WINDHAM – Americans for Prosperity Foundation-New Hampshire (AFPF-NH) is announcing today that the town of Windham will save $100,000 due to the application of recommended changes that stemmed from an audit the organization conducted on town finances.

“Americans for Prosperity Foundation-New Hampshire is pleased that the town of Windham will save $100,000 as a result of the audit we conducted,” said AFP Foundation-New Hampshire State Director, Corey R. Lewandowski. “We commend the Windham Board of Selectman for making our recommended changes that will yield such significant savings for the town and its residents.”

The audit conducted by AFPF-NH last year exposed excesses in overtime pay and benefits that were unnecessarily draining town finances.

“We are proud of the results of our audit in Windham and hope to be able to produce similar results for other towns around the Granite State,” Lewandowski added.

Today the House and Senate will be voting on two separate pieces of legislation that will affect our state’s economic prosperity:

• The Senate will vote on CACR 6. Already passed by the House, CACR 6 would require a 3/5 majority vote to impose any new or increased taxes or license fees.

• Separately, the House will vote on HB 593 which will lower the tax burden on New Hampshire businesses and create jobs by permitting gambling in the Granite State.

We will continue to provide you with updates on these and other pieces of legislation that impact New Hampshire taxpayers including SB 227, which would change the status of the members of the board of tax and land appeals so that members ARE NOT full-time employees but would receive per diem and mileage reimbursement for attending to board duties.

Madam Chairwoman and members of the Committee, my name is Corey Lewandowski and I am the State Director of Americans for Prosperity here in New Hampshire. I am here today to speak in support of SB 227.

To put it simply, the Board of Tax & Land Appeals (BTLA) is a dinosaur – an antiquated relic that is no longer a vital or vibrant part our system and is in dire need of modification if it is to continue operating.

According to the BTLA’s website, “the Board's goals are to provide an alternative forum to the superior court in tax cases that is timely, fair, inexpensive, and accessible to the taxpayers and property owners. The Board has responsibility, parallel to the superior court to hear appeals of all local and state taxes.”

In order words, the Board was created to help adjudicate taxpayers’ concerns by establishing a peer organization from which persons could seek recourse from a decision at the local
level.