Our Budget Failed - Here’s Why

As an election commissioner, I was at the polls at 6:30am on Tuesday, and I stayed until the last vote was counted, recounted, double and triple checked. Finally, at 1am this morning, I left the High School gymnasium. I walked away excited for my friend, Don Bliss, who was elected to join me on the Select Board, and inspired that the town came together to pass a warrant article stating clearly that we want no part in Trump’s immoral and unlawful immigration crackdown.

But, my strongest feelings were deep disappointment and rage.

Our budget failed. For the second time in four years, our neighbors came out and told us that their property taxes were already too high, and that they weren’t ready to invest a penny more to ensure the services our town provides continue and that we make necessary investments in our future. As I have said time and time again on the campaign trail, the problem is not with the people, it is with our leaders. Specifically, our leaders in Washington and Concord who do more to help themselves and protect their power than they do to help people in communities like mine.

All we have at our disposal are local property taxes, and we cannot keep raising them. We also can’t maintain the level of service or make any investments in our town without better support from Concord and Washington.

“But, Carleigh, property taxes are a state and local issue, why bring Washington into this?”

WRONG.

We need to stop letting the leaders of our most powerful legislative body off the hook for failing to address our most basic daily problems. What could Congress do to help lower our property taxes and towns like ours a break?

First, rising health insurance costs are busting our budget, and their unpredictability makes it impossible to plan.

“Hampton’s draft budget for 2026 proposes 5.29% increase: Here's what's driving it” - Brandon Ng, Seacoast Online

We need Medicare for All. Not only is it immoral for Americans to go without health insurance, it is irresponsible and unfair to allow the profit incentives of health insurance companies to drive up our property taxes year after year. Especially when we have an popular, effective, and relatively efficient alternative in Medicare!

Second, special education costs are driving major increases in local school budgets. These expenses are legally mandated by the federal government and almost exclusively paid for by local property taxpayers.

“School committee reacts to special education overview presentation” - Andrew Silvia, Manchester Ink Link

Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) over fifty years ago and has never fulfilled its promise to fund 40% of the cost of educating students with disabilities. It’s never even come close. It’s pathetic, and it’s typical of lawmakers in Washington. Pass a law, and then pass the buck. It’s time to fully fund IDEA. Give kids the education they deserve and lower our property taxes now.

Third, climate change makes governing a seaside community increasingly complicated and expensive. Saltwater from frequent flooding corrodes the bottom of our fire trucks, our sea walls get battered by storm surges, and our public safety infrastructure needs to be expanded and upgraded in order to respond to increasingly dangerous storms.

“Ten-foot tides paint a picture of Hampton’s climate future” - Mara Hoplamazian, NHPR

In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated $47 billion for climate resilience efforts that could help communities like ours, and another bill providing for an additional $555 billion in funding languished in the House of Representatives for years while Joe Biden was President. Since Trump took over in 2025, our town has been waiting for much of that grant funding to come through. We’re not holding our breath.

If towns like ours are going to thrive—if we are going to be able to make smart investments in a more livable future—we’re going to need meaningful help from our state and federal partners.

Our budget failing today was a warning, but it was also a rallying cry. Hampton residents, and people across this state are fed up with business as usual in Concord and Washington, and they know that more of the same won’t fix this. It’s time to elect leaders who are furious about the ways that Washington has failed us, year after year, and who understand that this moment demands bold, moral leadership that delivers for ordinary people.