Wichita city council will be taking up their newest Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) at their August 7, 2007 meeting. The proposal from staff includes spending $290 million for a remodel of Century II as well as over $25 million for downtown arena parking and related traffic changes.

Only eight bridges are listed totalling 2.2% of the proposed $2.4 billion in spending over 10 years in this proposal. That's only $52.3 million (see p. 1 2007-16 Proposed CIP) or slightly less than 1/4 of all spending on public facilities, parks, and recreation in this proposal (almost $550 million). This is a remarkably small number in light of the list of 46 bridges listed as deficient in Sedgwick County in the August 6, 2007 Wichita Eagle article.

A number of the 46 area bridges listed in the August 6 Wichita Eagle article are outside Wichita city limits but roughly half are inside Wichita city boundaries. In addition, there does not appear to be any provision for bridges that could become deficient within the next 10 years in this spending plan.

It is important for the news media to recall that Kansas gasoline taxes are already the second highest in our five state region (KS and surrounding states) behind only Nebraska. Kansas gasoline taxes are roughly 50 percent higher today than in Missouri and Oklahoma at a 25 cents a gallon.

Local governments in Kansas (including counties as well as cities) receive some of this tax funding for local road and bridge projects. The city of Wichita's proposed 2008 budget projects receiving revenues of $29.5 million in motor vehicle and motor fuel tax revenues (p. 17 of 2008 city budget) next year.

Kansas is nearing the end of a massive ten year highway spending plan that was approved in 1999. Bond payments to pay off this plan will extend out over 20 more years for this spending program. Kansans are still paying off the bonds from the 1980's era highway spending program too. State spending on highways in the Wichita area will be in addition to city as well as Sedgwick County's road and bridge spending proposals too.

"There is a problem with the capital spending proposal at city hall with more than six times as much money for downtown arena parking and remodeling Century II than for keeping our bridge's safe," said Karl Peterjohn, executive director Kansas Taxpayers Network. "Fortunately, bridge failures like the recent collapse in Minnesota are quite rare but the public deserves to see basic governmental functions properly maintained. Safety is important. Bridges should not be ignored or overlooked within these massive spending proposals. Wichita's CIP proposal is troublesome since high visibility recreational facilities seem to have a much higher priority than basic functions like bridge and road maintenance."