Written: August 26, 2026
For years, Cumberland residents have talked about the need for a larger industrial tax base. The Bevan Industrial Lands have often been presented as an opportunity to bring more businesses and jobs to Cumberland while helping broaden the Village's tax base.
I've seen that argument coming up again recently, so I went back and looked at the Village's own 2025 fiscal and economic impact analysis.
I hope Bevan succeeds. Cumberland needs businesses, employment and a more diverse tax base.
But development brings both revenue and infrastructure obligations. The infrastructure bill eventually comes due.
The Village's study looked at two possible development scenarios for the Bevan Industrial Lands over 30 years, from 2025 to 2055.
Under both scenarios, Bevan is projected to remain less than half built out after 30 years.
~$26 million in cumulative municipal revenue over 30 years
~$843,000 average annual revenue
~$17 million over 30 years
~$534,000 average annual revenue
Those revenues include the municipal portion of property taxes, utility fees and frontage fees.
Those are significant amounts of money. But revenue is only one side of the equation.
Development at Bevan requires roads, water, sewer, drainage and other infrastructure.
Some infrastructure may initially be constructed by developers, but once much of it is turned over to the Village, Cumberland becomes responsible for its eventual renewal and replacement.
The study accounts for those long-term infrastructure costs by estimating annual depreciation based on replacement value and expected asset life.
Under the faster-growth scenario, projected annual revenue does not exceed the estimated annual infrastructure lifecycle cost until after 2051.
Under the slower-growth scenario, projected revenue does not exceed those costs at any point during the 30-year study.
There is another important limitation: the detailed methodology states that annual operating and maintenance expenses were not included in the 30-year model and should be considered in future financial planning.
In other words, the study's financial comparison does not capture every ongoing cost the Village may ultimately face.
It is easy to look at new development and see additional tax revenue.
It is harder to see the liability that comes with the infrastructure required to support it.
A road built today may last decades, but eventually it will need to be rebuilt. The same is true of water mains, sewer systems, drainage infrastructure and other public assets.
If the revenue generated by new development is not enough to maintain and eventually replace the infrastructure serving it, the difference still has to be managed somewhere in Village finances.
That could mean faster development, higher fees and charges, greater cost recovery from development, different servicing approaches, or additional contributions from the broader tax base.
The Village's report itself recommends reviewing fees and charges and improving Cumberland's asset-management planning to help address that long-term financial gap.
None of this makes Bevan a bad development.
Bevan can bring jobs, businesses and wider economic activity to Cumberland. Those benefits matter, and the Village's study forecasts substantial broader economic activity from development of the area.
But economic growth and a positive financial return to the municipality are not necessarily the same thing.
Growth is not automatically a financial solution.
It strengthens Cumberland's finances when the revenue it generates is enough to support the services and infrastructure it requires, including the eventual cost of replacing what we build today.
That is why I believe we need to look beyond the initial construction cost or next year's tax revenue when we make decisions about growth.
We need to understand the full lifecycle cost of what we're building and plan for it from the beginning.