A member of the budget committee posted a comment to the tax rate post. He corrects me by pointing out that debt service is included in the operating budget (I should have known that) and also says that the town is expecting the surplus to be around $200,000 which will reduce the rate by 7 cents.
Bottom line is we can expect the town tax rate to increase about 8.5% which will increase the combined tax rate by a little over 3%. We already know the school is anticipating a 21 cent increase, so we can expect the rate to go from the current $12.20 to somewhere around $12.79 for a 4.8% increase.
wolfeblog 
Hi Bob,
Your estimate on the tax impact looks very accurate to me. My phone number is in the book and my E-mail address is tougherbob@yahoo.com.
Thanks,
Bob Tougher
Your input and confirmation is appreciated. What started as a simple post turned into a teachable moment for a lot of us. I think it was worth it to set expectations and avoid another surprise like last year.