Johnson County's proposed CIP: $346 million program driven by wastewater, federal grants, and dedicated funds

Johnson County budget staff presented a recommended 2027 capital improvement program (CIP) dominated by non-property-tax funding sources and a large wastewater portfolio.

Mark Dap, the county budget and planning presenter, said the recommended CIP totals roughly $346 million for 2027, of which about $287 million is supported by dedicated or enterprise sources. "The overwhelming majority is from wastewater, roughly $190 million," Dap said, placing the bulk of the program on utility user-fee funding rather than ad valorem taxes.

How it is funded: staff said 83% of the CIP is covered by non-ad valorem dedicated revenues, with approximately 9% covered by debt service and just under 5% proposed from general fund balance supplementation. Airport projects were described as largely grant- or debt-funded, while parks and stormwater projects have a mix of local and outside funding.

General-fund-supported projects: staff identified a set of smaller general-fund-supported projects that would use reserves, including countywide communications infrastructure, facilities asset reallocation and targeted accessibility upgrades. The presentation noted existing project balances and a congressional directed spending request are being used in part to avoid adding new county dollars for projects such as a $1.6 million countywide card-reader access upgrade.

Trade-offs and long-term pressures: Dap said the department has increased ongoing ad valorem support for certain public-works and fleet needs and that a previous $10.1 million ongoing capital shortfall has been reduced to about $5.1 million through reallocation and additional ongoing funds for overlays and fleet.

Next steps: detailed CIP pages were included in the updated budget book and will be discussed in department presentations on June 4 and June 18, where staff said they would provide project timing, scope and funding details.