, or a third of its capacity, in part due to the pandemic, which required providing more space to the residents.
The five-person council typically holds its summer meetings on location outside the State House.
In another matter, Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn is asking the council to approve a $100,000 state survivor benefit to Carlene Whitcomb, the widow of state fire training instructor Jeffrey Whitcomb, 53, who died Oct. 2.
A retired Littleton Fire Dept. captain, Whitcomb's death was "more likely than not" related to his work for the state, which qualifies Whitcomb's wife for the benefit.
