Capital Improvements Committee – Did You Know?

Committee Size:  5 members
Term Length: 5 years
Meeting Schedule: Typically once a month as determined by the members
Description: The Committee shall ascertain annually what capital expenditures will be required by the Town during the subsequent ten fiscal years. In making its determinations, the Committee shall consult with such officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and of the Town and its various boards and committees, as in its discretion it shall deem appropriate and beneficial. Department heads and chairpersons of all boards, commissions and committees of the town, whether elected or appointed, shall submit to the Committee, not later than the third Monday of November of each year, recommendations and statements for capital expenditures for the subsequent ten fiscal years. Recommendations for the subsequent five fiscal years will include operating cost estimates as deemed necessary by the Committee.

Excerpt from Hopkinton General Bylaws – Article 5 – Capital Improvement Program Committee 

The Committee shall consist of five registered voters of the Town of Hopkinton, none of whom is a Town employee or Town official. Of the five members of the Committee, two shall be appointed by the Town Moderator and three by the Select Board. Members shall be appointed for terms of five years.  Committee members shall serve without compensation.

§ 5-21. Definitions.  

For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated 

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE — Any expenditure, financed in whole or in part by Town funds, for a capital improvement. 

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT– 

A. Any acquisition, disposition, lease or transfer of land; or a building. 

B. Any acquisition, disposition, lease or transfer of motor vehicles; or 

C. Any acquisition or lease of any single item of equipment with a total cost of $25,000 or more, and a substantial useful life as determined by the Committee; or 

D. Any construction, reconstruction, replacement, extension or other improvement of public buildings, highways, sidewalks, storm drains, sewerage installations, playgrounds, parks or substantially similar public works, or for a facility, structure or a utility appurtenant to any of the same, with a total cost of $25,000 or more. 

§ 5-22. Duties.

A. The Committee shall ascertain annually what capital expenditures will be required by the Town during the subsequent ten fiscal years. In making its determinations, the Committee shall consult with such officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and of the Town and its various boards and committees, as in its discretion it shall deem appropriate and beneficial. Department heads and chairpersons of all boards, commissions and committees of the town, whether elected or appointed, shall submit to the Committee, not later than the third Monday of November of each year, recommendations and statements for capital expenditures for the subsequent ten fiscal years. Recommendations for the subsequent five fiscal years will include operating cost estimates as deemed necessary by the Committee. 

B. The Committee shall submit a Capital Improvement Program to the Town Manager on or before January 1.

C. The Committee shall publish an annual report in conjunction with the Appropriations Committee of the Town and shall include in such report its recommendations for the scheduling of capital expenditures for the subsequent ten fiscal years and for the financing of such expenditures as in its judgment cannot or should not be paid for entirely from current revenues. The Committee shall assist the Town Meeting with regard to priorities of projects, financing costs, impacts of recommended projects to the operating budget and other related matters. No capital improvement whether proposed as a separate article, as a part of an operating budget, or in a revolving fund shall be voted upon at any Town Meeting until it has been presented in written form to the Committee for recommendation. 

Excerpt from Hopkinton Town Charter

Section 7-3: Capital Improvements 

The Town Manager shall annually submit a Capital Improvements Program to the Board of Selectmen and Appropriation Committee in accordance with the budget schedule established pursuant to Section 7-2(a) of this Charter. The Capital Improvements Program shall be designed to address unmet, long-range needs and to implement the capital goals and objectives of the Town, and shall include all Town activities, all Town Departments including the School Department, and all enterprise funds. It shall contain: 

(a) A clear and concise general summary of the Capital Improvements Program 

(b) A list of all capital improvements proposed to be undertaken during the following ten (10) years, with supporting information as to the need for each capital improvement. 

(c) Cost estimates, potential methods of financing and recommended time schedules for each improvement; and, 

(d) The estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining each facility and item of major equipment involved. 

The Capital Improvements Program information shall be reviewed annually by the Town Manager to determine the status of capital improvements still pending or in the process of being acquired, improved or constructed.