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Finance committee reviews draft 2026–2030 capital improvement plan, flags $31.3 million borrowing need
Summary
The finance committee reviewed a draft 2026–2030 capital improvement plan that lists roughly $81 million in capital requests and shows a $31.3 million general-levy borrowing need; staff said the packet is a department request draft and recommended further prioritization before final borrowing decisions.
The Finance Committee on Sept. 9 reviewed a draft 2026–2030 capital improvement plan that, as presented by Director Ellingbacker, lists roughly $81,000,000 in capital requests and estimates $31,332,000 in general-levy borrowing if all items proceed as submitted.
"This is a draft at this point," Director Ellingbacker told the committee, describing the packet as the department heads' requests and not a final borrowing recommendation. He said the packet breaks requests into major projects, fleet and equipment and that some items listed have been on previous years' lists while others are newly added.
The packet, staff said, groups funding sources and shows about $18,000,000 of other funding currently identified; with those offsets the plan still would require borrowing in 2026. Ellingbacker noted two large items already shown as separate borrowing lines: about $1,000,000 in predevelopment work for a proposed police headquarters project and about $7,000,000 for a fire station, which together account for roughly $8,000,000 of the total borrowing shown.
Committee members pressed department leaders on timing and alternatives. Clerk Jeffries and committee members discussed election-related equipment on the CIP: two DS450 voting machines and express vote units are in the 2027 column because of possible changes to the Federal Election Assistance Commission's voluntary voting system guidelines; Jeffries said the current machines "are more than adequate" but flagged the potential need to replace them if standards change. The clerk also said the department plans staged purchases of digital poll books ("Badger books") and will propose numbers in a future cycle.
Other items raised in the CIP discussion included a $19,000 envelope-printing machine proposed for administrative services, possible matching costs for six electric buses if grant funding does not cover a local match, and a summary of annual fleet needs. Staff said the city has used ARPA funds recently to refresh data-center hardware and expects no major IT hardware capital needs for several years; at the same time, several departments asked to keep cyclical vehicle replacements and station upgrades on the five-year schedule.
Committee members asked staff to further prioritize and identify which borrowing requests the mayor and finance director would recommend moving or deferring. "If things don't change enough, the mayor or finance may be looking to try to push $6,000,000 either to another year or we find some kind of reduction or another funding source," Ellingbacker said, describing the packet as a first draft of department requests rather than a final borrowing plan.
Action: the committee voted to hold the CIP discussion for follow-up at the next finance meeting so staff can present prioritized recommendations and updated revenue assumptions.
Why it matters: the draft shows multiple large capital needs across public safety, public works and administrative functions; the committee must decide which items to borrow for and which to defer or fund from other sources, a choice that will affect levy-supported debt in coming years.
