By GLYNIS HART
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NEWPORT — At an early morning meeting Wednesday, the Sullivan County Delegation rolled an additional $1.4 million back into the county budget.
The money comes from Medicaid expenses to the county for its nursing home in Unity, that qualify for matching state funds. The delegates voted to sock $1 million away in a capital reserve fund, and use $417,819 to wipe out what would have been a tax increase for 2019.
With an average effective property tax rate of 2.61 percent of assessed home value, Sullivan County has among the highest property tax rates in the state. In Claremont, which is the largest city in the county, the total rate for 2017 was 42.66 mills — or $42.66 per $1,000 of assessed value — nearly double the average of New Hampshire’s other cities.
County manager Derek Ferland said it was good news for Sullivan County. In addition, he said, the delegation voted to send back the full amount requested by the state — around $1.2 million — to fund the Integrated Delivery Network, an initiative to connect mental health care with other medical providers and social services.
Ferland said the county is hoping to use a portion of the money placed in capital reserve to fund a design study to renovate the county nursing home.
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