Is the City Council saving New Bedford taxpayers $7.65 million? Road work is at stake.
NEW BEDFORD — Penny-wise and pound-foolish?
That's a question raised by critique of the full City Council's reluctance to approve a $7.65 million loan order for bond-funded projects in the past two months.
The city needs the council's OK before it can seek bids for the work because the city has to show it has the money on hand to cover the amount before taking on the debt.
The request to cover the $7.85 million to be bonded to fund ongoing city repair projects — including $3 million in road work — has failed to pass in two consecutive City Council meetings. The council did vote to reduce the total to $7.65 million, however.
The loan order is in keeping with the city's Capital Improvement Program, a rolling five-year, constantly updated plan to maintain city assets. The city began the CIP in 2014.
The administration described the work as "critically needed."
The annual request was late this year - usually the request comes around the time the new fiscal year budget is announced in May.
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So the council agreed to hold a special meeting on June 29 to consider it to speed the process, following a two-hour committee discussion on the request.
The board OK'd the loan order after cutting the $200,000 in an 8-2 vote.
The loan order's passage stalls
But attempts to pass the now $7.65 million loan order, which requires three readings before the full board, failed on July 20 and Aug. 17. A loan order requires a super-majority of eight votes to pass.
Councilor Naomi Carney has consistently voted against passage, saying taxpayers deserve a "pause" on any new burdens, though she acknowledged that the city retires debt at the same time new debt is taken on.
Carney said during the June meeting, "I understand critical needs but there is a critical need for taxpayers trying to put food on the table, trying to pay bills."
She said sewer rates are going up, as are taxes. She said the city needed to "take a pause for a year."
The full council failed to pass a second reading July 20 in a 5-3 vote, short of the eight affirmative votes needed.
And it failed to pass it on a second reading again Aug. 17, coming slightly closer with a 6-3 vote.
Because the council also OK'd a reconsideration, the loan order request can still be considered active and come back before the board at its Sept. 14 meeting, according to an administration official.
What are the projects at stake
This loan order would provide funding for nine items:
$3 million for roads and infrastructure. Jamie Ponte, commissioner of the Dept. of Public Infrastructure, said it would fund the city's in-house, road-repair program, which began in 2017. That program provides road-repair money in addition to annual state aid. "It's allowed the department to expand upon its pavement management plan and each year we seem to be improving on the amount of roads we can touch. Last year we had a banner year of about six miles of road that was done with this funding." Mayor Jon Mitchell said, “The condition of the city’s roads is far and a way the most frequent infrastructure concern expressed to me by residents. That is why, for the first time ever, my administration began in 2017 to include road funding in its rolling five year capital plan, rather than simply relying on state assistance provided to cities and towns for roadwork. By committing to annual funding for street repairs, we’re starting to catch up after years of insufficient investment. So it is highly discouraging that a few councilors have come to believe that we should delay for a year our road investments and thereby potentially lose an entire construction season. Like a leaky roof, it’s a problem that only gets more expensive the longer it’s ignored.”
$750,000 for Zeiterion Theater renovation work to bring it up to state building code requirements. Rosemary Gill, Zeiterion president and CEO, said the money will supplement the $30 million to $32 million renovation project of the 100-year-old, city-owned building, which includes $8 million raised privately, $7 million in city and state ARPA funds, as well as state and federal historic tax credits. Council President Linda Morad had motioned to cut $750,000 with the Zeiterion funding in mind, but that did not pass.
$690,000 for Buttonwood Zoo renovations. Zoo Director Gary Lunsford said much of that money is for improvements to the maintenance shop that will help in performing in-house repair work and for vehicle storage. Some money will go toward generators. Jennifer Vieira, director of the Department of Facilities and Fleet Management, said the work included items under the American with Disabilities Act that will need to be completed for the Zoo's accreditation. Lunsford said they'll need to be ready for inspection next June-July.
$125,000 for the Mobile Command Center donated by the Bristol County Sheriff's Dept. Police Chief Paul Oliveira said the vehicle was in "excellent condition," and would replace the city's current dilapidated, beyond-repair command center. A post-COVID estimate for a new model was $1.6 million, he said. The $125,000 will go toward replacing the vehicle's phones and computers, which were removed by the Sheriff's Office. "I don't see why it can't last for 10 years," Oliveira said. It will be used in emergency police situations, but also at events, and for community outreach. "We're not going to mark it up as a command center. It will be used for multiple things."
$250,000 for City Hall's vintage elevator. Department of Facilities and Fleet Management Director Vieira said the elevator was built in 1906, and replacement parts are no longer available. Replacement parts have to be re-manufactured, which is expensive, she said. The work will replace these parts with more modern, more easily replaceable components, she said. The total for the last bid on the job was $1,149,906. The $250,000 is needed to reach that amount, with some money already budgeted. The job will have to be re-bid, the old bid having become too dated.
$350,000 for deferred City Hall maintenance. Department of Facilities and Fleet Management Director Vieira said the money will be used to renovate City Hall's third floor men's and women's bathrooms. The low bid was initially $431,669, and the $350,000 would bring the job's budget to that amount. Council President Linda Morad thought the price was too high and joked, "Are you putting gold toilets in there?" Vieira said $100,000 of the money would also go toward repointing a portion of City Hall's exterior. The bathrooms also have to be brought up to ADA code. Morad's motion to cut $200,000 from the original $7.85 million loan order was approved, bringing it to the $7.65 million figure. Morad had reducing this item in mind by that amount, she said. The board can cut the total requested but not specify from which item.
$2,300,000 for the city yard campus project. Department of Facilities and Fleet Management Director Vieira said the money is needed to supplement funding for the larger city garage renovation project. The project was first proposed for 2020 but the cost has since increased and the additional money is needed before rebidding.
$215,000 for the Hillman Street complex renovations. Department of Facilities and Fleet Management Director Vieira said the money was for a ramp to provide handicap access closer to handicap parking on the street. Once again that money is needed to supplement money already budgeted to bring the total to the estimated cost of $385,000. Vieira said the city is under a mandate to have the job done by June 2024.
$170,000 for the South Public Safety Center Annex. Department of Facilities and Fleet Management Director Vieira said the money is needed to fully complete rehabilitation work for the former dentist's office that currently houses fire prevention and animal control.
Many of these projects have been ongoing and require the additional funding to proceed or to be completed.
Chief financial officer says projects are affordable
New Bedford interim Chief Financial Officer Mike Gagne said, "We can't go out to bid and get actual final prices until the legislative body, the city council, approves the appropriation."
And many of the items - like the road work - are seasonally dependent, he said.
It takes six to eight weeks to go through the process to advertise, bid and review proposals.
That means the city could be starting outdoor work in early November if the council OK'd the appropriation today, he said.
There are three affordability indicators set up to gauge a CIP project's financial viability - outstanding debt as a percentage of per capita income, outstanding debt as a percentage of assessed valuation, and annual debt service as a percentage of the General Fund operating budget.The city is well within those indicators under the current proposed loan order, he said.
Gagne said the Standard & Poor's credit rating agency also requires a capital management program in place like New Bedford's.
"Because if you don't have one and let assets deteriorate the cost will get bigger and bigger," Gagne said.
"They consider that poor management and poor planning. Those are the old days. We don't operate under that system."
City can't take a year off
Gagne added, "The notion that we're going to take a year off defeats the whole purpose of having a capital plan. Most of the projects on this year's list are continuations of projects that are already underway. By taking a year off you unravel the entire planning process."
Those managing the city's capital improvement program meet once a month with city department heads to review building and infrastructure conditions to manage the CIP and keep it current, Gagne said.
He said the three affordability indicators provide a fact-based analysis to the question: Is this affordable?
The answer to the question, he said, is: "Yes, it is."
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Delay in OK'ing loan order could cost New Bedford, say officials
