NH governor proposes general fund $$ for SAR

[RoySwkr]

"Hassan said $200,000 in general-fund money would go to the Fish and Game Department to help pay for search-and-rescue operations"

http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/4405740-95/hassan-state-budget-tax
(near end as befits its minor part of the budget)

The governor's proposed budget includes $200,000 from the general fund for search & rescue, previous proposals like this have been voted down but maybe the governor has more clout.

But the budget also includes $80,000,000 in revenue from a yet-to-be-approved casino, if the casino is voted down or revenue from it comes up short a lot of $200,000 cuts will need to be found

 

[iagreewithjamie]

Interesting post. Currently, SAR isn't funded from tax dollars: "To help funding Search and Rescue efforts, a $1 fee added to every boat, OHRV, and ATV registration is deposited into the Search and Rescue Fund. Any costs above and beyond what the boat and OHRV fees bring into Fish and Game each year must be covered with revenue from hunting and fishing license fees."

It seems like NH often deals with the issue of funding SAR. Didn't they recently pass a law the requires someone receiving SAR to pay for the expenses incurred in their rescue? The issue at hand is one of particular interest to me because I'm not from NH, and judging by the license plates I see at the trailheads, a good number of people who use WMNF aren't either. So what do you do when you live in a state that is home to an area with a high potential of SAR events involving (in all probability) individuals who don't really contribute to the SAR fund?

 

[Tim Seaver]

So what do you do when you live in a state that is home to an area with a high potential of SAR events involving (in all probability) individuals who don't really contribute to the SAR fund?

I guess that depends on the mentality of the people running the state. Some states might say to themselves "Hey, these rescues are costing us a little bit of money, but considering that we spend millions on promoting tourism, perhaps we should just accept this expenditure as part of doing business - business which brings in billions of tourist spending. Because $200,000, as state budgets go, ain't all that much."

Or, you could take the NH route, setting up punitive programs to exact funds from people who get into trouble in the mountains, ignoring the advice of national and local SAR groups, all so you can net about $60,000 from people that got lost.

 

[Barkingcat]

I guess that depends on the mentality of the people running the state. Some states might say to themselves "Hey, these rescues are costing us a little bit of money, but considering that we spend millions on promoting tourism, perhaps we should just accept this expenditure as part of doing business - business which brings in billions of tourist spending. Because $200,000, as state budgets go, ain't all that much."

Or, you could take the NH route, setting up punitive programs to exact funds from people who get into trouble in the mountains, ignoring the advice of national and local SAR groups, all so you can net about $60,000 from people that got lost.

(Infinite accolades for the spot-on comment.)

 

[RoySwkr]

What I find most interesting about this whole thing is that the governor bothered to get involved in such a minor issue right at the beginning of her term - the previous governor maintained a high popularity rating by ducking as many controversial issues as possible (including this one) and I expected more of the same.

So what do you do when you live in a state that is home to an area with a high potential of SAR events involving (in all probability) individuals who don't really contribute to the SAR fund?

Taking money from the rooms & meals tax is probably the fairest existing tax as it's paid by both residents and visitors, in effect that's what the governor is proposing. Now the r&m tax goes into the general fund where it's available for every legislator's pet programs, so s&r funding from this source has always failed in the past.

An excise tax on hiking gear like that on hunting and fishing gear could pay for s&r, trails, etc. but would need to be done on a national level.

Another proposed law would allow F&G to get in-house training in emergency medicine instead of certified training to save $27,000 - this would make it harder to bill insurance carriers for emergency treatment in the woods
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2013/SB0184.html

 

[nartreb]

all so you can net about $60,000 from people that got lost.

I don't think that's right. That might be the GROSS over the past several years combined. State attorneys get paid less per hour than most lawyers do, but I know that at least one recent case resulted in prolonged negotiations, so I bet the NET was a lot less.

 

[Mike P.]

I guess that depends on the mentality of the people running the state. Some states might say to themselves "Hey, these rescues are costing us a little bit of money, but considering that we spend millions on promoting tourism, perhaps we should just accept this expenditure as part of doing business - business which brings in billions of tourist spending. Because $200,000, as state budgets go, ain't all that much."

Or, you could take the NH route, setting up punitive programs to exact funds from people who get into trouble in the mountains, ignoring the advice of national and local SAR groups, all so you can net about $60,000 from people that got lost.

I'd rather get nickeled and dime either by a room tax in the northern counties or buy a get out of jail free card for a few dollars than see those green signs on the other posts. (A room tax on all rooms in teh northern counties could probably be less than a tenth of a percent to more than fund it, providing you can keep it out of the general fund where they love to keep it. I'll fund SAR but the folks in NH can fund the NH State pensions yourselves. - Unless you want to fund our state pensions, trust me it's a poor trade on your part.)

What's a flatlander from CT supposed to do buy comply with the law. I guess I could spend my tourism dollars elsewhere but then since I don't have representation in NH, the Gov & legislature are not listening to the sheep they wish to fleece. Oops, I mean the tourists they want to raise fees from. Is anyone not from CT, MA, RI, NY or NJ ever rescued? (I love CT, we don't have a lot but are just a few hours from nice beaches, mountains in NH, VT & NY, a couple hours from big cities if "Culture" (whatever that means ) is your thing & lots of historical sites are close by too.)

I like NH & given a choice on where I'd buy a 2nd home or retire too, (ignoring my wife's warm weather pleas at the moment ) NH would be the first choice. ADK's would be a very close 2nd, at the moment.....

 

[Remix]

I'd rather get nickeled and dime either by a room tax in the northern counties or buy a get out of jail free card for a few dollars than see those green signs on the other posts. (A room tax on all rooms in teh northern counties could probably be less than a tenth of a percent to more than fund it, providing you can keep it out of the general fund where they love to keep it. I'll fund SAR but the folks in NH can fund the NH State pensions yourselves. - Unless you want to fund our state pensions, trust me it's a pour trade on your part.)

What's a flatlander from CT supposed to do buy comply with the law. I guess I could spend my tourism dollars elsewhere but then since I don't have representation in NH, the Gov & legislature are not listening to the sheep they wish to fleece. Oops, I mean the tourists they want to raise fees from. Is anyone not from CT, MA, RI, NY or NJ ever rescued? (I love CT, we don't have a lot but are just a few hours from nice beaches, mountains in NH, VT & NY, a couple hours from big cities if "Culture" (whatever that means ) is your thing & lots of historical sites are close by too.)

I like NH & given a choice on where I'd buy a 2nd home or retire too, (ignoring my wife's warm weather pleas at the moment ) NH would be the first choice. ADK's would be a very close 2nd, at the moment.....

The NH room tax is already 9%. (Always check your online booking site to see if they added this in to the total. Many do not always add the NH 9% tax into the total. Also I think if you go into a supermarket and get a sandwich from the deli cooler there is a special (9%?) meals tax on that, too.) I also found Parkers Motel was charging a special 8 dollar "destination fee". I haven't looked into this.

 

[rocket21]

There's potentially $600K+ a year that could be used to easily cover this cost if Cannon is forced to become self-funded. This would not result in increased taxes/fees or decreased services. Fortunately people are starting to look into this concept.

 

[Bob]

Is anyone not from CT, MA, RI, NY or NJ ever rescued?

No. They are mostly from MA.
EASTERN MA that is.