Bend lays out new priorities in $695 million budget
Changes are on the horizon for Bend as city councilors approved a two-year $695 million dollar budget Wednesday night.
Sharon Wojda, finance director for the city, talked to NewsChannel 21 earelier Wednesday about what we can expect for the money.
“A strong focus on transportation, both transportation infrastructure projects, as well as street maintenance,” she said. “(There is) about $2.5 million more dedicated to street maintenance than we had in the previous biennium.”
Streets were such a high priority, existing funds were reworked to put as much as possible toward them.
“There was a portion that was reallocated from getting some more flexibility with the use of the transient room tax,” Wojda said, “and the fire department for one time for the upcoming biennium has dedicated $200,000 per year.”
The target level for general funds will also be lowered, making the total going toward road maintenance $5.2 million.
Preparing Bend for growth also tops the list. The city will spend nearly $60 million on sewer projects, and the City Council also is discussing longer-term plans for traffic congestion relief and pedestrian improvements.
Wojda said the challenge of this budget cycle has been using about the same amount of revenue to address the needs of a growing population.
The 2017-2019 budget proposal can be found here:
