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New transportation division to expand community engagement; DPW reports paving and sidewalk funding increases
Summary
The city created a Department of Transportation to centralize mobility work and community engagement; DPW said it spends about $18–$21 million annually on paving and roughly $6.5 million on sidewalks and that CVTA and state maintenance funds (special fund) cover many right‑of‑way projects; DPU customer‑service roles were moved to contractual services as part of an implementation of a new customer system.
Council members asked how the newly formed Department of Transportation will address community engagement and quick‑build pedestrian safety projects.
Andy Bano, director of transportation, said the department has a community engagement division composed of planners, engineers and outreach staff whose work will include year‑round communications about projects. Bano described “lighter, quicker, cheaper” quick‑build projects as intentionally low‑cost, high‑impact interventions — for example, temporary bike corrals, delineators or daylighting changes — that can precede larger capital projects.
Bobby Vincent, director of public works, outlined funding sources for right‑of‑way maintenance and projects. He said the city spends about $15 million annually on paving plus another $5–$6 million on public‑utility restoration work, for a total of roughly $18–$21 million per year; sidewalk work now totals about $6.5 million annually, up from under $3 million previously, supported by expanded in‑house crews.
On funding, Vincent said the department’s special fund is a combination of CVTA and state maintenance money and that geo bonds and state/federal grants are used for some site‑specific capital projects; he said some projects are deliberately not line‑itemized in order to preserve flexibility.
Council members also raised customer‑service staffing and a reported drop of 21 DPU customer‑care FTEs. Scott Morris, director of public utilities, said those roles were transitioned to contractual services while the city implements a new customer‑service system and trains about 20 contractual agents to staff the operation when it goes live. Morris said the utility expense increase of roughly $47 million mostly reflects rising gas and other utility costs.
Councilmembers asked for after‑the‑fact transparency on quick‑build spending and clearer budget documentation identifying how much of the special fund goes to safety, sidewalks, paving and other priorities. Staff agreed to provide project‑level reporting and to supply figures on the composition of the special fund and CVTA allocations.
