What is a Capital Improvement Plan?

A Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is fundamentally a strategic plan that outlines how a municipality will invest in its infrastructure over a certain period, often spanning several years. The primary objective of a CIP is to identify various projects that will contribute to the enhancement of public facilities and infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, parks, and buildings, while also establishing the priorities and financing for these projects.

A well-organized CIP includes important details about project timelines, funding sources, costs, and anticipated benefits. It serves as a framework for local governments to ensure that their long-term infrastructure needs are met in a systematic way, aligning projects with overall community goals and available financial resources. By prioritizing capital expenditures, municipalities can effectively allocate funds and ensure that necessary upgrades and improvements are addressed in an orderly manner.

Other options do not properly align with the definition or purpose of a Capital Improvement Plan. While a short-term financial plan may focus on immediate fiscal issues, it does not encompass the long-term planning required in a CIP. A plan for reducing taxes lacks the infrastructure investment focus central to a CIP. Evaluating employee performance, meanwhile, is entirely unrelated to the kinds of projects and financial planning involved in capital improvements.