Skyrocketing debt means higher taxes, damage to bond rating, and fiscal instability for Woodbridge

Our questions to the Board of Finance

September 13, 2026

Before the Board of Finance recommends whether voters should approve the proposed $118.5 million Beecher Road School project, we call on the Board to obtain clear, documented answers to the following questions:

1. What is the Town’s actual expected net cost for the project? Identify each component of the assumed state reimbursement, the statutory basis for it, whether eligibility has been confirmed by DAS, and which portions remain estimates or assumptions.
2. Which costs included in the $118.5 million project are not eligible for state reimbursement? This should specifically address bonding/financing costs, the retained South Building, pool-related work, excess square footage, and any other ineligible or differently reimbursed costs. Quantify the non-reimbursable or reduced reimbursement segments and recalculate bond requirements.
3. What would Woodbridge taxpayers owe under different reimbursement outcomes? Show the Town-funded principal — not simply the construction cost — under the expected reimbursement scenario and under reasonable lower-reimbursement scenarios.
4. What will the project actually cost once borrowing costs are included? Provide the projected principal, interest and total debt service over the full term of the bonds under each scenario.
5. What will this mean for property taxes? Show the annual tax impact at representative assessment levels, including the average residential property, and show how that impact changes as debt service ramps up. What measures could the Town take to mitigate the projected property tax increase attributable to the Beecher project?
6. How does Beecher fit into Woodbridge’s total capital and debt picture? Incorporate anticipated borrowing for the Police Station, other Town facilities, Amity projects and other known capital needs rather than evaluating Beecher in isolation. What is the projected mill rate impact of the Town’s combined capital and debt plan over the next 10 years?
7. How high will annual debt service rise, and what percentage of the Town budget will it consume? Update the Town’s long-term debt projections and identify when debt service peaks, how long it remains elevated, and how it compares with the Town’s stated 10% benchmark.
8. What effect could the additional debt have on Woodbridge’s AAA bond rating and future borrowing costs? The Board should evaluate the project using the measures considered by the rating agencies, including debt and long-term liabilities, available fund balance, liquidity ratio, and fixed costs ratio. What would be the Town’s sensitivity to further national or local economic downturn? How would the proposed borrowing affect those measures, and how vulnerable would the Town become to an economic downturn, unexpected costs or additional borrowing needs?
9. How would higher debt and fixed costs affect future Town budgets, taxes and services? Show debt service together with unfunded pension/OPEB and other obligations and explain how the growing fixed-cost burden would affect the resources available for current services. How would the Town address the approximately 10% cumulative property-tax impact we calculate from Beecher debt alone over the first several years, before considering other borrowing, inflationary increases, additional operating costs or new personnel? If revenues do not keep pace, what combination of additional tax increases, spending reductions or service reductions could be required?
10. What happens if project costs increase? Identify the contingencies included in the $118.5 million estimate, what happens if they are exhausted, and who bears costs exceeding the referendum authorization or state-eligible amount.
11. What financial assumptions must prove true for the current financing presentation to work? Put those assumptions in one place — project cost, reimbursement, interest rate, borrowing schedule, grand-list growth and other material assumptions — and show the effect if they change.
12. What is the reasonable worst-case taxpayer exposure? Voters should know not only the preferred or expected scenario, but the financial exposure if reimbursement is lower, interest costs are higher, or other assumptions do not materialize.