Cost of Community Services Study

A Cost of Community Services (COCS) study was completed for the Town of Jaffrey, NH in 2005 to better understand the relationship between revenues and costs associated with the various land use types in town. This information will be used as part of decision-making by town boards and departments as they address the ramifications of growth. The Statewide Program of Action to Conserve Our Environment (S.P.A.C.E.) provided a grant towards completion of the study. Innovative Natural Resource Solutions LLC (INRS) of Antrim, Concord NH and Portland, ME was hired to complete the study.

The COCS methodology, developed by the American Farmland Trust in the 1980s, breaks land use down into three categories:

  • Residential - All single and multi-family residences and apartment buildings, including farmhouses, residences attached to other kinds of business, and rental units;
  • Commercial & Industrial - All privately owned buildings and land associated with business purposes, the manufacture of goods or the provision (with the exception of agriculture and forest industries which are considered part of Open Space land uses), and utility-owned property;
  • Open Space - All privately owned land that is devoted to agriculture, forestry or open space, as well as wetlands, are considered open space. Open space is defined as land enrolled in or clearly eligible for enrollment in New Hampshire’s current use program.

The results of the study show that, in Jaffrey, using data from 2004, for every $1.00 in revenue collected by the Town for the particular land use:

  • $1.15 was spent in services to residential properties
  • $0.49 was spent in services to commercial/industrial properties
  • $0.68 was spent in services to open space lands

Documents