County administrator outlines draft five-year capital improvement plan to council

County Administrator Terrell Youmans presented a draft five-year capital improvement plan (CIP) to the Hampton County Council on Nov. 3 that links the county's strategic goals, adopted budget and fiscal policy into a prioritized pipeline of infrastructure and asset-renewal projects.

Youmans said the CIP is intended to create a disciplined, ordinance-based approach for prioritizing work on roads, drainage, public-safety facilities, technology and airport projects. The administration identified five guiding commitments (physical discipline, readiness and results, renewal, transparency and people/performance) and mapped 33 priority objectives to the plan.

Key elements described include a governance structure (council approval, an administrative committee of department heads, implementation by departments, monitoring by finance and treasurer), a project-scoring and phase-gating methodology, and reporting tools such as a public dashboard, quarterly SIP reports and an annual report. The administrator said funding sources would include the portion of millage reallocated to a capital fund, grants, debt, hospitality/accommodation taxes, and potential public-private partnerships.

Youmans emphasized an "asset renewal, replacement and modernization" (CARMP) emphasis: "It is our recommendation that we fix what we have first," he said, and outlined examples such as HVAC controls, roof repairs, fleet right-sizing and public-works equipment replacement. He said the county has roughly 220 insured vehicles/equipment items and assigned average useful life assumptions to prioritize replacements.

The CIP was presented as a draft for department-level review; administration said it would incorporate departmental input, finalize scoring and return to council for formal adoption. The presentation positioned the CIP as a tool to make Hampton County more competitive for outside funding and to create predictable reporting for council and the public.