The need for infrastructure investment across the United States is a well-worn discussion point for policymakers and the media alike that is revisited every few months. To date, this has often materialized in infrastructure weeks that are long on promises but short on solutions.
The economic fallout surrounding the pandemic has changed the conversation and opened up the possibility of additional dollars flowing to projects. This increased urgency, however, does not change the fiscal pressures facing Vermont’s communities over the coming months, where long term investments must be balanced against short term needs.
This coming August will be the Bond Bank’s first ever Infrastructure Month. The name was chosen to contrast the impossible with the possible through planning tools and data that can inform hard choices.
Prior to bond votes and selecting financing, we hope that August is early enough in the annual planning cycle for communities to address: how to prioritize projects, what is our debt capacity, and what sources of financing are most appropriate.
The Bond Bank will supplement our resources over the course of the month with the experiences of others around the state to describe how infrastructure planning works in practice and encourage a sense of community around our shared infrastructure challenges.
Through a series of newsletters and white papers, Infrastructure Month will include the following:
Week of August 3rd: Asset Prioritization: How do we know we’re making the right choices?
Week of August 10th: Bond Bank Medians: How do we compare?
Week of August 17th: Financial Benchmark Tool: What does our financial picture look like?
Week of August 24th: Financing & Funding Resources: How do we find the dollars for our projects?
Week of August 31st: Infrastructure Month Q&A Webinar: Have questions? Our panel of experts will have the answers.
