Which key element is essential in a debt policy?

A crucial element of a debt policy is its integration with capital planning. This integration ensures that an organization's borrowing aligns with its overall financial strategy and capital projects. By linking debt management with capital planning, a public entity can effectively forecast its financing needs and ensure that it can support its capital assets while maintaining financial stability. This alignment helps to prioritize capital projects based on need and available resources, and to manage the debt levels in a way that is sustainable over the long term.

Effective capital planning also allows an organization to assess the timing and amount of debt issuance, considering future capital expenditures and the impact on operational budgets. Thus, incorporating capital planning into a debt policy fosters responsible financial management and helps organizations to balance their investments, operational needs, and debt service obligations.