LONDONDERRY — An effort to bring greater transparency to the town’s capital improvement planning process backfired last week, leaving Planning Board members struggling to make sense of a document outlining $173 million in proposed projects and expenditures.
After a lengthy debate at its Oct. 14 meeting, the board voted 6-1-1 to approve a substantially revised version of the town’s 2027-2031 Capital Improvement Plan, stripping the document down to a list of major projects more closely resembling plans adopted in previous years.
Planning Board Chairman Jake Butler cast the lone dissenting vote, while ex-officio member Giovanni Verani abstained.
“This is a disaster, which is why I voted no on it,” Butler said.
Capital improvement plans are intended to help municipalities prioritize major infrastructure investments and anticipate their financial impact over several years. They do not, by themselves, authorize spending, which generally requires separate approval from the Town Council or voters.
But board members questioned whether the newly formatted plan blurred that distinction by including equipment purchases and other expenses normally handled through the town’s annual budget or war...