Mayor floats new road funding plan

Kirtland leaders are considering the latest option to fund long-needed road repairs in the community.

City Council on March 1 will hold the second reading on the 2021 budget, including allocating $200,000 from the General Fund toward about $2.2 million in road improvements proposed for this year.

The balance of the funding would come from a $2 million bond anticipation note, $19,000 in road levy revenue and in-kind services provided by the Service Department, according to Mayor Kevin Potter’s plan.

Bond anticipation notes are temporary debts issued when a community needs to finance a project in advance of the bond bank’s next scheduled sale. BANs are also issued when a community needs financing for a project in stages, but wants to issue the permanent financing once.

Roads targeted for rehabilitation this year were listed as follows in a Feb. 15 Potter letter to Council: Billings Road, Springer Drive, Springer Circle, Prelog Lane, Mitchells Mill Road, Parkwood Drive and Beechwood Drive.

Roads proposed for maintenance are: Wisner Road, Locust Drive, Kirtland Lakes Boulevard, Singlefoot Trail, Arborhurst Lane, Sperry Road, Kirtland Chardon Road, Euclid Chardon Road, Route 306, Tibbetts Road and Wrenwood Drive.

Any project exceeding

$25,000 must be submitted to Council for approval, per city code.

“It should be noted, to avoid implementing further and significant personnel restructuring, Kirtland voters will be given the option to fund a longterm road paving and maintenance plan at the voting booth in year 2021 or 2022,” Potter said in the letter.

The mayor indicated that there is ongoing exploration of revenue sources to implement a 10-year road improvement plan created last year.

He shared during a recent State of the City address that the 2020 budget forecasted going into this year with only $58,000 in unencumbered cash reserves.

Since then, he engineered an agreement with Willoughby to take over dispatching services, reducing personnel costs.

In April he issued a directive to avoid all nonessential spending due to the coronavirus crisis.

“Today, Kirtland is doing more with roughly 20 percent fewer full-time employees, and with the help of one-time allocations from CARES Act funding and (Bureau of Workers Compensation) rebates that

The program would not only rehabilitate or repave 20 miles of city roads, but also include a maintenance plan and schedule for the next 10 years.

helped relieve the General Fund, we came into 2021 with a ... carryover balance of $1.1 million,” he said. “Our commitment to fiscal resolve and the resulting carryover allows us the opportunity to commit significant dollars to a 2021 road program that seeks to rehabilitate or maintain 13 miles of city roads as well as fund several immediate capital needs.”

In addition, Potter advocated seeking opportunities to restructure the city’s debt by capitalizing on current interest rates.

His previous proposal to fund road improvements was withdrawn from Council’s agenda in November.

The legislation would have reduced the income tax credit to residents who work and pay taxes outside the city from 1.75 percent to 1.0 and would have raised nearly $1.3 million annually. Voters would have been given the option to raise the income tax rate to 2.5 percent via charter amendment.

Potter asked that it be withdrawn to “further engage our residents in considering the best path forward.”

The mayor commissioned the city engineer and public works director to author the 10-year road paving plan and cost of implementation after evaluating pavement conditions.

The program would not only rehabilitate or repave 20 miles of city roads, but also include a maintenance plan and schedule for the next 10 years.

About $17.4 million is needed to implement the plan during the next decade, city Engineer Doug Courtney has said.

The last attempt to pass a levy was voted down 4-3 in 2019, under the former administration.

Potter