Duncan Unveils FY 98 Capital Budget, Amended Six-Year CIP

      
   
   
   SS/cip.pr           97-07               Contact:  David Weaver, 301-217-6530
                                               Robert Kendal, 301-217-2789
   DUNCAN UNVEILS FY 98 CAPITAL
   BUDGET, AMENDED SIX-YEAR CIP       For Immediate Release:  January 13, 1997
   
   
        Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan today unveiled his recommended
   fiscal year 1998 Capital Budget and recommended amendments to the fiscal years 1997-2002
   Capital Improvements Program, the first since voters approved an amendment to the County
   Charter which changed the requirement for the preparation of a new CIP from once a year to
   once every two years.
        Under the County Charter, which was modified through the voters' endorsement of a
   ballot question last November, a new six-year Capital Improvements Program will only be
   developed biennially, in even-numbered calendar years.  In odd-numbered years, such as
   calendar year 1997, the Executive will recommend and the County Council will approve only
   a capital budget for the next fiscal year and amendments to the existing six-year CIP.
        As such, County Executive Duncan's recommendations for an amended Capital
   Improvements Program for fiscal years 1997-2002 calls for only minor changes to the $1.9
   billion package approved last May, with recommended amendments to just 45 existing
   projects.  Fourteen new projects are also included in the amended CIP, including seven bridge
   reconstruction efforts which will leverage nearly $4.8 million in available Federal funds.
        The total tax-supported portion (non fee-supported) of the CIP for the remaining five
   years of the current program would increase only $8 million, or 0.8 percent.
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   DUNCAN UNVEILS FY 98 CAPITAL BUDGET; AMENDED SIX-YEAR CIP   2-2-2
   
        "I believe the new system of developing a new Capital Improvements Program only
   every two years will help to ensure greater predictability and stability in our efforts to plan
   and program spending for capital projects, such as new roads, schools and parks," said
   Duncan.  "Accordingly, this first-ever 'amended' CIP calls for only modest adjustments to the
   existing fiscal plan.  It does, however, include some new projects and modifications to the
   schedules of existing ones, so that we can maintain the needed flexibility and take advantage
   of opportunities which present themselves -- such as the limited availability of Federal or
   State funding."
        Regarding the shift to the biennial CIP process, Duncan noted, "Two years ago, when
   local business leaders teamed up with our County department heads on the Corporate
   Partnership for Quality Government, one of the key recommendations to come out of that
   effort was that we move to the every-other-year system.  That group felt that a biennial CIP
   would produce a more stable capital planning process and I think that's exactly the result that
   it will achieve."
        This year, for the first time, the recommended CIP is accessible to the public via the
   internet.  Internet users can access CIP information by logging on to the County's home page
   (http://www.co.mo.md.us), clicking on the "Services" bar and scrolling to "Management and
   Budget."
      
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Go to the County Executive's Recommended FY 98 CIP
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