What term describes the total amount of money a municipality owes in the future?

The term that best describes the total amount of money a municipality owes in the future is "long-term liabilities." This category encompasses obligations that a municipality is required to pay over an extended period, typically beyond one year. These liabilities can include bonds issued for financing long-term projects, loans, and other financial commitments that do not need to be settled in the short term.

Understanding long-term liabilities is crucial for assessing a municipality's financial health, as they fundamentally impact future budgets and cash flow. In contrast, current liabilities refer to obligations that must be settled within a single operating cycle (usually one year), while long-term debt specifically addresses borrowed money that has to be repaid over time, but it is not as comprehensive a term as long-term liabilities, which includes other forms of obligations. Future obligations, while a descriptive term, lacks the specificity and formal recognition of the financial accounting terminology used to categorize and analyze these debts.