Cahill has asked the City Council to approve a transfer of $1.5 million from the city’s free cash balance into the City Hall rehabilitation capital project fund. He said that money will be used to hire a project manager and a design team to come up with a plan that will help determine how much it will cost and how long it will take to do the job.
City Councilor Hannah Bowen said at Monday night’s council meeting that she agrees that the city should tackle the project now. But she also said she is “really nervous” about the $1.5 million figure to start the project.
“Could we, for example, spend $500,000 of free cash front-loading this project to get it up and running this year and have $1 million in free cash for some of the other priorities like, for instance, sidewalks?” Bowen said.
Bryant Ayles, the city’s finance director, said paying cash for projects at the start reduces future borrowing costs.