City 3-9-20
The City of Cheyenne has released their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the 2020-24 fiscal years. Access to the 260-page CIP document can be found at www.cheyennecity.org/CIP2020-24.
A CIP is any major construction or improvement to City facilities and infrastructure with an anticipated aggregate cost over $5,000. The CIP identifies immediate capital project needs over a five-year period and organized by its priority and revenue source(s) available to fund them.
“The CIP is an accumulation of a four-month process that assessed and prioritized the capital needs of our community for the next five years,” said Mayor Marian Orr. “The purpose of the CIP is to match the City’s limited financial resources with the capital needs of our growing community which will allow us to continue to provide efficient services to Cheyenne’s citizens.”
The CIP was brought forth as a collaborative effort amongst City Departments, the Governing Body, and members of the community who provided input, updated existing projects, and submitted new ones. Due to the volume of submitted projects with no identified funding source(s), the City implemented criteria to aid with prioritization. This evaluation considered the following factors: public safety, regulatory mandates, maintenance/age/condition, budget impact, well-being, synergy with other projects, economic development and revitalization, and whether the project helps meet a strategic goal or helps achieve a component of a master plan of the City.
Projects with no identified funding source were then reviewed and ranked by a Peer Review Team (PRT) and grouped into one of six categories: Quality of Life, Public Safety, Maintenance, Vehicles & Equipment, Transportation, and Drainage & Flood Control.
“The CIP establishes a starting point to prioritize our capital needs and engage public discussion. My hope is that the CIP will be a valuable tool that assists the Governing Body with developing priorities including the consideration of additional revenue sources,” Mayor Orr added.
Although the CIP addresses the community’s needs over a five-year span, the plan must be reviewed and revised annually to update completed projects, make changes to existing projects, and address newly discovered projects.
The CIP will now go before the City’s Governing Body for a work session to review and discuss possible funding sources. That work session will be announced publicly once it is scheduled.
