News > Election 2008 > Local & State Elections

Posted on Sun, Feb. 22, 2009

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Candidates' views on road repair

Aside from Mother Nature and traffic, the quality of the roads you drive on in Wichita is tied to how much money the city spends on them.

Wichita City Council members decide how to spend tax dollars after hearing from the city manager and public works officials.

The Eagle asked council candidates running in the March 3 primary how they would address the decline of city streets. We gave them reports presented during last year's budget discussions and asked them to offer ideas. Here what they said and an Eagle analysis of how their ideas might work:

JAMES BARFIELD

Barfield said he wants the city to shift focus from its wants to its needs. He proposed a halt to tax increment finance districts and criticized spending in the city's 10-year capital plan that bolsters TIFs.

He wants to re-focus the city's capital improvement plans on aging streets, rebuilding bad ones instead of patching them.

"These streets should be our first priority," he said.".. These streets are what taxpayers expect their money to pay for."

Barfield's idea could work, but it would come at the expense of some economic development activities many public officials, including the mayor, aggressively defend.

The city's long-term budget channels 47 percent of its cash to streets, bridges and highways. But it also has about $190 million for economic development, which includes millions committed to fund roads in TIFs.

Cutting TIFs could allow the city to spend more on roads, but it's unclear how much or how long it would take to hit the $100 million needed to rebuild the worst roads.

LAVONTA WILLIAMS

Williams, the incumbent, voted in favor of the extra $2.5 million in street maintenance last year.

She said she would like to look for wasteful spending.

But she doubts the city can do much more in tough economic times. She didn't suggest any major shifts in spending. "Wichita is growing and so are our debts," she said. "Our resources aren't coming in as fast as our debts are going out."

She suspects residents would prefer a cautious approach but acknowledges roads are in bad shape.

"I don't think raising taxes right now is what it's going to take," she said. "But we could definitely ask the public if they're willing to pay more to get this."

Williams' approach would not likely change much. However, if enough wasteful spending were found, more roads could be repaired.

Maintaining the status quo would help guard the city against shortfalls and further cutbacks by not obligating significantly more cash.

RICKY RANSOM

He did not respond to questions.

DISTRICT 6

BOB ALDRICH

Aldrich said tough economic times could hinder the city's ability to repair streets.

His focus is on the basics of city service, which he defines as infrastructure, police and fire.

He said the city needs to focus on putting more money into maintenance before it builds new roads, and he suggested using longer-lasting materials to cut repairs.

"Concrete could last for 30 years, less maintenance," he wrote in an e-mail. "With the cost of oil base products, asphalt may not be as cost effective, and only last around 10 years. The initial cost may be a little higher, but would last several years longer, producing the most of our taxpayer's dollars."

Aldrich's approach wouldn't necessarily help streets that are already in rough shape. But concentrating more cash on infrastructure -- though he didn't say where it would come from -- would likely also boost the maintenance budget.

Pairing more maintenance money with longer-lasting materials would likely help the city keep up with streets.

DAMON ISAACS

He suggested channeling some current sales and fuel taxes to streets.

"Because roads are avenues for commerce, it makes sense to use sales tax distributions for street construction and repair," he wrote in an e-mail.

He suggested a three-year plan paid for by channeling 15 percent of fuel taxes to a fund for road repair and some building maintenance. That could net about $2.5 million more each year, with $2 million going to roads.

He also said the city needs to better communicate what it's doing to fix roads.

Isaacs' approach would probably lead to a slight improvement of overall street quality; it would push funding over the $4.1 million per year needed to hold conditions steady.

Fuel taxes are expected to draw about $16.5 million next year, but they have fluctuated a lot. Shaving 15 percent off the top would reduce cash flow to the general fund and debt service fund.

JANET MILLER

Miller said she would like to find a way to maintain the extra $2.5 million council members channeled into street maintenance this year.

But she noted that the flow of state funds to the city are projected to shrink by millions in the next two years and that the economic downturn has strained the city. "I think it's going to be extremely unlikely that we're going to be able to find significant dollars to add to very many budget categories," she said.

She said she would like to delve further into the budget to find any wasteful spending or low-priority items.

But she said she would likely oppose any tax increase or the reduction of funds for economic development.

Miller's approach would probably allow the city's road quality to slowly decline until more funding is located. But her moves would probably preserve existing programs, unless any of them match her definition of wasteful spending.

KEN THOMAS

Thomas said he wants the city to perform more in-depth analysis of its roads before he commits to any maintenance funding.

He also said he'd table any increase in funding until October to gauge the impact of the economic downturn.

"Construction is a basic service Wichita citizens pay for and deserve," he wrote in an e-mail. "We live in trying times... so we need to spend our tax dollars wisely and efficiently."

He noted that asphalt costs have gone down since public works officials presented estimates in August.

He suggested splitting projects into smaller pieces to allow more companies to bid in an effort to save tax dollars.

Thomas' approach wouldn't have any impact until he made decisions based on updated information. It would protect the city from further deficits if the economy continues to wobble; more accurate analysis could lead to wiser spending. Many projects are bid with other projects. The city says this reduces costs. But low prices are often attributed to competition.

Brent D. Wistrom