How does the math work for Free Cash?

In the Special Town Meeting earlier this week, there were explanations from the town and committees that the debt exclusion (tax override) that they are proposing would cost the average tax payer (someone with a home assessed at approximately $1 Million) about $90 / year.

I argue that we easily have that $90 already in the tax levy. Below is a tax calculator that I created last year which approximates where your tax money goes. I've added a slider so that you can also see what $9 Million in Free Cash means.

All the numbers here are approximations / back-of-the-envelope calculations.

For a home assessed at $1 Million, the town is saying that the tax override will cost $90 / year. In comparison, that same tax payer's share of the free cash is about $1,011. That means that there was $1,0111 leftover after paying all of the expenses. (For those who follow the CPA - that's more than double the CPA surcharge.)

Tax Calculator

The roof payment ($90 / year) could easily be paid by the leftover ($1,011 / year) instead of asking for a tax override.

And just to clarify, I'm not proposing to pay for the entire school roof project with Free Cash on hand. I'm proposing a long term debt, inside the levy, along with some contribution from our Capital Stabilization Fund ( > $1.25 Million) and Excess Overlay ( > $1 Million). If you have any questions about the details of the municipal financing tools available to make that work, feel free to reach out and I'd be happy to explain my thinking.