City of Eau Claire plans $48.3 million in capital improvement projects for 2026
'There will be a public discussion on June 9 and also June 23,' said Eau Claire Finance Director Kitzie Winters. 'The City Council is scheduled to adopt the budget on June 24.'
The Capital Improvement Plan, which plans out capital expenditures from 2026-2030, was presented to the council last week. It contains a plan to spend approximately $266 million over the next five years, including $48.3 million in 2026. Nearly a quarter of that would go to the Land, Building, and Equipment Fund.
'The capital improvement plan is exactly what it sounds like,' Winters said. 'It's a plan. We do call it a budget, but it is a plan for our assets or repairs that are over $5,000.'
She differentiated it from the annual operating budget which are funds that go toward services and staff.
'The Capital Improvement Plan is for those larger repairs or acquisitions of land or creation of a trail or a park, or repair of a street,' she said. 'We do attempt to secure grants from the federal and state level. We use our tax dollars there that we retain as a city. Then we look toward any general fund usage, but it's half-funded from issuing general obligation debt.'
In terms of the city striving to manage its debt, Winters said, 'We have an existing policy to keep that in a respectable limit. We're very conscious of the effect on the debt issuance and how that translates into the tax bills. Our targets are always very close to what we're paying off. We're not attempting to increase the tax bill. We're trying to keep that level.'
She said that big things which would have the most impact on taxpayers would be needing to build a new fire station or addressing an issue with a large parking structure.
Winters did note that there are plans for either remodel or construct a new fire station in 2027 and that the city council is still discussing the parking structure across from City Hall for 2029.
'It is reaching the end of its useful life to repair,' she said. '[Replacing it] would be over $30 million. It'll cost between $2 million to $3 million for demolition. We're evaluating how much parking will be needed. We're looking at scaling it down to maybe a two-level parking deck. It would cost around $14 million.'
To view the full proposed capital improvement plan, visit tinyurl.com/capitalplanEC.
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