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Foxborough finance staff warns certified $8.3 million "free cash" will shrink as capital needs outpace one-time resources
Summary
Finance staff told the Select Board that Foxborough's certified free cash of $8,326,801 is largely committed to prior capital votes and one-time needs; forthcoming requests — including a $650,000 community-center shortfall and up to $950,000 in special-education tuition — leave an estimated FY26 gap of roughly $2.2 million, forcing CIP tradeoffs.
Foxborough finance staff on Tuesday walked the Select Board through the town's certified unappropriated fund balance — commonly called "free cash" — and warned that one-time funds will quickly be exhausted as capital and special-education costs come due.
Marie (finance staff) and Brandon (finance staff) said the Department of Revenue-certified free cash as of July 1 was $8,326,801. They said prior appropriations and planned uses already consume most of that balance: roughly $685,000 had been applied to debt service, $2.9 million had been authorized at annual town meeting for capital projects, and a later special town meeting approved about $363,000 more, leaving a substantially smaller balance for FY26 needs.
The presentation emphasized that free cash is not recurring revenue and that relying on it for operating costs risks future budget shortfalls. "Paying your year-to-year expenses with free cash would be like paying your mortgage or your rent with your tax refund," Marie said. The board and staff discussed the town's policy targets: a 3–5% free-cash range of the general fund and a newly stated goal to retain a $2 million year-end balance to avoid depleting reserves.
Officials outlined near-term demands on free cash that produce a projected shortfall. Finance staff said the community center project requires an additional $650,000 to cover sewer connections, an elevator and other overruns; the schools have identified approximately $950,000 in one-time out-of-district special-education tuition obligations (two high-cost cases account for more than $700,000 of that total). Staff noted the state's "circuit breaker" reimbursement typically returns about 75% of high special-education costs, but that reimbursement arrives in a later fiscal year and cannot cover the first-year cash need.
When those and other CIP requests are tallied against available free cash, staff estimated total FY26 needs of roughly $7.19 million, leaving a gap near $2.2 million. That shortfall will require the Capital Improvement Planning committee and the Select Board to prioritize projects, shift timing, or identify alternate funding sources. Staff pointed to potential grant opportunities (for example, removing rather than rehabilitating certain dams can attract higher grant awards) and emphasized that stadium-related surplus revenues and unusually high interest earnings in recent years have helped build the town's balance but are not guaranteed going forward.
Board members asked about revenue volatility. Officials said investment earnings in the prior year were about $1.2 million above projections and that the loss of a recurring operating payment tied to a professional-sports tenant (the Revolution) could reduce recurring revenue by about $900,000 in future years — a loss that will need managed tapering rather than abrupt cuts.
The board did not take action on budget allocations at the meeting but directed staff to bring CIP prioritization guidance and to schedule a special town meeting if needed for community-center funding. The Select Board will consider tradeoffs and final recommendations as the FY26 budget process continues.
