CIP 2025 Budget Process Summary - Open Letter
January 20, 2025
Dear Willington Residents,
Budget planning season for the next fiscal year (July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2026) is upon us and the various Boards and Committees in Willington have begun preparing their proposed budgets and anticipated spending needs ahead of the annual budget hearings and referendum scheduled in April to discuss and approve the same.
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a recommended schedule of public, physical improvements, including the planning and engineering thereof, for the Town of Willington over a five-year period. The overall schedule is based upon a series of priorities which take into consideration the Town’s current and anticipated financial capacity as well as the needs, desire, and improvements requested from various departments, agencies, boards and commissions. The goal is to maintain all capital assets including buildings and infrastructure and to meet future demands, thus avoiding deterioration leading to costly maintenance requirements, threatening interruption of town services and decline of the community or stagnation of community growth. The basic function of the CIP Committee is to provide the Town of Willington with an orderly process for planning and budgeting for capital needs. The CIP is updated annually at which time the schedule of projects is revised as appropriate.
Project submissions from each department are due this year on or before January 21st, at which time the Committee will review all proposed capital spending requests received with their respective departments and ultimately make recommendation to the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Board of Finance (BOF) as to which projects should be prioritized within the overall budget. This year’s proposed meeting and presentation schedule is as follows:
- Jan. 21, 2025 CIP Submissions Due
- Jan. 22, 2025 Board of Education / Superintendent Presentation
- Jan. 29, 2025 Fire Departments / Emergency Services Facilities Building Committee
- Feb. 5, 2025 Public Works, Selectmen, Animal Control (as relevant)
- Feb. 12, 2025 Conservation Commission, Land Use, Library, Parks & Rec, Assessor, Senior Center, Human Services
- Feb. 19, 2025 Initial full CIP review (as submitted)
- Feb. 26, 2025 Plan discussion / development
- Mar 5, 2025 Plan discussion / development
- Mar 12, 2025 Plan discussion / development
- Mar 19, 2025 Deadline – Adopt / approve full plan
- Mar 20, 2025 CIP Presentation to Board of Finance
As has been the case for the past few years, the Committee is tasked with evaluating several pending and deferred capital projects of significant value, any of which would likely have a notable impact on the overall spending picture proposed for the Town, namely:
- Renovation project(s) at both Center and Hall schools. While the Board of Education is still actively working to determine its proposed path forward, recent data from outside consultants captures the anticipated overall need falling in the tens of millions of dollars range.
- Renovation and / or replacement projects for both Willington Fire Department #1 and Willington Hill Fire Department to address the ageing and compromised infrastructure of their existing fire stations. While no recent cost data is available, the current request anticipates a $15 million bond for the work, with the potential for further update as more current data becomes available.
- Roadway and drainage repairs at several roads in town that have been deferred within the CIP for a considerable number of years. While grant funding may be available to cover some of the costs of these projects, significant engineering and project costs will still fall to the Town.
- Refurbishment and / or replacement costs (many long deferred already) for service vehicles and equipment for both Fire Departments and Public Works.
The Committee would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts and concerns as it considers the numerous capital funding needs of the Town.
For further information please find CIP Committee agendas, minutes, and supporting documentation available on the town webpage. All prior meeting recordings for the Committee are additionally available for viewing on the Town of Willington CT Official YouTube page. The Committee welcomes your emails and participation in its hybrid meetings conducted in person at the Town Office building as well as on Zoom on Wednesdays at 7:00pm.
Thank you very much and the Committee values your input and consideration as it works to develop the Capital Improvement Program for the coming year.
James Marshall
CIP Committee Chair