07/23/2007 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • some city roads have not received any type of life- extending maintenance since the 70's or 80's, and are in poor condition. Statement #6: The streets continue to deteriorate because of lack of reconstruction. Verdict: Fiction! Reconstruction is only performed on a road that the city considers as beyond its useful life. The only way to forestall deterioration is with timely maintenance (see #5, above). Statement #7: If left unchanged, the Charter will cost the city $11,000,000.00 over 10 years. Verdict: Fiction! The eleven million dollars is actually the estimated cost of the city not having a preventative maintenance policy (see #5), and is taken from the 2004 proposal that led to the adoption of our current "pavement management plan." The Charter merely gives residents veto power over some reconstruction projects. It has always given full power to the city council to maintain roads, so this claim is fraudulent. If the public votes against a project, the city can bring that project back again after a 1 -year waiting period. And unless the city changes the scope of the project, the work to be done is exactly the same as before. The Charter doesn't cost taxpayers dollars, it saves them. Statement #8: The Charter will bring a "tsunami" tax burden disaster to our $100 million roadway system. Verdict: Fiction! This claim is already answered in #'s 4 -6 above. Proponents of a change to the Charter continue to blur preventative maintenance with road improvements or reconstruction. The Charter doesn't restrict the city council's ability to maintain roads, the city council does. The Charter merely allows for neighborhood and taxpayer approval of "improvements," and when the taxpayers vote against a project, this merely delays expenditures and puts pressure on the city to come up with a better, possibly lower -cost project. Statement #9: The voters may be asked to change the City Charter. Verdict: Fact! However, at the time of this writing, it is unknown if a measure will be on the ballot this November. The Charter Commission asks that all voters follow this matter carefully, because a ballot question may include the surrender of residents' rights to limit city spending on road reconstruction projects. Approved this July 19, 2007 by the Lino Lakes Charter Commission