lunenburgbudgetproject.org — written by the Lunenburg Budget Project, an independent tool for residents. Not affiliated with the Town of Lunenburg, the School Committee or the school district. The data this page is computed from: /data/topics/free-cash-balance.json
The state certified $3,354,370 of free cash as of 1 July 2025, the most in any year the Town’s records list.
Certified free cash by year
The state’s proofThe Town’s fact sheet onlynot from the books
The state’s proof
The Town’s fact sheet only
FY2016
not published
$263,188
FY2017
not published
$888,944
FY2018
not published
$818,886
FY2019
not published
$1,512,483
FY2020
not published
$1,107,694
FY2021
not published
$1,804,185
FY2022
$2,666,962
not published
FY2023
$2,923,290
not published
FY2024
$1,870,612
not published
FY2025
$2,270,060
not published
FY2026
$3,354,370
not published
By the fiscal year the money can be spent in. Where both publish a year, they agree to the dollar.
1 · The facts
$3,354,370
free cash certified as of 1 July 2025 (state)
$2,270,060
certified as of 1 July 2024
$1,870,612
as of 1 July 2023, the low of five years
$263,188
certified for FY2016, the Town’s fact sheet
$3,716,282
free cash the same proof identifies, July 2025
$4,236,488
the Town’s own undesignated fund balance, 30 June 2025
—
why the state certifies less than it identifies
not published
2 · What it shows
1
Free cash fell to $1,870,612 in July 2023 and has risen each year since, to $3,354,370 in July 2025.
2
One close, three published figures: $3,354,370 certified, $3,716,282 identified, $4,236,488 undesignated.
3
The state labels free cash by its 1 July balance; the Town by the year it can be spent, one later.
Certified free cash, two publishers
Identified
Certified
Spent in
2025
$3,716,282
$3,354,370
FY2026
2024
$2,032,579
$2,270,060
FY2025
2023
$1,923,784
$1,870,612
FY2024
2022
$3,155,919
$2,923,290
FY2023
2021
$2,687,134
$2,666,962
FY2022
Division of Local Services free cash proof, labelled by the year of the 1 July balance it certifies. Spent in is the Town’s label for the same money.
What was said
“With respect to the unspent money, the money is not lost. The money is still there, it is free cash and it is going to roll over. It is going to be appropriated in one fashion or another.”