Date: Fri 27-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

council-capital-projects

Full Text:

Council Reviews How It Handles Capital Projects

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

The Legislative Council's finance committee is revising its current capital

improvement plan procedures in an effort to streamline the annual budget

process.

Last spring, Business Director Benjamin Spragg urged the town to simplify its

budget by voting on all spending, including capital projects, in one

referendum each year.

"Currently, the Legislative Council gets a `laundry list' of proposed capital

projects from the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education. It would be much

more informative to have the Board of Selectmen turn over an entire budget -

operating and capital - to the council all at one time, instead of piecemeal,"

he said.

Having everything on the same ballot each year would provide an answer to the

financing problem which occurs every time a capital project is approved after

the operating budget is adopted, Mr Spragg said. And, if the capital budget is

defeated, it should be eliminated and placed on the ballot again the following

year.

This year, the Legislative Council tried to address the problem by including

$3.1 million in debt service for the proposed Hawley School and high school

building projects in the proposed 1996-97 operating budget, even though the

town didn't actually vote on the proposals until the middle of June, two

months after the budget vote.

The finance committee recently dug out the council's regulations that dictate

format and implementation of the improvement plan.

"The capital improvement plan in its present form is not working and it should

be upgraded," said finance chairman Joe McGowan. "We're going to make every

effort to update that."

Many of those involved in the budget process perceive the capital improvement

plan as a wish list.

"We want to make it workable," Mr McGowan said. "I think that everybody has to

work together to get a more realistic list of improvements in the plan. We

must prioritize our expenditures."

The finance committee chairman pointed out there are too many "big white

elephant projects" that have been sitting in the plan for years.

The finance committee pored over the current regulations September 18 and

agreed that the capital improvement plan would be more effective if it was

prepared for a three-year period rather than for five because, with five, one

council votes on a capital project that would have to be implemented by

another council.

Looking to eliminate the "laundry list" procedure, the committee has

considered requiring each town agency to be more accountable for their capital

improvement requests by meeting with the finance committee annually.

"This makes it more of a what-do-you-need-list," finance committee member Gail

Halapin said.

Currently, the financial director is responsible for the preparation and

submission of the CIP to the selectmen and council, but some committee members

suggested forming a finance sub-committee to do the job.

Mr McGowan said he expects to submit a draft of the improvement plan changes

at the council's October 2 meeting.