Town of Cary: 326 Projects Continue, 19 Delayed, 39 Postponed Indefinitely

December 23, 2009 | Story by: Matt Young | Categories: Briefs, Business

CARY, NC – Cary Release: The Cary Town Council has approved staff recommendations for adjusting the government’s bricks and mortar priorities during these tough economic times; the action, which was finalized during a December 15, 2009 work session, is designed to keep the most critical projects moving forward while limiting debt and keeping taxes as low as possible.  Under the new prioritization, all of the Town’s 384 capital projects have been placed into one of three categories:

Continue – Project is continuing as scheduled.

Delay – Project is not moving forward as scheduled. All appropriations remain in the project, but all project spending is on hold until further direction is received from the Town Council. Work can continue by Town staff (design, planning, etc.) but only where the work does not spend project funds or obligate the Town to additional project spending.

Postpone – Project is not moving forward. All appropriations are being removed from the project, and the project is closed. The project may be submitted for reconsideration through the annual capital budgeting process where it will compete with other future capital needs.

“When each of these projects was created, each was considered important to our community, so it’s unfortunate that we’ve had to choose among them,” said Town Manager Ben Shivar. “That said, setting new priorities was the right and responsible approach, especially during these unprecedented economic times, and we’re much better off than many other local governments experiencing the same pressures.” Shivar added that the 39 postponed projects are still important and ones he hopes can be given consideration in the future as conditions improve.

Reviewing and reprioritizing projects came at the direction of the Town Council last summer, and the effort included several work sessions. Then at the December 15, 2009 work session, staff returned to the Council with recommendations on those remaining 125 general government capital projects, recommendations that the Council adopted unanimously.

As a result and in total, the Town now has 326 general government and utility capital projects ($413 million) moving ahead while 19 are delayed ($68 million) and 39 are postponed indefinitely ($20.6 million).

Public safety and preserving and protecting existing infrastructure were important goals of the staff when developing their recommendations on project priorities. Other considerations included reducing and/or eliminating the use of debt for existing projects and assessing the out-year funding needs of a project: larger funding needs for nonessential projects typically lowered a project’s priority. In contrast, many annually funded projects such as sidewalks were recommended to continue since they are in various stages of design and close to moving forward. And projects with approved grant funding were generally favored.

Over the last two years, Cary has experienced a significant drop in sales tax revenues. Building activity is also down, and the value of what is being constructed is less than in previous years, which means slower tax base growth. As a result, the Town now has about $13 million or 10 percent less to work with than it would have had under normal economic times – equal to about 7 cents on the property tax rate.

For more, including the status of specific projects, visit the Capital Spending Prioritization section of www.townofcary.org.

PRIMARY CONTACTS:
Ben Shivar, Town Manager, 469-4007
Scott Fogleman, Budget Director, 462-3911
Deanna Boone, Deputy Public Information Officer, (919) 462-3908
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, (919) 460-4951