Manchester Voters Say Stop the Spending

Tired of watching local and state budgets increase at a time when everyday Americans are struggling to make ends meet, voters in Manchester voted to stop the spending by supporting a tax cap in the state's largest city. The Union Leader reports:

"The people of Manchester have spoken," said Mike Biundo, a former Republican state representative who led the push to put the proposal on the ballot.

The proposed amendment to Manchester's City Charter passed with a solid 54.4 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. The tally was 9,433 in favor and 7,906 opposed. ...

Proponents describe the cap as a "fail safe" that will stop the aldermen from forcing taxpayers to keep digging deeper every year. The cap would keep Manchester's tax rate from growing faster than the rate of inflation, as determined by the National Consumer Price Index-Urban. City spending would be similarly limited.

It would be possible to get around the cap, if 10 aldermen vote to override it. Many aldermen have noted, though, that getting 10 votes is not an easy thing to do.

Mayor Frank Guinta said the cap's passage, combined with a Republican victory in the mayor's race, represented a "strong statement in support of fiscal responsibility."

That, ultimately, is exactly what many voters said they were looking for.

"I do see a lot of wasteful spending," said Michael Biron, a Republican voter in Ward 8. "They should learn how to spend the money better."

Not all of the cap's supporters were Republicans. Heidi Jones, a Democrat who picked Alderman Mark Roy for mayor, said the proposal just felt right.

"Taxes are going up so much," said Jones, who voted in Ward 3, "and we don't see any benefit from it."