Suffolk residents will get a chance to weigh on the proposed Capital Improvements Program and Plan at a Feb. 19 public hearing.

Finance Director Tealen Hansen gave City Council an update on Feb. 5 on the proposed $883.9 million 2021-2030 CIP, an eight percent decrease from the plan adopted last year.

The first year of the plan calls for $44.1 million to be spent in the CIP on general government expenses — nearly 45 percent of that amount on transportation projects, and about another 17 percent to be spent each on public safety and public buildings and facilities.

If adopted by council, that amount would then be factored into the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget.

In the first five years of the plan, 37 percent of money would be spent on transportation, 19 percent each on public buildings and facilities and public schools, 12 percent for public safety, 7 percent for parks and recreation and 6 percent on village and neighborhoods.

In that span, the proposed CIP would decrease from $316.4 million to $289.7 million, with about $195.6 million proposed for general government projects such as the new library, transportation, public schools, village and neighborhood projects.

Over the next five years, Hansen said the city could afford to take on $150 million in debt, and it has proposed issuing $139.9 million in bonds over that time period.

City Manager Patrick Roberts stressed that the proposed CIP “is a plan, not a budget.” If the council adopts the proposed CIP, he said that the proposed funding for its first year would appear in his proposed fiscal year 2021 budget that he expects to present to council April 1.

The Planning Commission gave its unanimous recommendation to the proposed CIP in January.

The public hearing will take place at council’s 7 p.m. meeting Feb. 19 at City Hall. The current CIP can be viewed at issuu.com/cityofsuffolk/docs/fy20-29_adopted_cip?e=0.

The proposed CIP is at suffolkva.us/DocumentCenter/View/4287/FY21-30-Planning-Commission-Recommended-CIP.