Question about pension costs deserved an answer

Give credit to Nashua Teachers’ Union President Robert Sherman, who stood up at Gov. Maggie Hassan’s appearance before a Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce audience and asked a tough question of the governor.

Sherman asked how the state budget surplus might trickle down to communities like Nashua that are facing steep increases in pension costs they must pay the state, even as they face cuts in school adequacy funds.

"It’s great to hear all the surplus that the state has," Sherman said. "I know you are attempting to move on, but what of the state sending some of that money back to the local communities in order to help us keep our local property taxes down?" Sherman asked, referring to Hassan’s run for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte.

Hassan blamed the Legislature for not fulling funding their school-aid commitment, but completely dodged the pension question, which is an important one. After enticing local and county governments to participate in the state pension system by picking up part of the tab, the state’s decision to cease its contributions is hitting local budgets hard. The amount that Nashua taxpayers have to pay into the state pension fund is expected to increase by $2 million in each of the next two years.

Sherman’s question was a good one, and some variation of it should be put to every candidate running for state office in this election cycle.

Prison body scanners and Rainy Day Fund get a boost

Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a bill this week that accomplished two important objectives.

The first appropriates money to buy six body scanners for prisons in Concord and Berlin and sets up a grant program to provide money for county lockups like the Valley Street jail to purchase the scanners, as well.

It’s an important bill, because it allows prison officials to screen visitors and staff for drugs that might be smuggled in to inmates. It doesn’t do much good to send people to jail for using drugs if the drugs can follow them there.

The second part of the bill appropriates an additional $40 million for the state’s Rainy Day Fund, money set aside to guard against an economic downturn. This means the fund could exceed $90 million by year’s end, whereas the state had less than $20 million on hand at the start of this two-year period – far below what credit rating agencies believe is wise.

In a state where the lack of a broad-based tax means government is chronically starved for revenue for things like higher education, school aid, and fixing roads and bridges, restoring the reserve to its highest level in seven years is the prudent thing to do.

Of course, the bill also doles out handsome raises to a bunch of state employees who are already pretty well paid compared to what most residents of the state make – demonstrating that what state government does best is take care of its own.

Opening of Statehouse on weekends is a good step

Under the category of things that are long overdue, Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a bill this week permitting the Legislature to open the Statehouse to visitors on the weekends.

In the past, tourists have been able to walk around the grounds of the state’s Capitol building on weekends, but were never allowed inside.

We can imagine the building – which opened in 1819 and is the fifth-oldest state capitol in the country – becoming a fairly popular tourist attraction, especially among fans of history and architecture.