Houghton City Council Approves 2015-16 Budget & Capital Improvement Plan

The Houghton City Council approved the city’s 2015-16 projected budget at Wednesday’s regular meeting.

This is the second year city manager Eric Waara has worked on the budget and he says although there are not many changes, each year still presents its own challenges.

Some of those items include road paving and the hiring of an additional officer for the Houghton Police Department.

Many small communities struggle with making ends meet financially but Houghton seems to hold their own year after year.

Waara said a lot of that credit goes back to the former city manager Scott MacInnes.

The new budget takes effect on July 1st.

The Houghton City Council also passed their “wish list”, otherwise known as the Capital Improvement Plan.

The plan details proposed projects and costs through the year 2021.

Included in the plan are major road projects like the reconstruction of Montezuma Avenue but City Manager Eric Waara says there are other projects that residents will be more excited about.

 

Funding agencies like to take a look at a city’s plan when deciding whether to grant money for a project.

 

Here is a link to the 2015-16 Budget:

http://www.cityofhoughton.com/hearings/251.pdf

Here is a link to the Capital Improvement Plan:

http://www.cityofhoughton.com/hearings/254.pdf