It’s essential that FinCom frames the upcoming Community Center (CC) vote with the full financial picture in mind. This decision will have a significant impact on residents’ tax bills.
Roughly $5,000 per average household is currently earmarked for the CC—covering both the original $6.75M allocation and the $2.33M cost overrun. If the project is voted down, those funds could be redirected toward immediate tax relief. Additionally, residents would avoid nearly $1 million a year in debt service, saving the average household about $515 annually over the next three decades. But the potential for relief doesn’t end there. As of a year ago, the town held approximately $19M in reserves. By the end of this month, that figure is expected to rise to $25M, pending certification in October. Credit rating agencies typically expect towns to maintain reserves of at least approximately 15% of the operating budget to maintain a AAA credit rating. After adjusting for structurally inflated budget lines, our true operating budget is likely closer to $46–47M—implying a reserve target of around $7M. That leaves as much as $18M in excess reserves available. If the CC is voted down, there’s a compelling case for a tax holiday in the upcoming fiscal year, meaning no fall tax bill. The town only needs around ~$37M in property taxes to balance next year’s budget. One-half year worth of taxes is $19.5M, leaving a gap of $17.5M to be covered. That gap could come in its entirety from excess reserves. Even if there were technical reasons why this relief could not happen as quickly as one semester, there is a real possibility to offer very large tax relief to residents in the very near term. Now is the time to weigh priorities: a discretionary project, or immediate and tangible tax relief for residents. I encourage residents interested in tax relief to *attend the in-person FinCom meeting Tuesday at 7:30pm on the second floor of the town's offices to make their voices heard.* Vote No to the Community Center, save yourself a tax payment! David Cuetos On Sun, Jun 8, 2025 at 9:54 AM Andrew Payne <[email protected]> wrote: > Chris B. wrote: > > Two years later the Selects and Finance Committee are advocating $28+ >> million for a Community Center. What are we to believe? >> > > Fincom is not "advocating" the project; they are presenting financial > impacts and recommending how it can be funded *IF residents approve it. *The > plan to propose a community center was widely known & discussed: > > https://www.lincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/72446/CCBC-Charge-Final- > > Our Open Town Meeting is a direct (pure) democracy: if you support the > project, vote for it. If you don't, vote against it. If you need more > information to inform your vote, ask. If you want to convince your fellow > voters, lobby them. > > "...*it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government > except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…*" > - Winston Churchill > > > One this-is-why-we-vote resident's view, > > -andy > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
-- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
