The City of Sacramento says it is has road improvement projects and maintenance to complete, but there is less money available to pay for those items compared to previous years.
The Department of Public Works says the city received $15.3 million in gas tax allocations three years ago. It expects to receive $5.5 million less in the next fiscal year.
The city says changes to how taxes are calculated at the state level and more fuel-efficient vehicles are to blame.
Leyne Milstein is the Director of the Finance Department.
"We still have to maintain this very basic infrastructure that gets folks from point A to point B and is sort of at the heart of delivering the economics of a region," she says.
Millstein says the city has failed to invest what was required for maintenance in the past. She says the loss of taxes is hurting city efforts to improve local streets.
The city has a $150 million backlog for pavement maintenance.
The budget proposal for the next fiscal year calls for about $2 million for road repairs. The city's Capital Improvement Program will be presented to the city council Tuesday. The plan includes $57 million dollars in the next fiscal year and more than $160 million over the next five years.
Millstein says about one-quarter of next year's expenditures would go to fire protection and water conservation.
"We hope that the additional $4.5 million that is proposed to be included for the replacement of fire stations 14 and 15 is enough to get us across the finish line in replacing critical infrastructure. As well, it continues the acceleration of the water-meter-installation program."
If approved, the city also would pay for a study of all city facilities.
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