Capital Improvement Programs

A capital improvement program is a mid-range (usually five year) financial planning tool that addresses a community's highest priority capital expenditure needs. The purpose of the capital improvement program is to address the community's long-term future needs for improving streets, drainage, parks, pubic facilities, utilities and other municipal functions. Generally, projects included in a capital improvement program are relatively expensive, have a multi-year useful life, and result in the acquisition or improvement of a fixed asset.

Capital improvement programs form the policy framework for the expenditure of public funds for capital projects. They are often developed to provide for a balanced, constant level of expenditures on capital projects on a year-to-year basis to avoid the need for major fluctuations in the tax rate due to large capital projects. Capital improvement programs should support a community's comprehensive plan and should be based on reasonable expectations of growth.