Purpose:

The Capital Improvements Program (CIP) provides a planned and programmed approach to utilizing the County's financial resources in the most responsive and efficient manner to meet its service and facility needs. The CIP serves as a "blueprint" for the future of the community. It is a dynamic tool, not a static accounting document. Development of the CIP requires the integration of financial, engineering, and planning functions. The CIP is developed to achieve the following results:

 

• Consolidating and coordinating all department requests with the goal of reducing unnecessary delays and coordinating the individual improvement programs of the departments;
• Establishing a system of procedures and priorities by which each proposal can be evaluated in terms of public need, the comprehensive planning of the area, the inter-relationship of projects, and cost requirements;
• Scheduling capital projects over an extended period so that the most efficient financial plan for the CIP can be achieved;
• Relating needed projects to existing and projected fiscal capacity; and
• Providing that public facilities and services meet or exceed the standards established in the Capital Improvements Element (CIE) required by Florida Statutes 163.3177 and are available when needed for development, or that development orders and permits are conditioned on the availability of these public facilities and services necessary to serve the proposed development. Not later than one year after its due date established by the state land planning agency's rule for submission of local comprehensive plans pursuant to Florida Statutes 163.3167(2)k a local government shall not issue a development order or permit which results in a reduction in the level of service for the affected public facilities below the level of services provided in the comprehensive plan of the local government.

 

Capital Expenditures Defined:

Expenditures which result in the acquisition of, or addition to, general fixed assets, with a value of more than $5,000 and a useful life of more than one year. Additionally, included are capital purchases of major equipment items which are not permanently attached to a public facility. This would include the replacement or addition of major motorized and other equipment.

 

Process to Identify Funded Projects:

Escambia County strives to follow GFOA’s recommended steps for capital planning as follows:

• Identify needs – Departments submit their requested projects and/or equipment needed, ranked in order of priority
• Determine financial impacts – Departments in conjunction with the Purchasing Office staff estimate costs for the requests and suggest funding sources (grants, LOST, etc.)
• Prioritize capital requests – Office of Management and Budget and County Administration review the requests from the department and rank in order of priority based on the County’s strategic goals, health and safety considerations, and available funding
• Develop a comprehensive financial plan – Projects that are deemed to be highest priority are included in the County’s Capital Improvement Plan and adopted budget

 

Impact of the Capital Program on the Operating Budgets:

In approving the capital program each year, the Board of County Commissioners considers a detailed analysis of the projected impacts of the program on future operating budgets. These include, but are not limited to, the direct impacts of capital financing and increased operating expenses and staff requirements. In many instances, operating impacts are negligible and difficult to compute. For example, paving dirt roads eliminates the need for continual grading but creates a need for periodic right-of-way maintenance. As more projects are added to the Capital Improvement Plan, staff members are striving to quantify better estimates for future operating expenses to ensure all funds remain structurally balanced.

 

Interface of CIP and Capital Improvement Element as required by the County’s Comprehensive Plan:

The CIP establishes the proper interface with the Capital Improvements Element as required by the County's Comprehensive Plan, adopted on October 20, 1993, which states:

 

"The County shall formalize a process for the update and refinement of multi-year projections of fiscal resources such that a financially feasible schedule of capital improvements is maintained."

 

Adoption of annual budgets included a specific capital budget which implemented adequate funding sources and which was consistent with CIE.

 

The CIP shall embody and be consistent with the following:

• The maintenance of existing infrastructure, including renewal/replacement of worn-out facilities, shall be specifically projected and funding identified;
• Debt obligations shall be specifically identified and projected to ensure compliance with debt covenants, including coverage requirements;
• A debt management strategy and set of criteria which shall be based upon debt management principals;
• Maintenance of levels of budgeted and undesignated reserves adequate to serve sound public fiscal management purposes; and
• Equity of the uses of a revenue source relative to the populace generating the revenue.

 

The presentation that follows includes the Capital Improvement Plan and the Capital Budget. The Capital Improvement Plan typically contains funding for those projects with a value of $25,000 and above. The Capital Budget contains the plan for the purchase of all capital items with a value of $5,000 and above. The difference, therefore, between the aggregate funding in the Capital Budget and the funding in the CIP represents those capital outlays with a value between $5,000 and $25,000.