Future Outlook · General Fund
The Big Picture
What could today’s plans mean for tomorrow’s tax bill?
Revenue is essentially flat while spending more than doubles.
Set-asides are money moved into project or reserve funds for current or future use.
GENERAL FUND | COORDINATED PREVIEW
A widening funding gap, with debt rising in steps
Personnel and operations account for 93% of added net spending after FY2029 in this illustration.
Scroll across the chart to see all years.
What could the annual gap mean for your household?
The chart’s cumulative row adds annual surpluses and shortfalls starting in FY2025. It is not a one-year bill. The household illustration uses only FY2039’s annual gap and does not divide the cumulative shortfall into a yearly charge.
Change household inputs and see your full bill comparison · See the tax-share calculation and assumptions
What this assumes. FY2030–2039 is a Town Ledger scenario extending historical personnel and operating-cost growth, assuming 2% annual property-tax receipt growth and most other revenues flat; gaps are before additional use of savings.
What drives the gap?
Personnel & operations
Personnel and operations account for about 93% of the increase in net spending from FY2029 to FY2039 in this scenario.
Projects & debt
Annual spending includes the Town’s cash contributions and loan repayments. Full project budgets are shown on the linked detail page.
Revenue growth
Revenue grows much more slowly than spending in this scenario.
Town plan · end of FY2029
Savings offer limited relief.
Before other commitments or restrictions; not confirmed available to spend.
If spending follows this path and other revenues don’t grow enough, the remaining gap will likely need to be funded through property-tax increases.
A projected fund balance is not the same as freely available cash. These figures do not establish how much could be spent or when savings might run out.
Choices about spending, projects and revenue growth can change this outcome.
Who shares the Town tax base?
A Hillsborough address does not by itself put a property inside Town limits. The saved Town records distinguish 4,124 with Town tax billed, 183 verified fully exempt, and 165 unresolved or other records.
Explore Who Pays: maps, exemptions and the downtown study → · Definitions and exact sources
Discussion prompt
What would you prioritize?
Which services or projects matter most to you? Where would you consider slowing spending, changing project timing or growing revenue?
These questions are for reflection. To share an idea for private review, visit Your budget priorities →.
Sources & how to read this
Years shown. FY2025 actuals as presented in the FY2027 recommended budget; FY2026 estimate; FY2027 recommended budget; FY2028–2029 Town projections; FY2030–2039 Town Ledger scenario.
Sources and method. The Town’s FY2027 Recommended Budget, General Fund financial summary (p. 20), and Town-supplied Debt Service Projections.xlsx. The Cryer v52 model extends these figures using the assumptions shown above. Utility reimbursements are deducted from both funding and spending. Debt payments are included in spending.
Reserve target. The Town’s policy sets a reserve target range of 33%–100% of annual General Fund operating expenses. The 33% figure is the lower end of that range. This preview estimates it at $7.2M by taking 33% of the $21.9M expense total used in the Town’s FY2029 financial summary. That total includes operating costs, debt payments, capital purchases and transfers to other funds, less utility reimbursements. Source: FY2027 Recommended Budget, pp. 18 and 20.
Potential cushion. The Town projects a General Fund balance of $11.8M at the end of FY2029. We still need to confirm how much of that balance is uncommitted and available under the reserve policy. The $4.6M above the estimated reserve target is therefore a potential cushion; it is not a confirmed amount available to spend.
Loans and timing. The Town’s debt schedule separates loans already taken out (“Existing loans”) from planned borrowing (“Future loans”). A–E identify the five future loans and mark when payments begin. These are payment dates, not construction start dates. FY2025 and FY2026 show total debt payments; loan-by-loan details begin in FY2027. The chart includes only the loans in that schedule.
Cumulative figures. This row adds each year’s surplus or shortfall, starting in FY2025. Savings accumulated before FY2025 are excluded. The separate savings section shows the Town’s projected FY2029 fund balance. Totals are calculated before rounding; chart amounts are shown to one decimal place in millions. Dollar amounts are not adjusted for inflation.