Portsmouth's $144.8 million budget: Here's what it could mean for your taxes

PORTSMOUTH — City Manager Karen Conard released her proposed fiscal year 2025 municipal budget Friday, totaling $144,861,347.

The proposed budget is a net increase of $6,237,972 over this year’s municipal budget, or 4.5%, Conard said during a press conference in City Hall Friday morning.

The new fiscal year starts July 1. Conard stated the budget as proposed follows the City Council’s guidance for FY 2025.

What Portsmouth's FY 2025 budget would mean for taxes

Conard said if the budget is passed as proposed, the city’s new estimated tax rate would be $16.85 per $1,000 of property valuation. That translates to an increase of 72 cents per $1,000, or 4.45 percent higher than FY24, she said.

The proposed budget would result in an annual increase of about $347 or $28.92 per month for the owner of a median single family residential home valued at $482,000, Conard said.

The proposed tax rate increase is lower than the one that resulted from the FY 2024 budget, which was an increase of 93 cents per $1,000 on the tax rate or 6.12%, she said.

Why Portsmouth budget is rising

“As we prepare for FY25, we continue to face inflationary pressures, affecting materials, construction, wages, and utility costs. In addition, we must absorb increases in health insurance, workers’ compensation, and other contractual obligations,” Conard said in her budget message to the City Council and Portsmouth residents. “Through our dedicated and talented staff members, our primary focus remains to preserve and enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Portsmouth by providing the highest quality services with a focus on safety, sustainability, preservation, culture, wellness, and diversity.

“The continued implementation of long-term financial policies and planning, put into place decades ago, continues to play an integral part in our ability to navigate challenges in the economy and in the financial market, and to set us up for financial success in the years to come,” she added.

More Portsmouth news: Housing iat Service Credit Union? Water Country? Rezoning creates options

City Council told city manager no net increase of city employees

Conard noted that the “council added in their guidance that they didn’t want any net new (city full-time) positions unless they were self-funded.”

Because of that, the proposed budget calls for 898 full-time personnel and 100 part-time personnel.

There are 897 full-time and 114 part-time employees in the current budget, she said.

Mayor Deaglan McEachern, who attended the budget presentation press conference, said “there’s a lot of work that’s ahead of us.”

“I appreciate certainly the effort that’s gone into meeting the desires of the council, especially around FTEs (full-time employees),” McEachern said.

His goal for the proposed budget is if “we’re going to meet a growing demand (for services) in Portsmouth, how do we do that with the same amount of staff that we have now?”

He acknowledged unless the council is willing to cut positions and services, the budget will increase to some degree every year because of step increases and cost-of-living-adjustments included in city contracts.

Does Market Square need a makeover?: Portsmouth residents share conflicting views

Portsmouth parking revenue expected to be nearly $9.5 million

Conard reported too that the FY25 estimated total revenue in the Parking and Transportation Special Revenue Fund is coming in at $9,448,774. That represents an increase of $555,628 or 6.2% over FY24.

Conard stressed all parking-related expenses are funded 100% by parking revenues, and any excess goes into the city’s general fund.

The proposed budget includes a continued distribution of $2.5 million from parking-related revenues to the general fund.

When Portsmouth residents will get chance to learn more about budget

City officials have scheduled a daylong budget presentation and listening session on Monday, May 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Portsmouth Public Library in the Levenson Community Room.

That will be followed by a public hearing that evening, starting at 6 p.m., which will be held in City Council Chambers.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH budget fiscal year 2025: What it means for tax rate