Cost Estimate & Debt Service Impact

The total estimated cost of the project is $61,913,393. When factoring in the state’s reimbursement rate of 65.36% for Plainville, the estimated local cost to the Town of Plainville is $25,712,663. A project budget summary is featured in the table below. It addresses all facility issues within a 3-year period.

What is the detailed breakdown of costs?
 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILED COST ESTIMATE (UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2023).

What are the Local Tax Implications?
The MSP Building Project has been anticipated for nearly a decade. As a result, Plainville will absorb the increase in debt service without a resulting change to the mill rate. The retirement of existing capital projects bonded debt in the upcoming fiscal years, combined with a healthy debt service reserve fund, give room for the Town to implement the MSP Building Project and other important projects such as repaving roads and reconstructing sidewalks. Any potential future tax increases will be a result of increases in an annual operating budget and capital expenditures but not debt service.

 

What is Debt Service?
Consider debt service like a home mortgage for a town. Municipal debt service and mortgages both involve borrowing funds with a defined repayment period and regular payments covering both principal and interest. Payments typically occur over a multi-year period, in the MSP Building Project scenario, the proposed debt would be spread over 20-25 years. This payment process, which is similar for both debt service and mortgages, means that the total cost of the project is not incurred in just one fiscal year. Debt service is a component of the annual budget and will remain at the same level of funding as previous fiscal years.