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Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M)
blends experience, vision and technology to
build lasting infrastructure strategies for local communities and school districts throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.
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April 11, 2017
School Districts and Capital Improvement Planning
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The Wisconsin Legislature is considering a bill that will provide an incentive for school districts to approve a 10-year capital improvement plan. The bill, as currently proposed, will create new language under State Statutes 20.255 - Appropriations and Budget Management for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and new language under State Statutes 120.137 - Long-Term Capital Improvement Trust Fund. If the bill is passed, DPI will provide a 50% match to contributions that school districts make to Fund 46 for a capital improvement project included in the district's approved long-term capital improvement plan. This legislation encourages school districts to take an intentional long-term look ahead at their capital improvement needs and formulate a worthwhile plan with this significant financial incentive.
The long-term plan can be revised by the School District by Board vote. However, the legislation is looking to reward those school districts that develop a well thought out capital improvement plan that will ultimately reduce the school district's chances of having to increase their levy limit. According to the proposed legislation, the matching funds provided to a school district's long-term fund for the previous ten years will have to be returned to DPI if the school district passes a resolution to increase the district's levy limit for operations or capital improvements.
Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. has extensive experience preparing short and long-term capital improvement plans for exterior infrastructure for its clients. For example, we have experts who can evaluate the condition of your pavements and develop a short-term maintenance plan to extend pavement life while at the same time develop a long-term plan to rehabilitate or replace those pavements. The same can be said for underground utilities, exterior lighting and drainage. If you are deferring exterior site maintenance or in need of prioritizing a growing number of facilities' needs and would like to develop a plan to manage those expenses, then now may be the best time to prepare a long-range capital improvement plan for your school sites. Having this plan in place is a prerequisite for the matching fund incentives under the proposed legislation discussed above.
Contact Andy Petersen for more information.
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Prior to the first Earth Day in 1970, regulations to protect our air, water, and land simply did not exist. It took one Wisconsin native, Gaylord Nelson, to start the conversation of how to put environmental protection on the national agenda. He accomplished this incredible task by inventing Earth Day, a day to celebrate our earth's natural resources and recognize the importance of protecting them. On April 22nd in 1970, the first Earth Day, twenty million Americans demonstrated throughout the U.S. and called for stricter regulations on pollution, land use, and water quality. The result of these demonstrations was creation in December 1970 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the beginning of the "Environmental Decade". This decade brought about groundbreaking legislation such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. Each year, April 22nd represents a day to celebrate how far our country has come in terms of environmental awareness and conservation since the days of unregulated pollution. Here are a few ways to celebrate Earth Day in your community:
- Illinois DNR's Earth Day in the Parks
- Milwaukee Riverkeeper's River Cleanup
- DuPage County River Sweep
- Wisconsin DNR's Friends of the Parks Earth Day Celebration at Mirror Lake
- Check out Earthday.org for help organizing your own Earth Day event
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Waukesha, WI Kenosha, WI Madison, WI Chicago, IL Global Water Center, WI Fox Valley, WI
www.ruekertmielke.com
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