By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
As with all municipalities across the state, Whitewater officials are about to start digging into the city’s 2016 budget.
As a prelude to the intensive process, a line item-by-line item review of capital improvement projects took place at a Common Council meeting Sept. 1. Most of the items receiving the birds-eye treatment pertain to 2016, though a few extend out in ensuing years.
With aging infrastructure, city officials say they are attempting to address a range of issues, either by addressing them immediately, implementing changes through a phased approach or budgeting for projects in future years.
This is not the first time the council has dug into capital improvements this year. The council discussed a draft version of the timeline in June with Assistant City Manager Chris McDonell.
In the intervening months, a few tweaks have been made, including a new request: undergo a traffic study along Main Street. The task is eyed for 2017 and could is expected to cost somewhere in the ballpark of $50,000.
At this point, City Manager Cameron Clapper said neither he nor McDonell are requesting actual funds be earmarked for changes along Main Street.
“It’s our intent we’d act on the findings if we found something (from the study),” Clapper said.
As for 2016, a variety of projects are planned, and final decisions will be made in the coming months as city officials make decisions about the 2016 budget.
The line item receiving the lion’s share of financial attention in 2016 is the wastewater treatment plant. The city is in the midst of a multi-tiered process of upgrading the facility. Next year, officials plan to allocate $8.34 million toward improvements.
Other planned capital expenses include $1.84 million toward street improvements, $381,816 toward the parks and recreation department for a variety of improvements and upgrades and $94,100 toward the police department for a variety of equipment purchases.
