Citing Nursing Home, Jail Costs, Grafton Co. Proposes $60 Million Budget With 5% Increase

Owing largely to cost increases in the nursing home, where a greater census requires more staff, and the department of corrections, where bail reform has increased the inmate census, Grafton County is proposing a fiscal year 2027 budget of more than $60 million, which represents a 5-percent increase above the 2026 budget.

The overall $60.537 million budget is an increase of $2.88 million above 2026.

The amount to be raised by taxes is $33.164 million, representing an increase of 8.78 percent, or $2.677 million, from fiscal year 2026.

In their budget summary, commissioners Martha McLeod, Wendy Piper, and Katie Hedberg said the 2027 budget has been no less challenging than any other year, but the diligence of department heads and difficult decisions led to a budget that meets the needs of the county’s citizens.

“Several factors are contributing to the tax increase in fiscal year 2027,” they said. “You will see the largest increases in the Nursing Home and Department of Corrections (DOC) budgets. The increases in the Nursing Home are due to an increased census; therefore, more LNA positions are being filled, and the need to utilize contract nursing positions continues due to the difficulty in filling overnight shifts. Along with the rise in the census at the Nursing Home, it brings more need for food and supplies, which are exacerbated by the escalating costs of purchasing these items.”

Several factors are attributed to the cost increases in the Department of Corrections.

Following the state’s recent bail reform laws, more inmates across New Hampshire are being held in preventive detention if they are charged with violent offenses, deemed a danger to themselves or others, at risk of re-offending, or at risk of flight and not appearing for court hearings.

“With the passage of Bail Reform, the census at the Department of Corrections rose dramatically during FY26, thus requiring more food and supplies,” said the commissioners. “That trend is expected to continue at or above the current census levels. As with the Nursing Home, the costs of these products have been a major factor. In addition to the census increase, the Department of Corrections is seeing an aging population, which is driving more complex medical needs, hospital visits, and associated costs. Once an inmate is admitted to the Department of Corrections, all medical costs associated with that inmate are the responsibility of the DOC.”

To contain costs, the DOC added two contract LPN positions to ensure the jail had 24-hour medical coverage, reducing the need for at least three emergency hospital visits.

“Mental Health cases at the Corrections Facility are at an all-time high; there is a critical need for medical personnel to fill 2 positions to allow for this important 24-hour care to reduce risk to the inmates and staff,” said the commissioners. “Therefore, the Commissioners have included funding for two (2) full-time nurses at the DOC. There is also an increase in overtime costs for all personnel due to increases in the population as well as the medical acuity.”

Other budget increases come from rising costs in the maintenance department — for utility, water, sewer and electric rates and trash removal — as well as a 3-percent cost-of-living increase for both union and non-union employees.

“Health Insurance costs continue to be a significant financial challenge for the County,” they said. “Rates for the FY 26 plan were projected to be a 21.48% increase or $976,817. Different providers were sought for competitive rates. After careful review, a new provider has been selected, and FY27 health insurance rates will increase by an average of 9.9%. A savings of $526,650 below the fiscal year 2026 costs.”

Other than the salary and benefit line-item increases, the fiscal year 2027 budget is essentially level-funded relative to fiscal year 2026 levels, the commissioners said.

After reviewing capital requests, several will be funded through other resources and were not included in the 2027 budget.

For long-term care expenses and home and community-based services, the county cap is paid to the state, with the cap for all 10 counties set by New Hampshire statute at a 2-percent maximum increase per biennium.

Grafton County’s projected cap is $7.589 million, a mandated expense the county must statutorily pay.

Each year, Grafton County provides about $500,000 in funding to social service agencies throughout the county. For 2027, the commissioners reviewed funding requests and funded several agencies with money from the county’s opioid abatement fund, reducing the social services budget by $55,800.

Revenues for fiscal year 2027 increased by 1.58 percent.

A public hearing for the proposed budget is scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 19 at the Grafton County administration building in North Haverhill.

The executive committee of the county delegation will meet through June to work on and make any revisions to the budget, which will go to a final delegation vote before being adopted by July 1.