SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) - Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen tells WHBL News city leaders are getting closer to figuring out how they will take on the task of improving all streets that need it.
Last month the Sheboygan Common Council found out it would take around 47 million dollars to complete all the needed projects associated with roadways in the city.
Vandersteen says discussions have been held regarding how to address this, and that has led to a possible plan to pay for projects over the next nine years. "The proposal that was presented calls for about 4.7 million dollars to 5.2 million dollars per year needing to be spent."
The first step towards this is the return of a wheel tax to the city, which will cost vehicle owners 20 dollars a year for each vehicle that is registered with the state. That is expected to raise around 800-thousand dollars.
There is a vote expected soon to allow for more funding using a current revenue source. "Not let the garbage fee sunset, keep it in place, but then apply it to road improvements," says Vandersteen.
That, plus the wheel tax, would total around two-million dollars. As for the rest; "We’d bond for an additional two million dollars a year, and then still keep about three-quarters of a million to a million in our budget as we have in the past for road improvement," says Vandersteen. "And that will give us a number that will allow us to really catch up with our roads across the city over a nine year period.”