SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board and the Finance Committee assessed the town’s tax impact of constructing the new Swampscott Elementary School during a recent joint public meeting.
Debt service for construction of the new combined Swampscott Elementary Schools totaled $3,362,850 for the fiscal year of 2025, according to Town Treasurer Patrick Luddy. This coincides with the town’s efforts to pay off other projects, such as the high school and police station that the town is still responsible for.
The town is working to find ways for residents — the designated taxpayers of the project — to experience as little blowback as possible from the wave of new projects the town has in its sights, Luddy said. This aligns with the town’s initial goals for the project.
The town’s net growth is expected to exceed budget expectations within a two- to five-year timeframe, Luddy said during his presentation. During last year’s Town Meeting, a vote was made to apply $1 million of Free Cash to reduce the tax rate. That same time, the Select Board voted to utilize the maximum Commercial, Industrial and Property (CIP) taxes shift of 175%. This lowered overall taxes and shifted more of the tax burden onto businesses to reduce what residents pay.
“Free Cash” results from revenues that exist in excess of estimates, or expenses that fall below the limited budget, according to Director of Finance and Administration Amy Sarro.
“We’re trying to keep a very lean operating budget,” Sarro said regarding the town’s efforts to reduce financial fallbacks onto residents.
The rate of Free Cash declined moderately over the last decade, citing the reason as varying budgets have tightened overtime, Sarro said. The town’s amount of Free Cash is $3,989,304 for the current year. This year’s rate falls short compared to previous years, when the town had $6,392,330 in 2017.
“We looked at how taxes would impact the median single-family homeowner, and we forecasted how we could use our resources to mitigate that from five to ten years,” Luddy said.
