This policy is designed to assure that Newtown's needs are fully
considered in the capital planning process. It helps to assure the
sustainability of Newtown's infrastructure by establishing a process
for addressing major maintenance, construction, replacement and capital
asset acquisition. It strengthens Newtown's borrowing position by
demonstrating sound fiscal management and showing the Town's commitment
to maximizing benefit to the public within its resource constraints.
It establishes a framework in which stakeholders understand their
roles, responsibilities, and expectations for the process and end
result. It also promotes sound, long-term operational and capital
financing strategies.
Notwithstanding that capital asset/project ideas or needs may originate as indicated in §
310-3, the Board of Finance is responsible for implementing the purpose and goals expressed above in §§
310-1 and
310-2 and all changes, additions and deletions to the CIP. In addition, among others, the Town Financial Director, First Selectman, Chairman of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools and Legislative Council members may advise the Board of Finance but do not have voting privileges. The final approval and funding appropriation for the CIP is vested in the Legislative Council, unless expressed otherwise in this CIP policy.
To be eligible for inclusion in the CIP, a proposed capital
asset/project expenditure shall have an estimated cost that is at
least $200,000. Listed below are some of the criteria which would
make a request eligible for inclusion in the CIP, assuming the proposed
project exceeds the financial requirement set forth above:
A. Incurred
debt obligations;
B. Acquisition
or lease of land, improvements to land, easements buildings improvements,
and/or development rights;
C. Purchase
of major equipment including vehicles, machinery, works of art, and
historic treasures, with life expectancies of five years or more;
D. New construction
improvements, renovations, and demolition of facilities and sites,
including engineering, design, permitting, and other pre- and post-construction
costs;
E. Major studies
requiring the employment of outside professional consultants;
F. Infrastructure
improvements (streets, sewers, bridges, sidewalks, technology);
G. Feasibility
analysis/design/cost estimates and other professional services relative
to anticipated major projects;
H. Ancillary
charges necessary to place the capital asset into its intended location
and/or condition for use. Ancillary charges include costs that are
directly attributable to asset acquisition, such as freight and transportation
charges, site preparation costs, and professional fees;
I. Bundling
of annual maintenance or dissimilar items in order to reach the $200,000
threshold is strongly discouraged, and shall be called out for discussion
prior to consideration of an exception.
All requests for inclusion in the CIP should adhere to the following
process and be submitted on a form as prescribed by the Town Financial
Director. While only the first five years of the plan are to be approved,
10 years of desired capital assets/projects shall be submitted.
A. Each Town
department and the Board of Education shall prepare a prioritized
list of proposed capital assets/projects along with proposed funding
source, summary description, and benefit commentary.
(1) The
departments so indicated by Charter, and the Board of Education, shall
review with and seek input from relevant Boards, Councils or Committees
(e.g., Public Building and Site Commission and Sustainable Energy
Commission) prior to submission.
(2) Reviewed
lists created by town departments shall be submitted to the First
Selectman.
B. The First
Selectman will evaluate the town department requests and produce a
"First Selectman CIP" to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for
review, adjustment and approval.
C. After presentation
of the First Selectman CIP, the Board of Selectmen will identify,
prioritize and approve, on a Town-wide basis, purchases it proposes
to include in the CIP, excluding items requested by the Board of Education.
D. Board of
Education shall prepare and submit to the Board of Finance a prioritized
list of proposed capital assets/projects along with their proposed
funding source.
E. The requesting
department or agency will plan for and be responsible for funding
any professional estimating for a project in the operational budget.
If applicable, alternative sources of funding can and should be identified,
such as the Capital Non-Recurring Account, and be reimbursed upon
actual borrowing if appropriate.
F. The Board
of Selectmen and the Board of Education shall also include in the
request(s) for each capital asset/project, with increasing detail
for nearest years the identification of planned funding: bonding,
general funds, special revenue funds, and any grants, revenues or
reimbursements anticipated and project description and project justification.
G. The Town
Finance Director shall:
(1) Review
and compile the Board of Selectmen Proposed CIP and Board of Education
Proposed CIP lists into a "Combined CIP" for presentation to the Board
of Finance.
(2) Prepare
a financial impact statement. including a bond forecast schedule which
shows the effect of the Combined CIP on future annual debt payments
for at least five years, to ensure adherence to the Town Debt Service
Policy.
(3) Prepare
debt service scenarios for consideration relative to the Debt Service
Policy goals.
H. The Board
of Selectmen and Board of Education will each present their capital
assets/project requests and the prioritized Combined CIP to the Board
of Finance. The Finance Director will present the bond forecast schedule
and other analysis.
I. The Board
of Finance will review the Combined CIP.
(1) It
may reduce a capital assets/project cost and scope; it may transfer
capital assets/projects between CIP years, and it may add or eliminate
a capital asset/project. Moving or adding a capital asset/project
to Year One should be strictly scrutinized.
(2) The
Board of Finance will then sort, within each CIP year, the recommended
capital assets/project, based on prioritization as provided from the
Board of Selectmen and Board of Education as well as cost and other
considerations, and establish a time frame for proceeding with each
purchase in view of the financial implications of such a purchase,
expenditure or project.
(3) Consideration
shall be given to:
(b) Necessary maintenance of existing facilities.
(c) Essential public services such as those related to safety.
(d) Budgetary impacts of changes in debt service.
(4) Rejected
capital assets/projects can be resubmitted to the appropriate Board
at the first step of the process next fiscal year. If postponed, the
request shall be reviewed by the Board of Finance with respect to
its new priority level the following fiscal year.
J. In odd
years if the election of a First Selectman results in the election
of a person other than the First Selectman who presented the CIP to
the Board of Finance in October of that year, that new First Selectman
may request changes to the first year of the CIP under review by the
Board of Finance and Legislative Council.
K. The Board
of Finance will present their recommended CIP to the Legislative Council
by November 30. The Finance Director will also present to the Legislative
Council the bond forecast schedule (updated for any Board of Finance
actions).
L. The Legislative
Council will review the Board of Finance recommended CIP. It may accept
it in its entirety. It may reduce, transfer between CIP years, eliminate
or add capital asset(s)/project(s). As the Legislative Council is
ultimately responsible for the Debt Service Policy and sending the
budgets to referendum, special consideration will be given to those
respective impacts. Moving or adding a capital asset/project to Year
One will be strictly scrutinized.
M. Upon any
change of the Board of Finance's recommended CIP by the Legislative
Council, the Legislative Council shall return its proposed CIP with
changes to the Board of Finance for review and recommendation before
final approval by the Legislative Council.
(1) The
failure of the Board of Finance to make any recommendations within
10 days of the Legislative Council's proposed CIP, then the Legislative
Council may act without additional recommendation from the Board of
Finance.
(2) No
matter the number of CIP changes by the Legislative Council, the Board
of Finance shall have only one post-November 30 review and recommendation.
N. The Legislative
Council shall adopt a Town-wide CIP and, by January 31, shall determine
which capital assets/projects from Year One of the CIP should go to
referendum. If the Legislative Council has not passed the final CIP
plan by January 31, the Board of Finance recommended CIP presented
to the Legislative Council shall be the final adopted Town-wide CIP.
O. The following
should be considered when determining which capital assets/projects
go to referendum:
(1) Projects
that require multiple years of funding or that exceed Legislative
Council fiscal authority;
(2) Capital
assets/projects which, because of their significant cost, may limit
the Legislative Council's fiscal authority;
(4) Safety
and security importance.
The Board of Selectmen, Board of Education, Board of Finance
and Legislative Council should consider the following guidelines when
recommending the prioritization of individual capital items (in no
particular order):
A. Projects
implementing approved Town plans such the Plan of Conservation and
Development and the Fairfield Hills Master Plan;
B. Capital
items that are one phase of a multiphase project that are expected
to exceed Council authority in total should receive priority consideration
for referendum;
C. Significant
consideration shall be given to the most costly of the remaining capital
items which should go to referendum;
D. Items that
are time-sensitive should receive priority consideration for referendum;
E. The cost
of the purchase;
F. The impact
of the purchase versus the benefit to the Town;
G. The year
it will be implemented;
N. Impact
on current and future operational budgets;
O. The benefit
or risk to the Town should the purchase not be made.
All purchases that are proposed for the ensuing fiscal year and included in the final Town-wide CIP by the Legislative Council shall be included as a proposed expenditure in the budget presented to the Board of Finance. Except for exigent circumstances, any capital improvement expenditure that falls within §
310-6 of this plan regulation and is not contained in the CIP shall not be considered for implementation until included in the CIP.