Elorza outlines outlays of $122M in 5-year capital plan

PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. ELORZA has created a first-ever Capital Improvement Plan for the city, in which spending of more than $122 million is projected for the next five fiscal years. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS
PROVIDENCE MAYOR JORGE O. ELORZA has created a first-ever Capital Improvement Plan for the city, in which spending of more than $122 million is projected for the next five fiscal years. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS

PROVIDENCE – In a first for Providence, Mayor Jorge O. Elorza has created a Capital Improvement Plan that outlines and prioritizes $122.4 million in expenditures the city would make in its public works, public property, and parks and recreation departments.

The five-year plan – for fiscal 2018-2022 – is designed to make the process of planning less chaotic and more effective than last year’s political conflict that resulted in Providence voters approving a $40 million bond issuance for capital improvements that will not be spent because the mayor and Providence City Council could not agree on a plan for how to spend it.

Among the highlights of the plan is a yearly expenditure of $10 million for road maintenance, repair and resurfacing, along with yearly outlays of $1.75 million and $2.2 million, respectively, for sidewalks, and sanitary sewers and stormwater management. All told, public works expenditures are projected to total $79.8 million.

In prepared remarks, Elorza said, “By outlining a 5-year plan, we can be proactive about repairs and maintenance, instead of waiting until things break to fix them. This plan achieves that goal and outlines the projects we need to invest in to keep our city strong from the ground up.”

- Advertisement -

The biggest chunk of the public property budget of $33.7 million, which largely consists of upgrades and repairs to fire stations, rec centers and the like, is $30 million allocated to building a new Department of Public Works complex. The parks and recreation budget of $9 million is to be used on 68 projects across the city that include resurfacing basketball courts and replacing playground equipment. Also included in the parks and rec budget is $1.3 million to replace the Central High School turf athletic field.

Not included in the CIP is infrastructure work being done at Providence Public Schools facilities, which are paid for out of a separate budget. Elorza noted that over the past two years, $13 million had been spent on school-related improvements in the schools, and an additional $10 million is expected to be spent in the next 12-18 months.

The plan was developed by the Department of Planning and Development and the Mayor’s Office and must then be evaluated by the City Plan Commission before being submitted to City Council.

The CIP then will be used in the creation of the fiscal 2018 budget. Council President Luis A. Aponte in prepared remarks said that “our hope is for a plan that understands and addresses the infrastructure needs of each neighborhood equitably, and we look forward to reviewing this plan at length once it’s presented.”

The mayor’s office noted that funding sources for capital improvements can come from many sources, including municipal bonds. The plan notes that beginning in fiscal 2019, the city will see significant debt service payments “fall off the books,” giving the city an opportunity to float bonds to fund a large portion of the work.

No posts to display