Just the facts: Board of Estimates meeting Room 260 of the Municipal Building around 6 PM
************************** Friends - There has been discussion previously on this list about the city money being spent on County Highway M (Junction Road) and County Highway S (Mineral Point Road.) Alder Satya Rhodes-Conway and I have sponsored an amendment to the 2009 Capital Budget to remove all funding for these projects over the next six years. This amendment will be considered at the Board of Estimates (the city's budget committee) on Monday, September 22. The meeting starts at 4:30 PM, but there are other things on the agenda before they consider amendments to the budget. My guess is that budget discussions won't happen until 6 PM or so. I can't speak for Satya, but the reason I sponsored this amendment was because our debt service is now 10% of our operating budget, and this is severely impacting the funding for available for basic city services and initiatives we would all like to see, such as improving other transportation options. If we weren't paying so much debt service, this wouldn't be such an incredibly tough budget year. Yeah, rising fuel prices would still be a problem, but we'd have a but more breathing room. Let's not make it worse by adding another $14 million dollars over the next six years. Both of these roadways are COUNTY roads, and carry a considerable amount of traffic with origins and destinations outside the city. Yet there is ZERO county money allocated to these projects. If these roads are not a priority to the County, I'm not sure why the City should make them a priority. There are many other reasons to delay or eliminate funding for these projects, but that's one even those in favor of road expansion can understand. So... here's an opportunity to come, speak, and make your voice heard. Robbie _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
