Cuts to Road, Alleyway, Police Facility Funding Necessary to Pay for Sewer Repairs

Due to needed sewer repairs in Shorewood, the village says it has to cut back on road and alley reconstruction and the amount it plans to pay on a new police facility in its long-range plans.

In all, it will cut $7.6 million in general capital projects it funds through the tax property tax levy because of the needed .

Village Manager Chris Swartz said he hated to remove the $1.75 million the village had planned for alley reconstruction, but didn't think the village could justify levying special assessments for that work right now.

“We have to look at priorities and to make sure our priorities are such that we don’t hurt ourselves long term,” Swartz said.

Other cuts in the capital improvement plan include reducing spending for a new police facility from $4 million to $2.5 million and cutting a $12 million road program by $4.5 million.

Other general capital projects are done deals, including $135,000 for renovations on a roof for a Department of Public Works building that a contract has been awarded for already, $400,000 the board has proposed for startup costs for a joint North Shore dispatch center and $184,779 for capital improvements for the North Shore Fire Department station.

While Swartz explained a lot of street repairs will take place when sewer work is conducted in the area, trustees Jeff Hanewall and Ellen Eckman said at a meeting Monday that there are streets, including East Olive Street and East Jarvis Street, that desperately need repairs and may not see the attention with a cut in funding.

The long-range plan, which plans out projects to 2021, includes $103 million in new dollars for sewer projects. Village officials earlier this month unveiled a plan to spend $71 million on sewer work over the next 30 years.

Swartz said the capital improvement numbers will be further refined and could go up or down.