State Assessments
Bills the state sends Fitchburg instead of aid - money the city owes for regional and state services, taken right off the top of the aid it would otherwise receive. Think of it as the opposite of the state aid categories above: money going out instead of in.
The size of this charge rose to $8,936,385 this year, about 8% more than the $8,242,952 it was in FY2025.
Computed from this category's own year-by-year revenue recap figures, charted above - see Methodology.
Line Items, FY2026
| Line item | FY2026 |
|---|---|
| Assessment - Mosquito Control Projects | $-103,211 |
| Assessment - Air Pollution Districts | $-11,493 |
| Assessment - RMV Non-Renewal Surcharge | $-92,120 |
| Assessment - Regional Transit | $-1,049,628 |
| Assessment - Special Education | $-40,772 |
| Assessment - School Choice Sending Tuition | $-2,796,259 |
| Assessment - Charter School Sending Tuition | $-4,842,902 |
| State Assessments, Total | $-8,936,385 |
Where It Comes From
A mix of charges: Fitchburg's share of the cost of the regional bus system, mosquito spraying, an air-quality program, and tuition bills for Fitchburg students who go to a charter school or a different public school district instead of Fitchburg's own schools.
Who Controls It
These charges are set by the state agencies and regional boards that run each program - the City Council doesn't get a vote on the bill itself, though the city did choose to join some of these regional programs (like the bus system) at some point in the past.
Rates & Fees
Each charge is figured differently - some by population, some by how many Fitchburg kids actually use the service. You can see the full breakdown on the state's cherry sheet page. Each assessment's own governing law is cited on its line-item page below.
Background: MA Division of Local Services — Cherry Sheets