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Your Taxes & How They Change

Welcome to TruTax, a collaborative tool designed to
help you understand and manage your property taxes more effectively.
This platform allows you to visualize the impact of various factors on your tax situation, making it easier to plan for the future.

⏸️ Start with the basic review of the Town's finances and how they affect your taxes.

Here, you'll be able to set your taxes based on your assessed property value.
Then year-over-year Town spending changes can be explored, and how they impact your taxes.
In addition, you can then see the impact of possible debt proposals the Town might be proposing, and how they affect your taxes.

1️⃣ Your Property & Taxes

TruTax is a property tax calculator designed to help you understand your property taxes and how government spending and borrowing can affect them.

Start by entering your property assessed value, if you take the RTE, and your Age (optional).

Your Property Assessment = $,000 take RTE Your Age (optional)

Start by entering your property assessed value, if you take the RTE, and your Age (optional).
You can lookup your assessed value here: https://www.axisgis.com/truroma/ by entering the address

Your Current Property Taxes ≈ $____ per year for the Property assessed at $1,000,000

This is approximately yourBudgetShare% of the Town Budget of $27.7M, and yourLevyShare% of the Tax Levy of $22.8M

2️⃣ How Does Town SPENDING Impact Your Taxes?

This section provides an overview of how changes in town spending directly affect your property taxes.
Choose a spending growth rate from below and then observe the chart of your taxes.

Increased Town Spending Rate
= % per year

Prop 2½ Compliant

OVERRIDE Prop 2½

MA Proposition 2½ limits increases to 2.5% without overrides and exceptions

has a recent history of voting on overrides and exceptions, resulting in spending growth frequently above 5%.
The budgets for 2026, 2025, and 2024 were 4.67%, 6.34%, and 5.91% higher than each prior year respectively, for an average of 5.6%.

The tax levy can be increased above 2.5% by the adoption of an override. An override provision allows the voters of the town to raise additional revenues by the specific amount. This can be accomplished by placing an override question on the ballot in an election and approving the measure by a simple majority of voters. The increase approved by the voters then becomes part of the base for calculation future years’ levy limits.

The tax levy can also be increased by the adoption of debt exclusion. The exclusion provision allows the voters of the town to exclude bonds or debt issued for municipal capital improvements for a specified period of time. Learn more

period	increased spending	new debt	spending+debt	future taxes
Years	Increase in Annual Taxes	Cumulative Taxes from Spending	Cumulative New Debt Service	Cumulative Spending+ Debt Service	at Level Tax Rate	Cumulative Level+ Increases
5	$0	$0	$0	$0	$50,000	$53,877
10	$0	$0	$0	$0	$100,000	$114,800
15	$0	$0	$0	$0	$100,000	$114,835
20	$0	$0	$0	$0	$100,000	$114,835
25	$0	$0	$0	$0	$250,000	$350,177
30	$0	$0	$0	$0	$250,000	$350,177

Key Historical Financial Facts

Fiscal Year

Tax Levy ($M)

Growth %

COLA %

Budget ($M)

% from Taxes

Res Tax Rate

RTE %

Your Past Taxes

Your Future Tax Projections (before any new debt)

FY 1-10

Your Taxes 1-10

FY 11-20

Your Taxes 11-20

FY 21-30

Your Taxes 21-30

Assumptions

Spending growth increases at the compound rate entered above;
Debt Service is calculated using a standard level debt payment formula with the interest rate and term years specified in the Bond Details section below;
New debt is assumed to start payments at the beginning of each 5-year period;
Past taxes are estimated from the historical tax levy.
Past taxes reflect historical RTE percentages (if taken).

Your Total Taxes for the last 10 years combined are estimated to be $0 [ to ]

Your Total Taxes for the next 10 years combined are estimated to be $0 [ to ]
That is an increase of $0 or 0%% increase over the past 10 years

Your Total Taxes for the following 10 years are estimated to be $0 [ to ]
That is an increase of $0 or 0% increase over the past 10 years

Your Total Taxes for years 21 to 30 are estimated to be $0 [ to ]
That is an increase of $0 or 0% increase over the past 10 years

3️⃣ 's Operating Budget and Debt Service

This section provides an overview of the Town's budget, and how much of it goes to paying off debt ("debt service").
The percentage of the budget going to debt service is called the Debt Service Ratio.
The higher the Debt Service Ratio the more the Tax Levy will have to be to cover the cost of Town services.

Operating Budget = $27,700,000
(per page 100 of the 2025 Warrant)

Debt Service based on what is borrowed as of this fiscal year.	Debt Service based ALSO on what has been voter AUTHORIZED but has not been bonded yet.
Debt Service = $865,000 (per page 100 of the 2025 Warrant)	Debt Service = $1,523,000 see below for details on Tier B debt
Debt Service Ratio = 3.1% (= 0.865 / 27.7, before any authorized or new debt)	Debt Service Ratio = 5.5% (= 1.523 / 27.7, before any new debt)

Tax Levy = $22,800,000
(about 85% of the budget falls onto the taxpayers to fund (the rest comes from fees, state aid, etc.)

4️⃣ What's the Added Impact of New DEBT Borrowing?

The Town prepares a Capital Improvement Plan for the next 5 years.
Except for a small portion that might be covered by grants, most of this will be funded by debt.
Debt locks in the future debt service usually for 20 or more years, creating a long-term financial commitment for taxpayers.
Here you can see your tax impact of voting for additional capital projects.

What If you vote for the proposed future Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) below that will add to the Debt?

FY2026	FY2027	FY2028	FY2029	FY2030	5 Year Total
$5,519,417	$37,707,250	$20,063,000	$1,235,000	$1,747,000	$66,266,667

Calculate the impact of New Debt by entering or clicking an amount below.
This is a SIMPLE way to factor in the proposed CIP by simulating voting for all, part, or none of it.
Farther down, you'll be able to customize this 5-year plan if you like.

Enter New Debt $M

or click a button:

new debt / CIPtotal this will be replaced by js

The reduction from the CIP is due to deferrals, cuts, use of free cash, and/or grants.

this will be replaced

Curious how bond details impact Debt Service & Property Taxes?
You can experiment with rates and years below.

Debt Interest Rate % Years

These figures will be used to project debt service.

's Debt Service Ratio

The Collins Center recommends a target of 5%
"10% is a rating service eyebrow raiser."

Debt Service Authorized: $M ➗ Budget: $M 🟰 %

Collins Center: municipal consultants established by the MA Legislature in 2008.

New Debt of will put the Debt Service Ratio at 10%

You have now specified the Spending Growth Rate (including possible overrides above Prop 2 1/2) and the Debt votes.
The "DSR Dial" shows the impact on the Town's Debt Service Ratio.
Click the button below to see your tax impacts more clearly, broken down by component: Your Current Taxes (gray), Increased Spending (red), and New Debt (orange).

The New Debt only includes debt proposed for projects in the next 5 years.
The 10 year CIP is not reflected here, yet, as it is still under development.
It will have additional capital proposals under discussion.
When that becomes more visible, TruTax will provide additional details.

5️⃣ Comparison with 351 Towns & Cities in Massachusetts

The Comparisons will be between the Town and other towns on the basis of key financial metrics.

That includes Spending Growth Rate (SGR), Debt Service Ratio (DSR), Taxes, and other relevant indicators.

The buttons below allow you view recent Town values, and filter other towns.

The chart below shows the number of Towns whose Spending Growth Rate is at various levels.
Click on any bar to see what towns are at that level.

this is where chart 1 goes

The chart below shows the number of Towns whose Debt Service Ratio is at various levels.
Click on any bar to see what towns are at that level.

this is where chart2 goes

this is where chart3 goes

⏸️ Next is an intermediate review of the Town's debt and impact on your taxes.

In the Intermediate chapter, you can explore the tiers of debt the Town already has,
as well as potential future obligations, and how they affect your taxes.

6️⃣ Ready to Take a Deep Dive into DEBT?

Let's Explore Our COMMITTED Debt

The Debt We've Already Signed Up For: now OWED to bondholders, or authorized and IN-PROCESS of being issued

Ⓐ+Ⓑ $$ ,000 COMMITTED Debt = Debt OWED + Debt IN-PROCESS

Debt Service Projections

Tier Ⓐ $$ ,000 Debt OWED

Debt Service Schedule: FY2026-FY2030

(per page 18 of the 2025 Warrant)

Most of this debt was borrowed recently -- about 3 years ago.

Tier Ⓑ $$ ,000 Debt IN-PROCESS

Debt IN-PROCESS Schedule

This debt was authorized recently --and will be borrowed in the near future (assuming % interest).

Now Consider Possible FUTURE Debt

A 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) as the first segment of a 30-year forecast

WHAT IF you vote to cut or add projects proposed in the 5 year Capital Improvement Plan?

	FY2026	FY2027	FY2028	FY2029	FY2030	5 Year Total
projected borrowing	$5,519,417	$37,707,250	$20,063,000	$1,235,000	$1,747,000	$66,266,667

Voter CUTs ($M)	-	-	-	-	-
Voter ADDs ($M)	+	+	+	+	+
What If ($M):
GRANTs ($M)	-	-	-	-	-
FREE CASH ($M)	-	-	-	-	-
Net Debt ($M)

You can enter CUTS in capital by Voters at Town Meeting
and/or ADDs to the capital resulting in increased borrowing.
Cuts and Adds will update the Capital budget and place the result in the What If row.
You can also enter any GRANTs expected.
Grants will reduce the What If budget and place the result in the Net Debt row.

7️⃣ Don't Forget About DEBT That is Borrowed in Year 6 and Beyond

Ⓓ 30-Year Capital Forecast

Forecast of Capital expenditure borrowings from Year 6 to 30, in 5-year increments.

years	5	5	5	5	5	5
ending	FY2030	FY2035	FY2040	FY2045	FY2050	FY2055
Forecast($M):	see 5-yr CIP	=	=	=	=	=
Annual Debt Service($M):
Your Annual Share($):		$	$	$	$	$
Debt Stack Tier:	C	D1	D2	D3	D4	D5

Enter a forecast of capital expenditure borrowings for each 5-year period.
This will not show in the Debt Service Ratio for the first 5-year period, but will impact your taxes for the subsequent 25 years.

8️⃣ 's Debt Stack -- All Debt Charted Together

Let's look at all these debt numbers graphically.
The Debt Stack shows the various tiers of debt. Each tier represents a different year of issue, with its own annual debt service costs over time.

The debt tiers are shown below as blocks stacked on top of each other, with the most recent debt at the top.
The height of each block represents the amount of the debt. The width of the block represents the years it will be before the debt is paid off.
The debt tier code (A to D) is shown in the upper left corner of each block, and corresponds to the debt details you entered in the sections above.

The sliders and buttons below are used to display year-by-year forecasts of both the amount of debt and the debt service costs for that year.
The buttons will play a short animation when Play is clicked. The sliders dragged to move the animation frame by frame.

A: Owed Debt (already borrowed) | B: In-Process Debt (authorized but not yet borrowed) | C: New Debt (from the proposed 5-year Capital Improvement Plan) | D: 30-year forecasted debt

⏸️ A budget review for the past 10 years is also available to explore spending trends.

Year over year changes in budget and spending components can provide insights into the town's financial health
and priorities, and are color highlighted for easy identification (see the color legend at the bottom).

The End (for now)

Financial data provided is sourced from official Town documents and from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' DLS
Because of the dynamic nature of financial data, and the multiple sources at different points in time,
users are encouraged to consult sources and consider the context of the information presented.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this tool, errors and omissions may occur.
Users are advised to verify data independently before making financial decisions based on this tool's output.
This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied,
including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

© 2025 TruTax Foundation

annual tax	$0	per year increase
10 years	$0	total for 10 years
30 years	$0	total for 30 years

Your Taxes & How They Change

⏸️ Start with the basic review of the Town's finances and how they affect your taxes.

Your Property Taxes

1️⃣ Your Property & Taxes

2️⃣ How Does Town SPENDING Impact Your Taxes?

3️⃣ 's Operating Budget and Debt Service

4️⃣ What's the Added Impact of New DEBT Borrowing?

's Debt Service Ratio

5️⃣ Comparison with 351 Towns & Cities in Massachusetts

⏸️ Next is an intermediate review of the Town's debt and impact on your taxes.

6️⃣ Ready to Take a Deep Dive into DEBT?

Let's Explore Our COMMITTED Debt

The Debt We've Already Signed Up For: now OWED to bondholders, or authorized and IN-PROCESS of being issued

Ⓐ+Ⓑ $$ ,000 COMMITTED Debt = Debt OWED + Debt IN-PROCESS

Debt Service Projections

Tier Ⓐ $$ ,000 Debt OWED

Debt Service Schedule: FY2026-FY2030

Tier Ⓑ $$ ,000 Debt IN-PROCESS

Debt IN-PROCESS Schedule

Now Consider Possible FUTURE Debt

A 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) as the first segment of a 30-year forecast

Ⓒ 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)

7️⃣ Don't Forget About DEBT That is Borrowed in Year 6 and Beyond

Ⓓ 30-Year Capital Forecast

Forecast of Capital expenditure borrowings from Year 6 to 30, in 5-year increments.

Debt Service Ratio (DSR)

% of Budget Needed to Pay for Debt

8️⃣ 's Debt Stack -- All Debt Charted Together

⏸️ A budget review for the past 10 years is also available to explore spending trends.

9️⃣ Probe into the Budget Components

Your Taxes & How They Change

⏸️ Start with the basic review of the Town's finances and how they affect your taxes.

Your Property Taxes

1️⃣ Your Property & Taxes 📖👨‍✈️ 1 minute

2️⃣ How Does Town SPENDING Impact Your Taxes? 📖👨‍✈️ 3 minutes

3️⃣ 's Operating Budget and Debt Service 📖👨‍✈️ 1 minute Hide This Section

4️⃣ What's the Added Impact of New DEBT Borrowing? 📖👨‍✈️ 2 minutes

's Debt Service Ratio

5️⃣ Comparison with 351 Towns & Cities in Massachusetts

⏸️ Next is an intermediate review of the Town's debt and impact on your taxes.

6️⃣ Ready to Take a Deep Dive into DEBT?

Let's Explore Our COMMITTED Debt

The Debt We've Already Signed Up For: now OWED to bondholders, or authorized and IN-PROCESS of being issued

Ⓐ+Ⓑ $$ ,000 COMMITTED Debt = Debt OWED + Debt IN-PROCESS

Debt Service Projections

Tier Ⓐ $$ ,000 Debt OWED

Debt Service Schedule: FY2026-FY2030

Tier Ⓑ $$ ,000 Debt IN-PROCESS

Debt IN-PROCESS Schedule

Now Consider Possible FUTURE Debt

A 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) as the first segment of a 30-year forecast

Ⓒ 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)

7️⃣ Don't Forget About DEBT That is Borrowed in Year 6 and Beyond

Ⓓ 30-Year Capital Forecast

Forecast of Capital expenditure borrowings from Year 6 to 30, in 5-year increments.

Debt Service Ratio (DSR)

% of Budget Needed to Pay for Debt

8️⃣ 's Debt Stack -- All Debt Charted Together

⏸️ A budget review for the past 10 years is also available to explore spending trends.

9️⃣ Probe into the Budget Components

1️⃣ Your Property & Taxes

2️⃣ How Does Town SPENDING Impact Your Taxes?

3️⃣ 's Operating Budget and Debt Service

4️⃣ What's the Added Impact of New DEBT Borrowing?