Council reviews streets budget, moves road preservation money to planned projects and discusses trail funding

City council members and city administration at a budget workshop on Feb. 1 reviewed proposed changes to the streets budgets, including shifting money from the road preservation reserve into specific construction projects, confirming a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) grant for the Iron Bell Trail and discussing whether state marijuana excise tax revenue should be used to support the city’s 50/50 special-assessment road-repair match program.

The discussion matters because the council’s decisions will determine which road projects move forward this year and how limited local funds are allocated. Administration staff said the draft budget reassigns about $3.4 million of the road preservation account into two identified construction projects and leaves a reduced preservation balance on paper until final estimates are posted.

Administration staff said, “When we developed the proposed budget, we did not have the estimate in yet, so I placeholed $500,000 there, and then I put 1.5 for Genesee. Now we have the estimates, and I'll be moving the money from that road preservation of 5,300,000.0 into those line items,” and listed project estimates that administration had just received. The projects named in the workshop and the figures discussed were: placeholders of $65,000 each for two preliminary items (Genesee Road Court to Davidson and Belsey…