Independence oversight committee reviews street sales tax and first-phase Go Bond spending, approves summaries

The Street Improvement Oversight Committee met Jan. 14 in Independence and approved staff reports summarizing the street sales tax fund and the city's initial spending plan for the voter-approved Go Bond program.

Committee chair opened the meeting and members approved minutes from Oct. 1, 2025, before staff presented the street sales tax dashboard through November 2025. Administrative Services Supervisor Charles R. Harvey said sales-tax receipts were tracking at roughly 41% of the annual budget year-to-date and that interest income had reached about 86% of the budget, and he apologized that finance had not yet posted December data.

"We tried to get you all the way through December, but just not enough had been posted from finance yet," Harvey said, and he told the committee the finance director has offered to attend the next meeting to answer detailed questions.

The committee then reviewed a newly created Go Bond tracking document that places bond funds into three buckets to make oversight simpler: bridges, sidewalks-to-schools and preventative pavement maintenance. Staff presented the packet figures as 7.8 for bridges, 2.9 for sidewalks and 18.3 for preventative maintenance (figures presented in the packet). Alex Lopez, city engineer, said only initial bank/setup fees and a handful of design expenditures had been posted so far; a $6.2 million encumbrance for the FY26 Geobond overlay project was recently approved by council.

Lopez told the committee the Geobond overlay contract will move quickly and that the city expects to deliver a large volume of overlay work in the coming construction season. He and other staff agreed to provide a more detailed line-item list and maps at the next meeting showing which school sidewalks and which overlay miles would be built.

Committee members pressed for clarity about numbers shown as "balances." Staff emphasized those figures include allocations and encumbrances for projects already in design or under construction and are not fully uncommitted cash. "It does show on paper that we have $30,000,000 effectively in a fund balance," the construction inspection supervisor said, adding that much of that amount is already allocated to projects.

The committee approved both the street sales tax fund summary and the Go Bond summary by voice vote with no recorded opposition and asked staff to return with project-level detail and the finance director at the next meeting.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to approve minutes from Oct. 1, 2025 — moved by Marcus Bowen; seconded by Marcy Cragg; approved by voice vote. - Motion to approve the street sales tax fund summary (through Nov. 2025) — moved and seconded; approved by voice vote. - Motion to approve the Go Bond summary presentation — moved and seconded; approved by voice vote.

What happens next: Staff will provide project-level breakdowns and maps for Go Bond overlays and school sidewalks, and the finance director will attend the next meeting to explain the use-tax waterfall and answer detailed budget questions.