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The Capital Improvement Plan Capital Budget 2000-01
The Capital Improvements Program Plan
and
Capital Budget
The Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Plan
The Austin City Charter requires that the Planning Commission recommend a five-year program of capital
improvements and a spending plan for financing these improvements to the City Manager. This list is compiled
as the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Plan. The Plan shows the anticipated spending plan for
projects in the upcoming year as well as for future years. The Planning Commission reviews the Plan each year
and recommends specific projects to be included in the Capital Budget for the next fiscal year. Detailed are: all active projects contained in prior Capital Budgets; additional appropriations for previously approved projects; estimated expenditures for each project; and projected methods of financing.
The Plan is developed through public input and department prioritization of needs. The process includes: departmental information gathering through neighborhood meetings; department requests; Budget Office assessment of requested projects; input from the Planning Commission's CIP Subcommittee, CIP Coordinating Committee, Bond Oversight
Committee and other Boards and Commissions; and Planning Commission public hearing(s).
The CIP Plan is a recommendation from the Planning Commission, and is available at all 23 library locations.
The Capital Budget
The Capital Budget as adopted by City Council includes appropriation (the legal authority to spend funds) to
support the approved capital projects and reflects the input received from citizens, staff, the Planning Commission
and the Bond Oversight Committee. It contains requested appropriations for new projects, additional
appropriations for previously approved projects, and any requests to revise prior year appropriations. Unlike the
Operating Budget, which authorizes expenditures for only one fiscal year, Capital Budget appropriations are multi-
year - they last until the project is complete or until changed by Council. This is why the Capital Budget is used
for construction projects and major expenditures that may require longer than a twelve-month period to complete. Capital Budget 2000-01
Appropriations and Spending Plan for the 2000-01 Capital Budget
As mentioned previously, the Operating Budget is a single-year authorization; all of the funds to be expended
must be appropriated each year and, therefore, there is no difference between appropriation and spending plan.
However, the Capital Budget is a multi-year spending authorization. There is a distinction between what the City
plans to spend in the next fiscal year and the new appropriations required to be approved in the budget. The
following illustration summarizes the Capital Budget appropriation versus the anticipated spending plan for 2000-
01:
Spending Plan
$195.4 million
New Appropriation
$114.9 million
New Appropriation
$502.3 million
Spending Plan
$485.7 million
General Government
Enterprise Funds
In order to finance capital expenditures, various City funds transfer current revenue to the Capital Budget. The
City also issues debt to finance projects. Public Improvement Bonds are long-term debt instruments that allow
the cost of capital investments to be repaid over the life of the project, much like financing the construction or
purchase of a new home. Other debt instruments, including Certificates of Obligation and Contractual
Obligations, are paid off over a shorter period and therefore have lower borrowing costs. To avoid incurring debt
and borrowing costs until cash is actually needed, cities can now begin the preliminary phases of a project and
reimburse the costs incurred with the sale of bonds at a later date through the use of a Reimbursement
Resolution. To save issuance costs the City of Austins annual debt issuance is normally sold once each year.
Additional information on the Citys debt and how the decisions are made to borrow money can be found in the
Debt Service section of the Policy Budget document. Schedules of the Citys outstanding debt are found in the
Supporting Documents volume of the 2000-01 budget.
In addition to new appropriations, deappropriation requests are also included in the Capital Budget for projects
that are either complete or canceled and whose funding source is no longer available. Departments with
deappropriations include Parks and Recreation, Public Works and Transportation, Watershed Protection General
Government, Austin Energy, Aviation, and the Water and Wastewater Utility. Capital Budget 2000-01
General Government Capital Projects
The Capital Budget is divided between a general government section, which is primarily tax-supported, and an
enterprise section, which is supported by the revenue of the City's enterprise operations. New appropriations for
the general government section total $114.9 million for 2000-01 and assume a $58.99 million tax-supported debt
sale. Combined with appropriations from previous years, the general government funds expect to spend $195.4
million in 2000-01. Highlighted projects on which these funds will be spent include:
Traffic Signal System and Intersection Improvements City-wide
Street Reconstruction City-wide
Sidewalks and Pedestrian Improvements City-wide
Street Improvements
Barton Springs Road
Dittmar Road
Giles Road
Escarpment
Loyola Lane
Manchaca Road
Rutherford Lane
South First Street
Parks and Libraries
Construction of the Daniel E. Ruiz (Montopolis/Riverside) Branch Library
Design of the Carver Library and Museum Expansion
Design of the Mexican American Cultural Center
Greenways Initiative and Destination Parks Acquisition
Colorado River Park Improvements
Expansions at A.B. Cantu (Pan Am), Parque Zaragoza, Dittmar and Northwest Recreation Centers
Park Improvements at Chestnut, Circle C, Davis Hill, Garrison, Mayfield, Quail Creek and Springdale
Playscape Renovations
Public Safety
West Austin EMS Station
Fire Station #40 (Spicewood Springs)
Fire/EMS Stations #42 (Harris Ridge), #43 (Del Valle) and #44 (Circle C)
Police Forensics Facility and Central Substation
Combined Emergency Center and Radio Trunking 9-1-1
ADA Buildings, Ramps and Sidewalks Capital Budget 2000-01
Enterprise Capital Projects
The City's various enterprise funds contain new capital appropriations of $502.3 million in 2000-01, including:
Austin Energy
$268.3 million
Aviation
22.1 million
Convention Center
19.1 million
Golf
0.9 million
Solid Waste Services
5.4 million
Water/Wastewater Utility
179.7 million
Watershed Protection
6.8 million
Combined with appropriations from previous years, enterprise funds expect to spend $485.7 million in 2000-01.
Highlights of the projects scheduled for spending next year include:
Austin Energy
Create Value for the Community (Seaholm Decommissioning, Relocation of Overhead Lines to
Underground, Holly Neighborhood Mitigation, Smart Growtn/Downtown Renovation and Annexations)
Provide Affordable and Deliver Reliable Energy Services (Peaking Capacity Additions, Combined Cycle
Plant, Transmission and Distribution Projects)
Lead Industry in Environmental Stewardship and Conservation Programs (alternative energy, continuous
emissions monitoring, asbestos abatement, chilled water and thermal storage projects)
Aviation
RON Pad Improvements
Runway Improvements (Runway 35R Threshold De-icing, Taxiway E4 High Speed Exit, and Runway 17L
35R Taxiways A & K)
Noise Mitigation
Convention Center
Town Lake Park Events Center and Parking Garage
Convention Center Retrofits
Golf Enterprise
Morris Williams Golf Course Improvements
New Course Design
Solid Waste Services
Mabel Davis Park Landfill Remediation
Completion of the Todd Lane Service Center in South Austin and Initiation of the North Service Center
Completion of the Zilker Park Closed Landfill Remediation Project
Remediation of the former Solid Waste Services Yard at East 12
th
& Hargrave
Watershed Protection Utility
Urban and Non-Urban Watersheds and Erosion Control
Walnut Creek Improvements and East 11
th
and 12
th
Street Improvements
Drainage Master Plan Implementation
Water and Wastewater Utilities
Continuation of the Treatment Plant Capacity Expansion to Meet Increased Demand
Continued Emphasis on Infrastructure Replacement and Improvements to Meet Regulatory Requirements
Design and Construction of Facilities to Meet Minimum Water Pressure Standards