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Wauwatosa staff recommend shifting capital surpluses to cover Wisconsin Avenue Bridge shortfall
Summary
City staff told the Financial Affairs Committee they plan to transfer surplus funds from the Watertown Plank project to cover an $800,000 shortfall on the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge project and to help the Center Street project; the item was presented for information and no committee vote was taken.
City staff told the Wauwatosa City Financial Affairs Committee on Feb. 25 that they plan to move surplus capital funds to cover an approximately $800,000 shortfall on the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge project and to help cover estimated overages on the Center Street project.
The Wisconsin Avenue Bridge project is included in the 2025 capital improvement plan with a budget of $5.5 million and is being delivered in partnership with the Department of Transportation, city staff said. The city expects to receive roughly $2.4 million in state grant money for the project. "It did come in over budget. Approximately, it'll have an $800,000 impact on our budget," city staff member John Regine said, and staff told the committee they have about three weeks to inform the Department of Transportation how the city wishes to proceed under the existing agreement.
Staff told the committee the Watertown Plank project came in nearly $6 million under budget and that they are proposing to transfer some of that surplus to the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge and to the Center Street project, which staff currently estimate will come in over budget. "We will not [reduce special assessments] because our assessment policy is that we use a citywide average for all projects," Regine said when asked whether savings would result in lower assessments for properties along Watertown Plank.
The city engineer, speaking to bid details, said the difference between the engineer's estimate and the bids was primarily in general transportation and stormwater items. "The delta is primarily in transportation general and in stormwater," the city engineer said, adding that several items varied and no single line item stood out as the cause of the gap.
Bids for the Wisconsin Avenue project were competitive: staff said five bidders submitted proposals ranging from about $6.9 million to $7.6 million, and the low bidder was noticeably below the engineer's estimate while the high bidder was closer to the city's plan. When staff combined the three projects in their memo, they reported projected surpluses of $1.6 million in the general fund category, $640,000 in sanitary, and $4.2 million in storm; water remains over budget by an estimated $568,000 pending the final Center Street bid.
Because this item was presented as informational, the committee did not take a vote. Staff said they have the discretion under existing policy to move funds among capital projects but brought the update to the committee because of the dollar magnitude and the timing required by the Department of Transportation.
Committee members asked for context about why bids differed from estimates, how market conditions and uncommon bridge complexity affected pricing, and whether residents would see lower special assessments from the Watertown Plank surplus. Staff reiterated the citywide averaging policy for assessments and said that if the projected surplus holds through the remainder of the capital program, they would likely recommend reducing borrowing at the November bond sale, which would lower overall debt service for residents.
The Financial Affairs Committee adjourned after the informational presentation; the matter was described as staff direction and a forthcoming recommendation to DOT rather than a formal council action.
