Select Board members heard on Dec. 20 that the town’s new assessor discovered an omission: a 2017 debt exclusion for a fire truck (approximately $250,000) that voters approved was never entered on the Department of Revenue’s DE 1 debt-exclusion form.

Heather told the board the omission meant the town has been paying that debt from the general levy (free cash/operating budget) rather than reflecting it as a voter-approved debt exclusion on the DE 1. Officials must amend the DE 1 and the town’s tax recap; the change will increase next year’s tax levy to reflect the exclusion but cannot be billed retroactively to past years.

Town staff worked to reconcile forms and were preparing a submission to the Department of Revenue’s representative, Jared, with materials delivered late in the day to meet the department’s requested timing. Board members emphasized the paperwork correction is procedural—the debt was approved by voters in 2017 and the change will affect forward-looking tax calculations—while staff noted the adjustment should free up operating-budget money going forward because the specific debt will be shifted to a debt-exclusion line of the tax rate.

The board discussed timing and the effect on the tax bills: stuffing of tax bills cannot proceed until state confirmation of the corrected tax rate, creating pressure on staff to complete software cutovers and reconciliations before mailing deadlines. Board members said they will inform residents about the change and that the debt-exclusion implication is that taxpayers will begin paying the debt via next year’s tax rate, not retroactively.