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Council looks at possible cuts in state aid, growth problemsBy Joel Stottrup Planning for growth beyond the city's borders, and bracing for possible cuts in state aid, were two main topics at the Princeton City Council study session last Thursday. The council usually has a study session each month to spend time on topics that might otherwise lengthen regular council meetings. Some of the study session topics have already been brought up at regular council meetings, as was the case Thursday. At a previous meeting the council had talked about having engineering firm WSB study what kind of oversizing of utility mains, such as sewer, should be done to accommodate growth that could occur on the city's edges and beyond. WSB had made a proposal to study the oversizing needs for about $30,000. When the council first discussed the proposal, council member Lee Steinbrecher asked if the study couldn't save some money by using some of the data in a feasibility study that the engineering firm SEH had done. The SEH study was about what kind of utility main sizes to use for commercial and industrial development in a 400-acre area on the city's west edge. It includes the so-called Hatch property between First Street and Highway 95 that lies west of the Highway 169 bypass, some land to the north of Highway 95, and a small area south of First Street and east of the airport area. The WSB study would not address so much the specifications on where to lay mains but how big to oversize them to accommodate development that has not yet occurred beyond the city's borders, but theoretically could, said interim City Administrator Steve Jackson last week. The idea is not to have to dig up streets and mains to replace them with bigger lines later because there was inadequate planning for the future, Jackson said. Jackson indicated the council could decide today (Thursday) whether or not to have WSB do the proposed study. Budget worries With the governor and state lawmakers looking at how the state can make up for a deficit of more than $4 billion in the next two fiscal years, the council began talking about the "what ifs." What if, for example, the state either reduced or eliminated the approximately $625,000 state aid the city has been counting on in a year. Plus, there are other smaller state aids and no one knows yet what the state might cut in assistance to municipalities, Jackson said. "We've heard anything from 16 percent to 40 percent," Jackson said about what the state could cut in such assistance. The idea is to plan in case the city becomes such a target, Jackson added. How bad would a cut of the entire $625,000 be for Princeton? That would equal 25 percent of the city's budget, Jackson answered. The council, as a result, began talking at the study session of contingency planning, including potential revenue enhancements, as Jackson put it. One idea the council looked at would be to sell cigarettes at the city's off-sale liquor store for the first time. Each council member was given an assignment to return to council chambers with ideas for helping the city financially if there are cutbacks in state aid. Jackson expects the assignments would be called in at the Feb. 27 meeting. Princeton Union-Eagle |