The Coalition Communities consist of 26 cities and towns: Bridgewater, Carroll, Center Harbor, Franconia, Gilford, Hampton, Hebron, Holderness, Hollis, Jackson, Lincoln, Lebanon, Meredith, Moultonborough, Newbury, New Castle, Newington, New London, Portsmouth, Rye, Sandwich, Sugar Hill, Sunapee, Tuftonboro, Waterville Valley and Wolfeboro.
In all these municipalities, the equalized property per pupil (EVPP) exceeds the state median of $1,786,757. In 25 of the 26 municipalities, the EVPP is double the state median and exceeds $5 million in 21 of them, including six where the EVPP tops $10 million. In 15 of these municipalities, the median household income exceeded $100,000, topping the state median of $96,838.
Shortly after the SWEPT was introduced in 1999, Lisa Shapiro, an economist with the law firm of Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, identified and quantified the municipalities set to accumulate excess revenue and dubbed them “donor towns.” That same year, the City of Portsmouth began convening what soon became the Coalition Communities, which has lobbied to retain their excess SWEPT revenues ever since.
Although membership has fluctuated with shifting property values over the years, the structure of the organization has become formalized, and members are bound by a memorandum of understanding and pay dues proportional to the excess SWEPT they retain.
At the State House the organization is represented by veteran lobbyists Teresa Rosenberger of Bernstein Shur and Bruce Berke of Sheehan Phinney. According to the NH School Funding Fairness Project (NHSFFP) these lobbyists reported billing the Coalition Communities $163,000 in 2023-2024.
The NHSFFP, drawing on data compiled by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, reports that altogether these 26 municipalities harbor 11% of the residential property and represent a fifth of all property wealth in the state. The average equalized education tax rate, including the statewide education property tax, of these municipalities is $4.20 per $1,000, less than half the state average of $8.81 per $1,000.
Massachusetts residents own some 36,430 homes in New Hampshire, 10,298 of them in the Coalition Communities where they amount to 17% of all residential property. The Coalition Communities are home to 28% of residential properties owned by residents of Massachusetts and 25% of those owned by residents of Florida. — MICHAEL KITCH
