4.1.2.d Maintenance Costs Discussion
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The daily maintenance and service provisions by the city of Surprise are handled through the city budget. The revenue needed to provide these maintenance and service provisions should total less than the sales and property tax revenue brought in from a development. Ideally the total should balance to zero, but over time replacement of infrastructure will become necessary requiring extra funding for redevelopment and repair efforts. As Surprise is a relatively young city this has not been a primary concern. Now with some of the first developments and neighborhoods of Surprise beginning to age, more of the budget will need to be directed to repair and maintenance efforts as well as creating services that were not originally provided to the community. This can be accomplished through steady revenue streams and good planning, or may be provided by bonds for immediate funding needs. If bonds are used, they should be paid back through the increase of tax revenue the redevelopment effort can generate.
Maintenance Cycles
All development in Surprise has a maintenance cost and replacement timing. From streets to streetlights and parks to the stadium, a budget must be determined to consider replacement or repair of the service, utility, or building. Some of this has already been started with common items like street maintenance. The graph below shows a simple diagram of how often street maintenance is required (Figure 4.1B). It is easily seen that repair should begin within eight to twelve years and every three to four years afterward. It also clearly shows the increase in cost with delay of maintenance. The timing shown in this graph is dependant on outside variables such as number of vehicles and average weight of the vehicles (truck routes will degrade faster than other streets).
Figure 4.1B Source: Public Works Department - City of Surprise
Surprise has little experience with aging neighborhoods other than the original townsite. As some of the first planned neighborhoods age there will be an increase on the overall city maintenance load. Repair or maintenance of streets, street lights, parks and more will need to be phased into the city maintenance schedules. Some neighborhoods are already beginning to enter this maintenance cycle while others still have several years. Future funding efforts will have to ensure a balance between new development and developments that have entered the maintenance cycle.
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