Capital Improvement Plan

The Capital Improvement Planning Committee is a sub-committee of the Planning Board.

Description:

The CIP was prepared, by a committee of the Planning Board, in accordance with state handbook guidelines. It was vetted and formatted by SWRPC.

The section titled “USE OF THE CIP” explains ways in which the data in the CIP can be employed to guide the town in dealing with financial and development issues.

The section titled “CAPITAL SPENDING TRENDS” charts the town’s history of capital spending and its impact on the tax rate over the past ten years. This provides a benchmark beside which the long-term budget for future expenditures can be compared.

The section titled “STODDARD CIP FOR YEARS 2008-2013” lists and describes projects that are likely to be considered for adoption in future years. All of these projects were identified either by the town officials most involved in their use or by community organizations whose activities involve the use of public facilities. This section also gives two alternative versions of a six-year CIP budget. One primarily reflects the use of bonding to even out the tax rate from year to year. The other reflects the use of capital reserve funds for some projects to further smooth the year-to–year tax rate. Neither is intended to be a final recommendation. The intent is to stimulate thinking as to how best to handle the various projects. A second intent is to provide a reasonable estimate of the cost impact of the projects. Where available, the cost estimates for the major projects are commercial estimates, both for construction and for financial charges.

The sole mandated purpose of the CIP is to aid the Selectmen in their consideration of the annual budget, by taking into consideration major costs that may occur in succeeding years.

The CIP has other optional uses that may be of importance to the town.

  • It is a statutory prerequisite for a growth management ordinance. Any such ordinance must be supported either by excessive financial impact as documented by the CIP or by steps necessary to the achievement of goals in the Master Plan.
  • It can provide a means of coordinating the planned municipal expenditures with those of the School Board.
  • It can help determine whether a proposed project or change to an ordinance will be a benefit or a burden to a town, instead of relying on stereotype impressions that may not be true in a particular town such as Stoddard.

The CIP will be updated each year. The Master Plan will be reviewed each year to assure that projects proposed for the CIP are consistent with goals set forth in the Master Plan.

Below is the complete Capital Improvement Plan for 2008-2013. Also below are the Annual Worksheets, Part 1 and Part 2. These three documents are in pdf file format:

Attachments: