Money for municipal construction projects in Akron is being pinched by the massive sewer and water project and shrinking state funds, leaving little for road repairs, park upgrades and other capital improvements.
Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan introduced his 2017 capital budget Monday afternoon. City Council sat through a two-hour presentation covering half the hefty plan. The other half will be covered next week. The public is welcome to attend the 7 p.m. Jan. 30 meeting to share their thoughts on the first draft spending plan.
The capital budget covers $375 million in expenditures, down from $450.95 million in 2016. This includes $15.5 million more in local revenue from income tax collections and other sources, and $89.7 million less in state aid after an influx of more than $110 million from the state in 2016 for the Central Interchange project. These figures are projections and, like the projects on the initial list, are subject to change.
Meanwhile, costs are consumed by the $1.4 billion sewer and water project, which represented 47 percent of capital spending last year and would jump to 60 percent under Horrigan’s proposal.
“We have provided council with a relatively lean capital budget proposal for 2017,” Horrigan said in releasing the plan. “I wish we had the resources to invest significantly more in our public infrastructure, particularly in roads and public safety, but after factoring in state and federal funding cuts [down $3.3 million], our EPA-mandated sewer projects, and our existing debt obligations, our remaining resources are limited.
Big ticket purchases include $533,000 to equip police with body cameras by summer, a $3 million resurfacing of Tallmadge Avenue (funded mostly by the Ohio Department of Transportation) and a new $21.5 million Akron Municipal Courthouse between the Akron STEM Middle School and East Bowery Street.
Others are small in scope but could have substantial effects. A $25,000 structure would house an ATM-like machine that takes and immediately applies payments for residents with late water bills. Another $25,000 is proposed to discover an adaptive reuse for Rolling Acres.
Some could keep the community safe. A $100,000 “placeholder” has been set aside until $700,000 in grants and other funding can be found to replace a 20-year-old ladder truck, one of only four in the city. Another $100,000 would upgrade the police department’s finger-printing system to immediately flag suspected criminals for unsolved crimes committed elsewhere.
Still others sound unusual, but could be well-received: $250,000 would be used to convert stone ponds at parks into spraying parks, with sprinklers to look at and run through.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .