On February 13, 2023, Andover’s Capital Improvements Program Committee submitted its final report to the Andover Planning Board. The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) considers capital items, such as highway department and emergency vehicles, town buildings and roads, which cost more than $20K and have a life expectancy of more than five years. The Committee’s aim is to anticipate expenditures over the next twenty years and to minimize their impact to taxpayers over that time. The 23-page CIP report may be viewed by the public on the Andover town website. (andover-nh.gov/capital-improvements-program-committee)

Chairperson Doug Phelps explained that Andover approaches capital expenditures differently than many NH towns, in order to save taxpayers a lot of money. Rather than waiting until an urgent need arises before seeking to raise funds quickly via a loan or a bond (for which interest must be paid), Andover chooses to anticipate predictable expenses in advance, putting taxpayer’s money into earmarked Capital Reserve Funds (essentially town savings accounts) which collect interest from the bank for several years. An earmarked fund may only be used for its original purpose, and not spent for other purposes.

The Capital Improvement Plan represents a substantial amount of careful thought and hard work on the part of committee members Doug Phelps, Jim Hersey, Fred Lance, Greg Stetson and Roland Carter. The Andover Planning Board expresses their deep appreciation and thanks for their important work!