Published: November 10, 2008 11:12 am      

Capital improvement projects add up

$63.4 million spent in past 10 years

DUNCAN — More than $63.4 million in taxpayer money has been spent on capital improvement projects, city reports show.

The amount reflects a 10-year period and covers a variety of departments including electric and public works.

City Manager Clyde Shaw said many of the higher-priced projects were undertaken as a result of unfunded mandates. Such projects include water treatment upgrades, which claims 23.8 percent, or $15 million.

“I think what gets lost most of the time is the amount of money that gets lost in unfunded mandates in water and sewer,” Shaw said. “And nobody can see that (directly), but that’s huge amounts of money we’re required to spend by other agencies.”

Upgrades to the water treatment and sewer treatment facilities are being paid for out of a stage-implemented rate increase for utility customers.

Other city projects, such as roads, the new library and construction at the airport, haven’t required rate increases or additional taxes.

Shaw noted that Duncan is unique among several other communities of similar size because a sales tax is dedicated to funding those areas.

“I really think we’re probably ahead of most cities, especially our size, because in Duncan the citizens approved a 1-cent sales tax for capital improvements in 1981,” he said. “With that penny, that’s how a number of these improvements are directly funded.”

Having a city-owned electric utility doesn’t hurt, either. Extra revenue from that source can be directed toward the city to help with city operations.

Making improvements isn’t only a functional issue, though.

Spending money on streets, buildings and new equipment not only continues to provide the city and its citizens with a higher quality of life, in some instances it can save money.

“Probably one of the things that was a tremendous benefit to the city, long range, was being able to move to a new facility for the library,” Shaw said. “The other one was a nice building, but it was too small and we were limited to what we could do in offer.

“The city has also kept their public safety equipment up to date. We’ve kept our fire equipment up to help keep fire insurance rates low. We continue to keep our electric system up to date and dependable.”

A new water tower for the north end of town will also ensure that residents have adequate supply for daily activities and emergency situations.

For these types of projects, the work being done and progress being made aren’t necessarily things people can see right away, Shaw noted. For instance, as long as the light turns on or water comes out of the faucet, all is considered good. But it’s constant system upgrades and improvements that make sure those simple needs are met.

“Things like that are not seen,” Shaw said. “Most people don’t recognize that as being there, but it’s important to the community.”