Atkinson panel outlines formal capital planning steps, scoring criteria

The Atkinson Capital Improvement Program Committee on April 23 reviewed the town’s capital planning process and agreed to produce a short, formal process outline for the Budget Committee and Board of Selectmen. Chair Treg Ogborn said the committee maintains a master file of major assets and departmental capital needs and uses that file as the foundation of planning.

Committee members described the inventory approach: assets are tracked at the item or grouped-asset level with a threshold of approximately $10,000; department heads confirm acquisition dates, expected useful life and current condition; and prior assessment studies and departmental input support scoring. The committee agreed scoring will emphasize need, condition, safety and timing rather than rely solely on age or replacement cost.

Members proposed creating a concise process document or logic tree to explain how the committee’s recommendations are developed and reviewed by the Budget Committee and the Board of Selectmen. The document, they said, would help make grant applications and budget discussions more transparent by showing how items are identified and prioritized.

The committee also noted records on the town website are out of date and that an updated master file will be the basis for committee-specific packets to be sent to department heads. The committee did not set a formal deadline in the transcript for producing the outline; members agreed to coordinate with the Town Administrator on distribution later in the process.