CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM ADVISORY
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
MEREDITH PLANNING BOARD
CLICK HERE FOR 2008-2017 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (CIP)By statute the CIP is the responsibility of the Planning Board. The Meredith Planning Board delegates the responsibility to annually review and update the CIP to a subcommittee of the Planning Board known as the CIP Advisory Committee. This 8 member advisory committee is appointed by the Chairman of the Planning Board and makes its recommendations back to the full Planning Board.
Public Informational Session
The public is invited each Spring to participate in an informal work session with the CIP Advisory Committee. This work session provides an opportunity for the public to gain a more in depth understanding about the Capital Improvement Program and to offer any suggestions about the process or observations about specific capital improvement needs facing the community.
PURPOSES OF THE CIP
There are many significant community benefits that may be derived from preparing and maintaining a Capital Improvements Program:
1. Basic facilities and services, which ensure public health, safety and welfare, are a fundamental responsibility of local government. The CIP identifies and recognizes these needs as being the highest order of priority;
2. An informed, participatory decision making process is essential to community well being. The CIP will make voters aware of proposed improvements that may be of particular interest and about major proposals that will likely come before future Town or School District Meetings;
3. The CIP will help to maintain a stable property tax rate by avoiding untimely expenditures, which generate unstable property tax impacts. Major capital projects are forecasted within a flexible framework designed to distribute the tax burden attributable to capital expenditures over time;
4. Successful community planning necessitates a series of incremental steps designed to implement our shared vision for the future. The CIP provides linkage between planning for our future needs and spending on community
5. Cooperative project planning can result in cost savings and the avoidance of duplication of expenditures. Communication and coordination between Departments and Town and School officials is considered essential;
6. Communities demonstrating sound fiscal health and high quality facilities and services are attractive to investors of all kinds; homeowners, businesses and lending institutions. Decisions to invest in Meredith may be influenced by improvements that enhance the quality of life for our citizenry, work force and business owners. Capital improvement programming supports and compliments broader community economic development objectives.
It is equally important to understand the limitations of a Capital Improvement Program:
1. The CIP process is not a means to micro-manage the budget development process. Preparation of the Town and School District annual budgets is the responsibility of elected officials and professional administrators. The CIP is a tool designed to aid in the development and consideration of annual budgets.
2. The CIP process is not an allocation of funding for "wish list" projects that are neither needed nor likely to receive public funding and support.
3. Although the program provides a framework to guide activity, the CIP should not be rigid and inflexible. The CIP process cannot anticipate unusual changes in growth, economic conditions, political behavior, emergencies, non-tax revenue sources and opportunities not predictable enough to schedule.
4. The CIP should not be prepared in a vacuum. The Committee will continue to have representation and seek input from the Planning Board, Town, School District and general public. The public will continue to have an opportunity to submit projects for consideration as part of an annual review and amendment process. The Planning Board will solicit public comment on recommendations prior to their adoption.
Although the recommended CIP fits within reasonable fiscal constraints, it does not guarantee a level tax rate. There are many variables that determine the total tax rate (i.e., tax base, operating costs, revenues, etc). Capital expenditures constitute a relatively small portion of total, local spending.
