Smoothing Out the Capital Outlay Process

Wesley Billingsley will soon be able to say, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” He will tackle one of the most stubborn problems in state government.

Billingsley is the first director of the new Infrastructure Planning and Development Division (IPDD). While that sounds boring and bureaucratic, the IPDD’s proud parent, the state Department of Finance and Administration, intends for Billingsley to lead an overhaul of the capital outlay system to help small organizations, communities and tribes steer their projects through bureaucratic hurdles to completion.

Currently, no state agency is clearly responsible for riding herd on capital outlay projects, making sure the money is spent and seeing that projects reach the finish line.

In February I wrote about House Bill 232 to create the new division and called it one of the most important bills of the legislative session because it could transform the state’s dysfunctional capital outlay system. With bipartisan sponsorship, it passed both houses unanimously with little publicity and no controversy. 

Communities need public works, such as senior centers or playgrounds, and their legislators secure capital outlay money to get them built. However, small entities often don’t have the expertise or personnel to meet state requirements for planning, auditing or reporting, so the projects enter capital-outlay limbo, with funding committed but action suspended.

Currently, some 4,900 projects (some of them eight years old) and nearly $5 billion are stuck in the pipeline. This year members of the Senate Finance Committee were disgruntled enough to threaten halting more funding until the backlog subsides.

Now that the bill is law, the Department of Finance and Administration will add a division, the IPDD, which will receive the Rural Equity Ombud program and some other duties of the existing Local Government Division. 

DFA Secretary Wayne Propst said he just named “the perfect person” to head the new division. Billingsley is director of the Local Government Division and chief of the Capital Outlay Bureau. He’s worked in capital outlay for 12 years. “He brings a wealth of experience but more importantly a vision that is needed as the state works to improve this critical function,” Propst said in a news release.

IPDD will be a one-stop shop that tracks spending more accurately, ensures projects are funded appropriately, and provides dashboards so the public can see the process, the department said. It will provide expert guidance and hand-holding to chase funding, evaluate and advise on proposed plans, and leverage state funding to obtain federal grants.

Billingsley himself recently wrote: “The new division will have staff and resources solely dedicated to the capital outlay process, creating an improved level of commitment and focus… Under the new system, users and the public will be able to see real-time data on each project, from its development and planning to the final expenditure and project completion.”

In a recent op ed he wrote that he doesn’t think the capital outlay process is broken or dysfunctional.

“Since 2019, we have put $10 billion to work for New Mexico to construct or improve our roads, museums, schools, parks, water systems and public buildings. Historic revenue is helping the state put more money toward capital projects than ever before.”

He said it’s a common misconception that $5 billion is sitting unspent. 

“The timing for disbursing these funds depends on the type of project, funding source and if it needs to go through the bond process,” he explains. “Many pending projects must be completed within four years.” Capital outlay monies are never spent all at once but at an average rate of about 25% per year. 

At a time when distrust of government is rampant in political rhetoric, it’s encouraging that lawmakers can see a problem, agree on a solution and join the administration to make it happen.