Fiscal Stewardship: Create Value and Reduce the Burden
Rank investments by combined value, pursue lower taxes and fees, and make decisions and results publicly visible.
Firestone should actively find ways to lower taxes and fees, rather than rely on increases as the routine solution. I would use portfolio management principles to evaluate and rank projects by their combined financial, functional, and community value. Those benefits need not be equal, and financial value includes effects on residents as well as town finances. Evaluations should consider project dependencies, opportunities to save through coordinated delivery, and lifetime operating, maintenance, and replacement costs. Criteria, rankings, and reasons for funding decisions should be public. Net increases in spending should align with a credible means of growing revenue through existing income streams, avoiding higher tax or fee rates. Revenue projections must account for timing, uncertainty, and potential shortfalls. Any exceptional tax or fee increase must demonstrate combined value, expire automatically on a fixed date, and require fresh justification and approval for an extension, with a plan for costs that continue afterward.
Existing residents should share growth-related costs only when an incentive is needed to attract something the community needs, or when an investment increases financial or service value for residents. Incentives should demonstrate that need, define the public benefit, and include measurable recipient commitments. Borrowing should be reserved for time-sensitive service or capability needs, or significant savings from faster or concurrent project delivery, with full financing costs weighed against those benefits. Contingency and emergency reserves should reflect assessed risks and obligations. Residents should see actual costs, progress, delivered benefits, and explanations for significant changes, with results informing future project rankings. The town should also track the combined tax-and-fee burden alongside service performance so residents can judge whether stewardship is delivering better value.
Questions I’m Working Through
- Where can Firestone reduce costs or grow revenue through existing income streams while maintaining or improving services and lowering residents’ tax-and-fee burden?
- What contingency and emergency reserve levels are justified by Firestone’s risks, obligations, and potential revenue shortfalls?
More detail
Rank investments across the whole portfolio
Water, roads, facilities, parks, public safety, technology, and other investments should be evaluated together so competing demands and useful dependencies are visible. I would compare their combined financial, functional, and community value, including effects on residents. Coordinating delivery may reduce repeated construction, disruption, and cost. Rankings should explain why an investment takes priority and what another choice would delay or prevent.
Separate recurring funding from one-time resources
An annual budget can cover its planned spending while still relying on resources that will not recur. I want ongoing service costs matched with credible ongoing revenue, with the use of reserves or other one-time resources clearly explained. A project’s funding plan should account for the operating and replacement obligations it creates after construction is complete.
Test the downside before committing
Major commitments should be evaluated under slower development, weaker revenue, delayed receipts, and higher costs. The review should identify which obligations remain fixed, which investments can be phased or adjusted, and who carries the shortfall if assumptions fail. Those scenarios should inform the decision before the town commits resources, with actual performance monitored afterward.
Make reserves and future obligations visible
Reserve levels should reflect assessed risks, service obligations, and potential revenue shortfalls. Residents should be able to distinguish money available for a proposed use from funds restricted or already committed elsewhere. Debt payments, leases, contracts, maintenance, and replacement needs should be visible alongside the project schedule so the Board understands how today’s decisions affect future flexibility.
Compare delivered value with promised value
Residents should be able to follow approved costs, actual spending, progress, and delivered benefits. Significant changes should explain what happened, how the business case changed, and what action is proposed. Results should inform future rankings. Tracking the combined tax-and-fee burden alongside service performance should help residents judge whether the town is delivering better value and reducing their burden.