Page 11 - Nov/Dec Vol34 No5
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The Tennessee General Assembly af- included in the inventory, infrastructure ties. No independent assessment of need
firmed the value of public infrastructure in projects must not be considered normal constrains their reporting.
legislation enacted in 1996 when it deemed or routine maintenance and must involve
an inventory of those needs necessary “in a capital cost of at least $50,000. This How can you get involved?
order for the state, municipal, and county approach, dictated by the public act, is con- The commission appreciates the work
governments of Tennessee to develop goals, sistent with the characterization of capital
strategies, and programs which would projects adopted by the Tennessee General of all of those out there in the trenches.
improve the quality of life of its citizens, Assembly for its annual budget. It’s essential for public health and safety.
support livable communities, and enhance We need clean water to stay alive. We also
and encourage the overall economic devel- Local officials were asked to describe need places to play and learn, streetlights
opment of the state through the provision anticipated needs for the period July 1, so we can see where we’re going, water
of adequate and essential public infra- 2014, through June 30, 2034, classifying treatment plants to treat our waste, and
structure.” The public infrastructure needs those needs by type of project. State-level roads and sidewalks to help us move from
inventory that the report is based on was needs were derived from capital budget place to place. Without good infrastruc-
derived from surveys of local officials by requests. Both State and local officials ture, societies can falter and disrupt life. If
staff of the State’s nine Development Dis- were also asked to identify the stage of you don’t do anything about it, people are
tricts, the capital budget requests submitted development (conceptual, planning & de- going to move away.
to the Governor by State officials as part of sign, construction, complete, or cancelled)
the annual budget process, and bridge and as of July 1, 2014. The period covered by Please help us gather this information
road needs from project listings provided each inventory was expanded to 20 years so that as a state we have a good idea
by State transportation officials. The Com- in 2000 because of legislation requiring about what we need to keep the roads
mission relies entirely on State and local its use by the Commission to monitor open, the water pure, and our people safe
officials to evaluate the infrastructure needs implementation of Tennessee’s Growth and healthy.
of Tennessee’s citizens as envisioned by the Policy Act. Plans developed pursuant to
enabling legislation. that act established growth boundaries for Please contact your local Development
annexation by the state’s municipalities. District if you are responsible for publicly-
For purposes of the inventory, and based This report focuses on the first 5 years of owned properties and would like to be
on the direction provided in the public act the period covered by the inventory. surveyed. Our nine Development District
and common usage, public infrastructure surveyors will be out in the field this fall
is defined as capital facilities and land as- Within these parameters, local officials and winter surveying local officials about
sets under public ownership or operated are encouraged to report their needs as what they need as of July 1.
or maintained for public benefit. To be they relate to developing goals, strategies,
and programs to improve their communi- For more information, please visit our
infrastructure page at www.tn.gov/tacir/
section/tacir-infrastructure.
View online at tnpublicworks.com 11
