Other Revenue Sources
Money that moves around inside city government rather than coming from taxpayers directly: the water and sewer departments chipping in for shared costs, leftover money from the property tax abatement account, and money saved up from prior years that the city decides to spend.
This ticked down just slightly to $8,004,763 this year, about less than 1% less than the $8,023,292 it was in FY2025. Put another way: back in FY2017 this made up about 2.1% of total operating revenue - today it's 4.4%, a bigger slice than before.
Computed from this category's own year-by-year revenue recap figures, charted above - see Methodology.
Line Items, FY2026
| Line item | FY2026 |
|---|---|
| Reimbursement for Related Exp - Water | $1,452,300 |
| Reimbursement for Related Exp - Sewer | $1,555,300 |
| Overlay Surplus | $700,000 |
| Available Funds/Transfers (one time) | $4,297,163 |
| Other Revenue Sources, Total | $8,004,763 |
Where It Comes From
The water and sewer bills you pay fund part of this (those departments reimburse the general city budget for shared costs like billing and IT). The rest comes from the city's own reserves - money set aside in case people successfully appeal their tax bill that turned out not to be needed, plus "free cash," which is basically what's left over in the checking account after the prior year closed its books.
Who Controls It
The water/sewer cost-sharing is worked out by the city's own finance staff. The leftover tax-appeal money is released by the Board of Assessors once they're sure it's not needed. Free cash has to be certified by the state first, based on the city's year-end financial statements, before the City Council can vote to spend any of it.
Rates & Fees
Not fee- or tax-based - these are one-time transfers of money the city already has, not new charges on anyone. See the state's page on free cash for how that certification process works.
Governing law: M.G.L. c. 59, § 23 (certification of available funds)
Background: MA Division of Local Services — Free Cash