The Grand Forks City Council's Finance and Development Committee voted 3-0 recommending a plan to spend a $2 million in city surplus funds from 2014 on Monday night.
The plan includes funding several minor construction projects and setting aside more than $1 million to offset a potential drop in revenue this year.
"I think they're all good project,s and I think they're all projects that need to be done," council member Jeannie Mock said. "Whether it happens in 2016 or 2017, it just frees up revenue for other projects that are a little lower on the priority list."
The committee voted in favor of remodeling men's and women's locker rooms used by the Grand Forks Police Department, remodeling restrooms at two fire stations and planning to create an internal exit inside City Hall that should make evacuation easier in the case of an emergency. Those projects total $385,000.
Additionally, the city plans to spend $400,000 on an upgrade to the 911 computer-aided dispatch system, which 911 Center Supervisor Shannon LaHaise explained will help provide more information to emergency responders more quickly.
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"(It's) our central nervous system," she said after the meeting. "That is how we monitor all activity, and we track all responders. That is how we communicate with them ... the upgrade is going to allow us to have more contact with them."
The remaining $1.2 million is expected to be saved pending unclear revenues during the 2016 fiscal year, City Administrator Todd Feland said, adding the high 2014 revenue numbers were spurred by healthy state funding and local tax dollars.
Earlier this month, Gov. Jack Dalrymple ordered many state agencies to cut budgets by 4 percent to meet a looming $1 billion state budget shortfall.
The matter will require approval from the full City Council before any money is spent.
Other Business
The committee also voted 3-0 to approve arts funding recommendations made by the North Valley Arts Council, which handles the city's arts regranting program.
This year, the city disbursed nearly $115,000 to a slew of local arts organizations, including nearly $20,000 to the Empire Arts Center; about $11,000 to the Grand Cities Children's Choir and about $15,000 to the Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre.
NoVAC received slightly more than $19,000 for administering the program.
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Mock said this may be the final year before changes are made to the regranting program. The city and community has been in the midst of a dialogue on how the city supports the arts for months, considering an overarching arts group and using the Arts and Events Vibrancy Committee to poll the public on how the city should best spend its resources on local culture and events.
The arts allocation measure still requires approval from the full City Council.
