BDCC invites municipal leaders to capital planning workshop

The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Southern VT Economy Project (SVEP) invites Southern Vermont’s municipal leaders - elected, appointed, and town staff members - to attend the “Southern VT Capital Planning Roundtable” workshop on Friday, September 11, from 9 am to 2 pm, at the Old School Community Center, 1 School Street.

This is the fourth event in the 2025/2026 Municipal Leaders Network, an ongoing series designed to connect local municipal employees, elected officials, and volunteers with expert resources and peer networking.

In today’s funding climate, capital planning is not just ‘nice to have’ as part of municipal planning – it’s essential. This workshop will cover best practices for capital planning as a key part of sound governance, fiscal health and sustainability, and municipal finance for southern Vermont towns.

Capital planning means having a list of the things the town owns and is responsible for, the condition of those things, what the current needs are, a list of future needs, and a plan for how to pay for what needs doing. Is there a strategy in place for paying for disaster recovery in the absence of a federal disaster declaration? This Capital Planning Roundtable is intended to help municipal leaders think through these issues.

Experts from Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the VT Bond Bank will present, along with representatives from the Windham and Bennington County regional commissions. The day will include plenty of time for discussion and questions, as well as the chance to put lessons into practice in a workshop. For this event, town officials involved with capital planning, budgeting, and finance are especially encouraged to attend, including road foremen, treasurers, and selectboard members.

Find out more and register to attend at https://brattleborodevelopment.com/svep/.