Voice of the Voter
 
Comment~~~
Over the last 2 terms of the current administration, the city has seemingly been focused on finishing up Progress Pkwy, starting up the west side connector, and now E. Michigan road reconstruction. Anyone who drives around town on some of our higher traffic streets, and even smaller streets can tell that they are starting to fall apart and do not have much life left in them. Then earlier this week there was a story in the paper where the city is going to have to cut $1.7 million for next years budget. So, what is your thoughts and plan to make sure our aging streets and infrastructure doesn't crumble, but also make sure we can continue to be ready for new growth?

Response~~~ Thanks for your question! Let me discuss your concerns as individual subjects.   The road projects you mentioned are being paid for using Tax Increment Finance (TIF) dollars. This means that taxes generated by the Casino are paying for the "west side connector" and taxes being generated by Kroger and Wal-Mart are paying for the east Michigan Road project. This allows the road projects not to be a direct burden on the general funds.

Admittedly however, those TIF funds could be directed back into the general fund so their use are subject for debate. It is believed that these road projects will serve to accomplish a few goals, to redirect truck traffic from the downtown area, to provide access to development areas that were previously unavailable, and improve the quality of life in the community by adding walking and biking trails.   Now, to address another concern, that being the management of the existing infrastructure system, I believe we need to utilize a recently developed Capital Improvement Plan.

This document was created through the cooperation of the Planning, Street, MS4, Waste water and Engineering Departments and the effort was primarily led by the City Engineer. The document provides the basic frame work for identifying priority projects and sources of funding. It also sets forth a schedule for the completion  of those projects and identifies the person or persons responsible for managing those efforts.

The importance of this document is that it allows for a more effective budgeting process for several years. It also puts all of the decision makers on the "same page" so that spending can be factored into the budget several years in advance. I think this would make government more responsible and better prepared.   Regarding your question of preparedness for new development, it will be imperative that we make sure new development is directed to locations where the infrastructure can handle the demands of that development. It would make no sense to spend significant dollars to run roads and sewers to a proposed user who may not provide significant revenue to the City in the form of taxes and jobs. That development might be better placed in a location that already has adequate existing roads, sewers and utilities.    The key will be in examining closely the pros and cons of all development proposals and making educated and informed decisions based upon the best possible value that will be realized by the community. 

I appreciate your questions.  Thank you!

Kind regards, 
Tom DeBaun 
 


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