KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) Concerns over rising property taxes, state budget decisions, and the long-term sustainability of New Hampshire’s fiscal structure dominated an extended discussion Saturday on WKBK Radio’s Saturday Morning Live, as host and Cheshire County Administrator Chris Coates led a conversation with County Treasurer Jack Wozmak and New Hampshire Association of Realtors President Joshua Greenwald.

The panel focused on what local officials describe as a growing pattern of state “cost-shifting,” in which expenses once paid by the state are increasingly transferred to counties, municipalities, and ultimately property taxpayers.

Wozmak cited special education funding as a primary example. Under the state’s excess cost aid program, districts previously received full reimbursement once expenses exceeded a statutory cap. That reimbursement rate has since dropped to about 66 percent, leaving roughly one-third of excess special education costs to be absorbed locally.

“These placements can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per student each year,” Wozmak said. “When the formula changes, that money doesn’t disappear — it lands directly on the taxpayer.”

He said the impact multiplies quickly when districts have multiple students requiring out-of-district placements, turning what was once a manageable state responsibility into a major strain on local budgets.

County nursing homes were also a central focus. Wozmak explained that a one-percent increase in the state’s Medicaid reimbursement cap — from the typical two percent to three percent — resulted in a $4.4 million increase spread across New Hampshire’s counties, or roughly $440,000 per county.

“Historically, property taxpayers paid nothing for nursing home care,” Wozmak said. “That was always a Medicaid obligation. Now counties are subsidizing operations at levels that would have been unthinkable years ago.”

He estimated that over the past decade, more than $300 million in nursing home-related costs have been shifted from the state to county tax bases — not because of expanded services, but because the state has reduced its share of responsibility.

Federal Medicaid regulations were cited as another pressure point. Wozmak said nursing homes often wait months — or even years — for Medicaid eligibility determinations, despite federal requirements that applications be processed within a set timeframe. During that period, counties must cover care costs without reimbursement.

“When applications sit pending for two years, that’s two years of care paid entirely by property taxpayers,” he said, adding that recent reductions in retroactive reimbursement windows have worsened the problem.

Wozmak characterized the delays as a consequence of understaffing and legislative decisions that reduce administrative capacity while limiting back payments. Though the state has funded temporary assistance to address the backlog, he questioned whether the effort would produce lasting results.

“One-time money doesn’t fix a structural problem,” he said. “It just delays the pain.”

Callers weighed in throughout the program, with one arguing that legislative funding cuts reflect efforts at fiscal restraint rather than opposition to core services. The caller cited past administrative and hiring decisions at Keene State College as examples of inefficiency and waste.

Wozmak pushed back, calling those arguments overstated and unsupported by budget realities.

“Travel and severance costs are a fraction of the overall budget,” he said. “You don’t solve systemic underfunding by pointing to airplane tickets.”

Greenwald added that chronic underinvestment in higher education has long-term economic consequences, driving students out of state and reducing the likelihood they return to live and work in New Hampshire.

The conversation later turned to potential alternatives to New Hampshire’s reliance on property taxes.

Wozmak said such ideas deserve renewed consideration, arguing that property taxes are increasingly unsustainable.

“If you don’t have an income tax or a sales tax, everything flows through property taxes,” he said. “At some point, that breaks.”

The second half of the program shifted to local issues, particularly Keene’s proposed downtown infrastructure project, which has grown from an estimated $7 million to roughly $28 million. Panelists and callers expressed concern about the project’s scope, duration, and potential impact on downtown businesses.

Wozmak acknowledged the need to replace aging water and sewer lines but criticized what he described as an overemphasis on beautification elements such as bike lanes and streetscape features.

“The core issue is water and sewer,” he said. “That conversation got hijacked.”

Several speakers warned that prolonged construction could significantly harm restaurants and retailers that rely on summer foot traffic and outdoor seating. Others questioned whether narrowing traffic lanes and reconfiguring intersections would worsen congestion.

Still, Wozmak cautioned that delaying infrastructure work could ultimately increase costs and risk losing access to federal funding tied to lead pipe replacement and other regulatory requirements.

“You can either do this in a planned way, or you can be forced into an emergency project,” he said. “And emergencies are always more expensive.”

The discussion concluded with calls for voter engagement and long-term fiscal reform, with panelists agreeing that without changes at the state level, property taxpayers will continue to shoulder an increasing share of public costs.