New street repair plan proposed

A proposal to use a mixture of funding sources for the reconstruction of city streets was presented to Havre City Council’s Streets and Sidewalks Committee Wednesday night.

Council member Andrew Brekke presented a detailed plan that calls for raising some of the money for the project through a mill levy increase that would have to be approved by voters. Some would have to be paid for by residents of the neighborhood where the street repairs are planned. The remainder would come from city revenues.

For instance on a $300,000 project, he said:

• Fifty percent or $150,000 would be paid for from funds raised through the mill levy.

• A total or 35 percent or $105,000 would come from a Special Improvement District established in the neighborhood that would directly benefit from the street improvements.

• Fifteen percent or $45,000 would come from the city treasury.

Brekke was the only council member to oppose the 20-year, $30 million proposal that was voted down by voters in November.

During last year’s campaign, city officials said that there was no spare money in the existing city budget to pay for repairs.

Brekke said he realized that the budget is tight, but suggested some funds could be garnered by delaying purchases for some machinery and trucks for the Department of Public Works.

Special Improvement Districts cannot be created by the city. People in the neighborhood can get together and form the district. Projects would be funded by an assessment on each property in the district. The assessment would be a certain dollar amount of each foot of frontage.

Brekke said he heard little opposition to last year’s proposal from people who didn’t think the repairs were needed, but people were apprehensive about the size of the tax increase, which he described as “the largest tax increase in Havre’s history.”

People also thought there was some money in the city treasury that would be used for the renovations.

He said he has talked to opponents of last year’s proposal who said they would agree with this plan.

Members of the Streets and Sidewalks Committee who favored last year’s proposal, were at first skeptical of the plan but appeared to get sold on it as Brekke explained it.

Brekke proposed that the new plan be put on the ballot in November 2017, saying the city would have to have a long time to leducate the public about the technicalities of the proposal.

Brekke said Ward 4, the east side district he represents, would probably benefit the least from the proposal, though the need may be the greatest.

For a variety of reasons, east side residents would be least likely to form a special improvement district, Brekke said.