QuickTake:

Councilors said community members are concerned about local roads. Staff said that while bond funds have gone toward collector and arterial streets, the city hasn't been able to keep up with maintenance on local streets.

Springfield City Council may have to decide which services to cut from the city’s street fund. 

The operating fund, which supports maintenance of Springfield roads, faces a deficit as costs outpace revenues, according to Jeff Paschall, community development director. 

Between fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the city cut $550,000 from its street fund by keeping positions vacant, reducing spending on materials and services, and moving a program and positions from the street fund to the wastewater and stormwater funds.

“We can manage it really for one more year, FY28, and then reserves are just not going to keep pace,” Paschall said during a City Council work session Monday, Oct. 26. 

The city’s road fund faced funding pressures during the past two decades, according to a Paschall memo to the council.

Federal Secure Rural School funding distributed through the county began declining in 2001 and about $1 million in annual county road-fund pass-through revenue ended in 2007, “effectively eliminating the City’s ongoing pavement preservation program,” the memo states. 

The five-year forecast shows the operating street fund having a projected beginning deficit of $172,000 for fiscal year 2030 and growing to a deficit of $1.4 million the next year. 

Paschall said he was looking to the council for guidance on potential service cuts and new revenue ideas as staff prepares the fiscal year 2028 budget.

In looking at the forecast, Councilor Jill Cuadros pointed out an $837,000 discrepancy between the fiscal year 2026 ending fund balance and fiscal year 2027 beginning balance. Paschall said staff would check the figures. 

“I think we are still facing some tough decisions within the street fund, or looking at what do we do with our revenue streams, and where do we look to diversify?” Paschall said. 

Paschall said that while the capital street fund has a fiscal year 2027 projected ending balance of $35 million, less than $500,000 is discretionary. Remaining funds are dedicated to specific projects, such as bond funds, that must be used for certain streets. 

Voters passed a bond measure in 2018 and again in 2024 for street repairs, with funds tied to specific projects. 

“We’ve done a really good job with the bonds of getting our road index rating up,” Paschall said, noting that work has benefited collector and arterial streets. “The one thing we haven’t been able to do is really keep up on our local streets.”

“So that could be a conversation for the council should they choose to look at another bond of targeting local streets with that bond,” he added.

Councilor Andrew Buck said one thing he’s hearing from community members is “while it’s great that Mill Street got taken care of and some of our other streets are getting taken care of, people are really clear about the street in front of their house that’s not taken care of.”

The council did not make any decisions on cuts but asked Paschall to return to a future meeting with a pavement-condition map and cost estimates, as well as a state transportation funding update. 

In other business

  • Business license code update: Staff recommended removing 12 outdated business license types; eliminating city background checks for marijuana businesses because state background checks already occur; and eliminating garage sale permits due to administrative burden and public dissatisfaction. The topic will come back for a public hearing. 
  • Risk management report: Staff said a five-year lookback shows a downward trend starting in general liability claims and a reduction in workers compensation claims during the last three years. Property coverage premiums rose due to increases in property values from an appraisal and workers compensation premiums are expected to continue to increase with payroll.