NEWBURYPORT — If the $7.8 million debt exclusion proposal before voters tomorrow doesn't pass, Mayor John Moak says he'll be left wondering if the schools will be able to keep moving forward with programs and if they can stay at the same academic level.

Without the debt exclusion — which would move the city's debt out of the operating budget and into its own separate account, freeing up money in the operating budget for other uses — Moak said future capital improvements would have to wait as well.

Under Moak's plan, a debt exclusion would enable the city to fund the school system and restore electives and programs that have been cut in recent years, such as foreign language at the middle school, make improvements to the city's infrastructure, implement a vehicle and equipment replacement plan and set up a reserve account to allow the city to pay into retirement buyouts.

The plan would call for taxes to increase.

The current tax bill for a home assessed at $500,000 would go up by about $140 this current fiscal year, $175 the following fiscal year (which starts next July) and $162 in the fiscal year that starts in July 2010. In the remaining years of the plan, the figure would continue to fall into the range of $140 and $150 and lower, according to data from the mayor's office. The tax hikes are not cumulative year to year.

If the plan fails at the polls, Moak said it would have some impacts — particularly in the level of consistency of services and keeping up with what the city now offers for services and at the schools.

Foreign language would not be restored at the middle school, he said, and some electives, such as drama and AP classes, wouldn't be able to return.

"I see no significant repairs to buildings and roads beyond what we're doing this year, happening for three or four years," Moak said Friday. "We're going to slide down the slope a little further. Will we fall off the table? No."

The debt exclusion would allow for an additional $1.2 million to improve sidewalks and roads, Moak said, without additional borrowing.

"We cannot afford to borrow any more money within our operating budget," Moak said.

But some in the city say the taxpayer is not the place to keep looking to get more money.

"'You can't go to the property owner all the time," said Clete Kijek, a member of the former Know Newburyport, a group that opposed last year's override. "Always going to the taxpayer for money has to stop."

The city has other ways to raise money, Kijek said, if they think outside the box — such as requiring a permit for every real estate sign that goes up in city or requiring a $10 permit to hold a yard sale. He also has suggested allowing tasteful advertisements on city vehicles and says he'd be the first one to volunteer to join a New Revenue Committee in the city.

"The school budget should be zero-based," Kijek said, rather than adding an increase to the current budget.

Taxpayers rejected last year's override, Kijek said, adding that the debt exclusion is just a "re-packaged" version.

"We said 'no' once. It's still 'no,'" he said.

School Committee member Gordon Bechtel said passage of the debt exclusion is important. The city's finances are tight and the plan will allow for key services and programs, he said.

"The city's finances are pretty much stagnant income," he said. Meanwhile costs continue to rise. Excise tax is lower as people refrain from buying new cars and lottery revenue is lower, Bechtel said.

The debt exclusion will give the city "a safety net" in tough economic times, he added.

As the plan is the mayor's proposal, the School Committee has not formally campaigned for its passage, Bechtel said.

"It's not only about the schools," he said. While parents are aware of it, the talk isn't "as huge as I would like it to be," Bechtel said.

Moak said last week he chose not to do a full-fledged campaign for the proposal or form a group to advocate for it.

"I just felt that, as the mayor, my job was just to inform people," he said. "Should we have done more? Probably."

Campaign finance laws prohibit him from sending our mailings campaigning for the proposal, he said.

"I believe, very strongly, if we could have done that, people would've understood more," Moak said. The mayor did hold a series of informational sessions at different groups and places around the city. He estimates he talked to between 400-450 people. They all understood his message, whether they agree or not, he said.

Still, he says, he expects many of the voters tomorrow will not be aware of Question 4.

"I think there's going to be a lot of not knowing what Question 4 is about," Moak said, adding many are coming focused on the presidential election rather than local initiatives.