County presents $4.3B CIP; officials flag debt‑service pressure tied to school projects

Arlington County Manager Mr. Schwarz presented the county's proposed 10‑year capital improvement plan (CIP), describing a $4.3 billion program that prioritizes transportation, water and sewer upgrades, technology, and a renewed focus on facilities maintenance.

Schwarz highlighted that transportation accounts for the largest share of the plan, followed by water/sewer infrastructure and county facilities. He said the county will front‑load maintenance capital in the near years to address a growing deferred maintenance backlog and to keep heavily used facilities — including detention facilities, fire stations, community centers and libraries — operational. "We have 90 facilities in the county and 32 are over 50 years old," a county presentation said.

Debt and timing: Schwarz told the joint meeting that the county sold bonds that day at a 3.609666% interest rate and that the county expects an FY28 operating impact of about $3.6 million tied to CIP debt service; when combined with the schools' projected FY28 debt service increase the total is roughly $6.8 million (about two‑thirds of a penny on the tax rate). "That is something that's going to come off the top when we put together our operating budget," he said.

The county presentation detailed program highlights: approximately $2 billion for transportation (paved streets, transit, Vision Zero and sidewalks), roughly $970 million for water/sewer including a major water pollution control plant upgrade, nearly $300 million for technology systems, and about $450 million for county facilities (no new county facilities assumed). The county said it has added explicit line items for recurring roof and HVAC replacement programs and increased maintenance capital by about 40% over the last CIP to address urgent backlog items.

Alignment with schools: County staff said they coordinated planning with Arlington Public Schools, citing examples such as synthetic turf projects, joint field investments and placeholder funding for major school projects (including a county placeholder for the TJ renovation to be updated as schools finalize designs). Michelle, a county staff presenter, said placeholder amounts will be refined as joint planning and design proceed.

Trades Center and long‑range facilities: Board members pressed staff about the Trades Center and bus‑fleet modernization. County staff said full modernization studies have shown large, multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar price tags and that the county will pursue targeted operational fixes and smaller capital work first, alongside a warehousing study to identify options.

Next steps: The county plans to finish work sessions in June, hold public hearings and finalize board markup in July with adoption on July 21; referenda questions would go to voters in November. County staff stressed that many funding streams for transportation projects are state and federal grants and that some liabilities (Metro financial obligations and MS4 stormwater requirements) are externally imposed and affect long‑term planning.