The Montgomery City Council on Tuesday night unanimously voted in favor of Mayor Steven L. Reed’s landmark initiative to reinvest $50 million in capital projects, spanning neighborhoods, community centers, public safety infrastructure, public transportation and more.
The proposal was announced Monday by Reed and is made possible by the City’s success in advantageously restructuring existing municipal debt.
In a press release following the city council vote, Reed also thanked the City’s Finance Department and its director, Betty Beville, for working to solidify the municipality’s fiscal footing even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to proactive fiscal planning, the City did not initiate layoffs, touch its reserves or draw on lines of credit.
“We made a promise to put in place the foundation needed for a safer, more equitable and vibrant Montgomery,” Reed stated. “Tonight, I am happy to announce our Montgomery City Council members pledged to join us in securing this vision. The Council’s decision will determine Montgomery’s trajectory for the next decade and beyond. These projects will further our work to create a city that expands opportunity for everyone.”
The initiative will fund signature capital improvements that include a new fire station at the intersection of Court St. and W. Fairview Avenue and a new multipurpose community center that Reed pledged will “rival any space of its kind in the state, if not in the region.”
Other long-needed capital projects that are slated to come to fruition as a result of Reed’s leadership include: new sanitation trucks, facility improvements to community centers, and electric vehicles to streamline efficiency and operations in the City’s public transit system.
The funding cannot be used to supplement employee salaries or adjust pay scales.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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