Operating Budget 2025-2026

Description of Capital Improvement Funds

The Capital Improvement Funds account for all ongoing capital projects, such as major street improvements, construction of public facilities, equipment replacement, land acquisition, park and trail developments, utility improvements, and those projects funded by bond issues. Capital Improvement Funds are supported by the General Fund, enterprise funds, bond issues, and federal, state, and local grants. Ongoing project appropriations are directly appropriated to the Capital Improvement Funds. Each year the Town of Blacksburg develops the five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), a comprehensive financial plan for new and ongoing capital projects of at least $15,000, typically non recurring in nature. Once approved by Town Council, the first year of the CIP is appropriated into the budget and the other four years serves as a financial plan that can be amended each year based on community priorities and available funding. The CIP process defines capital needs, sets priorities, develops financial forecasts, and helps plan for anticipated impacts to operating costs. The Town begins planning the five-year CIP in September each year. Departments prepare their project proposals and Finance develops long-range revenue and expenditure projections to determine factors such as debt capacity and use of fund balance that meet the Town’s financial principles. Project proposals are reviewed with Finance staff and the Town Manager’s Office in October, followed by the preparation of the Town Manager’s Recommended CIP document. The Recommended CIP is presented to Town Council in November and published to the public. The Town Council holds several work sessions on the Recommended CIP through December, followed by a public hearing and Council resolution in January to formally adopt the Capital Improvement Program. A summary list of first-year projects programmed in the CIP is included in this section. Detailed descriptions and funding sources for all projects are included in the separately issued Capital Improvement Program document, available online at https://blacksburg.gov/budget.

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