South Bend Common Council approves bond issuance for Rebuilding Our Streets plan

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - The South Bend Common Council has approved two bills that will help with the funding of Mayor James Mueller’s Rebuilding Our Streets plan.

The Rebuilding Our Streets plan is one step closer to becoming a reality in South Bend now that the Common Council has approved the issuance of Neighborhood Infrastructure Bonds.

“We can either take this debt and spend this money now or we wait. The roads need fixed, the paving needs to be done, and in the long term, it would cost us more if we hold it off and wait and do it later,” 4th District Councilman Troy Warner said.

The council approved two bills that will ultimately allow this bond issuance to happen.

Nearly 9.7 million dollars worth of bonds will be issued, and 8.6 million of that will be spent on the rebuild project. The rest of that money will go toward things like the cost of issuance.

The money will actually move through the South Bend Building Corporation, and the bonds will be repaid through the Economic Development Income Tax which is already being used to pay other existing bonds as well.

“This is an opportunity to improve the city, and the interest rates are so low that it’s better to go ahead and do it now than to wait later,” 1st District Councilman Canneth Lee said.

At the beginning of February, Mayor Mueller announced his Rebuilding Our Streets plan, and the 3-year goal calls for 10% of the city’s streets being touched this year with a focus on those in the worst condition.

A total of 25 million dollars is expected to be spent in this 3-year time frame, with the approved bond issuance covering part of that amount.

“We’ve been talking about this bond now since November. The Mayor has rolled out his streets plan, so I’m excited to get that funding and get that going,” Warner said.

To review the entire Rebuilding Our Streets plan, click here.