MISSOULA — The Missoula City Council on Monday night amended its sidewalk program in an effort to take some of the costs off individual property owners.
But doing so also passes more costs to the city, potentially diverting funding away from other transportation projects.
“We think sidewalks are obvious benefits to community. We hear a lot from neighborhoods that want more sidewalks and safer crossings,” said Ross Mullenhauer, the city's utility project manager. “But sidewalks are not cheap. We recognize that.”
The city over the past decade has made several changes to its sidewalk program. But as costs have increased in recent years, replacing old or building new sidewalks left some properties burdened by costs.
The latest changes address some of those concerns. Among other things, the city will lower the threshold for high-assessment deferrals from $6,000 to $3,500. It also agreed to increase the threshold for properties that qualify for deferred payment from 80% of the area median income to 120%.
A deferral enables an individual property owner to postpone the cost of the sidewalk until the property sells. At that point, the property owner will reimburse the city for the work.
“This lowers that bar so more people can take advantage of the differal option,” said Mullenhauer. “When you sell, you'll pay off the differal.”
While the changes enable more property owners to defer payment, it also transfers more of the costs onto the city. The city funds sidewalks through a number of funding sources, with the Road District being the primary source.
“Any time we talk about subsidizing further, it means we're taking more funds out of the Road District or anywhere else,” said council member Mirtha Becerra. “We have to think about what we're prioritizing and where the money is coming from.”
To compensate for deferred payments, the city will charge an interest rate equal to the current bond rate, plus 0.5%. Mullenhauer said that helps ensure the city doesn't lose money during the period of deferred payment.
While changes made to the city's sidewalk deferral program passed unanimously on Monday night, some believe the city should pay the entire cost.
“Sidewalks are public infrastructure and publicly owned. The government should pay the entire costs of sidewalks,” said council member Daniel Carlino. “I know we're taking more money out of the Road District, but as a council, we could decide to add more money onto sidewalks when it comes to the budgeting session.”
