Hartford taxpayers may be forgiven if they have gotten the impression that town and school officials regard them much like a friendly banker who has extended an open line of credit for capital projects. The difference is that in this case, the banker ultimately foots the bill. Consider:

Late last month, the Selectboard moved toward closing to vehicular traffic a road linking the Fairview Terrace neighborhood to downtown because it is supported by a crumbling retaining wall that could fail with catastrophic consequences. The price tag for the closing plan is $56,000, and buys time — how much is subject to debate — for a long-awaited permanent fix that would cost between $3.4 million and $4.4 million at today’s prices.

Also last month, the Selectboard received a report from the town staff recommending that it consider addressing the parking shortage in White River Junction by installing meters and building a parking garage on the town-owned lot off Main Street behind the old American Legion building. Voters could be asked at Town Meeting in March to fund an engineering study for the latter.

Meanwhile, the state of Vermont is pressing the town to come up with a plan to repair or replace the dam at Wright Reservoir on Hurricane Hill, once a popular fishing and picnicking spot. In 2010, the town began putting aside money in a reserve fund for a permanent repair that was estimated at the time to cost $400,000. However, that fund was drained to cover an unanticipated increase in health insurance premiums; in 2015, with no money on hand, a new repair estimate of $600,000 and the possibility of a catastrophic dam failure looming, the Selectboard chose to simply drain the reservoir. The state gave the town two years to come up with a long-term solution, which it hasn’t. The choices now appear to be spending in excess of $600,000 to repair the dam or to remove it at an unknown cost.

While that is plenty, the capital project docket includes several other costly endeavors. The proposed construction of a multimillion track and field has resurfaced. The idea was endorsed by voters in 2013 as part of a larger package of improvements but fell victim to bungled cost estimates. In 2014, voters twice rejected appropriating more money, but after a hiatus of a couple of years, a citizens group is pushing for another bond vote. Concurrently, a committee made up of representatives of the Hartford School District and the town’s Parks and Recreation Department has recommended building a track with bleachers and a youth football field either at the high school or the Maxfield Sports Complex. The last estimate for the project was in the $3 million range, but a complete geotechnical analysis costing $100,000 is needed before a new price can be attached, according to a consultant for the track supporters group.

Moreover, the 105-year-old Wilder School, which now houses the Regional Alternative Program for youngsters with behavioral difficulties, still needs a multimillion renovation. The school district recently addressed the most pressing safety problems there through asbestos removal and replacement of the old heating system, but many substandard conditions remain, including doors that don’t meet code; a leaky roof; a lack of handicap accessibility; large, noisy classrooms; cracked steps; and old windows that leak energy. The School Board chose earlier this year to defer a $5 million renovation project, but the situation will have to be addressed sooner or later.

And then there’s the $1.5 million voters approved earlier this year to remedy the appalling condition of the parking lot at the high school. That work was supposed to be done this summer, but was deferred to next year so soil conditions could be thoroughly assessed.

While there are arguments to be made on behalf of each of these projects, there is no fiscally responsible argument for tackling all of them in a short period of time. Although the large amount of new construction underway in town promises to bolster the tax base and some of the projects may be able to tap into alternate funding sources to some extent, asking the taxpayers to support all of these endeavors might be a prescription for rejection of all of them. Town and school officials need to work together to set priorities and draw up a phased schedule for undertaking capital projects over a number of years, addressing the most pressing problems first and making sure the projects are thoroughly vetted as to cost, which all too often hasn’t been the case in Hartford. Those officials are, after all, better acquainted with the issues and better situated to make such judgments than the rank-and-file taxpayers who need sound guidance to make sound decisions.