Brentwood budget committee reviews bond schedule, tax-cap scenarios as town prepares budget cycle

The Brentwood Budget Committee reviewed a town treasurer's summary of municipal bonds and modeled borrowing scenarios Tuesday as the committee prepares department targets for the 2026 budget. Committee members and staff discussed how scheduled payoffs will free up appropriations under the town's 4% tax-cap framework and how different loan structures would affect near-term tax pressure.

The committee's review showed a remaining principal balance across the town's active bonds of about $1,300,000. Using the treasurer's schedule, the committee reported a total town debt-payment estimate of $244,641 in 2026 and noted that the schedule yields a drop of $36,173 from 2025. Over the next seven years the committee's spreadsheet indicated roughly $249,694 in debt-payment reductions, and a single-year reduction of roughly $118,520 projected by 2028. Those amounts, the presenter said, represent…