With Annual Town Meeting behind us, the Concord Finance Committee has already kicked off our process for next year’s budget. Appointed by the Town Moderator, we are 15 volunteers who come together to advise Town Meeting on the budget and other issues of financial consequence to the town. We have a very specific set of responsibilities established by state law and town bylaw.
One important Finance Committee responsibility is to make a five-year projection of our tax burden. As we showed in our Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2025, we project that the median Concord tax bill will increase by 7.8 percent annually over the next five years in order to keep up with the projected growth in spending across our budget units, which include the town itself, Concord Public Schools, and the Concord portion of the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District.
Another important Finance Committee responsibility is to establish an annual budget guideline —the growth in spending (subject to guideline) that Concord can sustain given projected cost growth and projected resident ability to pay. This process is informed by data from the Congressional Budget Office, projections from the operating units, and by input we receive from stakeholders in town.
That’s where you come in. We begin every meeting by welcoming public comment. Please join us and share your thoughts. All of our meetings are posted on the town calendar, open to the public, and accessible in-person or via Zoom (or, after the fact, on YouTube).
Are you onboard with a 7.8 percent annual increase in your property taxes for the next five years? What level of services do you expect given the taxes you pay? What other ideas do you have? Our guideline-setting process is not a spectator sport. Our next meeting is Thursday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m.
Eric Dahlberg
Chair, Finance Committee
Lyndsey Lis
Chair, Guidelines Subcommittee, Finance Committee