576 Pleasant Street hearing Dec 18, 6:30 pm, SMAC Hearing Nov 13th 7:30pm
Why this matters?
Empowering the Community for Fiscal Responsibility
Welcome to our community initiative, where we stand up for families and seniors facing the rising cost of living. We understand the struggles of managing everyday expenses, from groceries to healthcare, and we're committed to advocating responsible spending and fair taxation. Our mission is to be the voice of reason, ensuring that your concerns as a taxpayer are heard and addressed. Together, we can work towards a more balanced and sustainable future for all.
Disconnected
As your taxes increase at a faster rate than your income, residents of Stoughton all become poorer and in turn have less disposable income. Remember growth comes from workers not an ever-expanding government. Stoughton taxpayers are now responsible for three major debt excluded tax increases on top of your standard annual property tax hikes. Leadership has made no effort to curb the spending or taxation despite readily available revenue through new growth.
A Growing problem
Total town debt has surged by 215% over the last 10 years and will significantly increase with the $114,000,000 ($66,000,000 with MSBA grant) South School project. Future proposed plans include building a new middle school and an addition to the police station. This does not include any other additional large or small capital plans. ​
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There is no end in sight to the exorbitant capital projects which will add greatly to the already heavy tax burden. Without your involvement, tax increases, lavish spending, and soaring debt will persist. We need a road map for all the desired spending and policies to pace the expenditures.
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Adding insult to injury
Municipal experts such as the Association of Town Finance Committees and DLS (Division of Local Services) recommend allocating between 4-6% of inside the budget debt to fund capital projects. This keeps the budget from over expanding and prevents departments from seizing this money. Debt management is one method to reduce the need for debt excluded tax increases. As of Mar 2025, Stoughton only allocated 2.2% of its inside budget to debt service. This is allowing other departments to absorb the available money instead of allocating funds to manage the debt inside the budget. When there are not enough funds designated to servicing debt inside budget, outside budget debt is required which is called a debt exclusion. Debt exclusions result in painful tax increases which are creating a tax increase above prop 2 1/2. Three debt exclusions in the last 10 years have contributed to a nearly 60% increase in Stoughton tax burden.​​​​​