Muskego staff says roads are deteriorating; city to explore borrowing and capital plan

Muskego City staff told the Committee of the Whole on July 22 that the city is falling behind on road maintenance and asked the council to consider borrowing and a capital-improvement approach to close the gap.

The presentation, led by Landon, a city staff member, and Ryan, a city staff member, said the city uses the PASER visual rating system required by state law to score roads every two years and that recent ratings show a growing number of streets in the lowest condition bands. "We are getting a lot more red and oranges," Landon said, summarizing the 2023 map and interim 2025 updates. He reported roughly 65 miles rated in the 1–4 range and 87 miles rated 5–10, and estimated the city's lifecycle replacement rate at about 71 years for existing pavement under current spending.

The nut graf: City staff recommended bringing in a financial adviser to show how a borrowing program could work and how various debt sizes would affect the average homeowner’s tax bill. Landon said a $4 million borrowing, structured as a 20‑year bond, would increase taxes on an average Muskego home (example given as a $500,000 house) roughly $45–60…