Capital Improvement Plans

Capital improvements and capital expenditures are any items which are expected to have a useful life of 3 years or more and costing over $10,000.  Items generally under $10,000 will be paid for in the operating budget; items over $10,000 will be included in the Capital Improvement Fund and may be borrowed for.

Department Heads will work with the City Manager to outline a 5-year capital improvement program for their department.  These 5 year plans will be submitted to the City Manager and Common Council for approval.  The capital improvements will be subdivided into improvements which are to be levied for, paid for by sources other than tax levy, or borrowed for.  The City will attempt to budget a sum sufficient to cover maintenance cost for Public Works projects.  The City intends to utilize its borrowing power primarily for projects that would involve replacement of infra-structure, or installation of new infra-structure.  In this way, it is believed that the protection of the City's borrowing power will be assured and that the borrowed funds would be used primarily for those projects that could be considered an investment in the City which would yield returns in the form of additional tax base or maintenance of values that currently exist and costing over $10,000.