by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Broken sidewalks have busted the City’s repair budget.
The City’s Public Works Department is asking the City Council to approve another $360,000 to continue fixing City sidewalks through the end of the fiscal year in October. The Council approved $650,000 last August to pay for the repairs, which had previously been charged to property owners. At the time several Council members and Public Works officials questioned whether the money would last through the year.
The ordinance could come up for a Council vote Tuesday. If approved, $309,000 would go toward repairs this year, while the remainder will pay for repairs in the first month of the next fiscal year.
An increase in repair volume made the extra money necessary. It appears that property owners have been more willing to call for the repairs with the City picking up the bill. Through March, Public Works took on about double the number of repair contracts — from 121 to 238 — compared to the same stretch in the previous year.
Although Public Works cut the cost per repair to $2,120 from $2,231, the City still spent $504,596 on sidewalks through March. Over the same period in fiscal year 2002/03, when taxpayers paid the bill, the City spent about $270,000.
During that period, Public Works received about 36 repair calls a month. Since the City started picking up the tab, those calls have increased by 20 a month, said Public Works spokesperson Sherry Hall. The legislation blamed the volume of work for the shortfall and noted the sidewalk repair program won’t be able to continue without more money. The money would come from the City’s general fund.
The City started paying for the repairs shortly after Mayor John Peyton took office. In his inauguration speech, he said it was unfair for property owners to be charged to repair City sidewalks. He said the City should pay to fix sidewalks just as it pays to repair streets.
Hall said the City remains committed to paying for the repairs in future years, but she said it remains to be seen how much the City will spend. She said the mayor’s office was still looking in next year’s budget for a funding source for the program.
“We can’t really speculate on the amount the City will commit until we figure out the most efficient way to fund it,” said Hall.
The City requires repairs to sidewalks when the concrete splits by more than 3/4 of an inch. As repair calls came flooding in, the policy was revised to be less proactive.