2008 NEWS
Fiscal Crisis and Capital Program Management (CPM)... Finding the Money
In the end, after addressing Capital Program Management (CPM) Portfolio Optimization and then the efficiencies associated with executing the CPM function, there remains the burning issue of finding the money. In the face of shrinking Impact Fees, and property tax relief programs, the resultant impact on services and capital projects can be significant. For the purposes of this article let’s focus on capital projects.
Imagine the impact of deferring or cutting capital projects because of lack of funds. Deferring or cutting projects happens every year as part of the CPM Optimization process, however, it should be understood that deferring a project or cutting a project does not limit the impact to just that specific project. It creates a ripple effect wherein that deferred or cut project must now be considered in out years relative to other projects originally scheduled for that timeframe. The funds originally earmarked for other projects in out years are now subject to being used for the deferred projects thus continuing the cycle and thus extending the risk to maintaining a viable infrastructure. Another wrinkle to consider in this scenario is the case where the project(s) deferred or cut were revenue generating projects. What does the delay in revenue generation caused by this decision mean to the out year planning for capital projects?
- Part I:Identify and incorporate jurisdictional and fiduciary requirements…
- Part II:Identify external and internal stakeholder's information needs
- Part III:Plan and design systems to collect, store and analyze project data…
- Part IV:Regularly monitor capital projects’ financial and project activity
- Part V:Report on project status and activities
- Part VI:Project close-out.
- Part VII:Evaluate monitoring & reporting activities
