By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Road work and fire equipment are the big-ticket items in the city’s capital items wish list.

Councilors reviewed $8.2 million in proposed spending for fiscal year 2006 to buy new equipment and city vehicles and pay for road, sidewalk and sewer work. It’s part of the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Program plan.

“The first year is definitely more accurate,” City Manager Pat Finnigan said. She uses that first year of the plan to figure out where councilors want to spend the city’s money. Those decisions build the city’s budget.

“We use years two through five of the plan to show where we want to go long-term,” Finnigan said. “It’s a good forecast, but it is subject to change.”

Councilors are set to vote on the plan at their April 25 meeting.

The plan calls for about $3.6 million in general fund spending and about $4.5 million in borrowing through general obligation bonds.

“The wisdom of bonding some of that debt is that many of the people that will benefit from it are not here yet,” Finnigan said. “It makes sense to spread some of that tax burden out for some of those things that are going to be in use for a long time, like roads. The people now should not have to pay for all of it.”

Big-ticket items for fiscal year 2006 include $500,000 to purchase a new fire engine for the Center Street station. Fire Chief Wayne Werts said it would replace the Engine No. 5, which is a 1992 model with 113,000 miles on it.

Werts said the city also hopes to refurbish the Central Station’s out-of-service ladder truck. That would create a backup ladder truck, he said.

Police Chief Richard Small said his department hopes to retire seven police cruisers, replacing them with 2006 models. That would cost about $154,000, minus $52,500 in trade-in value.

“The upkeep on some of the older ones threatens to overtake some of the other costs,” he said.

Finnigan said the city also plans to spend $387,500 to upgrade to fire and sprinkler system at the Great Falls Performing Arts Center.

The Public Works Department budgeted $3.1 million in road, sidewalk and other city infrastructure improvements. That includes road paving projects, guardrail improvements and sidewalk repairs and replacements.

Block grant

Councilors also reviewed the spending plan for Community Development Block Grant money. Reine Mynahan, community development administrator, outlined a $1.49 million budget that would build parks and repair sidewalks in New Auburn, continue loan programs for small businesses and new homeowners, and provide some money to area service agencies.

Mynahan also gave councilors a draft of the five-year CDBG plan. That plan identifies how block grant money will be spent through 2009.