Garner staff preview $50 million five‑year CIP; bond sale lowers borrowing cost

Town finance and budget staff presented a preview of the FY26–30 capital improvement program (CIP) and an updated debt model at the April 29 work session, telling council a recent bond sale came in below conservative assumptions and staff will return with further modeling as the CIP is refined.

David Beck, the town’s finance director, said the town received 13 bids for the most recent sale and that UBS Financial was the low bidder “at a total interest cost of, just over 3.7%.” Beck said Davenport, the town’s financial advisor, had modeled debt service conservatively at 5% and that the lower market outcome improved the town’s debt‑capacity picture after the sale.

Sarah Warren, budget director, presented a draft five‑year CIP totaling roughly $50 million. She said general public improvements account for roughly half of that five‑year total—about $25 million—including vehicle and equipment replacement, IT capital, public safety technology and recurring maintenance projects. New or highlighted projects in the FY26–30 preview included planning and design for a Lake Benson boathouse relocation, an update to the Meadowbrook plan, continued funding for Penny for Parks (about $1 million across the program), annual traffic‑calming funding of $100,000, and a $50,000 annual public art allocation that will accrue year to year for larger projects.

Staff also described transportation priorities that include Jones Sausage Road improvements, Wilmington and Ackerman Road extension work and right‑of‑way acquisition for future projects. Council heard that the Jones Sausage segment from the Amazon entrance north to Garner Road is at 65% design, with construction estimated to start in fall 2027 and finish in fall 2029; the west side of the road will not be improved in the initial scope because of right‑of‑way constraints.

Several councilmembers pressed staff for more long‑range context and cost ranges for “horizon” projects not yet funded. Councilmember Dellinger said, “CIP needs to go out 10 years,” and urged staff to include higher‑level cost ranges for future facility projects so the town can better understand borrowing capacity. Councilmember Singleton also urged staff to include more cost context for major facilities such as Fire Station 2, the public works center and a potential town hall campus expansion.

On stormwater, councilmember Singleton noted the CIP line showing $392,000 for spot repairs in the period and asked staff to confirm that the assessment‑directed projects are funded separately; staff confirmed the $392,000 line is for spot repairs and that assessment projects have separate allocations or will be programmed when designs are complete.

Beck said the town has restructured its approach to reserves and debt planning—rebranding a previous “revenue savings plan” into a debt service fund—and presented model outputs showing long‑range targets used to measure future capacity. Beck summarized the advisor’s output but cautioned that staff will ask Davenport to model CIP scenarios that include horizon projects so council can see how much additional debt the town could carry in future years.

Next steps and schedule: staff will continue CIP refinement; the recommended budget (which includes the CIP) will be presented to council in May, a budget work session is scheduled for the afternoon of May 15, and formal budget adoption is planned for June. Staff said they will ask Davenport to run additional scenarios that reflect horizon projects and longer windows for capital planning.