Falmouth finance committee reviews long-range forecast showing possible 2028 deficit

The Town of Falmouth Finance Committee on May 6 heard its first comprehensive long-range financial forecast, and staff warned the town could face an operating deficit of roughly $1.4 million in 2028 that grows in later years without policy changes.

Laura, the presentation lead, said the model used the FY27 operating budget and a November 2025 10-year capital improvement plan to build category-level projections and then applied inflation factors and scheduled pension increases. "When you put all this together, what you get is in 2028, we have right now a projected deficit of $1,400,000," Laura said during her presentation.

The forecast reports debt as annual service (principal and interest), not total principal outstanding. Laura also proposed a free-cash policy for capital: "We set up potential free cash ceiling of $15,000,000 ... we're going to propose that there be a free cash policy that says whatever certified free cash we have, $5,000,000 of it should be held until the April town meeting," she said, noting that would require about $20,000,000 in certified free cash to fund $15,000,000 of free-cash capital.

Committee members pressed staff on drivers…