The CIP is a six-year roadmap for Portsmouth's biggest investments — roads, buildings, vehicles, and utilities.
Every year, the City produces a document called the Capital Improvement Plan. It lists the major projects the City intends to undertake over the next six years and how it proposes to pay for each one. Think of it as the City's to-do list for infrastructure, paired with a financing strategy.
The CIP is not a spending authorization. Projects listed in it still need separate budget approval to actually spend money. But it's the primary tool the City uses to plan and sequence big-ticket investments so they don't all hit the tax rate at once.
Connects infrastructure projects to the City's Master Plan rather than addressing needs ad-hoc.
Puts School, Public Works, Fire, Police, and other department needs in one document so trade-offs are visible.
The Planning Board targets roughly 2% of the prior year's budget for annual capital spending.
The CIP is one of the most consequential documents the City Council acts on each year. It determines which neighborhoods get road repairs, whether the Fire Department gets a new engine, and when aging buildings get replaced.
It's also your best tool for accountability. When a project appears in the CIP for multiple years but never gets funded, that's a signal worth asking about at a public hearing.
State law requires the City to produce a six-year capital plan. Here's the annual cycle.
Starting with the FY2026–FY2031 cycle, Portsmouth adopted a new, faster timeline. The City Council and Planning Board now consider the CIP in tandem through joint work sessions and public hearings, delivering an adopted plan by December — before the winter budget process begins.
The wish list always exceeds what the City can afford. Here's how projects get ranked.
Projects are evaluated against a rubric with three tiers: Core Functions (mandates, safety, deficiencies), Financial Benefit (matching funds, cost reduction, economic development), and Community Plan or Improvement (Master Plan alignment, added capacity, resident requests).
| Priority | Timeframe | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 0–3 years | Highest urgency. Needed now. |
| B | 4–6 years | Important but can wait. |
| C | Beyond 6 yrs | Deferrable. Stays on the radar. |
| O | Ongoing | Recurring annual programs. |
Each project follows a standardized template. Here's what you're looking at.
General Fund (GF / Capital Outlay) — paid from City revenue, mostly property taxes. Target: ~2% of prior year budget.
Bond/Lease — borrowed money repaid over 10–30 years. 86.5% of the FY26 CIP is bond-funded.
Federal/State — grants from other levels of government.
Enterprise Funds — Water and Sewer operate on user fees with no property tax impact.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) — joint funding with private partners. Only 0.1% of FY26.
The CIP is updated annually. Projects regularly slip from one year to the next. Some slip for a decade.
The Planning Board has acknowledged that CIP needs have always exceeded available funding. When a project slips, it's carried forward with a new start year — but the document rarely explains why.
A 2014 study found the Middle Street HQ "no longer meets needs." The project has appeared in every CIP since. It's now the single largest item in the FY26–31 CIP at $41.1M ($2.8M in FY26 + $38.3M in FY27), with High operating impact.
Appeared by FY2014. Delayed by site selection and community debate. Once the Foundry Place site was secured and bond authorized in 2017, the garage opened October 2018.
A 2010 study found indoor facilities outdated. The need was partially met in 2019 when the Community Campus was leased for the Senior Activity Center. Athletic fields advanced slowly through phased projects. A comprehensive recreation center remains unrealized.
Expensive projects with no mandate are most likely to slip. They lose annually to things that must happen.
Projects dependent on state/federal funding stall when grants are delayed. Once funds align, they accelerate.
Projects without a vocal constituency can be deferred more easily than those with organized support.
Breaking needs into phases fits budgets but obscures total progress. A cut to one phase is hard to spot.
The CIP document doesn't narrate why a project was deferred. It simply shows a new start year. To understand reasons, you have to follow Council meetings or read the City Manager's budget message.
A useful question for any CIP hearing: "This project has been in the CIP for [X] years. What specifically needs to change for it to move forward?"
Adopted December 2, 2024. 96 projects totaling $257.7 million over six years. This is the baseline the FY2027 CIP process will build from.
Six questions on CIP basics.