ABSTRACT
What are the annual costs of capital items acquired by a city or county government? The magnitude of capital expenditures by individual governments varies from year to year, so a fair assessment of annual capital costs should not rest upon the amount spent in a single year—whether a particular year happens to be a high-expenditure year, a low-expenditure year, or something in between. By calculating the annual depreciation of capital items a fairer statement of annual capital expenditures by a local government or its departments can be made—one that spreads capital costs over the useful life of the items.
