City of Topeka looking at budget woes, upcoming street projects

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – City manager, Brent Trout said, they are looking to bring city employees back to work during phase one of the reopening plan.

“City employees are back to work on a staggered schedule. We had everybody back to work when the big storm hit,” Trout said.

The city saw an 8.5% decrease in sales tax for last month as compared to April of 2019, and is looking to make some changes.

“Sales tax revenue is down, we expect to see a $5 million to $11.5 million shortfall”. “We will make some adjustments to reduce spending”.

The city is also planning infrastructure projects around the city, including widening roads and filling potholes.

“We have a number of street projects in the works and plan to do all the projects we intended to do this year. We are going to have a really good construction year,” Trout said. “Our future projects include 12th street and we are still working with KDOT to get the Polk Quincy Viaduct Project on the list.”