SALEM Less money available for improvements

Street repaving and bridge repairs are all that's on the city's summer projects schedule.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- City officials are cutting back on capital improvement projects this year in response to sagging income tax revenues.
Plans call for spending about $201,000 on two projects. Generally, the city puts about $350,000 annually into undertakings aimed at improving or maintaining the city's infrastructure, Service Director Joe Julian said recently.
The poor economy has sapped revenues generated by the city's 1 percent income tax. That has left less money available for capital improvements, which are funded by the taxes.
Last year, the income tax produced $3,659,509. In 2000, it brought in $3,713,009. Nearly $3.9 million was generated in 1999, city records show.
Further eroding the funds available for capital improvements was a decision by city council earlier this year to lower the percentage of income tax set aside for improvements.
The capital improvements fund now gets 25 percent of income taxes, with the remaining 75 percent going into the general fund.
Previously, the split was 35 percent capital improvements and 65 percent general fund.
In altering the sharing formula, city officials decided that they needed more income taxes going into the general fund to provide more dollars for operating expenses.
Road repaving
With the amount available this year for capital improvements, the city intends to use about $166,000 to repave parts of five city streets.
The repaving will begin in midsummer and will be finished in about two weeks, Julian said.
About $35,000 will be spent to make repairs to the West State Street overpass.
Plans call for fixing crumbling curbs and sinking sidewalks on the span. Also included will be the repair of catch basins for storm water.
Total cost of the project is about $95,000. Federal funding will pay for all but the city's $35,000 share, Julian explained.
Work is expected to start in midsummer and be finished in September.
Traffic on the bridge, which is part of a primary route through the city, will be mostly maintained. But there may be days when it will have to be detoured, Julian said.