CIP Explained

Why is a CIP recommended?

Each town in New Hampshire is encouraged by the state to develop a CIP because the CIP process forces each town to identify and prioritize future needs of the municipality that are likely to have a significant impact on annual budgets. The plan then spreads out the annual costs of significant expenditures in order to minimize or avoid significant tax increases.

What are the purposes of the Temple CIP?

The Temple CIP is an advisory document. It is intended to serve a number of purposes, including an attempt to plan all anticipated major Town expenditures for a period of 10 years. In addition it:

  • Provides the Town of Temple with a guide to be used by the Board of Selectman for their annual budgeting process pursuant to RSA 674:5-8.
  • Provides a forward-looking planning tool for the purpose of contributing to the creation of a stable property tax rate.
  • Aids the Town's elected officials, appointed Committees, and department heads in the prioritization, coordination, and planning for future Town growth and in sequencing of various municipal expenses.
  • Informs residents, potential residents, business owners, potential business owners, and developers of needed and planned improvements.

The CIP is a required document, should the Town ever wish to impose impact fees.

One of the main goals of the CIP is to even out the periods of under-expenditure and over-expenditure on capital improvements, and thus protect Temple taxpayers from large swings in their tax rate due to these spending divergences. This is done by properly planning for, scheduling, andsetting aside public funds for projects that are needed and desired, now and in the future.

For the purposes of this document, a capital improvement is an item or project for public use that costs more than $5,000; has a useful life of 5 yearsor more; is considered to be beyond the scope of normal annual operating or maintenance expenses. Examples of capital improvements include:

  • Land acquisition for a public purpose.
  • Vehicles.
  • Buildings/Construction.
  • Equipment and machinery with a useful life of greater than 5 years.
  • Major building or facility renovations and repairs.
  • Road renovations, bridge renovations or bridge replacement resulting in long-term improvement in road capacity or conditions.
  • Special studies, such as resource assessments, facility studies, or master plans .