Future Outlook · Utilities
The Big Picture
What could today’s plans mean for tomorrow’s utility bill?
Water & Sewer
Debt payments rise from $1.7M to $6.4M as planned borrowing begins.
WATER & SEWER
Planned borrowing raises future debt payments.
Scroll across the chart to see all years.
New loan payments begin
What the plan assumes. The Town’s FY2027–FY2029 plan assumes 7.5% annual increases in water and sewer rates. Funding and spending are shown through FY2029. Later bars show debt payments only.
What drives the costs?
Running the utilities
Personnel, operations and shared Town services rise from $9.9M in FY2025 to $12.9M in FY2029.
Infrastructure & debt
Ten future loans add payments for repairs, tanks, pipes and treatment-system projects. Debt payments reach $6.4M in FY2033.
Project funding
Through FY2029, spending includes Water & Sewer cash contributions and loan repayments. Project budgets are shown on the linked detail page.
Town plan · projected fund balance
The plan also draws on savings.
Projected fund balance; not a confirmed amount available to spend.
Savings can cover temporary gaps. They do not provide recurring income for growing costs and debt payments.
The Town plan already includes rate increases. The debt payments shown here are part of the costs those rates help fund.
What could this mean for utility bills?
Rising debt payments add pressure to utility rates. The size of future increases will also depend on operating costs, customer revenue, grants, available savings and project choices.
A full funding and spending outlook after FY2029 is still needed to estimate the remaining gap. The debt schedule alone does not determine a future bill.
Choices about project timing, spending and funding can change this outcome.
Stormwater · supporting detail
Stormwater has its own fees, spending and projects. The Town’s FY2029 projection shows:
These figures are separate from the Water & Sewer chart above. Source: FY2027 Recommended Budget, Stormwater financial summary, p. 136.
Discussion prompt
What would you prioritize?
Which utility investments matter most to you? How would you weigh reliability, repairs, project timing and future bills?
These questions are for reflection. To share an idea for private review, visit Your budget priorities →.
Sources & how to read this
Years shown. FY2025 actual; FY2026 estimate; FY2027 recommended budget; FY2028–FY2029 Town projections. Funding and spending end at FY2029. The debt chart continues through FY2039, and the linked loan schedule through FY2048.
Sources. Cryer v52, the FY2025 audit, the Town’s FY2027 Recommended Budget (Water & Sewer financial summary, p. 102; Stormwater, p. 136), and Town-supplied Debt Service Projections.xlsx. The chart preserves the FY2025 amounts in the current Town Ledger model; small source-rounding differences do not affect the displayed figures.
Funding and spending. Funding includes operating-fund revenue and incoming transfers, before use of savings. Spending includes personnel, operations, shared Town services, capital purchases, loan payments and outgoing transfers for projects and reserves. Shared-service costs remain included here because utility customers help fund them. Through FY2029, the debt bars are part of the spending line.
Rates. The Town plan uses 7.5% annual water and sewer rate increases for FY2027–FY2029. FY2028 and FY2029 are planning assumptions, not adopted charges. Project costs should not be added again on top of that rate path. No new rate assumption or full funding projection has been added after FY2029.
Savings. The Town projects balances of $9.3M at the end of FY2026 and $8.0M at the end of FY2029. The $1.3M reduction is the planned use over FY2027–FY2029. These balances are not confirmed amounts available after all commitments and reserve needs.
Loans and timing. The Town’s schedule groups payments into “Existing loans” and planned borrowing (“Future loans”). A–J identify the ten future loans and mark when payments begin, not when construction starts. FY2025 and FY2026 show total payments; loan-by-loan details begin in FY2027. Payments include principal and interest.
Cumulative figures. The row adds annual surpluses and shortfalls from FY2025 through FY2029. Savings accumulated before FY2025 are excluded. Totals are calculated before rounding and shown to one decimal place in millions. Dollar amounts are not adjusted for inflation.