First it was $12 million found. Now there’s almost $13 million more.
City Council members analyzing the city’s Capital Improvement Plan were told Wednesday an account meant for general capital projects has close to $13 million in it.
That comes on the heels of finding out a roads program account has $12 million that could be spent on road-related projects.
While the money has been “found,” it’s technically been in those accounts for some time.
Council didn’t approve much new spending during last year’s budget process, instead opting to undertake an extensive review of capital improvement plans to clean up and determine what’s been accomplished, what is still on the books and what money sits idly by for any number of reasons. The projects could already have been done or may not be needed anymore.
But, as council member Lori Boyer told the subcommittee Wednesday, it’s been recommended up to $25 million should annually be spent for road repaving and other ongoing needs.
Once the accounts are reconciled, Public Works could develop a list of projects the money could be spent on and council would approve a spending bill.
“We can’t jump to conclusions,” said Boyer, head of the subcommittee, “but the good news is … we have found we have some capacity to do some things we didn’t think we could.”
And while $25 million or so has been found, there are still questions about an account showing it has $22 million. Boyer said Wednesday she doesn’t know if it’s available to spend.
Meanwhile, the overall plan’s cleanup continues as council members review projects in their districts to determine whether they can be closed out, need completion or can be eliminated altogether.
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