City and county officials debate $88M–$95M infrastructure ballot measure, split and timing unresolved

City and county leaders met in a joint work session to negotiate the size, project list and allocation for a proposed infrastructure ballot measure likely to extend about a decade, discussing totals ranging in the transcript from roughly $88 million to $95 million and multiple allocation scenarios for city and county shares.

The discussion centered on which projects to include, how to split the pot between the city and county and practical questions about timing and voter outreach. Staff described a package that includes a city project list (police facility work, a fire station replacement, street and stormwater projects, sidewalks and ADA improvements, park and playground projects and recreation-center maintenance) and county requests (a new county service building or courthouse renovation, detention-center and fairgrounds repairs, sheriff vehicles and body camera storage, and library upgrades). Participants also discussed a joint $4 million airport match and whether that sum should be shared equally among jurisdictions.

Why it matters: the group must present an agreed dollar figure and project language before ballot language is finalized. Officials said the choice affects the length of the tax and the voter message; staff cautioned that forecasting and conservative…