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The Finance Committee sounded the alarm in its report, warning:
"Concord’s financial position is precarious"
What is this?
This is a auto-generated summary of the Concord Finance Committee’s official report for the FY26 town budget (July 2025–June 2026), which you can read in full here. The Finance Committee is a group of volunteer residents who analyze the town’s finances and advise Town Meeting voters. Their report covers trends, tax impacts, debt levels, school budgets, and recommendations on major spending articles.
Key Takeaways
Taxes are high, spending is rising, debt is piling up, and Concord’s budget is bumping up against legal limits.
Concord’s spending is up 4%, mostly because of rising debt payments
Property taxes are close to the legal limit set by the state
Without new revenue, future cuts or even higher taxes are likely
Spending Up 4%, Debt Is the Main Driver
Next year’s town budget is $145 million, up 4.05% from last year. Most of that increase is due to debt payments. Over 11% of the budget now goes just to paying off loans, leaving less for roads, services, or staffing.
Property Taxes Are Near the Max
Concord is just 3% below the state’s legal limit (under Prop 2½) on how much property tax it can collect. If the town ever wants to raise taxes above that cap, it would require a town-wide vote. If that vote fails, the town would likely have to cut services. We’re getting close to that point.
The chart below shows how sharply the average tax bill has already grown over time.
Big Road Plan Would Add Debt
Article 8 at the June 2025 Town Meeting [proposed] borrowing $27.5M to fix roads and sidewalks over 5 years. Supporters say it’s smarter to do it all at once and will save money in the long run. Others worry it adds too much debt.
Update: Town Meeting voted in favor of Article 8, and it will be on the ballot for the August 19, 2025, Special Town Election.
School Budgets Are Lean, But Could Spike Later
The school budgets stayed under control this year (2–3% increases), partly because enrollment has dropped. But if new housing leads to more students, costs could rise quickly again. The middle school consolidation helped this year but isn’t a long-term fix.
What It Means for Your Tax Bill
The average annual property tax bill per $1 million of assessed value is projected to rise as follows, assuming voters approve Articles 8 (Road Maintenance) and 13 (CCHS Amenities Building) at the August 19 Special Town Election:
From $13,260 in FY25
To $15,477 in FY30
A $2,217 increase over five years (≈17%) per $1 million of assessed value
This assumes steady 2.5% annual tax growth plus the new debt service from Articles 8 and 13.
But that’s not the whole picture
These projections do not include any borrowing for future capital projects, like redevelopment at MCI Concord, 2229 Main Street, a new Public Works facility, or public safety building.
They also don’t reflect the possible tax impact of new housing developments (like NOVO or the Residences at Thoreau) on school or service costs.
Bottom line: the actual increases could be higher. Especially if new debt moves forward without matching growth in commercial tax revenue.
How to Slow the Growth of Taxes
Right now, 83% of Concord’s budget is funded by property taxes, and 93% of all taxable property is residential. That’s unusually high compared to similar towns, and it means residents are shouldering almost the entire tax burden.
The Finance Committee points out that unless the town grows other revenue sources, like hotel taxes, meals taxes, or commercial property taxes, residents can expect taxes to keep rising faster than spending.
They don’t say Concord should pursue more development. But they do say that anyone worried about rising property taxes should seriously consider the potential benefit of bringing in more non-residential revenue when looking at large-scale decisions, like what happens at the MCI Concord site, 2229 Main Street, or whether zoning should be adjusted to allow more commercial use.
It’s less a call for growth, and more a call to weigh tradeoffs clearly, especially as Concord edges closer to the state’s tax cap.
Quote to Reflect On
Quote to Reflect On
"Given the high taxes we pay and the high overall cost to live in Concord, we expect the best of everything. Our willingness in recent years to approve almost every request for new spending at Town Meeting has resulted in increased burdens on all of us as taxpayers and has driven our spending, debt, and taxes ever higher. There are many worthy causes competing for Concord’s limited financial resources." – Eric Dahlberg, Finance Committee Chair
Source: Full FY26 Finance Committee Report (June 2025)
FinCom Report - Final 2025-05-06 2_202505230952187826.pdfWant more updates like this? Subscribe here to get future analysis from Improving Concord.
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