CIP Overview

The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) provides funding for streets, public buildings (both governmental and school facilities), land, and other capital assets. Capital improvement projects generally have a life of 5 years, or more, cost more than $50,000, and are non-operational in nature. City Council adopted budget guidelines and established a policy to allocate an amount no less than 3% of the General Fund budget for capital improvements.

The annual capital budget is part of the City's multi-year Capital Improvement Program, which is designed to coordinate the planning, financing, and construction of capital projects. Separate funding is adopted in the General Fund budget for the smaller maintenance projects, which are handled in the Facilities Repair Fund.

Many factors are taken into consideration during the development of the capital budget. Examples include, the aging of public facilities and infrastructure, the need to accommodate a growing population, and enhancement of quality of life within the City. For these reasons, the City must respond to the capital needs of the community with investments aimed at improving, revitalizing, and maintaining the existing facilities and infrastructure of the City of Charlottesville.

CIP Process and Timeline

The City’s CIP process is designed to coordinate and align capital projects with Council’s strategic priorities and the Comprehensive Plan while also balancing capital investments with available financial resources. The process attempts to capture the true-life cycle cost of the projects – including not only initial construction costs but also operational and replacement costs.

The City’s 5-year capital improvement process typically begins in the fall when City departments receive the CIP submission request forms and related materials to use for the upcoming five-year plan. In addition to submitting requests for new projects, departments are also asked to provide financial updates for existing projects and any projects previously included in the multi-year CIP plan. All materials are submitted to the Office of Budget and Performance Management, which organizes and prepares the submissions for review and prioritization by the CIP Budget Development Committee. The CIP Budget Development Committee consists of the City Manager, Deputy City Managers, Budget Director, Finance Director, and the Budget office staff.

On December 13, 2022, a 5-year CIP plan recommendation was presented to the Planning Commission as part of a public hearing for feedback and approval. After the public hearing, the Planning Commission puts forth its own set of recommendations and proposed changes for City Council to consider.

On March 6, 2023, a Proposed CIP will be formally presented to City Council as part of an overall City Manager Proposed City Operating and Capital Budget. Council will spend time deliberating the proposed plan and may make funding changes until the budget is formally adopted on April 11, 2023.

FY 2024 CIP Revenue Sources

The City uses General Obligation (GO) bonds to finance many of the projects in the CIP. GO Bonds are debt that is backed by the City’s full faith and credit which means the City is obligated to pay back the debt using its ability to collect tax revenue. A bondable project must serve a public purpose (roads, bridges, buildings, parks, etc.) and have a long useful life. Like a mortgage, the bond debt is repaid over time which allows the costs of the project to be spread out over many years and paid for by the current and future citizens who use them. Nonbondable projects are projects which will be cash funded by City revenues, grants and other sources.

The FY 24-28 Capital Improvement Program recommends the use of approximately $137.9 million in long-term debt to finance a portion of the $202.7 million multi-year program. The balance will be funded through transfers of funds from the General Fund, PEG (public, education and governmental) programming fees, revenue sharing funds and other contributions from Charlottesville City Schools. The Capital Improvement Program for FY 24 contains bondable projects totaling $105.7 million, along with non-bondable projects totaling $9.2 million, for a total capital improvement program budget equaling $114.9 million.

Capital Improvement Program Alignment to the Strategic Plan

City Council identified five priority areas: Affordable Housing, Race and Equity, Workforce Development, Economic Development, and Safety, Security and Preparedness. The expenditures that fall under these priorities are listed below:

Affordable Housing

In the FY 24 Capital Improvement Program $8.4 million is allocated for Affordable Housing projects. Charlottesville Housing and Redevelopment is to receive $3,000,000 in the FY 24 CIP for the future redevelopment of the City’s public housing sites. $900,000 is allocated for Supplemental Rental Assistance to continue the previous commitment by City council for housing vouchers. $1,500,000 is allocated to the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund (CAHF) to provide funding for affordable housing initiatives including funding to non-profit agencies to support affordable rental, affordable homeownership, affordable home rehabilitation and energy conservation, down payment assistance and other affordable housing initiatives. Additionally, a total $3 million has been allocated to help fund the MACAA and Park Street Apartment projects.

Safety, Security and Preparedness

$2 million in additional funds have been provided to inflationary increases in the construction costs of the new Bypass Fire Station. This is for the construction of a new fire station to replace the existing Charlottesville Fire Station No. 1 which was built in 1961. $1.2 million is included to fund the replacement of a fire engine and $153,800 is allocated for ongoing replacement program of Portable Radios and Mobile Data Terminals for the Police Department, the Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Office. These funds are level funded annually for the purpose of establishing a tiered replacement schedule instead of funding all replacements with a significant one-time investment.

Other Strategic Plan Areas

Prepare students for academic and vocational success

Continues a strong commitment to the schools, providing $109.6 million in capital funding for school facility improvements, including $88.8 million for the construction of the Buford School Renovation and Reconfiguration Project. A total of $91.8 million is the planned total cost of the reconfiguration project. $16 million is also included for ongoing building improvements, HVAC systems and priority improvements. Additionally, $9.3 million is included for roof replacements at the high school and 2 elementary schools.

Engage in robust and context sensitive urban planning and implementation

As part of the FY 24 CIP, Small Area Plans will receive $100,000. The Comprehensive Plan Update identified several specific areas of the city where planning and design issues or investment opportunities may warrant additional study through the development of specific small area plans in the coming years.

Provide reliable and high-quality infrastructure

SIA Immediate Implementation will receive $200,000 in the FY 24 CIP. This funding is intended to facilitate completion of projects outlined in the Strategic Investment Area Plan.

The FY 24 CIP allocates $1.0 million in funding to go towards Milling and Paving and $3.7 million for Traffic Signal Infrastructure Replacement. $750,000 is allocated to begin design work for the Stribling Avenue sidewalk and $225,000 is also funded for Minor Bridge Repairs.

Provide a variety of transportation and mobility options

$100,000 is allocated for Sidewalk and Curb ADA Improvements, $100,000 for the construction of New Sidewalks, $500,000 for Sidewalk Repair, $240,000 for ADA Pedestrian Signal Upgrades, $100,000 for Bicycle Infrastructure and $239,936 was allocated as the local match funding for CAT transit bus replacements.

Clicking on a project below will take you to the project page for more in depth information on each project