Finance committee reviews city manager's FY26 capital improvement plan and funding plan

The Portland City Council Finance Committee reviewed the city manager’s recommended fiscal year 2026 capital improvement plan on Thursday, a package that officials said totals about $34,200,000 and would require roughly $22,855,000 in general-obligation bonds alongside a mix of other funding sources.

Assistant City Manager Greg Jordan said the proposed CIP covers projects for the general fund, Portland Public Schools and the Portland Public Library and includes 104 projects. “We have a CIP for the General Fund School Department and Public Library that has a little bit higher than $34,200,000 of impact in front of us tonight,” Jordan told the committee.

Why it matters: The funding mix and bond authorization levels determine whether the city uses capacity freed by the upcoming end of pension obligation debt to finance new capital work, and whether the council will need a two‑thirds majority to approve bond authorizations. Jordan said the additional $6 million in proposed bonds would add “a little over $400,000 to future tax rates,” while the scheduled wind‑down of a pension obligation bond in FY27 will remove about $15.4 million of debt service — producing a net reduction in debt service overall in coming years.

The plan emphasizes asset preservation: committee materials and staff presentations show about 87% of the recommended spending is for maintaining or rehabilitating existing infrastructure; roughly 13% is for system expansion or enhancements. Jordan said roughly two‑thirds of the bondable portion would be financed with general obligation bonds, with the remaining one‑third coming from fund balance, impact fees, tax-increment financing proceeds, a Merrill Auditorium ticket surcharge, asset forfeiture funds for police equipment and other sources.

Schools and library: Jordan said the city included 100% of projects approved by the Board of Public Education; the school list focuses on basic building maintenance — roofing, HVAC, masonry and accessibility work under a continuing “warm, safe and dry” theme. Tamara (facilities director for Portland Public Schools) and city staff said there are 10 new school projects in the FY26 package totaling about $3,000,000. The library’s allocation is shown as a placeholder in the CIP packet; library staff told the committee they expect to present a detailed project list at the next finance‑committee meeting.

Major projects and categories: Department presentations highlighted several capital areas: - Facilities: roof and boiler replacements for City Hall and Merrill Auditorium, masonry and structural work for the Spring Street and Elm Street parking garages and life‑safety and dome‑ceiling work at Merrill Auditorium. Parks and facilities director Ethan Hippel said boiler replacements should “result in significant savings in utilities and, reduced, natural gas usage.” - Islands erosion and marine infrastructure: Public Works Director Mike Murray described five erosion‑rehabilitation projects for the city’s islands, including a proposed permanent repair to the barge landing on Cliff Island; Murray said the barge landing was “pretty much destroyed in the, in the storm.” Staff said the projects are being advanced with the expectation of future FEMA reimbursement but warned the timing and certainty of federal reimbursement can be prolonged. - Transportation and multimodal work: funding for local matches on state paving projects, bicycle‑and‑pedestrian improvements, and signal upgrades; staff proposed a transportation comprehensive plan to set longer‑term priorities. - Fleet, equipment and minor capital: budgeted replacement of heavy equipment, ambulance and patrol vehicles and a capital‑reserve start for a future ladder truck purchase; a second year of funding to complete replacement of the fire department’s self‑contained breathing apparatus. - Parks: playground replacement at Stone Street, Deering Oaks pond‑wall reconstruction and the Stroudwater pedestrian bridge (the city owns the bridge and staff said more than half the funding is expected from grants and community partners).

Funding and next steps: Jordan and Finance Director Bridal O’Connell told the committee the FY26 CIP would be presented with two separate council orders if advanced: a bond authorization order (requiring a two‑thirds vote for general obligation bonds) and an appropriation order for the total project amount. Jordan said he expects the proposed increase in general‑obligation borrowing uses only a small portion of the debt‑service capacity freed by the pension bond wind‑down; the council will decide how to allocate the remaining capacity.

Staff said they will present a fuller five‑year project list, water‑resources enterprise projects (funded from sewer and stormwater charges) and more detailed backup at the next scheduled finance committee meeting on March 13. City Manager Danielle (joined during the presentation) thanked staff for integrating equity and readiness criteria into the vetting process and offered to answer questions at future meetings.

Votes at a glance: The committee approved the minutes from the Feb. 13 meeting. The motion to approve the minutes was moved by Councilor Ben Grant and seconded by Councilor Wes Pelletier; all three committee members present — Grant, Pelletier and Chair April Fournier — voted yes and the minutes were approved.

The committee will return to the FY26 CIP at its March 13 meeting to review water resources projects, the full five‑year list and requested backup materials so councilors can follow up with detailed questions.