A 10-Year Capital Plan Your Board Can Follow
A capital improvement plan (CIP) lists the repairs and replacements you’ll fund over the next 10 years, in what order, and from which source. We build yours from current building condition and rank it with a scoring model printed in the plan.
When a council member asks why one roof outranks another building’s heating system, the answer is already on the page.
- Who It’s For
- Finance directors, budget officers and facilities leaders preparing a capital budget, a bond (money borrowed now and repaid over time), or a property tax request.
- Typical Length
- About 12 Weeks
- You Receive
- 5 documents and files, listed below
- Often Paired With
- Condition Assessment, Impact Fee Studies
What You Get
What Lands On Your Desk At Handover
When Owners Call Us
- The budget cycle is coming and the project list is a wish list.
- You’re weighing a bond or a tax increase and need to show what it buys.
- Your auditor asks for capital asset detail for the annual financial report.
- Projects keep getting pushed back, and nobody can say what the delay costs.
- A ranked 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) in PDF: a table of funding sources by fiscal year, the ranked project list, and the scoring method.
- A score out of 100 for every project, broken into condition, remaining life, life safety and code, and cost avoidance.
- A funding scenario brief comparing current funding, a one-mill property tax increase ($1 per $1,000 of taxable value), a bond and a custom option, with the funding gap year by year.
- A capital asset schedule that supports your auditor’s note disclosure under Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34.
- A full-screen presentation of the plan for the board meeting, plus building detail reports and five spreadsheet (CSV) exports.
See The Method
How A Project Earns Its Place In The Plan
Every project is scored out of 100: condition 40 points, remaining life 30, life safety and code 20, and cost avoidance — what waiting would add to the bill — 10. The weights print in the plan, and your board can change them.
How Projects Get Ranked
One project
Roof replacement
Main Library · $1.3M
73/ 100
- ConditionRated 2 of 1036 of 40
- Remaining life1 yr left27 of 30
- Life safety & codeNot a life-safety system0 of 20
- Cost avoidanceWaiting makes the repair cost more10 of 10
Top 6 of 54 projects
Ranked by score
- 1Electrical service upgradePublic Works Yard · $353K80
- 2Fire protection upgradeCourthouse Parking Deck · $288K80
- 3Elevator modernizationCourthouse Parking Deck · $432K78
- 4Electrical service upgradeCourthouse Parking Deck · $864K75
- 5Roof replacementMain Library · $1.3M73
- 6Heating & cooling replacementParks Maintenance Shop · $212K73
Then, What Each Budget Level Buys
Move the annual budget and watch the repair backlog over 10 years. The plan also finds the smallest bond, or the smallest property tax increase, that closes the gap, and what a one-year delay would cost.
Test A Budget
Current Budget: Keep today’s capital budget as it is.
Buildings in critical condition by 2036
4of 8
Today 3 of 8. Critical means a Facility Condition Index (FCI) above 10%.
Repair backlog, 2026–2036
Dollars of work due
At $1.5M a year, the repair backlog grows from $9.5M today to $20.3M by 2036, with 4 of 8 buildings in critical condition.
How It Runs
About 12 Weeks, In Four Phases
The weeks shown are typical, not promised. The size of your portfolio and the state of your records set the schedule, and we confirm it in the proposal.
How An Engagement Runs
Weeks 1–3
01
Condition To Projects
We start from current condition — a new assessment or your last one — and turn each system that needs work into a project with a cost.
Weeks 4–6
02
Scoring
Each project gets a score out of 100. We review the ranking with your staff and add work that doesn’t come from condition, such as code upgrades.
Weeks 7–9
03
Funding
We match projects to funding sources — general fund, bonds, grants, property tax — and test scenarios to show the gap in each year.
Weeks 10–12
04
Board-Ready Plan
You get the plan, the scenario brief and the capital asset schedule, with a presentation ready for the board meeting.
Why It Holds Up
Three Things A Reviewer Can Check
How the work is built, so an auditor, a council member or an investment committee can test it for themselves.
The Scoring Model Is Printed
Each project’s score is shown part by part, with the weights stated. Change a weight and the plan re-ranks in front of you.
Costs Rise With Time
Future-year costs include escalation, 3% a year unless you set another rate, so year eight isn’t priced in today’s dollars.
Reports Know When Data Changed
If the data behind an issued report changes, the report history says so. You never present a plan that no longer matches its numbers.
Questions We Hear
Scope, Timing And Price
Do we need a condition assessment first?
It helps, because the ranking depends on current condition. If your last assessment is recent, we start from it. If not, we recommend running both together.
Can we change how projects are ranked?
Yes. The four weights are a starting point. If your board weighs life safety more heavily, we change the weight, and the new weights print in the plan.
What do “millage” and “bond” scenarios mean?
A mill is $1 of property tax for every $1,000 of taxable value, so a one-mill increase raises a predictable amount each year. A bond is money borrowed now and repaid over time, often with voter approval. The plan shows the smallest of each that closes your funding gap.
Is the capital asset schedule our GASB 34 note disclosure?
No. It’s the working schedule your finance team and auditor build the note from. Historical cost and depreciation live in your financial system, so the audited disclosure stays with them.
How is it priced?
By scope: how many buildings and projects, and whether a condition assessment is included. Contact us for a scoped proposal.
Where It Fits
Who Buys It, And What It Pairs With
Who We Do It For
Bring Us Your Next Budget Deadline
Tell us when the plan has to be in front of your board and what you have to build it from. We’ll work back from that date.
Contact Us