From the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Fort Wayne has now officially set aside its money to pave streets and remove dead trees.
The City Council on Tuesday approved allotting $5 million for those infrastructure projects from money received because of the state’s most recent accounting error.
Specifically, the council approved $3.5 million in county-option income taxes for road work and $1.5 million in county economic development income taxes for ash trees – providing a vital cash infusion for a strapped city budget.
Deputy Controller Valerie Ahr told the council the city had been expecting to spend only $2 million total on road infrastructure this year before the error surfaced.
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The nearly tripling of the city’s road budget will allow many more residential street projects to be completed this year, and crews have already begun several.
City officials previously said the money will allow the city to do about the same number of road projects as in 2011.
State officials in April said a programming error cost local governments $206 million in local-option income tax revenue in 2011 and early 2012, meaning $15.6 million in unexpected revenue will flow to governments within Allen County this year. Of that, $8.5 million will go to Fort Wayne.
Mayor Tom Henry has said he would like to use $420,000 of the money for gateway improvements, but he has not announced plans for the remainder.
The $1.5 million for ash trees was supposed to cover the cost to remove 4,500 dead ash trees along city streets, but parks officials were able to get a contract to have the work done for $586,610.
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http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120627/LOCAL/306279998/0/SEARCH
