The next budget for Cincinnati includes approximately $20 million for street repaving, with an additional $2 million anticipated in grants.
The city has an annual repaving objective of 100 lane miles. This budget is sufficient to surface 36 lane miles and perform preventative maintenance on 28 lane miles.
It is slightly less than recent budgets, but the true issue is how much more expensive it has become to pave roads.
Paving a mile of two-lane roads now costs $1 million, up from $650,000 last year.
The disparity is anticipated to widen. Officials estimate that the city will spend more than $176 million on repaving and preventative maintenance over the next six years. The estimated available funding during that time period is only $86 million.
Other transportation infrastructure, including the maintenance of street lighting, traffic signals, bridges, and footpaths, is also in jeopardy.
Street rehabilitation is included in the city’s Capital Budget, which has a limited number of primary revenue sources.
The 1.8% profits tax imposed by the city is divided into three categories:
- 1.50% allocated to the General Fund
- 0.15% for enduring improvements (capital)
- 0.1% for upkeep of municipal infrastructure
The city anticipates approximately $14 million in revenue from the 0.15 percent income tax portion.
How To Comprehend The Following City Budget
Additionally, the city incurs debt to fund capital initiatives. In addition, the city receives approximately $26 million annually from leasing the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern.
Instead of renewing the lease, city officials want to sell the CSR to Norfolk Southern; they claim that investing the $1.6 billion sale price would more than double the annual capital budget.
Cincinnati voters must approve transaction. It may appear on the ballot as early as November.
