County weighs capital budget
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 8, 2015 1:46 PM
A proposed $39 million five-year capital improvement will be considered by Wayne County commissioners as they work on budget deliberations.
The bulk of the proposed cost, slightly more than $27 million, would be in 2015-16.
Of that total, $16 million is for the proposed new agriculture/convention center and $6.7 million for a new 911E call center.
The $27 million is included in the proposed 2015-16 budget, County Manager George Wood said.
The other four years are a plan showing the proposed timing of projects and equipment and the revenue sources to pay for them, he said.
Most of the funding for the projects will come from the county budget's general fund, which contains the funding for most county departments. Wood said.
Grants and financing will be needed as well, he said.
The county's plan for a new $10 million satellite jail on North William Street is not included in the proposal since commissioners already have earmarked the money in a capital fund for the project.
Also bids for the project are expected within the next month.
The plan also does not include renovation or construction needed for the Department of Social Services and Health Department.
"Neither project is at a design stage where realistic cost estimates can be made," Wood said. "It also does not include funding for renovation/construction of adult and juvenile probation offices.
"All of these are needed improvement, but again we are not far enough into planning to determine realistic costs. The (commission's) Facilities Committee is working on a master facilities plan. All four of these needs will be addressed in that plan."
The plan will be recast each year over the next four years as the county obtains clear cost estimations for those projects, Wood said.
More than likely those projects will be financed over a 20-year period to reduce the strain on the county budget, Wood said.
He also reminded commissioners that the county is constantly reducing what is already a low debt and that by fiscal year 2020 the county's debt service will have declined by more than $2 million annually.
"That will free up money to help offset these added expenses," Wood said.
The county's decision not to renew a lease with Eastpointe for three flours of office space at the Borden building also will factor into the needs of the Heath Department and DSS.
DSS already occupies three floors at the Borden building. Not renewing the Eastpointe lease will open up 48 offices for use.
Other projects for 2015-16 include:
* $618,000 for ambulance replacement and $174,473 for cardiac monitor replacement in the Emergency Medical Department
* $260,000 for exterior renovations at the facilities maintenance building
* $882,600 for computer server virtualization infrastructure replacement
* $351,876 for vehicle and equipment replacement and $250,557 for in-car and body cameras for the Sheriff's Office
* $375,000 for an excavator and $300,000 for a material handler for the Solid Waste Department
* $170,000 for an approach lighting system and $335,000 to purchase 35 acres for the Wayne Executive Jetport.