“New Hampshire has the highest reliance of any U.S. state on property taxes – nearly 64% of all state and municipal tax collections – for the governmental services it provides to its citizenry. Because of this, one of my most important tasks as Mayor is to strike the right balance between our local property tax levy and the delivery of high-quality services that the people of Nashua expect and deserve.”
~ Mayor Jim Donchess
Fiscal Performance
This year Nashua was recognized as the 3rd Best-Run City in America based upon the efficiency and effectiveness of our city government. The WalletHub survey measured the cost of city government per person and the quality of the services delivered to each of our residents. The well-deserved award is due to the work and dedication of many people – our hard-working city employees, our city finance team that prepares the budget each fiscal year, our Board of Aldermen who debate and approve each year’s city budget, and our citizens who contribute in so many ways to Nashua.
Jim and his Economic Development team continue their steady focus on the expansion of Nashua’s tax base – projects, programs, and strategies to attract new businesses to the city, to encourage expansions of Nashua’s business enterprises, to facilitate the construction of new housing in revitalized neighborhoods across the various levels of affordability, and to welcome and assimilate a wide diversity of new Nashuans.
Since taking office, Jim has proposed eight fiscally responsible city budgets despite significant budgetary challenges such as the downshifting by the state retirement system of additional pension
costs to shore up the state pension system, and the 2022 state-ordered revaluation of Nashua’s real estate which created high taxes for homeowners, both major challenges imposed by the State of New Hampshire and beyond the city’s control. This past June, the Board of Aldermen approved the FY24 city budget with a tax increase of 4.4%; the budget passed the Board unanimously, with both Democratic and Republican members.
Recent Accolades for Nashua
Jim takes great pride in his entire city team and in the services they provide to the people of Nashua. He is delighted by the frequent national recognitions that the city receives including the following recent prestigious accolades:
- Money Magazine’s recognition of Nashua on its list of the 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S., 2022 – 2023
- 2nd rank on WalletHub’s 2022 list of Safest Cities in America
- 3rd rank on WalletHub’s 2023 list of Best-Run Cities in America
- Nashua’s designation as a Certified Welcoming local government by the national nonprofit organization Welcoming America
- Honoring baseball greats Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella, the first two black professional baseball players to break the MLB color line in the U.S. in 1947, the inclusion of Nashua’s Holman Stadium, where Newcombe and Campanella played for the Nashua Dodgers, as a permanent site on the New Hampshire Black Heritage Trail
- Two AAA bond ratings – Fitch Ratings and S & P Global Ratings
