Plymouth Township adopts first five‑year capital improvement plan; funding scenarios show large shortfalls

Plymouth Township Council voted Aug. 10 to adopt the township’s first five‑year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), a planning document that ranks 129 proposed capital items and is intended to inform future annual budgets.

Finance director Kellen Jarrett presented three funding scenarios during the public presentation: (1) fund all identified projects from capital reserves (staff estimated roughly $9.5 million in projects and nearly $11.2 million when annual road maintenance is included); (2) the same portfolio plus annual general‑fund transfers (Jarrett said $1.2 million annually would be a more reasonable transfer level); and (3) the above scenarios assuming 50% of project costs are covered by grants. Jarrett said critical‑only projects total about $4.8 million and that even under transfers the township would still face a shortfall of several million dollars over five years.

Council members asked about intermediate grant assumptions (a 25% grant rate), and staff said scenario 2 (annual transfers plus targeted grant pursuit) was the more realistic baseline for budgeting while the township continues to pursue grants. Chairwoman moved to adopt the CIP as presented; the motion passed on a roll‑call vote with all members recorded in favor.

The adopted CIP is not a funding commitment but a prioritized planning list that council can use when preparing the annual budget; staff said items marked critical will be considered for near‑term budget integration while planned items may wait for grant funding or future years.