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Meramec Funding Sources

Capital Improvement Planning

Capital Improvement Planning

Aug. 1, 2019
By WSU EFC

Story summary:

  • Capital Improvement Plans are long-term planning documents that schedule major infrastructure improvements and spread the capital costs over many years to avoid large rate increases or getting into a bind when an unplanned capital project is required. CIPs cover installing new assets and rehabilitating or replacing current assets.

Quick Facts

Community Mission
When developing a capital improvement plan be sure to show your community how the projects in the plan help to meet the community’s overall mission 

Benefits of Capital Improvement Planning
Helps an organization organize and prioritize needs and desires

Coordinate projects within departments and across departments

Allows needs to meet projects

May help meet regulatory compliance

Speeds up project implementation when time comes

About

A Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a plan that covers five or more years and details expensive projects and equipment. The plan details financing, timeframes and justifies the projects. A CIP is non-binding and is updated annually.

Healthy watershed practices like green space preservation, bioretention and floodplain restoration are typically large undertakings requiring significant time to develop, coordinate and fund. Additionally, these practices also offer the potential for many positive externalities, such as improved water quality, additional recreational area, land for forestry production and the development of trails for recreation and transportation. 

Incorporating healthy watershed practices into the capital improvement planning effort will allow local governments to better understand where funding may be available, coordinate efforts with other interested parties and ensure projects are executed in a timely and efficient manner.

Including healthy watershed options in the capital improvement plan is vital to ensure a dedicated funding source for operations and maintenance of the project. Long-term success of all infrastructure projects depend on ongoing maintenance. Often operations and maintenance compete with other spending obligations, making the risk of failure higher.

Be sure to include financial and nonfinancial long-term project impacts when quantifying the expected energy or water savings, offset values, value of reduction in volume of runoff and pollutant removal.  Many jurisdictions have developed values specific to their context, for example, the City of Houston avoided runoff at $0.66 per cubic foot. Establishing and reporting these types of values will help determine which projects are the most economically efficient.

More Info/Resources

Consult your community’s attorney and financial advisors prior to moving forward with any of these funding options. Any reference in this website to any person, or organization, or activities, products, or services related to such person or organization, or any linkages from this website to the website of another party, do not constitute or imply the endorsement, recommendation, or favoring of companies or organizations.
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