CivicCause budget overview
Hillsborough Budget Overview
FY2025-26 Adopted/current year with FY2026-27 proposed budget comparison
Hillsborough's FY2026-27 proposed all-funds budget is modestly positive, with about $83.9M in revenues and $82.3M in expenditures. The General Fund covers day-to-day operations before capital transfers, then uses about $0.35M of reserves after infrastructure-related transfers.
FY2026-27 revenue
$83.9M
All-funds revenues, net of internal service charges.
FY2026-27 spending
$82.3M
All-funds expenditures, net of internal service charges.
Budget position
+$1.6M
Proposed all-funds budgetary excess.
Five-year CIP
$60.7M
Capital projects shown separately from annual operating spending.
Hillsborough should be described as broadly balanced with a modest all-funds surplus, not as a large surplus budget. The General Fund is policy-balanced before capital transfers but still uses a small amount of reserves after capital transfers.
All-funds revenue
FY2025-26 adopted
$81.733M
FY2026-27 proposed
$83.896M
+$2.163M
Revenues rise on the resident-facing net-of-internal-service basis.
All-funds spending
FY2025-26 adopted
$85.572M
FY2026-27 proposed
$82.278M
-$3.294M
Spending falls from the adopted-year all-funds total, largely reflecting capital timing.
Budget position
FY2025-26 adopted
-$3.840M
FY2026-27 proposed
+$1.619M
moves positive
FY2025-26 uses reserves; FY2026-27 is positive on an all-funds budgetary basis.
General Fund after transfers
FY2025-26 adopted
-$1.105M
FY2026-27 proposed
-$0.353M
smaller reserve use
The General Fund reserve use is smaller after capital transfers.
Budget comparison
Measure
FY2025-26
FY2026-27
Change
All-funds revenue
$81.733M
$83.896M
+$2.163M
All-funds spending
$85.572M
$82.278M
-$3.294M
All-funds budget position
-$3.840M
+$1.619M
positive
General Fund reserve use
$1.105M
$0.353M
-$0.752M
General Fund ending reserve
$31.1M
$26.5M
lower
FY2026-27 General Fund revenue sources
Property taxes
59%
Largest General Fund revenue source.
Construction permits
9%
Development-sensitive revenue source.
Excess ERAF
8%
Property-tax-related revenue that should be explained plainly for residents.
Public Safety Tax
5%
Dedicated resident-facing public-safety revenue.
Vehicle License Fee in lieu
4%
State-local backfill revenue.
Service charges
4%
Fees and charges tied to services.
Major General Fund spending areas
Area
Amount
Share
Why residents should care
Public Safety
$27.989M
65%
Largest General Fund use.
Streets
$4.209M
10%
Road and street operations, separate from capital resurfacing.
Building and Planning
$4.416M
10%
Planning, permitting, and development services.
General Government
$2.659M
6%
Administration, finance, legal, and core Town operations.
Capital Transfers
$2.190M
5%
Transfers that help fund infrastructure and capital needs.
Library / Recreation / Community Services
$1.711M
4%
Resident services, with shared or contracted service context.
Reserve and fund balance
The FY2026-27 proposed budget projects a $26.5M General Fund reserve. The reserve excluding the restricted Section 115 pension trust is about $20.5M, which remains above the $13.0M policy minimum.
General Fund reserve
$26.5M
Projected FY2026-27 ending General Fund reserve.
Reserve excluding Section 115
$20.5M
More usable resident-facing reserve view.
Policy minimum
$13.0M
Minimum reserve level from the proposed budget source mapping.
Reserve change
-$0.35M
General Fund reserve use after capital transfers.
Resident-facing budget story
- The proposed all-funds budget is positive by about $1.6M, but residents should not read that as a large discretionary surplus.
- The General Fund covers operations before capital transfers, then uses a small amount of reserves after infrastructure-related transfers.
- Public safety is the largest General Fund use by a wide margin.
- Infrastructure is the big capital story: water, sewer, storm drain, and street work dominate the five-year capital plan.
- CivicCause should keep capital projects separate from operating spending because capital timing can swing totals year to year.
Resident-facing spending areas
Public Safety
$28.0M
FY2026-27 proposed General Fund public-safety spending.
Roads & Infrastructure
$4.2M + CIP
Street operations plus separate five-year capital work.
Planning & Development
$4.4M
Planning and permitting services, with construction permits also affecting revenue.
Reserves & Stability
$26.5M
Projected General Fund reserve remains above policy minimum.
Capital Improvement Program
Hillsborough's five-year Capital Improvement Program is infrastructure-heavy. Water and sewer are the largest category, followed by streets, storm drains, general government capital, and public safety equipment or facilities.
Five-year CIP total
$60.7M
Capital program total shown separately from the annual operating budget.
Water and sewer
$40.3M
Largest five-year capital category.
Streets
$6.2M
Street resurfacing and related restricted transportation funding.
Storm drain
$6.1M
Storm drain master plan and repair work.
General government
$5.3M
Facilities, systems, and Town-wide capital needs.
Public safety
$2.0M
Public-safety capital equipment or facility needs.
Building and planning
$0.8M
Capital tied to planning/building systems or facilities.
Example resident-facing capital themes
- Water main replacement and water-system reliability work
- Priority sewer basin inflow and infiltration rehabilitation
- Storm drain master-plan improvements
- Street resurfacing
- Earthquake protection valves and SCADA improvements
- Macadamia access road and storm-related infrastructure repairs
CivicCause labels FY2026-27 as proposed because the source mapping used the official FY 2026-2027 Proposed Budget. Do not relabel it adopted unless adoption is separately verified.
Official sources
Town Budgets archive
Official Town budget archive used to verify current and prior budget documents.
FY 2026-2027 Proposed Budget
Primary source for FY2026-27 proposed revenue, expenditure, reserve, and CIP figures.
FY 2025-2026 Adopted Budget
Current adopted baseline used for comparison.
FY 2024-25 ACFR
Audited financial context and fund-balance validation source.