Billerica Select Board Reviews Plan That Could Add $200 to Annual Tax Bills

BILLERICA -- April 24, 2023, Billerica Select Board weighs stepped debt schedule as capital project list tops $300 million. Town Manager John Curran presented a 20-year financial projection at a Monday work session showing that a proposed stepped debt levy schedule, rising from the current $9 million target to as high as $20 million by 2049 in three-year increments, would produce a cumulative household tax impact of approximately $214 within eight years for projects including a $50 million Department of Public Works facility, a $15 million Council on Aging center, and a $20 million Recreation Center, with roughly $100 million in school bonding and up to $80 million in sewer work layered on top. Board member Thomas Quilty emphasized that the yellow-column impact figures in Curran's model are cumulative, not annual new charges, and called for a public engagement process on capital priorities. Board member Michael Moreau called the $50 million DPW estimate "extraordinarily high" and urged the board to distinguish needs from wants. Quilty said he would support reducing the sewer scope only if the town commits to replacing failed septic systems for residents whose neighborhoods are ultimately bypassed, "the only way I'll support this," he said. No votes were taken; Curran asked board members to submit written comments individually so he can structure a follow-up session.