Arlington’s Adopted FY 2019-2028 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) was approved by the County Board on July 14, 2018.
The CIP is the County’s 10-year plan for building, maintaining, upgrading or replacing County facilities and infrastructure. This includes libraries, parks, community centers, technology systems, water, sewer, stormwater and transportation infrastructure—and more.
The County Manager and County Board are committed to engaging Arlington residents and businesses in setting capital investment priorities.
Latest CIP News & Information
- County Board Adopts FY 2019 – FY 2028 CIP
- County Manager’s Proposed FY 2019 – FY 2028 CIP (full detail)
- Online Engagement Summary (Feb-Mar 2018) now available
- Responses to CIP Work Session Questions
All meetings will be broadcast live on Comcast Xfinity 25 or 1085 (HD) and Verizon FiOS 39 & 40. You can also watch on the County Board website or get archived video. Or watch streaming live in HD on Arlington TV’s Youtube channel.
| Important Dates | |
| May 22, 2018 | County Manager presents Proposed CIP to County Board
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| May 29, 2018 6:30-8:30 p.m. |
Board Work Session 1
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| June 5, 2018 3-6 p.m. |
Board Work Session 2 (video and presentations)
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| June 12, 2018 3-5:30 p.m. |
Board Work Session 3 (video and presentations)
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| June 26, 2018 3-6 p.m. |
Board Work Session 4 (video and presentations)
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| June 27, 2018 7 p.m. |
Public Hearing (video) |
| July 10, 2018 3-5 p.m. |
Board Wrap-Up / Final Mark-Up (video) |
| July 14, 2018 | County Board adopts final FY 2019-2028 CIP |
Get Involved in the CIP Process
Watch the June 27 Public Hearing
The County Board held a public hearing on June 27 to gather feedback in person. Watch the recorded video.
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Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get the latest about the FY 2019-2028 CIP and how you can weigh in. Subscribe now.
More About the CIP
What is the CIP?
The CIP is one of the most significant planning processes for Arlington County. It is the County’s 10-year plan for building, maintaining, upgrading or replacing public facilities and infrastructure. This includes libraries, parks, community centers, technology systems, water, sewer, stormwater and transportation infrastructure—and more.
The plan identifies immediate needs but also seeks to capture long-term capital needs. It is updated biennially and subject to change as the needs of the community become more defined and individual projects move along in their planning and budgeting processes. The effective use of a CIP process provides for considerable advance project identification, planning, evaluation, scope definition, design, public discussion, cost estimating and financial planning.
How is the CIP different from the County’s operating budget?
The County Board adopts an operating budget annually, which appropriates the expenditures required to execute ongoing County operations, as well as identifies the revenues necessary to finance the budget. The operating budget includes each County department’s operating costs, such as personnel and ongoing contractual costs. Also included in the County budget are capital financing costs, such as debt service for County issued bonds to finance large capital projects, and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing for capital maintenance and smaller capital expenditures.
The CIP, adopted separately from the County budget and on a biennial basis, is a 10-year plan that identifies the County’s major capital investments in facilities and infrastructure. While the budget and CIP are developed and adopted independently of one another, the decisions made in the formulation of each impacts the other with respect to cost and affordability. Planned capital projects in the CIP usually have ongoing operating impacts that need to be incorporated in the annual operating budget, and programmatic changes in the operating budget sometimes have an effect on the capital budget.
Why should I care about the CIP?
Continued reinvestment in existing assets combined with strategic investments in new assets is essential to the County’s future success. The choices the County makes about public facilities and infrastructure have a major impact on our everyday quality of life. What amenities will our recreation centers have? What equipment will our police and fire departments need to keep us safe? How many ART buses and bicycle lanes will be part of our transportation network? How quickly will we be able to replace aging water and sewer mains? The CIP process is where these types of questions are considered!
Note: The County Government’s CIP is separate from the Arlington Public Schools’ CIP, which is prepared by APS.