The Common Council approved a $312 million budget Thursday night on a 7–2 vote, holding the property tax rate flat for a third consecutive year while doubling the city’s paving budget to $14 million — the largest single-year road investment in city history.
Mayor Ellis Nakamura, who proposed the plan in April, called it “a maintenance budget in the best sense — we are finally maintaining things.” The paving surge targets 63 lane-miles, with a published street list due from the Department of Public Works by July 1.
Where the money goes
The budget’s biggest line items break down as follows:
- $14 million for street paving and sidewalk repair, up from $7.1 million
- $6.2 million to fully staff two long-vacant fire companies on the south side
- $3.5 million for the lead-pipe replacement match required by the state
- $1.8 million in new funding for the library system’s Sunday hours pilot
Councilors Pat Whelan and Dora Estevez cast the two no votes, both citing the budget’s reliance on $9 million in one-time reserves. “We are paving roads with money we can only spend once,” Whelan said during the floor debate.
A harder year ahead
The city’s final tranche of federal recovery aid expires in December, and early projections show a $17 million gap for next year. Budget director Sonia Reyes told councilors her office will present gap-closing options in the fall, including a review of the city’s 41 tax-exempt payment agreements.
The new fiscal year begins July 1.
