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CHIP IN VT Tools and Resources

Welcome to Our CHIP Learning Resources

This page helps you learn about the Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP). CHIP is a new program that uses project-based Tax Increment Financing to finance infrastructure improvements that enable housing development.

VLCT's three‑year municipal workforce development effort - CHIP IN VT - helps towns and cities understand how CHIP works and how to use it well. As part of this effort, we are hosting a series of webinars for local governments. Each webinar explains a different part of the program, from building with CHIP to carrying out long-term responsibilities.

After every webinar (and sometimes between webinars), we add tools and resources to this page. These materials are designed to help you take the next step, build your skills, and feel confident using CHIP in your community.

Introducing CHIP - Vermont's $2B Housing and Infrastructure Program

CHIP overview, resources to help municipalities launch their CHIP efforts

Building with CHIP: Project Readiness and Pre-development Planning

Pre-development workflow and resources, and support available to municipalities

Municipal Readiness

Working with Developers

Publication Date
04/21/2026

VLCT Launches CHIP IN VT to Help Local Governments Finance Infrastructure for Housing

Member for

3 years 3 months
Submitted by iminot@vlct.org on
logo for CHIP IN VT with a house, a large drop of water, and a road, encircled by the words Building Local Capacity for Housing & Infrastructure

The Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) has launched CHIP – Invest in Vermont (CHIP IN VT), a three-year initiative designed to help municipalities use Vermont’s new Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP).  

CHIP is an innovative financing program that has potential to help communities fund the infrastructure improvements they need to support new housing — without raising broad based property taxes. While CHIP creates new opportunities, implementing it will require more staff hours and technical expertise than many of Vermont’s towns, cities, and villages have. VLCT has designed CHIP IN VT to help close this capacity gap by providing local governments with practical training, tools, and ongoing technical assistance. 

“Communities across Vermont are ready to address housing needs, but infrastructure costs and limited local capacity often stand in the way,” said Ted Brady, Executive Director of VLCT. “CHIP IN VT will give local leaders the knowledge, resources, and confidence they need to make good use of the funding opportunities that the legislature made possible with CHIP.” 

CHIP IN VT offers learning pathways tailored to meet the specific situations of interested municipalities. Local officials will have access to educational sessions, cohort-based learning opportunities, and technical assistance in addition to a growing library of tools, templates, and guidance. Over time, participants will build the skills and relationships needed to evaluate project feasibility, prepare strong CHIP applications, and manage the long-term responsibilities that CHIP requires. 

“Local officials are juggling many priorities, and complex financing programs can feel overwhelming,” said Katie Buckley, Director of Municipal Operations Support at VLCT. “CHIP IN VT is designed to make CHIP easier for communities of all sizes to use – so they can take advantage of this historic opportunity to grow their housing supply.” 

By strengthening municipal workforce capacity, CHIP IN VT aims to accelerate infrastructure investments that not only make housing development possible but also support economic growth and help communities plan for long-term sustainability. 

Learn more about CHIP IN VT at vlct.org/CHIP. Learn more about Vermont’s Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) at accd.vermont.gov/economic-development/vepc/chip. 

CHIP IN VT is an effort funded by a $500,000 (70%) grant from the Northern Borders Regional Commission, a $200,000 (28%) grant from the State of Vermont Agency of Administration and a $10,000 (2%) contribution from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.  

Without this funding VLCT would not be able to offer this assistance to its membership which consists of towns, cities, villages, counties, housing authorities, solid waste districts, fire districts, regional planning agencies, communications union districts, and other political subdivisions of the State of Vermont.

Model Capital Program and Budget Policy

VLCT Model Capital Program and Budget Policy Guidance

The capital assets of a town and their condition are critical to the quality of services that a municipality can provide. Capital asset expenditures can be more controversial than other expenditures because they typically involve large sums of money, often raised through debt financing, and not every citizen will agree as to the necessity of each project that is undertaken. By using a well thought out capital improvement program, the town can plan for replacement of assets, potential capital reserve funding, operating budget expenditures, and debt service expenditures.

Vermont law provides for adoption of a capital budget and plan at 24 V.S.A. § 4430 and encourages that the capital improvement plan conforms to the municipal plan.

Capital improvement policies need to be general and flexible to accommodate a community’s political will while still providing enough guidance to enable sound financial choices. Therefore, the policy will generally consist of guidelines designed to stimulate an informed debate to encourage the most enlightened choices, rather than trying to force efficient or effective decisions by way of a rigid menu of policy choices. Determining the criteria for selecting projects in advance will take the emotion out of the selection process.

Consider the following when developing a capital improvement policy:

Capital Improvement Program. The basis of any capital improvement plan is the capital improvement program (CIP), a five-year projection of the town’s capital needs and its available financial resources. The purpose of the CIP is to help build consensus on what are the most important projects, thus ensuring these projects are undertaken first. The policy needs to include the criteria that will be used to prioritize the projects that are included in the plan.

Project Financing. There are numerous alternatives for financing capital projects, from pay-as-you-go financing or accumulation of reserve funds to leases and other debt instruments. The policy should include a discussion of the town’s preferred financing methods.

For more information on capital planning, please see the Vermont Land Use Planning Implementation Manual, published by the Vermont Land Use Education and Training Collaborative. The Implementation Manual is available at www.vpic.info.

Please note that this model policy has been developed for illustrative purposes only. VLCT makes no express or implied endorsement or recommendation of any financial policy, nor does it make any express or implied guarantee of legal enforceability or legal compliance, nor does VLCT represent that any particular policy is appropriate for any particular municipality. Your legal counsel should review any proposed financial policy before adopting it.

As always, please contact the Municipal Assistance Center if you have questions at info@vlct.org or 800-649-7915. 

Publication Date
03/03/2026
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