TOWN LEDGER Understanding our town’s finances

HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA / THE BIG PICTURE

Your outlook. Then your choices.

The Big Picture

Your bill. The Town’s gap.

Full household calculator ↗

Example value: $400,000. Replace it with your taxable home value.

CURRENT MODEL · FY2027

$2,052annual Town property tax

POSSIBLE · FY2039

$5,778if property tax fills the gap

This scenario assumes your share of Town tax collections stays fixed and property taxes cover the entire annual gap. It is not an adopted bill. County taxes and utility charges are separate.

See the calculation and assumptions

The current calculator uses $0.513 per $100 of taxable value. The future model uses the home’s share of FY2026 estimated Town property-tax receipts; that share stays fixed. It is a collections proxy, not a certified share of the tax base.

Read the outlook and its sources ↗

GENERAL FUND · CONDITIONAL OUTLOOK

Revenue is essentially flat while spending more than doubles.

Funding, including incoming transfers · FY2025 → FY2039$18.8M → $22.2MUtility reimbursements excluded02 / Where does funding come from? →
Spending & set-asides · FY2025 → FY2039$15.7M → $41.0MNet of the same reimbursements
Annual result · FY2025 → FY2039+$3.1M → ($18.8M)Starting surplus → ending annual gap

FY2025 actuals → conditional FY2039 scenario. This is not an adopted budget.

The gap grows if costs outpace revenue.

Full outlook & debt detail ↗

Showing later years. Swipe or scroll left for the earlier years.

Existing General Fund chart. Net spending and set-asides rise from $15.7 million in FY2025 to $41.0 million in FY2039; funding rises from $18.8 million to $22.2 million. FY2039 annual gap: $18.8 million. Running total through FY2039: $112.2 million shortfall.
Existing Outlook chart. The $18.8M label is the FY2039 annual gap; the top row shows running totals. Both lines are net of utility reimbursements, with debt payments already included. FY2025 actuals; Town estimates/plans through FY2029; conditional model thereafter.

THEN / MOVE FROM CONCERN TO OPTIONS

How do we close the gap?

Without lower spending or enough growth in other revenue, closing the projected gap would require higher property taxes.

If that is not the outcome you want, help identify the alternatives—and the tradeoffs.

Explore the options
01Spend more efficientlyFind recurring savings while checking service outcomes.

Ask which costs can be reduced, by how much each year, and what changes for residents. Separate a lasting saving from a one-time reduction or deferred maintenance.

Start with service spending ↗
02Share or consolidate services where it truly savesCount net savings after transition costs and service impacts.

Test joint delivery against the actual cost of providing the service. Moving a charge between funds or governments does not, by itself, save money. No savings estimate is established here.

Read the existing shared-cost explanation ↗
03Reconsider projects that remain uncommittedVerify contracts and obligations before counting any saving.

Ask what can still change in scope or timing, what it would cost to change it, and what the community would give up. The project list below identifies the evidence gaps; it does not establish that a project can be cancelled.

Review the project questions ↓
04Examine development that adds more than it costsCompare lasting revenue with infrastructure and service costs.

Test whether new taxable value would produce a net fiscal benefit after added costs and timing are considered. More development is not automatically more money available for existing services.

Start with the tax-base evidence ↗
05Use available savings during the transitionUse a portion of available savings to ease near-term tax pressure while longer-term spending and revenue changes take effect.

Savings are finite. Restrictions, reserve needs and existing commitments must be checked before deciding how much, if any, is available. This can provide temporary help; it does not create recurring revenue.

Review savings and availability limits ↗

01 / WHO SHARES THE TOWN TAX BASE?

A Hillsborough address is a much bigger circle.

34.1%

of the assessment records in this broader comparison have Town property tax billed.

4,124 of 12,101 records. Town records plus outside-Town records with a Hillsborough address. Record count—not unique parcels, people, taxable value or collected taxes. Outside-Town properties still owe applicable County and other taxes.

See the boundaries, exemptions and downtown study ↗

03 / What does it pay for?

Look at the spending path, as well as the projects.

FY2025$15.7M
FY2039 SCENARIO$41.0M

Personnel and operations account for about 93% of added net spending after FY2029 in this illustration.

Net spending and set-asides; nominal dollars. Set-asides move money into project or reserve funds. The scenario extends past personnel and operating-cost growth; it is not a prediction.

Inflation comparisonPending verification

No matched-period inflation benchmark is established in these sources. No inflation-adjusted growth claim is made here.

Explore service spending ↗

04 / Projects, capital & debt

Find out what can still change.

All projects & debt ↗

Start with these five General Fund projects. A planned cost is not proof of a signed contract—or of savings available from cancelling it.

Project estimates: current budget plus planned project outlays through FY2033, excluding separately identified running costs.
ProjectPlan estimateWhat the source establishesQuestion before changing it
Rail station ↗$11.714MFunding agreement reportedExecuted terms and contracted balance unverified.Which obligations and repayment conditions limit the options?
Fire station ↗$10.000MContract status unverifiedFunds set aside; $1.05M current budget is not proof of spending.What scope, timing and construction commitments are still open?
North Greenway ↗Ridgewalk — north$6.958MContract status unverifiedFeasibility work and a Board priority decision reported.Which later phases are approved, contracted or still discretionary?
South Greenway ↗Ridgewalk — south$6.800MContract status unverifiedDesign in FY2030; construction in FY2032 in the plan.Can timing or scope change, and at what service or cost tradeoff?
Ladder truck ↗$2.627MApproval & contract unverifiedFY2032 spending plan; borrowing assumptions differ.Confirm the order, financing and replacement needs first.

Received FY2027–FY2033 capital plan; adoption and amendments unverified. Estimates are rounded here. These are project budgets, not one-year Town cash costs or amounts that can automatically be cut. Debt payments and cash contributions already appear in the outlook.

YOUR NEXT STEP

Choose one question.
Bring it into the conversation.

Use the evidence to frame a specific proposal: what should change, why, and what tradeoff would you accept?

Your budget priorities

Share one idea, concern or question. Read how responses are reviewed, then start with what matters most to you.

Find the Town’s participation channels ↗

Check the Town’s current meeting notice and comment rules. No participation deadline is announced here.

Sources & assumptions

Reading this edition. Start with your editable Town property-tax bill and the projected gap, then explore ways to close it. The Big Picture is the overview; the full calculator, Outlook, detail pages and source documents remain available through the links.

  • Outlook. Saved General Fund Big Picture, FY2027 recommended-budget basis: FY2025 actuals, Town estimates/plans through FY2029 and conditional FY2030–FY2039 model. Funding and spending are both net of utility reimbursements. The opening shows the gap panel of the existing graphic without changing its plotted values or geometry; the full debt chart remains in the Outlook detail. Charts use rounded millions. Read the full model and assumptions ↗
  • Household. Existing current-bill calculation and fixed-share tax model, unchanged. The future result assumes property taxes cover the full FY2039 annual gap without additional use of savings. It excludes County tax and utilities. Full household comparison ↗
  • Who Pays. 4,124 positive Town-tax-billed records ÷ 12,101 assessment records = 34.0798%, rounded to 34.1%. County snapshot August 4, 2026; coverage includes Town and outside-Town Hillsborough-address records. Records can repeat parcels. Definitions and coverage ↗
  • Projects. Received capital plan and existing loan-project sources. Commitment and influence status are not inferred from a spending year or a current budget. Running costs, debt repayments and project budgets are distinct. Exact project amounts and sources ↗
  • Inflation. No verified matched-period benchmark was found in this source set. The placeholder remains explicit.

Browse source records ↗ · Explanations & calculations ↗ · From your input to action ↗

“Current” refers to the FY2027 rates used in this analysis.

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