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Town presents $77.6M capital plan, names beach renourishment top priority and unveils public CIP dashboard
Summary
Town staff told the council a proposed $77.6 million FY2026 capital improvement program centers on a $47.5–48.8 million beach renourishment, introduces a public CIP dashboard and lays out a five‑year prioritization intended to match projects to realistic permitting and construction timelines.
Town staff on March 13 told the council the proposed fiscal‑year 2026 capital improvement program is a $77.6 million plan that places beach renourishment at the top of the spending list and introduces a new public dashboard to track projects.
Mark Orlando, the town manager, said the CIP distinguishes between discretionary (new) projects and maintenance and now includes a five‑year prioritization rather than focusing only on one year. "We have a proposed and balanced budget, a proposed use of funds of $77,600,000," Orlando said, and noted the change toward realistic timing to reflect permitting and design phases rather than putting all construction dollars into a single year.
Assistant town manager Sean Leininger demonstrated the dashboard that staff plans to publish when the budget goes live. The web tool will display projects on a map, list funding sources, show a project’s phase (design, permitting, construction), indicate whether it is on budget or schedule, and provide the project manager’s contact. "This is preliminary, but it provides a quick snapshot — title, description, whether it’s on budget, whether it’s on schedule," Leininger said.
Staff stressed the plan is phased to reflect how long projects take: survey, civil design, land‑disturbance permits, coastal and state permits, bidding and contracting. Orlando said phasing reduces the risk of approving funds for construction before necessary permits or design work are done.
The proposed program consolidates multiple funding sources including bond proceeds, beach fees and hospitality taxes. Staff said the overall CIP is slightly smaller than last year — roughly a $5 million reduction — because the program now aligns funds with realistic work phases.
Council members expressed support for the transparency changes and for the five‑year outlook. Several members asked staff to include clear definitions of "priority," "discretionary" and "maintenance" in the dashboard so the public will not misread priorities as guarantees of near‑term construction.
The review will continue in scheduled follow‑up workshops later this year, including a detailed CIP workshop in July and a stormwater workshop in August.
