LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION 1Z 



classified as such in New Hampshire because the jail is generally un- 

 der the supervision of the superintendent of the county farm and 

 hospital. Expenditures for general government include salaries and 

 expenses of county officers (commissioners, treasurer, auditors, solici- 

 tor, and medical referees), and for care and supplies for the court 

 house. Some county expenses are directly assignable to the superior 

 court. These include jury and "state vs. . . ." payrolls, referees, 

 counsel fees, stenographer, clerk of court, and salaries of the sheriflf 

 and his deputies. Debt service accounts for 17.4 percent of the total 

 county expenditures and includes all interest payments and payments 

 on principal of long-term notes and bonds. Capital outlay is largely 

 concerned with new construction of, and permanent improvements to, 

 the courthouse, jail, and county farm. Farm Bureau appropriations 

 and miscellaneous expenses make up "all other" expenditures. 



FISCAL VARIATIONS 



As society becomes more complex, it increases its demands for 

 public services, which in turn require more revenue for their costs and 

 administration. New Hampshire is no exception to increasing de- 

 mands for public service, as evidenced by its upward trend of expendi- 

 tures and corresponding local tax rates. The total state revenue in- 

 creased from $689,000 in 1900 to $21,698,000 in 1941 and total taxes 

 assessed locally against property increased from $3,979,000 in 1900 

 to $19,333,000 in 1941 (see Appendix 8). State revenue was small in 

 the earlier years relative to local revenues, and it was not until after 

 1931 that the state revenue was as much as. one-half of all the taxes 

 assessed locally. After 1936 they were virtually equal. 



The amount of state revenue in New Hampshire may appear 

 small compared wdth that of the larger states, but its relative burden 

 mav be fullv as significant. Variations among states are destined to 

 exist in a decentralized government of 48 states, each of which is 

 further subdivided into numerous minor civil divisions. Each state has 

 its own revenue system peculiar to its social, economic, political, and 

 physical circumstances. Considerable variation exists between states 

 with respect to the kinds and amounts of governmental activities. 

 What is more apparent here is thc^manner in which the revenue svs- 

 tem decentralizes responsibility between the state and its subdivi- 

 sions. Such a decentralization of the cost of services causes an ex- 

 treme variation in the relative burdens of small srovernmental units. 



The principal unit of local government in New Hamnshire is the 

 town, to which has been g-ranted considerable power of home rule. 

 Towns dififer in area, in taxable nropertv, in ooDulation, and in numer- 

 ous other ways. Towns also dififer in the electorate's attitude toward 

 appropriations and in the efficiency with which their business is ad- 

 ministered. Prooertv is the base upon which a large pronortion of 

 local revenue is levied. Some towns have large amounts of pronertv 

 in relation to the cost of services, whereas others have little, and kinds 

 and amovmts of necessary services are lars^e or small dependins: large- 

 1v on tVip social and economic structure of individual towns. Obvious- 

 ly, all these factors and conditions cause extreme variations in the 

 costs of sim.ilar services, or limit the amount of these services, or both. 



