Finance ~$7M of Town Hall Remodel Project - YES

I voted yes to finance approximately 70-80% of the Town Hall Remodel project, rather than expend cash from our reserves to complete the project.

This ratio of cash to financing on the project was driven by the goal of setting our annual payments on the project at about $450,000, equal to the lowest monthly payment we'd need to make if we abandoned Town Hall and leased office space elsewhere, which was one of the alternate strategies we evaluated. As such, we are able to renovate Town Hall with a minimal hit to our cash on hand, without touching our reserves or impacting services, and while keeping our annual payments on office space as small as possible.

While I generally see borrowing public funds as a step of last resort, I was totally comfortable voting for this smart financial tactic. This is a long-overdue project to revitalize the Town's most important public facility, and we've seen it coming for a long time, giving us ample opportunity to make sure we can undertake this remodel without impacting the Town's fiscal position or pulling back on any other services.