O'Fallon presents five-year capital improvement plan with parks, library and public-works projects highlighted

O'Fallon City staff presented a draft five-year Capital Improvement Plan at the Committee of the Whole on Sept. 29, outlining proposed projects by department and asking council for feedback before a resolution to adopt the CIP appears on a future council agenda.

The CIP groups projects by fund and department and lists year-by-year priorities; staff said years one and two are largely fixed while years three through five are “stretch projects” that will need further planning and funding identification. Interim City Administrator Grant Litekin told the committee the CIP is “more or less the unofficial start of our budget season.”

Why it matters: the document guides which capital projects the city will budget for and save toward, and it shows where funding is identified and where it is not. Finance Director Sandy Evans and department heads described how reserves, grants and dedicated funds feed projects and which items remain unfunded.

Major departmental highlights discussed included the library, parks and recreation, public works, public safety and information technology. The CIP lists a potential new library project with large placeholder…