Council says it will not turn its back on failing streets and other infrastructure

City Council member Chuck Wieneke put it this way last night at another lengthy council budget session: “I'm ashamed to drive down the street.”

The comment tapped into a sentiment shared by most on the council, and Wieneke said he would not vote for a new budget that didn't include at least $30 to $35 million next year - the last two years the figure was about $30 million a year - in the sale of property-tax-supported bonds for capital improvement projects, with most of it devoted to failing streets and other ailing infrastructure.

Mayor Ron Corbett failed to nudge council members in the direction of less spending as he suggested that the council needed to prioritize a handful of projects and get them done and not spend too much too widely.

In the end, Corbett said he will seek to find savings in the general-operating part of the city budget. The council must approve a new budget by March 15 for the budget year that begins July 1.

Council members Tom Podzimek told Corbett - one of three new members on the nine member council - that the City Council's strategy has been to remain “disciplined” and to invest in infrastructure even if it likely meant tax increases.

Residents, he said, are concerned about an increase in taxes, but they also tired of deep potholes that force them to get their car fixed.

In total, City Manager Jim Prosser confronted the council with a request for $86 million in property-tax-supported capital improvement requests, and after the council discussion, he took a moment to make the case that the city should invest at least $40 million in such spending if the city is to catch up on its needs.

Corbett told Prosser that the council did not favor that level of new debt.

Prosser also said there was little to cut from the day-to-day operating side of the budget at a time when the city is still recovering from a flood.

Both Corbett and council member Monica Vernon thought there were places to cut. Prosser has said the $96-million general fund budget will be short about $2.2 million without a tax increase just to keep services as they are.

Corbett noted that the budget gap was less than 3 percent, and he said he thought that level of savings in the budget could be found.

“I'm not asking for a moonshot, I'm not asking for a miracle,” Corbett said.

Vernon said she wanted to ax some of the $1.5 million proposed for ongoing flood-recovery planning. She said she's seen enough plans and wants to see some “implementation.”