When crafting its annual budget, the city of Durango must balance a long list of proposed expenditures against a much smaller list of available funds. Doing so requires careful study and prioritizing what the city needs – not just wants – to invest in, all while ensuring that the various funding streams are being properly allocated. It is far from simple, and the city largely completes the task satisfactorily each year. Now is the time to help City Council and staff gauge what residents’ priorities are.
In its proposed budget for 2015, the city has earmarked funding for capital-improvement projects ranging from necessary to desirable. There are arguments to be made for each of these – including an alley paving project, a new stoplight at College Drive and East Eighth Avenue, Animas River Trail repair, general street improvement and incentivizing businesses to invest in improved accessibility for those with disabilities. Behind each argument, though, is a line item that the city must consider in the larger budgetary context. That is where the draft budget needs adjustment.
Take the stoplight at College and Eighth Avenue. While the intersection is not necessarily ideal, Durango is increasingly known for its funky traffic patterns. Replacing the light, to the tune of $600,000, might go further than is necessary – particularly when the alley-paving project, for which the city proposes to invest just $200,000 in the first year, would require residents to pay half of the cost for what is ultimately a city responsibility. Those items are incongruously budgeted.
Meanwhile, City Manager Ron LeBlanc is proposing an end to the city’s free trolley rides, suggesting instead a $1 fee for the service. While the city is concerned about the trolley’s drag on its transportation budget, the service is a critical one for city residents and visitors alike. Tourists can access the Central Business District conveniently via the trolley, leaving their cars at hotels and easing the notorious downtown parking strain. More important in terms of community investment, though, is the trolley’s function as a transportation option for Durango’s young people and those without vehicles of their own. Adding a $1 fee for these populations is likely to be onerous to the point of limiting the trolley’s accessibility for those who need it most. While others use the trolley in place of driving, and could presumably afford the fee, investing in the service for those who cannot is an important statement – with real implications – that the city should make. Doing so will not break the bank.
The city budget is not final, and residents should weigh in on these and other priorities in the coming weeks. There will be a public hearing Nov. 4. It is worth attending.
