Dogs must be registered through the Town Clerk by April 30. Proof of current rabies vaccination must be furnished at time of registration. Fees: spayed/neutered $6.50, unaltered $9.00, senior $2.00 (owner who is 65+ for one dog only). For mail-in registrations, there will be an additional $1.00 fee.
New Hampshire RSA 466:1 requires that every owner or keeper of a dog four months old or older shall annually cause it to be registered, numbered, described, and licensed for one year in the city or town in which the dog is kept. Regardless of when the license is obtained, the license shall be effective from May 1st of each year to April 30th of the subsequent year.
The Leavitt Hill Bridge repair project will begin Thursday , January 23rd. During construction bridge traffic will be reduced to one lane. This phased construction will allow for uninterrupted traffic flow during the project. There will be a yield sign on the School Street end of the bridge and a stop sign on the Laclair Drive end.
Please observe and respect all construction signage and construction worker safety.
For comments or concerns please contact the Town Office at 603-675-5611 or email the Selectmen.
All appropriate Town agencies have been briefed on the project.
The project is scheduled to be completed by February 28th, with follow up work (paving and landscaping) to be completed in April.
The Town Office has received many questions about the relationship between the 2024 tax rate, the 2024 property revaluation, and the increase in tax bills. The town is legally required to revalue property at 100% of market value every five years. The 2024 revaluation saw property assessments on average increase by over 78%. The 2024 tax rate, which is calculated using the new property assessments, is $16.19 per thousand. As the total value of property increases, the tax rate decreases. If we hadn’t done a revaluation in 2024 and everyone’s assessment had stayed the same as it was in 2023, this year’s tax rate would have been $28.92 per thousand, which would have been 10.26% more than the last year’s tax rate of $26.23 per thousand.
2024 Revaluation(total value of property in the town)
2023
2024
Change
%Change
Total Assessment
$199,733,630
$356,668,170
$156,934,540
78.57%
The increase in tax bills is due primarily to an increases in school, county, and town spending. The chart below shows the increase in the net tax effort, which is the amount the town must collect in taxes to fund the budgets voted on in March. Tax bills are up because this year the Town must collect $538,360 more in taxes than it did last year.
Cornish Net Tax Effort: Prior Year Comparison
2023
2024
Change
%Change
Town
$938,618
$958,254
$19,636
2.09%
State & Local School
$3,781,245
$4,128,360
$347,115
9.18%
County
$508,638
$680,247
$171,609
33.74%
Total Tax Effort
$5,228,501
$5,776,861
$538,360
10.30%
It is important that every taxpayer familiarize themselves with their tax card. Tax cards are available free of charge from the Town Office to property owners. Please also see the reference guide Understanding Your Property Record Card from Avitar, the Town’s assessors.
