The Capital Planning Fund supports critical project development and pre-bond planning outside the regular General Fund budget. This investment in planning helps increase public confidence and the likelihood that these projects will be delivered on time and on budget. The advance work helps improve cost estimation reliability and refine project delivery methods.

Historically, the General Fund supported pre-bond critical project development on the condition that once bonds for that project were issued, the General Fund would be reimbursed. This Plan assumes that bond reimbursements will flow into the Capital Planning Fund and be used for future project development. The Capital Planning Fund may be used for planning projects that are funded through sources other than bonds, but those funds are not reimbursable.

The Office of Resilience and Capital Planning anticipates approximately $8 million available in FY2020 to support project planning through the Capital Planning Fund. That amount includes the funds that will come back to the Capital Planning Fund following the first sale of bonds from the recently approved Seawall Program. Capital Planning Funds support the next planned bond programs and will be appropriated through the annual budget process.