PARIS — Voters at the June 16 town meeting will have three options on how to fund road improvements.
The town is set for about $5 million in road improvements over the next 10 years, according to a plan written by Town Manager Phil Tarr and Highway Foreman Dan Nowell. The Road Plan Committee recently recommended the town follow the plan without borrowing any money. The Budget Committee recommended cutting the first year’s improvement costs from $489,000 to $400,000.
To pay for repairs on dozens of roads in Paris over the coming years, the town can choose to vote for the plan as it was presented, with variable costs each year depending on the level of work scheduled. Another option would be to set road improvement costs at $400,000 per year for simpler budgeting.
The third option is to finance the project with a loan and do all repairs as quickly as possible before the price of gas and liquid asphalt increases.
In a presentation to the board and Paris residents at the April 9 meeting, Selectman Ted Kurtz said borrowing money to pay for the whole project upfront at 3-percent interest would save between $1 million and $4 million, depending on the rate of inflation for gasoline and liquid asphalt.
With 5 percent inflation in gas and asphalt prices, Kurtz calculated the project would cost $6.43 million over 10 years. At 10 percent, the total project could cost almost $9 million, he said. If the town borrowed the money at 3 percent interest and finished it in a year or two, the cost would be $5.46 million, Kurtz said last week.
Members of the Road Plan Committee, including Chairman Robert Jewell, say locking the town into a bond would force the costs on taxpayers in later years. Jewell said paying year-by-year gives the town the flexibility to put off road work in years when the town faces other costs.
The Board of Selectmen meets next at 7 p.m. Monday, April 23, at the Town Office.
treaves@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
