Dommunism Cost Model • Illustrative Stress Test

How much does Dommu’s growth thesis actually cost?

This model explains the math behind the earlier $130M/year figure. It is not a fixed invoice. It is an illustrative stress-test that converts a 30-year public-capital range into annual capacity, then shows how revenue growth and debt-service guardrails affect what Howard County can responsibly build.
Housing ambition
31k
New units over planning horizon.
Public capital range
$2.0–$4.0B
Backlog + growth infrastructure.
Annualized need
$100M
Midpoint / years, not magic.
Private capital
$15.5B
Vertical development funded by builders.

Interactive assumptions

31,000
30 yrs
$1.0B
$1.0B
$1.0B
$500k

The calculation

Existing backlog
+ Growth schools
+ Growth infrastructure
= Total public capital need

Total public capital ÷ years = illustrative annual capacity target

Current modeled result

Important: the annual number is a budgeting stress-test. Dom’s actual thesis is to maximize tax-base growth so each annual capital budget can rise while debt service stays under the affordability threshold.

Debt-service guardrail model

This shows Dom’s denominator argument: if recurring revenue grows, the county can carry more annual debt service while staying under a 10% policy ceiling.
$2.35B
8.0%
4.0%

What this means

Dom is not saying: “Find exactly $130M every year.”

Dom is saying: “Grow recurring revenue so the annual capital budget and debt capacity can expand without breaking the 10% debt-service guardrail or cutting schools.”

Phil’s constraint still matters

You still need seed capital, upfront infrastructure, and incentives to make private capital show up. Growth does not pay for itself instantly. The funding stack has to bridge timing.

Capital stack: who pays for what?

LayerPaid byPurposePolicy discipline
Vertical developmentPrivate developers / buildersHousing, mixed-use, commercial buildingsCounty should reduce entitlement risk, not replace private capital.
Enabling infrastructureCounty + developers + state/federal grantsRoads, water/sewer, stormwater, sidewalks, transit accessPrioritize corridors where assessed value and housing supply rise.
School capacity / deferred maintenanceCounty capital budget, GO bonds, state aid, excise/surchargeProtect school quality while growth occursOne-time development money funds capital only, not recurring payroll.
Value captureTIF / special districts / incremental tax baseUse future uplift to fund upfront public improvementsDo not subsidize projects that would happen anyway.
Operating servicesRecurring revenue growthPublic safety, schools ops, maintenance, servicesCap recurring spend growth; avoid turning volatile growth into permanent bloat.

Sources & caveat

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