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Finance and Budgeting 137 It t r Memphis also has a clearly articulated policy concerning service extensions at the urban fringe. That is, when capital projects are considered the first 3 _ priority is assigned to fully servicing substantially developed areas within the =t ;` city. The second priority is assigned to projects that serve newly developed areas contiguous to the city. The purpose of these two criteria is the avoidance ;r $ of costly.urban sprawl. t Minneapolis has a priority evaluation rating system that its planning office 1e c believes is invaluable in achieving a balanced program.The Capital Long-Range Improvements Committee (CLIC) uses citizen task-forces to evaluate,capital improvements proposals.The CLIC considers the city's financial capability and �- annually makes project recommendations, including bond,expenditure limits. )f t Proposals are,rated on a scale of 0 to 50 points according to fourteen factors. is Among the community objectives are economic,development, further defined as the extent to which the proposed capital improvements "will encourage capi- tal investment, improve the City's tax base, improve job opportunities, attract ° consumers to the City,or produce public or private revenues,"and-public bene- fit fit,defined as the extent to which the proposed capital improvement"is justified )f in terms of number of people to be benefited." The CLIC also receives advice )f Pe P and recommendations on capital improvements from the city planning commis- sion. The planning commission prepares a checklist that contains many policy- n related items for departments to follow in making referrals to the commission. �- This checklist is contained in Figure 5-4. e Priority setting is a particular problem for the small community that has few x professional staff members and must rely more on lay persons for decision making. An example (Figure 5-5) prepared by a consultant for Franklin, Mas- sachusetts. shows how 'it is possible to use a simple easy-to-use checklist for ✓) priority setting. h - r- 'Y • _ The CIP process and intergovernmental relations it The pattern of intergovern mental relations in metropolitan areas has profound n effects on urban planning. The literature on metropolitan area problems and in- n tergovernmental relations is vast and cannot even be reviewed here. However. several circumstances rise out of this fragmented pattern and have profound im- k pacts on the local CIP process. What is relevant for purposes of this chapter are ✓ two basic factors and the implications that flow from them. First is the fact that the vast majority of metropolitan areas contain small fragmented municipal gov- ernments and a number of separate special districts:and second is the very sub- °r stantial growth. if not dependence, of cities on state and federal grant-in-aid F programs. d The-issue of governmental fragmentation that relates to the CIP process is 1. that certain important facilities, especially sewage treatment plants and their re- ie lated major sewer trunk lines. and major expressways and highways, are built .h by either state or special district governments and not by local governments. There is a growing understanding on the part of urban scholars and officials that these key facilities can trigger, accelerate, or retard the speed and pattern of urban growth—in other words, they are the growth shapers. The decisions of a the governmental bodies that plan and construct these facilities have a profound impact on local government and it is the local government that must then pro- vide the local capital facilities and public services to serve'the growth thus gen- erated. Thus, local government may not always have complete control over its destiny. A number of steps have-been taken to coordinate such planning and develop- ' merit at the'metropolitan level. Many metropolitan planning agencies are adopt- ing metropolitan development policies and trying(often struggling) to influence these key investment decisions. However, even though many metropolitan