Consultants tell Ross council town lacks capacity for major debt without new revenue

Fieldman Rollup consultants presented an analysis showing that Ross's revenue base is heavily dependent on property taxes and that projected expenditure growth will outpace revenue, limiting the town's ability to absorb substantial new debt. Anju Reardon of Fieldman Rollup said the town derives "about 85% of those [revenues] coming currently from property taxes," and that the consultants modeled multiple stress scenarios to show how small variations in assessed value affect long-term capacity.

Dan Shaw of Fieldman Rollup walked council through four revenue paths that could support bonding: general obligation (GO) bonds, parcel taxes, community facilities districts (CFDs/Mello-Roos) and a real property transfer tax. "There are four main options for a town like Ross to generate additional sources of revenue," he said, outlining trade-offs including voter-approval thresholds and volatility. The consultants presented illustrative debt-service estimates (for $10M, $20M and $30M bond issues) and noted a $10M bond would require annual debt service near the town's practical limit without new revenue.

The advisers also compared the town's capital cost estimates for the facilities master plan and the separate FORF/4th initiative and concluded that taking on both would produce debt-service burdens well above recommended guidelines. They recommended that any major capital plan be paired with a dedicated, voter-approved revenue source and noted lease-backed financings or COPs create general-fund obligations that the town's current budget cannot easily support. Council members asked follow-up questions about term lengths, potential parcel-tax structures, and timing if a measure were to appear on a November ballot.