Concord OKs extra funds for potholes
Council also talks about Measure Q extension in 2020
After hearing “gloom and doom” about the future of the city’s roads, the Concord City Council allocated an additional $400,000 for pothole repairs at the Feb. 26 meeting.
The council also discussed putting a one-cent sales tax on the November 2020 ballot to help with increasing budget issues.
The $400,000 was a one-time general fund residual because the city collected more than expected in fiscal year 2017-’18 from Measure Q, Concord’s half-cent sales tax.
Although Councilman Edi Birsan initially proposed using half the surplus for the City of Concord Retirement System, the council voted 5-0 to put all the funds into roads.
“I know that in the large volume of emails, the text messages and the in-person comments that I receive, overwhelmingly one of the top three issues in the city is related to the roads,” said Mayor Carlyn Obringer. “And people are looking for some immediate action on the part of the council.”
“I think it’s very clear and evident that our roadways, especially the potholes and some of these small little pavement failures areas, are irking our community,” said Councilwoman Laura Hoffmeister. “To some extent, these are the things we talked about trying to improve or keep up with when Measure Q was extended by the voters.”
The road to deterioration
The vote came after what Birsan called “a gloom and doom scenario” on the current condition of the city’s roads, along with maintenance costs for the next 20 years.
Joe Ririe of Pavement Engineering Inc. said most of the city’s roads are rated 60 out of 100 on the Pavement Condition Index (PCI). He calls 60 “the steepest slope of the deterioration curve.”
Given the city’s current spending and Measure Q expiring in 2025, Ririe said the roads could be at a PCI of 28 in 20 years. If Measure Q were increased to one cent, he estimated a 47 PCI in 20 years.
“There is not enough revenues out there to really make a significant improvement in PCI,” Hoffmeister said. “And we’re not the only city facing this. Statewide, there is an issue in infrastructure deterioration.”
Looking at sales tax hike
Karan Reid, Concord’s director of finance, discussed ways the city could combat the problem in the upcoming budget process. She outlined various plans to phase in more money for roads, parks, facilities and other unfunded needs. The proposals included a city vote to increase Measure Q to one cent in November 2020, with the new rate going into effect in April 2021.
“This is not a recommendation – this is just a modeling,” Reid said. “We’re not asking council to solve this problem tonight. This is prep work to look at budget stabilization measures.”
The next steps include a March 23 City Council goal-setting workshop and a May 14 council budget workshop. June 11 is the target for adopting a two-year operating budget and reviewing/amending the second year of the capital budget.
Meanwhile, several council members stressed the need for more public education about the budget issues and the possible extension of Measure Q.
“We failed by one vote last year to get Measure Q on (the ballot), and the criticism was that we had not prepared the people enough,” Birsan said. “So let us start now so that argument goes away.”
The council directed staff to immediately begin informing the community about the budget situation. “There will be much public outreach prior to the council making a decision on placing a revenue measure on the ballot for November 2020,” Reid told the Pioneer after the meeting.
Hoffmeister noted that Measure Q is just one option. “I’d like to hear if the public has any other ideas, given this scenario of needs and revenue streams.”
Bev Britton
Bev Britton graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota and moved to the Bay Area with her soon-to-be husband Jim in 1986. She was features editor at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek before becoming managing editor of the Contra Costa Sun in Lafayette in 1995. She retired from newsrooms in 2001, but an ad for the Clayton Pioneer drew her back in. The family moved to Lake Wildwood in the Gold Country a few years ago - but working at the Pioneer keeps her in touch with her old neighborhoods in Concord and Clayton.