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The city of Lansing is increasing funding for roads and police amid state budget changes and being awarded a federal grant.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Justice funds six additional police officers for at least four years. City Council members approved a budget amendment Monday to create the new positions.
The city is already planning to incorporate the funding into its ongoing operational budget once the grant funding runs out, which it says public safety revenue sharing from the state will help with.
State funding for local roads will also increase under a new road funding plan that replaces the sales tax on gasoline purchases with an increased gas tax.
Council President Peter Spadafore says many Lansing residents have been advocating for increased funding for police and road repairs.
“It’s never enough, right? We’ve got a lot of roads to look after and all sorts of things,” Spadafore said. “But we’ll have an opportunity to invest more in public safety, more in infrastructure, which will also allow us to invest in a lot more things.”
The city estimates it will have an additional $6 million annually for road repairs.
Work is scheduled to begin next month on a project to repair major roads in Lansing next month, including Pennsylvania Avenue, Mt. Hope Avenue and Jolly Road.
City Council members will consider a noise special permit to allow roadwork, which is scheduled to be complete in November, on Saturdays.
