Voters will choose how to fund roads

PARIS — Residents will choose between two funding options for the first year of the town's proposed road plan, decided the Paris Board of Selectmen during its April 23 meeting.

Deciding how to fund the ambitious $5 million, 10-year plan has recently been a bone of contention for the board.

The board decided to revise the three options it originally planned to give Paris residents at the annual town meeting during its April 16 meeting.

Residents will now choose between a plan drawn up by the road committee to spend $489,000 plus 5 percent for inflation – $513,450 – or a plan to spend $400,000 brought forward by the budget committee.

The road committee's plan will be put on the town meeting warrant with a reccomendation from the board.

A third option, to borrow the money up front and complete the road work quickly that was brought to the board by Selectman Ted Kurtz, was abandoned.

"I have heard enough public comment about the bonding issue. I don't think it's a viable alternative," said board Chairman Robert Kirchherr.

In previous meetings, Kurtz said that borrowing around $5.46 million would allow the town to complete the road work within two to three years, and save the town money in the long run.

The plan has been criticized because it would lock the town into paying down that debt over a long period of time.

Kirchherr said that borrowing the money also concerned him because, if the project was fast-tracked, it might actually cost more, as it would require the town to hire private contractors.

He said that was a concern because the borrowed money could run out before the plan was completed.

Kirchherr stated that the road committee's plan was flexible enough so that the town could decide how much it wanted to spend on roads from year to year considering available funding.

Road Committee Chairman Robert Jewell said that the plan gave the town the freedom to borrow money to cover the cost for a given year.

Kurtz declared that the board would be disenfranchising the many people in Paris who wanted to see the roads fixed as soon as possible by not giving them the option of having the town borrow the money.

The board voted 4-1, with Kurtz voting against, to pass the two options onto residents at the town meeting.