Local Finance Bulletin #69
Creating and Managing a Capital Improvement Plan
North Carolina local governments face mounting pressures to maintain and expand critical infrastructure—from repairing aging roads and bridges to upgrading water systems for climate resilience—while navigating fiscal constraints, economic volatility, and state oversight. Amid these demands, the capital improvement plan (CIP) emerges as an important tool, offering a structured roadmap to identify, prioritize, and fund projects that deliver lasting benefits to our communities. This bulletin explores how North Carolina counties and municipalities can leverage CIPs to foster fiscal sustainability and support resilient growth using best practices identified by professional organizations, in the literature, and in examples of CIPs across the state and nation.



