PARIS — At Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Town Manager Philip Tarr updated selectmen on the town’s Capital Improvement Plan.

Tarr presented a template that will let the Police Department, Parks and Recreation and other departments to outline a six-year plan for needed capital investments.

A yearly budget doesn’t provide the long view of what town agencies need or how investments align the town with its goals as set in the 2007 Comprehensive Plan, he said.

“Some will see this as an invitation to spend,” Tarr said at the meeting. He said that’s not the document’s intent.

According to a document Tarr handed out to selectmen, “a Capital Improvement Plan will help ensure that the longer-term vision of the town is not preempted by shorter-term goals.”

The plan identifies projects and when they will be funded, started and completed. It lets the Budget Committee and the public know how much each project will cost each year and where the money will come from.

During the budget review process last year, Budget Committee told Tarr they felt they entered the budget process without adequate information the long-term needs of town departments.

Tarr said he presented the template to the Budget Committee and got favorable feedback.

He said the process of creating the six-year plan has been in the works for months. “It’s really coming to a close,” he said Tuesday. “We’ll have it ready to go in early January.”

Tarr said the template is based on similar capital plans he made for other towns like Bridgton, where he has also worked as town manager.

The plan doesn’t guarantee that listed projects will be completed, and departments are expected to make adjustments from year to year as emergencies and opportunities arise.

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