Perrysburg mayor asks council to double road repair budget
3/4/2014Perrysburg Mayor Mike Olmstead is asking the Perrysburg City Council to approve doubling the 2014 budget for road repairs and maintenance from $940,000 to $1.9 million.
The additional $960,000 was scheduled to be the entire sum from the city's general fund that would have gone into a reserve fund at the end of the year.
But Mayor Olmstead told the city council Tuesday night the city's roads need it now, in part because of this winter's harsh freeze-thaw cycles. The city was also coming up on a lot of regular maintenance.
"We need to make sure the roadways are in good condition," Mayor Olmstead said.
Council had a first reading of the budget Tuesday. It is expected to vote on the matter at its next meeting on March 18.
City Administrator Bridgette Kabat said specific road projects will be prioritized this spring, enabling work to begin in June.
"This is barely going to touch all that needs done," Mayor Olmstead said. "It will get to a point where we can't catch up unless we put in the funds. This is more than a one year venture."
Contact Matt Thompson at: mthompson@theblade.com, 419-356-8786, or on Twitter at @mthompson25.