Superior Mayor Proposes 'Ambitious' Budget Proposals

Members of the Superior City Council have some decisions to make as Mayor Jim Paine submits his budget proposals for review and a final vote. In their packets they'll find two proposals and a surplus spending plan when they convene for their September 1 meeting; those two budget proposals specifically involve the city's police department. There are also line items to improve city services for the general public.

Superior Mayor Jim Paine calls it the "most ambitious budget proposal of my administration; this is the biggest policy we pass all year". News sources detail the specifics; the proposals include:

Plans to hire a social worker for the Superior Police Department
An additional $10,000 increase in spending for police training
Hiring additional park crew to help with trail construction and maintenance
Additional crew to aid in clearing snow and ice from sidewalks along Superior's "safe routes" to school in the winter months
Removing late fees charged by the Superior Public Library - which will return library services to hundreds of people
A proposal for spending surplus revenue

In regards to the park system, the city would allocate almost $5.7 million in funding to be used for improvements. As far as the snow removal, it follows through on a promise that the Mayor has made to not have kids walking on snow banks or in the street. (Although snow removal is always a concern in the Northland, last winter's early heavy snow storms brought the issue to the spotlight).

As far as the surplus revenue, sources show that Paine is recommending creating a Strategic Reserve using "about $385,468 in revenue left over form the 2019 budget to improve the fiscal health of the city. It [would] eliminate deficits in...liability insurance and illegal taxes funds, and seed them with $50,000 each, set aside revenue for a property tax revaluation fund, and offset revenue lost in 2020 from the hotel/motel fund".

While the agenda for the September 1 meeting of the Superior City Council includes these budgetary proposals, the mayor doesn't anticipate direct action at that time; the meeting will mark the first chance that councilors will have to see and react to the proposals.