What this would cost annually if your property assessment is
How this is calculated. Under Proposition 2½, an override raises the city's levy limit by a fixed dollar amount, permanently. That amount is spread across all taxable property by value: the tax rate rises by the override divided by the city's total taxable value (about $5.94 billion in FY26), per $1,000 of assessed value. Northampton sets a single tax rate for all property classes, so homes and businesses pay the same added rate.
Northampton also adds a 3% Community Preservation Act surcharge to the property tax. Because the override raises the tax, the surcharge rises with it. For residential property, the first $100,000 of value is exempt from the surcharge. The calculator doesn't apply personal exemptions (seniors, veterans, low income) or the CPA low-income exemption.
This is the cost in the year the override first takes effect, using FY26 values. Total taxable value will likely be higher by then, which would make the cost per $1,000 somewhat lower. After that, the override amount grows 2.5% a year with the levy, but property values usually grow too, so the cost on a given home tends to stay roughly level.
Year by year
Each year starts with the plan's projected gap (row 107), adds the override revenue, then settles the result against the fund.
How the fund gets filled and drained
Override surplus
In the first years, the override brings in more than the gap. All of that extra is appropriated into the FSSF as an expense line (row 91, which flows to row 111 of the fund balance), so the budget closes at exactly zero. Because it's appropriated rather than left unspent, none of it falls to free cash; it goes to the fund directly and in full, not through the 1/12 free cash deposit.
Free cash and interest
Separately, every year the fund receives one-twelfth of that year's certified free cash, plus interest on its balance (row 112). These deposits arrive whether or not there's a surplus or a deficit, but they only become available once certified, so they can cover next year's gap, not this year's.
Withdrawals
Nothing is withdrawn until the plan projects a deficit. Then exactly enough comes out (row 53, a revenue line, shown as row 113 in the fund) to bring the budget back to zero.
Why the override runs out
Override revenue grows 2.5% a year with the levy, but the plan's costs grow faster, led by health insurance at about 8.9% a year. The gap overtakes the override, and the banked surplus buys time. When the fund can't cover a year's gap, it's time for a new override.