Bernalillo County: Capital Outlay Funding

The New Mexico Department of Finance in conjunction with the State Attorney General’s Office, directs the state of New Mexico’s capital outlay grant program. Bernalillo County annually requests capital outlay funding from the state of New Mexico. Capital outlay funding refers to “bricks and mortar” projects with a lifespan of 10 years or greater and is used or projects like facilities, roads, drainage, and utilities. It may also be used to acquire assets such as real property, equipment, and vehicles.

The State and County requires any appropriation to a nonprofit organization be approved and adopted into the County’s Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP); which the Bernalillo County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) adopts annually in late August. The possibility of Bernalillo County agreeing to accept grant funds on behalf of a nonprofit organizations will be decided in July 2017 and presented to the BCC at an August Administrative meeting for inclusion on Bernalillo County’s next ICIP.

A listing of past potential projects is available and includes:

• County buildings: Replace aging building systems in various county-owned buildings. Objectives are to reduce energy use, reduce use on non-renewable energy, reduce maintenance costs, improve comfort of buildings and prolong the life of County facilities.
• Transportation: Build new facilities, repave existing roads, build new bikeways, trails, and sidewalks. Objectives are to promote economic development and improve accessibility and public safety through: building new transportation facilities and upgrading and repairing existing facilities; upgrading transportation facilities to comply with Bernalillo County Complete Streets Ordinance; maintaining safety by replacing roadway striping, traffic calming, pavement markings and guardrails as needed; and supporting roadway improvements for school bus routes.
• Drainage/Utilities: Build storm drainage, sanitary sewer, water line, and fiber optic infrastructure. Objectives are to promote economic development and enhance public safety through building new drainage and utility facilities and upgrading existing facilities.
• Housing: Rehabilitate existing homes, acquire land, and construct, manage, and improve the quality of new housing. Objectives are to assist low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing.
• Public safety: Build facilities that contribute to increased public safety. The objective is to protect the public and provide a safe and secure environment for Bernalillo County residents.
• Library materials: Acquire new material and replace outdated material to meet customer needs and demands for educational, recreational, and informational materials. Objectives are to acquire new materials, including books, e-books, audiobooks, music, magazines, movies, databases, computers, and other media for library patrons at 18 branch libraries.
• Recreation: Park and playground redevelopment and development of new park facilities. Objectives are to implement a variety of necessary and desirable projects countywide identified in the 2015 Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.

Amount: Award ranges are not specified. The state requires the County to budget existing tax dollars from Bernalillo County to pay for the project first. The state then determines if the project costs are eligible for reimbursement with capital outlay to the County. Bernalillo County will charge the nonprofit a 3% overhead/administrative fee that cannot be paid with the grant appropriation.

Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations apply through a local government agency, such as Bernalillo County, that serves as the fiscal agent. Nonprofit organizations may become involved in the process by working with their elected officials. Prior to the legislative session, legislators are identified as potential sponsors of specific capital outlay funding requests.

Link: http://www.bernco.gov/cip

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